After putting the drug molly on blast at the end of his video for "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" Kendrick Lamar again called out the hip-hop world's recent fascination with the crystallized form of MDMA a component of ecstasy "Sometimes you have the trends that's not that cool" Lamar told MTV after...

As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis was on steroids when he tried to hire a hitman to kill his wife the singer's lawyer said yesterday in court  Thomas Warwick the singer's lawyer said heavy metal vocalist began taking steroids after getting into body building according to the U-T San Diego "His thought processes...

Summer music festivals can be things of beauty and discovery for open-minded concert-goers All you need is internal fortitude and a high tolerance for crowds and vicious elements Over the years I've spent more than my share of time on both sides of the barricade and I've learned a few...

While Jay-Z has received most of the attention for the music for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby the score was created by Luhrmann's longtime musical collaborator Scottish composer Craig Armstrong Luhrmann and Armstrong have developed a working relationship in the same vein as Tim Burton and Danny Elfman...

A grisly car crash followed by an all-out riot may not be what you expected to see in a Metallica 3D concert film but that's exactly how the new trailer for Metallica Through the Never opens Helmed by Hungarian director Nimród Antal the film was said to blends concert footage from...

Just what is it about Bruce Springsteen that means so much to his fans? The upcoming documentary Springsteen and I examines the relationship Springsteen's loyal listeners have with their hero and his music In this new trailer the fans play as large a role as the music sharing personal reflections and insights about the...

It's been quite a year to be a Rolling Stones fan and with the band in the midst of their 50th anniversary tour around North America and Europe fans in New York City gathered at the Bowery Ballroom to celebrate the band's music at the sold out Stones Fest Wednesday...

Wale's recording career to date has had an amphibious feel of sorts In 2009 when the Washington DC rapper was signed to Interscope he put out a very Interscope debut complete with a Lady Gaga feature 2011's Ambition – his follow-up after hopping over to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group...

Carole King was was presented with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House last night by President Obama who called the singer-songwriter a "living legend" The Associated Press reports "It is yet another of the many important messages to young women that women matter women make a difference"...

Paul McCartney has written to Russian authorities in support of Pussy Riot as one member yesterday began a hunger strike after she was barred from attending her own parole hearing in person The former Beatle sent handwritten letters on behalf of Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova asking Russian officials to consider parole for the...

John Fogerty returned to the Late Show With David Letterman yesterday for a second straight night this time with Dawes in tow After playing new single "Mystic Highway" Tuesday night Fogerty led the Dawes through "Someday Never Comes" which the California rockers performed with him on his forthcoming album of...

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend the Thermals strip down to deliver an engaging acoustic rendition of "You Will Be Free" The song appears in its original form on the Portland trio's sixth and latest record Desperate Ground produced by John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr Sonic Youth) Drummer Westin Glass...

Artist Royal ThunderSong "Parsonz Curse"Album CVI "When we went in to the studio to re-record the tracks from CVI acoustically we didn't just want to play the same exact songs how we did on the record just plugged into acoustic instruments" Royal Thunder's Josh Weaver tells Rolling Stone "It was a...

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis partied on the high seas for their "Can't Hold Us" video but they had to settle for a traditional stage and over 3000 screaming fans at Rolling Stone's recent Bacardi Rebels concert Fitz and the Tantrums Perform 'Out of My League' at Bacardi Rebels Concert On May 20th...

On May 20th Fitz and the Tantrums performed along with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at New York City's Roseland Ballroom as part of Rolling Stone and Bacardi's celebration of Cuban Independence Day And now you can watch Fitz and Co perform "Out of My League" in this exclusive clip from...

Taylor Swift enjoyed a massive birthday bash in her music video for Red single "22" and Conan O'Brien would like to have a word with her The country-pop darling basks poolside chills on the beach with her friends and parties in a swank pad in the clip but Conan is...

The Lonely Island have released a new lyric video in anticipation of their record The Wack Album out June 11th It's as educational as it is catchy and features a hook from Solange to boot "Semicolon" the latest release in the band's Wack Wednesday series reminds us how effective proper punctuation can...

Jailed Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina has started a hunger strike to protest having been denied access to her own parole hearing The 24-year-old Russian artist was scheduled for a hearing today but according to The Hollywood Reporter she was not allowed to attend In response she barred her attorney...

Blake Shelton and NBC are organizing a benefit show to aid tornado victims in Oklahoma Shelton a native of the state made the announcement after last night's episode of The Voice according to The Associated Press Shelton and wife Miranda Lambert paid tribute on the show to the thousands of...

Chinese sculptor installation artist and political dissident Ai Weiwei has released the first song off his planned heavy metal album Like the rest of the album "Dumbass" takes inspiration from and has roots in Ai's secret government detainment for 81 days in 2011 The accompanying video takes a direct interpretation...

World Goth Day is an annual worldwide event that celebrates goth music fashion and art on May 22nd It began in 2009 as Goth Day started by two DJs from the BBC the superbly named Martin OldGoth and Cruel Britannia Rather than have it on Halloween they chose May so...

Metallica have enough songs for a new album but their busy schedule in the coming months has sidetracked the band from putting their full focus on a new record The rockers are helming their own Orion Music and More festival in Detroit next month and are also prepping a 3D...

WINNER OF THE WEEK Vampire Weekend It's hard to believe an indie-rock band with such a nuanced sound has scored its second Number One album in a row – Contra sold 124000 copies during its first week in 2010 and the new Modern Vampires of the City trumps that with...

The National played three shows in small New York clubs yesterday celebrating the release of their sixth album Trouble Will Find Me in unique style The first venue announced on Twitter was a tiny bar (and flower shop) in Ditmas Brooklyn called Sycamore ("Care to to join us for a liquid...

A bonus track from the Japanese version of Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories has emerged online and is available for listen at NO BPM LIMIT  Daft Punk All Hail Our Robot Overlords The track "Horizon" is an instrumental that is the most meditative track on the disco-charged new album which came out...

It's too bad Notorious BIG isn't alive to watch the web series "The Smalls Family" that is based on lyrics from his songs On Tuesday the late rapper's 41st birthday show creator David Catalano released two new episodes "Unbelievable" and "Party & Bullsh-t" In March Catalano an assistant director with an extensive...

With a new album out next week John Fogerty played his new single "Mystic Highway" last night on the Late Show With David Letterman The rock & roll veteran sang with the hint of a beatific smile at the corners of his mouth strumming away on a Fender Telecaster for...

Bassist Trevor Bolder who played with David Bowie's Spiders From Mars Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash died yesterday after a long fight with pancreatic cancer He was 62 Uriah Heep announced Bolder's death on their website Bolder joined Bowie's backing band in 1971 replacing Tony Visconti on bass in time to...

Aretha Franklin is taking off the month of June after canceling a pair of performances last week due to health issues The Associated Press reports  Franklin 71 pulled out of performances on May 20th in Chicago and May 26th at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and a spokesperson for the singer says...

Artist Femi KutiSong "No Work No Job No Money"Album No Place For My Dream "It's sad to see the amount of people that are begging" Femi Kuti tells Rolling Stone "And what is worse is those that are said to have caused this terrible period have walked away free or in...

In the new issue of Rolling Stone Jonah Weiner goes in-depth with the mysterious French duo Daft Punk about why they are so bound to their signature robot helmets Turns out beyond flash and pure entertainment – although they don't deny that spectacle is an important part of the intrigue...

The death of Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek has touched many in the music community Punk pioneers X shared their thoughts today and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong Slash and Skrillex mourned his passing on Twitter with heartfelt and reflective posts X who had four of their albums produced by Manzarek were...

Many huge mainstream artists have been backed in concert by full orchestral accompaniment Jay-Z mixed hip-hop with strings at Carnegie Hall last spring and Phish's Trey Anastasio noodled on his guitar alongside several metropolitan city orchestras on a cross-country tour a few months prior However few have slid so comfortably...

Prior to the Academy of Country Music Awards show in 2007 Hootie and the Blowfish front man Darius Rucker shared a little secret about himself He really dug Hee Haw And just as he professed his love for the banjo-heavy variety show Rucker announced his transition from earworm college pop to modern...

Chief Keef was arrested earlier this week in Atlanta for disorderly conduct just two months after his release from custody The 17-year-old Chicago rapper – real name Keith Farrelle Cozart – was taken into custody yesterday and booked one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct According to The Chicago Tribune he...

Eminem's music publisher has filed a lawsuit against Facebook and its ad agency claiming the social media site lifted the rapper's music for an online ad Eight Mile Style filed a complaint yesterday in Detroit federal court alleging that Facebook copied music from Eminem's 2000 track "Under the Influence" for an...

Jared Leto stands in the art-deco lobby of a lower Manhattan hotel at 11 AM holding a half-consumed bag of cereal and a vegan muffin "Have we met before?" he asks I tell him we met once for three minutes at a fashion week party for Alexander Wang and he gives...

"There are so many people who would like to see me not make it in Nashville" Darius Rucker laments to Rolling Stone "But that's good motivation" The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman who traded pop superstardom for a solo country venture in 2008 has since scored platinum album sales a CMA...

The four members of U2 were still in high school when they managed to scam their way onto the Irish children's show Youngline in March of 1978 Bono heard the program was looking to feature a young band and convinced a producer to attend one of U2's rehearsals The group...

The days of seeing the world's biggest rock and pop bands for a few bucks plus a little extra for parking and service fees are as long-gone as Peter Frampton's curly hair But amid $650 Stones tickets and $600 Bon Jovi tickets this summer are bargains for fans who can't...

This year's Coachella wrapped up just last month but the Indio California festival has already set dates for next year's iteration Coachella 2014 will take place over two weekends with the first half set for April 11th-13th and the second scheduled for April 18th-20th Coachella 2013 Rolling Stone's Complete Coverage Advance sales...

Beyoncé's new track "Grown Woman" has leaked and the aggressive defiant track can now be heard online at The Huffington Post Beyoncé briefly teased the song in a Pepsi ad in April and the full version continues the busy tribal beats and self-assured vocals of the trailer "I'm a grown...

It looks like Justin Bieber's abandoned pet monkey will become the property of the German government Malley a capuchin monkey was confiscated and quarantined in late March when Bieber failed to produce proper paperwork upon landing in Munich The singer intended to bring the simian along on tour but ended...

Click to listen to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories Daft Punk's Paris studio sits on an ugly bustling thoroughfare on the south side of town near a train station and a hospital behind a green garage door To enter you press a buzzer and present your face to a security camera...

Since they reconvened last year Ben Folds Five have been wowing audiences as evidenced by this stirring performance of their 1997 ballad "Brick" Shot live at the Warfield in San Francisco this past January it's the video version of one of 15 audio tracks that appear on the piano-led trio's first...

The National counted down the final hours before the release today of their new album with a performance last night on the Late Show With David Letterman Singer Matt Berninger hunched over the microphone to deliver the lyrics on "Don't Swallow the Cap" and swirls of strings guitars and keyboards...

The Rolling Stones continued with the high-profile guest performers last night at the Honda Center in Anaheim when Dave Grohl joined the rockers onstage to play guitar and sing on "Bitch"  As Charlie Watts lit off the quick fill that starts the song Grohl strutted out from the shadows between Watts'...

Artist OverseasSong "Old Love"Album Overseas "What began as a standard end-around for a first down (which we nicknamed 'furrowed brow') ended with wide receiver Matt Kadane throwing a hail Mary which I caught on the 4 yard line and ran into the end zone I improvised a victory dance and 'Old...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Rise Against's Revolutions Per Minute and to celebrate Fat Wreck Chords will re-release the Chicago punk outfit's breakout second album on May 28th Dubbed RPM 10 the reissue will include expanded packaging as well as 10 bonus tracks of demos that were recorded...

Pharrell and composer Heitor Pereira have re-teamed to produce the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2 the sequel to the 2010 animated comedy Starring Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig the film is set to open in theaters on July 3rd The soundtrack will be available for pre-orders starting June 11th with its...