And About Time, Too

I used to read Rolling Stone back when PJ O'Rourke was doing a lot of their foreign commentary. Since he left the mag, I haven't had much reason to pick it up, especially when I found people like Britney Spears on the cover.

Don't get me wrong, looking at Britney Spears on the cover is a noble pursuit, but it doesn't mean I have to buy the magazine after checking her out.

Rolling Stone has always considered itself on the cutting edge of pop culture and politics. The mag went through its John Lennon loving Yoko and peace period, and it's glam-rock-hair-band phase, then its love affair with all things Bill Clinton, then it's absolute detestation of George W Bush...

It's funny that you sometimes think of Rolling Stone as a political mag first and a music mag second, but that's the way they've presented themselves since the 70's. Founder/publisher Jann Wenner was a heavy hitting fan of Bill Clinton's, and if memory serves me right he did all of the past decade's big political interviews in person: Clinton, Gore, Kerry, and Obama (who's already made the cover twice).

All fine, it's his magazine. Except when the mag gets back into music coverage by putting the Black Crowes on the cover. The Black frigging Crowes? If anybody puts the Black Crowes on the cover of anything, they deserve a smack.

Still, the cover of Rolling Stone is a coveted prize. The article inside the mag is only of limited value because Rolling Stone's readership isn't that big (somewhere around 1.5 million readers per bi-weekly issue), but the cover is large and it draws attention on newsstands. Basically any band that makes the cover has bought themselves some decent publicity at bookstores, tattoo parlors, and music shops for at least two weeks.

For young bands the cover means you've made it, and for actors it means you've reached the heights of fame. For politicians it means you've made the leap from politico to pop icon. For old bands it means you've reached legendary status, or your lead singer has dropped dead.

AC/DC, one of my favorite all-time rock bands, finally made the cover this month. It's about damn time, too. They've sold over 150 million albums worldwide. Their new album, Black Ice, already hit #1, and is set to be the best selling rock album of 2008. The first single from that album, Rock n' Roll Train, is on the radio all the time these days, and the band has another world tour going.

They're still on top, and it's good to see them there. They're a band that doesn't realize they're too old, and never learned that you're supposed to write cheesy ballads in order to sway the ladies and the critics. They have the same formula for every song: verse, verse, guitar solo, verse, end. Repeat for ten songs.

AC/DC has written exactly one slow ballad, with Dirty Deed's Ride On. That was over thirty years ago. Since then, nada. I always loved them for that. If a song isn't about sex, liquor, or rock, then AC/DC will not play it. That simple. And when you're in the mood for mindless rock, nothing else will do.

It's good to see Rolling Stone finally gave them credit for it.