"On the Cover of the Rolling Stone...while it's gathering moss."

(Here are my thoughts on what has become a pop culture/musical crisis over the past few years.)

From this...

To This???

I am a regular visitor to Rolling Stone magazine's website in my constant search of music news and seeing what some of my favorite artists are up to. However, some recent things have come to light that make me question the motives of this once uncompromising and free-living publication:

They recently devoted a cover story (as in this was on the cover, to be followed by what should be a lengthy, useful, engaging multi-page article within the pages of the magazine) to the MTV show "The Hills." The fact that MTV is even mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine anymore is problematic enough considering they haven't played a music video in its entirety over nearly half a decade. What really irks me is that the same magazine that has covered Presidential elections with credibility and candor, as well as events like Woodstock, the Concert for Bangladesh, and interviewed icons such as Bob Dylan, Hunter S. Thompson, John Lennon, and Jack Nicholson, is now filling its pages with inconsistencies helping to blend it in with any other supermarket rack magazine.

When great writers like Thompson, Cameron Crowe, Joe Esztherhas, and Lester Bangs wrote for Rolling Stone during its peak in the 1960's and 70's, they probably would have never even set foot in the building in the first place if they knew this is what it would lead to. Artists like the Jonas Brothers, the whatever you would call them from "The Hills," and that Clay Aiken stunt double Zach Ephron gracing the cover in a time span of less than 6 months puts Rolling Stone in Seventeen and Tiger Beat territory. I'll give credit where credit is due, such as their recent great cover stories on RDJ (Robert Downey, Jr.) and their New Guitar Gods issue a year or two back that featured John Frusciante, Derek Trucks, and John Mayer on the cover, but they can't have it both ways.

It is expected that people take the magazine seriously when they produced an informative cover story on Barack Obama about a month ago. Then, they publish a 4 star review of the Jonas Brothers new album a week after the Brothers Jonas (BJ's) are on the cover tearing each other's shirts off. If Rolling Stone expects its readers not to figure out the propaganda there, then they truly have abandoned their original audience, which is a sad moment in popular culture's history of the past 50 years. And for that reason, their cover stories on the election, or why ethanol fuel is hurting our economy, or stories from the war in Iraq, become as relevant and credible as the same stories if they were to appear in this week's issue of OK Weekly. More and more they are relinquishing themselves to the same media conglomerate, Fox News-one-sided way of conveying news stories that they once vowed to fight against.

I have found some examples of their recent blunders, with the Jonas Brothers spectacular 4 Star review included. Now, I am not completely arguing the accuracy of the reviews I have disdain for, but I am showing other reviews Rolling Stone has given historically next to the reviews in question. When looking at the numbers side by side, it's ludicrous to think that Lil' Wayne's incoherent, irrelevant lyrical and musical offerings are better than Ready to Die, All Eyez on Me, and Enter the Wu Tang. These are 3 hip hop classics that shaped the genre for all those after them. I know there are a lot of Lil' Wayne fans out there, but if you honestly think this, you should have your brain checked for termites.

This would be like saying, "The Beatles 'Rubber Soul' is a 4 star album, but Creed's 'Human Clay,' now there's a 4 and 1/2 star album right there. They are definitely half a star better than The Beatles. Forty years from now, when people are wondering who John, Paul, George, and Ringo were, they'll still remember Scott, Mark, Scott, and Brian and they'll still be singing, 'With Arms Wide Open' at the top of their lungs, lighters waving." Yes, that would be certifiably insane.

All of these reviews come directly from Rolling Stone's website. It is surprising that they have kept these up there not realizing their journalistic integrity is going into as much of a recession as our economy. And, speaking of which, it does appear the magazine is feeling the pinch as much as any other troubled businesses in our struggling economy. They recently announced the changing of their format from the usual big print pages they utilize which will be scaled down to the size of typical magazines, in efforts to save on their production costs. Another sign that this former pop culture beacon will now literally and figuratively blend in with everything else on the magazine rack.

Rolling Stone Reviews:
Jonas Brothers, "A Little Bit Longer"- 4 stars,
Coldplay, "Viva La Vida"- 3 and 1/2 stars
Pearl Jam, "Vitalogy"- 4 stars
Radiohead, "OK Computer"- 4 stars
U2's "War"/"All That You Can't Leave Behind"/"How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"- 4 stars
The Raconteurs, "Consolers of the Lonely"- 3 and 1/2 stars

Lil' Wayne, "Tha Carter III"- 4 and 1/2 stars
Tupac Shakur, "All Eyez on Me"- 3 Stars
Notorious B.I.G., "Ready to Die"- 4 stars
Wu Tang Clan, "Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)"- 4 stars

I suggest you stick to more reliable sources when questioning Rolling Stone's credibility going forward. While they do have access to everything that is music, beware of some of the questionable "news" they spew from time to time. NME.com is a great website; it is from the United Kingdom's premier music magazine (pretty much Britain's Rolling Stone). They have album/song reviews, great articles, breaking news, and they have excellent live coverage, though most of it is Europe-based. Another worthy music magazine is Blender, which is put out by the same company that publishes Maxim magazine. They put a funny Maxim-like spin on music (with less bikinis) and they have great all time best and worst lists in their magazine which they archive on their website.

It would be ridiculously and intergalactically cool to work for any of these publications, but right now I don't. So, you can rest assured that my integrity is as of this moment, intact. Rock on!