Rolling Stone August 10, 2017

LIST EVERY SMITHS SONG RANKED Thirty years after the breakup, Rob Sheffield picks the best – and worst – from Morrissey, Marr and crew. PROFILE THE REAL VIC MENSA The Chicago rapper opens up about depression, addiction and his long-awaited debut album, The Autobiography. MUSIC X REFLECT ON 40 YEARS John Doe and his pioneering L.A. punk quartet take a break from their tour to talk about their epic four-decade run. MOVIES BEST STEPHEN KING MOVIES With It and The Dark Tower hitting theaters, we rank all of King’s big-screen adaptations – from Carrie to The Shining. ‘MUSIC NOW’ PODCAST Ahead of the release of his new solo album, Re-Covered, Semisonic’s Dan Wilson spills secrets of writing hits for Adele, Taylor Swift and the Dixie Chicks – and explains how he got there from “Closing Time” – in an interview with host Brian…

Maddow’s World I SO ENJOYED THE “ROLLING Stone Interview” with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow [RS 1290]. In an age of fake news and near-universal deceit, Maddow’s reporting is a clear and concise breath of fresh air. Well done! Aaron H. WarnerSeattle MADDOW KNOWS HER strengths but is totally candid about her weaknesses. No excuses, no BS and especially no self-promotion. Just an honest view of her place in the world as she sees it. Patrick FortEagle River, AK I HAVE BEEN A FAN OF MADDOW'S for years. She has braved the putrid quagmire of our current political state to expertly define what the current situation means to our nation. America is finally listening! And the well-earned ratings are there to prove it. Scott OliverGorham, ME EVERYONE LOVES RACHEL. But where was she during the last campaign? Shillin’…

1. Nine Inch Nails “Less Than” This black-clad banger from Nine Inch Nails’ great new EP is a master class in the science of violence. Trent Reznor cranks up the goth-disco drum machines and the sad-banshee synths, and knocks out the kind of bizarrely anthemic yowl from the abyss only he can deliver. 2. Selena Gomez feat. Gucci Mane “Fetish” Gomez is having quite the hot summer. On her latest hit, she kicks some breathy sexology over a slinky groove and has great chemistry with Gucci, who kills it playing the tough-guy smoothie. 3. St. Vincent “New York” Pure breakup gold: Annie Clark says so long to “the only motherfucker in the city that can handle me” with nothing but her piano to keep her sane. 4. Elvis Costello “American Tune” Paul Simon’s 1973 meditation on our beleaguered national spirit in…

Nick Lowe Five Songs My Son Loves Lowe, whose 1980s records were recently reissued, selected an eclectic mixture of songs he has played for his 12-year-old son, Roy, to expose him to different kinds of music. Eddie Cochran “Cut Across Shorty” This sounds like a nursery rhyme with a very agreeable skiffle beat, which was an English version of rockabilly. Eddie Cochran had it all going on. Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong “Now You Has Jazz” It sounds like an aural cartoon, since the voices have so much character. Bing Crosby was able to swing in this very white kind of way. John Holt “Ali Baba” This is John’s dream of being pursued by a posse of fairy-tale characters set to a monster Studio One groove. Exquisite. Ron Sexsmith “Gold in Them Hills” A beauty from the last songwriter to know where the bucket…

A went on hiatus at the end of 2015, Dave Grohl didn’t know what to do with himself. “I barbecued for fucking months, man,” he says. “I was doing eight briskets a week. It got a little dark.” But Grohl needed time to recuperate from anonstage fall in Sweden the previous summer, which turned out to be more serious than he thought. Grohl snapped his fibula, tearing several ligaments and requiring surgery. “I still have hardware in me,” he says. “I was in physical therapy for two or three hours a day for almost a year.” Grohl finished the rest of the band’s Sonic Highways stadium tour perched atop a giant “throne.” But after the final date, he told his band he didn’t want to touch an instrument for a…

The Killers September Brandon Flowers had one goal for his band’s fifth LP: “Be more personal.” On Wonderful Wonderful, he reflects on everything from his childhood love of boxing (“Tyson vs. Douglas”) to his wife’s difficult childhood (the Brian Eno-sampling “Some Kind of Love”). “I wanted to inhabit my age,” says Flowers. “I don’t want to chase what’s on the radio. It’s a more honest approach.” Prophets of Rage September 15th The heavy supergroup featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, plus Chuck D and B-Real, made a topical LP touching on homelessness, marijuana legalization and more. “It’s not all ‘Fuck Trump,’ ” says B-Real. Fall Out Boy September 15th “Every once in a while, you’ve gotta do a hard restart,” says Pete Wentz, adding that the band’s seventh album, Mania, takes a left turn…