Rolling Stone Australia April 2016

“By bringing attention to El Chapo you did nothing but glorify this man and make him into some sort of folk hero.” Brilliant Bowie WHAT A FABULOUS TRIBUTE to the great David Bowie [RS 772]. As a massive fan, I just loved that cover. A lready framed it! David Bowie was a unique talent and you captured his brilliance. This issue has instant book-shelf status. I will be keeping this in a safe, accessible place. All Bowie fans feel the void and wish he was still here. David Bowie was a beautiful human being! Carol Nathaniel, Riverview, NSW Bad Call WHAT WERE SEAN PENN and ROLLINGSTONEthinking in interviewing El Chapo [RS 772]? By bringing attention to the man and giving him no less than 14 pages you/Penn did nothing but…

MUSIC RICK RUBIN: MY LIFE IN 20 SONGS The Def Jam co-founder reflects on more than 30 years of producing classic records, from the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, LL Cool J’s Radio and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik to the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way and Kanye West’s Yeezus. “There’s a time to strip back an artist’s sound,” Rubin says, “but sometimes it makes sense to do the exact opposite.” EXCLUSIVE HENRY WAGONS PERFORMS ACOUSTIC Showcasing songs from his first solo album, Henry Wagons strips things back in the Rolling Stone offi ces. RECAP THE WALKING DEAD S6 IN-DEPTH We know that talking about The Walking Dead is almost as good as watching it before someone spoils it for you, so we get in…

Stones: Red-Hot in Chile! After two weeks of L.A. rehearsals, the Rolling Stones arrived at soundcheck at Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile, for opening night of their South American tour. “I’m excited to go some places I’ve never been – Peru, Bolivia,” said Ronnie Wood. “It’ll be good fun!” Before the tour, the band also reportedly squeezed in studio time for its first album since 2005. “It’s my pulse – being in the studio and kicking ideas about,” Keith Richards said recently. “It’s still a turn-on!” BEYONCÉ’S FIELD OF DREAMS Beyoncé floored the crowd during the Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show at Levi’s Stadium on February 7th in San Francisco. As far as halftime performances go, Bey kicked it out of the park. Chris Martin, not so much... APPLE…

‘WELCOME TO THE END,” OZZY OSBOURNE says to 20,000 fans at Chicago’s United Center. He’s dressed head-to-toe in black, and his band has just wrung every ounce of Gothic gloom from its opening dirge, “Black Sabbath”, but now Ozzy sounds more wistful than scary. “Can you believe it, man? From 1968 till now.” Nearly half a century after they first scared the bejesus out of rock fans, Black Sabbath have [Cont. from 13] begun their victory lap. The End, a big, fiery farewell tour for some of rock’s most primal visionaries, includes stops in New Zealand and Australia in April, their first shows here since 2013, and could stretch at least into next year, band members say. “We [stay in] the best hotels, but the downside is there’s no drugs…

Despite having a recording studio at the back of his Sydney home, Josh Pyke says he found it hard to listen to music as much as he’d liked to before he got his Sonos system. “It’s changed the way I listen to music,” says Pyke. “Now I can be out the back, streaming music from my record player or Apple Music, and I can switch it through to the kitchen and keep listening while I cook dinner for the family.” Pyke has an interesting configuration in his home. He has PLAY:3s in his kitchen and dining areas, and a PLAY:5 in his studio with a CONNECT hooked up to his turntable to blast some obscure old school vinyl he’s collected over the years (like his rare Nirvana “Come As You…

SYDNEY QUINTET TONIGHT ALIVE weren’t afraid to set ambitious goals for their new LP, Limitless. “We wanted to create something timeless and iconic,” says frontwoman Jenna McDougall. “We decided to do something musically that isn’t being done now and hasn’t been done for a long time.” That meant abandoning the punk-inf lected sound that has won the band a global fanbase over the past five years and reaching for the stadium territory occupied by U2 and Coldplay. Limitless is unashamedly anthemic and deliberately inspirational; an album for kids who have rejected rock & roll’s self-destructive narrative and are searching for something uplifting. McDougall grew up in Sydney’s religious Hills District and joined Tonight Alive when she was 16 because she felt like a social outcast. “I was at an all-girls…