Rolling Stone September 7, 2017

FILM ‘IT’ COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD In an ominous sewer drain somewhere in Maine, Stephen King’s demented killer clown is ready for another close-up in a new adaptation of the novel. We’ve prepared an everything-you-need-to-know primer, including an interview with actor Bill Skarsgård, the new Pennywise. GLIXEL WAR AND VIDEO GAMES Designer Hideo Kojima discusses the re-creation of war in movies like Dunkirk and games like Death Stranding. CULTURE PRISONERSOF POT CULTURE What’s legal in some states can lead to jail time in others. Meet the victims of the U.S.’s Draconian war on cannabis. FESTIVAL THE TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL From docs on Eric Clapton and Obama to a comedy about the worst movie ever made, we report on the best of the fest. LIAM GALLAGHER GETS BACK TO WORK The former Oasis singer joins host Brian Hiatt to talk about his upcoming…

Pride of Canada I JUST FINISHED THE ARTICLE on Justin Trudeau [“The North Star,” RS 1293]. He’s doing in Canada what Trump needs to do in the United States: Unify citizens and politicians. Trudeau would make a great president of the United States. Brian Olson Norfolk, VA AS AN AMERICAN LIVING IN Canada, I don’t get all the love for this limousine liberal. While he isn’t actively trying to make the country worse for the average Canadian, he isn’t doing all that much to make things better, either. Don’t hold your breath waiting for him to cure what ails Western democracies – he’s too busy with his photo ops. Laura Messer Toronto YOUR ARTICLE ON TRUDEAU made me giggle a few times, ’cause, yes, as a rule, Canadians are like that. We welcome immigrants as…

1. Car Seat Headrest “War Is Coming (If You Want It)” Released days after the Charlottesville riots, with a title that twists a John Lennon slogan, garage-rock prodigy Will Toledo’s new anthem follows visions of violence and paranoia into a chorus that prays for peace amid chaos. Lennon would be proud. 2. Leon Russell “Love This Way” The soulful rock pioneer passed away last year, but not before leaving us his final LP, On a Distant Shore, due out in September. This high-stepping R&B tune is the sound of a legend who still had plenty left in the tank. 3. Alborosie “Living Dread” This Italian-born reggae singer offers a growling update on a classic by roots greats Black Uhuru – proving vintage music can be potent without pop sugarcoating. 4. Rae Sremmurd “Perplexing Pegasus” The Black Beatles return, recklessly flexing over…

The Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist – who hosts his own Sirius XM show – is on the road for the group’s 40th-anniversary tour. Martha and the Vandellas “Dancing in the Street” A clarion call to the world – a beautiful notion, since at that time what was going on in the streets wasn’t always dancing. J.J. Light “Baby Let’s Go to Mexico” This is a great, mariachi-inflected song by the bassist in the Sir Douglas Quintet. It’s this glorious piece of freedom. Dwight Yoakam with Buck Owens “Streets of Bakersfield” Buck did this on his own, but his version with Dwight is better. It’s about the need to see each other without judgment. Lord Creator “Such Is Life” I came across this early reggae song in a compilation. He’s got an optimistic take even as he’s talking about these bad…

O end of his concert at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., Roger Waters paused for a moment to enjoy the audience’s ecstatic reaction. Then the British singer-bassist and founding member of Pink Floyd addressed his fans. “I said, ‘People suggested that we might be walking into the lion’s den, coming here,’ ” Waters recalls a week later. “ ‘All I have to say about that is that in Washington, D.C., there are a lot of people with the hearts of lions.’ ” It was a variation on a speech that Waters often gives on his 2017 North American tour – noting the “love in this room,” as he puts it – following the climactic sequence of “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” from The Dark Side of the Moon. The response in Washington,…

Glen Campbell was 75 years old, and he couldn’t wait to get on the road. It was August 2011, and he had just announced his Goodbye Tour, soon after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The best part, he said, was that his three twentysomething children would join him onstage. “My kids play better than my old band,” he told Rolling Stone in one of his final interviews, adding with a smile, “and I don’t have to pay them!” He had to use a teleprompter for lyrics, and his voice wasn’t what it once was, but his guitar work was still astonishing. Campbell made it through a year and a half on that tour – 151 deeply moving performances. It was a fittingly singular farewell for Campbell, who died of Alzheimer’s complications…