Rolling Stone Aug-27-15

CULTURE MAKING RAVE DRUGS SAFER “Festival promoters are extremely interested in making sure nobody dies at their festival,” says Mitchell Gomez, DanceSafe’s national outreach director. Read about the organizations trying to prevent bad trips and medical emergencies at music fests – and how the law is getting in the way. VIDEO HANGING OUT WITH MARINA We spent a day with the U.K. singer Marina and the Diamonds, who’s flying past her pop roots and winning legions of new fans. Presented by Transitions adaptive lenses. PREMIERE THE KING GOES CLASSICAL Listen to a reworking of Elvis’ hopeful song “If I Can Dream” by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and see why Priscilla Presley thinks he would have loved an orchestral LP. VIDEO UNLIKELY METAL HEROES Depeche Mode have become a surprising touchstone for metal bands in the past 30 years. Marilyn Manson, Deftones…

1. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ed Sheeran “Growing Up” Seattle’s finest rap duo have been laying low for a year – just long enough for you to stop humming “Thrift Shop” in your head. Get ready to do it all over again with their new single, a hella-sweet ballad dedicated to Macklemore’s baby daughter. Awww! 2. The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Face” video Remember when this guy was all about druggy bedroom jams? Now he’s gone all Michael Jackson – witness the clip for his latest unbelievably catchy pop smash, where he’s so hot he literally catches on fire. 3. Laura Marling “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” YouTube After seeing this clip from the English folk singer’s recent tour, where she covers a lovely old Dolly Parton tune, we know it’ll be crossing our minds all…

CLASSIC Patti Smith “Free Money” This is actually one of the better-written songs on Horses. Patti sounds plaintive, and then she spits out the lyrics, which she does better than almost anyone. The Kinks “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” One of my all-time favorite bands. I wish more modern bands listened to and absorbed the Kinks. The Bee Gees “I Started a Joke” The pre-disco-era Bee Gees wrote and recorded some of the great pop songs, almost on a Beatles level, like this Robin Gibb lead vocal. NEW Kendrick Lamar “For Free?” Hilarious. “This dick ain’t free,” Lamar says. Indeed! Lesson well learned. Lamb of God “512” While I like the backing track here, I must confess this type of vocal styling – what would happen if a werewolf tried singing? – just ain’t my thing. Not that I’m claiming I can sing, mind you.…

It’s Kim’s World I WAS GENUINELY SURPRISED by the Kim Kardashian cover story [“American Woman,” RS 1239/1240]. Vanessa Grigoriadis wrote a funny, subtle profile about an American reality star who, it turns out, is charmingly self-aware. Toni Royce, via the Internet KARDASHIAN’S CONCEPTUalization of world affairs – Vladimir Putin’s annexation of the Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East and her “obsession with contouring” – was breathtaking. David Kutz, Santa Fe, NM BRAVO TO KANYE WEST FOR his supportive response to Caitlyn Jenner’s transition. I’m sorry that she made Kim keep her secret for so long, though. That was totally unfair. Ed Lancaster, via the Internet VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE Kardashian on the cover of RS. I had no issue with the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cover, but Kardashian showcasing her cleavage just makes me sad. Are we that…

In his first story for the magazine, Ben Woff ord profiled Ben Schlappig, star of a global online community of travel obsessives and gamers who target airlines’ loopholes to fly around the world first-class for free [“Up in the Air,” RS 1239/1240]. ROLLING STONE readers responded. SUCH A WELL-WRITTEN article about a very interesting guy. But is nonstop champagne and caviar really all that glamorous when you’re sleeping on a plane every single night? How well-traveled can you be when all you’ve explored in a country is the airport terminal? Kim Thompson, Corning, NY I FLEW CONSTANTLY FOR work in my twenties and thirties, international and domestic, but my body couldn’t withstand the toll. I find the game of playing the airlines fascinating and might just go delve back into it. Schlappig is…

AS OF EARLY AUGUST, APPLE Music, the company’s longawaited on-demand streaming service, seemed to be a success: Overcoming technical glitches and complaints about a complex interface, Apple announced 11 million trial-subscription sign-ups in five weeks – more than half of chief competitor Spotify’s paid international user base. But the music industry was at least as happy about another aspect of Apple’s musical efforts: the company’s free Beats 1 online radio station focusing on new music, which broadcasts live 24/7. “It’s exciting,” says Glassnote Records president Daniel Glass. “Everyone’s watching them on music discovery.” When Drake wanted a high-profile debut in late July for “Charged Up” – a salvo in his beef with rapper Meek Mill – he chose his own Beats 1 show, a venue that hadn’t even existed the month…