Rolling Stone is such a joke. I've honestly never read the magazine before, and obviously never will. It's just funny to see so-called-institutions completely sell out... MTV, Rolling Stone, Saturday Night Live. Hilarious. Oh well.. money rules! i guess.

Wow... disappointing.

I've actually (and unapologetically) been an RS reading for a long time. 13 years, at least? Some issues grab me more than others, and sometimes I wonder what happened to it being a music magazine (too political, at times, and don't get me started on this past issue's Jonas Brothers cover).

That aside, I still aspire to write for them someday. There aren't a whole terrible lot of good music magazines left, these days.
~Monica~

this sort of breaks my heart in an i'm-still-in-love-with-the-tradition-of-print-media sort of way. i hate this news.

HOWEVER--who the fuck watches 'lost' still and who the fuck wants to know them, let alone have to write for them, amiright?

ugh. times be tough.

flat spine, too! omg. omg.

i'm addicted to lost. :~[

*lonely*

I'm not going to weigh in pro or con on Rolling Stone, as it's been a long time since I've looked at it. I just have to point out how ridiculous it is that someone can say they've "never read" something (and "obviously" never will) in the same breath as saying what a joke it is and how it's totally sold out. Seriously, what are you basing any of your statements on?

I will from now on and forever after be reading my Rollingstone ONLY when it's downloaded via iPhone, wireless transferred to my MacBook, then my iMac, then my AppleTV, recorded on that via DVR, played again and recorded on TV, then watched in the dead of night via a Zune connected to a Hi-Def, fancy-schmanzy television.

I will record the final images to VHS for archiving, because I'm old school like that.

I'm right now reading the issue with John Lennon on the cover, out of my mind on peyote, punching a cop, playing a Les Paul, and groping a groupie. Hunter Thompson in the corner of the room, scribbling it all down on Richard Nixon's back. Vive the alternative press! (No, not that one.)

unabashedly, i check out the stone every month to see what kinds of pictures people are getting paid for publishing. also, kind of abashedly, my dream is to shoot a cover story for the rolling stone.

I had a subscription in high school. I lived in eastern Montana, so I thought it was rad, because it was my only connection to what music was out there. This was also just before the Internet was invented.

Then, one afternoon after class, I reached in my mailbox and pulled out the new issue.

They put Jar Jar Binks on the cover.

I canceled my subscription the next day.

In all fairness, Jar Jar Binks had some good songs.

OK. I have to be honest -- not just a contrarian here -- but almost every issue of RS has an essential feature or review for me. It kicked ass with the recent Naomi Klein article on American-financed Chinese State capitalism, and how terrifying it might be for our own future (quickly: American corporation is helping China oppress its own people with our technology, completely illegally but no one is challenging it); the terrific article on trends in record production and the reincarnation of popularity of releases in the vinyl format (250,000 "Blonde on Blondes" last told! And this feature had a lot of stuff that just wouldn't have fit in a blogging or even a regular-length website piece); and hey, the writers in the review section (including the great Will Hermes, Chuck Eddy, Christian Hoard, and others) actually do have their shit down. Not saying they don't make mistakes; and I could probably do without over half of each issue (even after the ads).

We kicked around the Rocket in Seattle for years -- and now pull out some of those back issues and see how hard it often rocked. Passed along notions and taken for granted -- the usual POV.

Dang. Lost my comment to this preview/approve system that always stymies me.

Chris @ 12 - I hear you. I very rarely read RS, but when I did, there was a almost always a KILLER social/political piece in there. The music coverage wasn't my bag, but, hey, it's the big mainstream music publication. That's to be expected like the radio's not my thing.

The consumer we want to reach watches ‘Lost’ on a big TV screen, on a computer screen and on an iPhone.

This is just trying to brand RS readers as totally hip, aware and plugged into social, entertainment and tech trends. You know, make them out as the affulent first-adopters advertisers always hunt for.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if the redesign was more about repositioning the magazine in advertisers' eyes than that of readers.