Rolling Stone

taking control, leading the way

“My guidance counselor told me not to be an engineer, because it’s a male-dominated field and I’d struggle. [Now] I go to work to operate a robot on Mars.”—FARAH ALIBAY, NASA systems engineerON JANUARY 11TH, just days after successfully regaining her position as speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi posed for the cover of ROLLINGSTONEwith three resilient members of the congressional freshman class: Jahana Hayes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. Despite chatter that incoming liberals would clash with the old guard, they all voted for her in the end and became strong supporters. “There was no sense that these were women who didn’t get along,” says Catriona Ni Aolain, ROLLINGSTONE’s director of creative content, who produced the shoot with photographer Zoey Grossman. “I felt no tension or weird energy. The…

+ love letters & advice

“I never would’ve thought I’d say . . . that Jordan Peele would be on his way to becoming the black Hitchcock. What a time to be alive.”—CJ Baldwin, via the internetThe Genius of Jordan PeeleFor our February cover story, Jordan Peele took senior writer Brian Hiatt to Universal Studios Hollywood, where the pair rode the Harry Potter ride, shared butterbeers, and talked about Peele’s rise from sketch-comedy star to one of Hollywood’s most important directors. The story [“The All-American Nightmares of Jordan Peele,” RS 1324] was the first significant piece of press Peele did for Us, the highly anticipated, extremely terrifying follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2016 debut, Get Out. Peele also talked about his upbringing, race and the Twilight Zone reboot he’s executive-producing. Readers responded: “Jordan Peele emerging as one of our most…

the gospel of florence

“A GOOD SHOW is all based on whether the crowd is willing to come with you in your madness,” says Florence Welch. At Florence and the Machine’s show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, that madness included Welch twirling across the stage, knocking over her mic and bolting across the arena floor as security fended off worshipping fans. Welch, who will return to the States in May for another leg of the tour, sees a connection between her wild crowds lately and the vulnerability of her band’s new album, High as Hope. “They leave it all on the floor,” she says. “They come with such open hearts, and it’s been a beautiful thing to witness.” ■…

billie eilish’s teenage truths

TWO DAYS AGO, Billie Eilish celebrated her 17th birthday at a roller rink here in L.A., and yesterday she got right back to work, which meant hunkering down at “a random-ass hotel” to shoot a video for her new single, “Bury a Friend.” “It smelled like pee and horses,” she says of the hotel, “but we fucking nailed it, dude.” Wearing recently blue hair that she’s now dyeing gray, Eilish sits in the backyard of the bungalow she’s called home since birth. She wrote the new song, she says, “from the perspective of the monster under your bed. Anything could be the monster — it could be someone you love so much that it’s taking over your life. I think love and terror and hatred are all the same thing.”This…

neil young opens his vault

IN NOVEMBER 1991, Neil Young told ROLLING STONE about his ambitious plans to dig into his personal archives and release “18 to 20 albums’ worth” of unreleased music in some form or another. “I’m not so much concerned with how or when it comes out,” Young said. “I only have so much time to do these things.”It took nearly 30 years, but Young’s vision became a reality last year, when the Neil Young Archives went online. No artist on Young’s level has ever attempted such a treasure trove: The site includes a fully interactive timeline of his career, with every song he has ever released, plus unseen photos, manuscripts and videos. Young also promises rare bootlegs to come, including shows he played in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1973, and Japan and…

playlist

1. Luis Fonsi feat. Stefflon Don“Calypso”Two years after his smash success with “Despacito,” Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi is finally back with a new studio album. The immediate winner? This dancehall party co-starring Hackney rap royalty Stefflon Don. It’s hot enough to make March feel like July.2. Karen O“Bullet With Butterfly Wings”On a cover for Amazon’s new series Hanna, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer gives Smashing Pumpkins’ angsty 1995 hit a fantastic electro-goth makeover. She really makes you feel that rage-cage duality.3. Neil Young“Olden Days” (live)It’s worth seeking out a bootleg to hear this sorrowful ballad from Young’s recent solo shows: “I think we’re living way too fast/I’m searching out for my old friends/Some say I’m living in the past.”4. J. Cole“Middle Child”Cole sneers at his critics (“Money in your…