Pete townshend

Most of the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 looks pretty normal right now: Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Jack Harlow’s “First Class,” Future’s “Wait For U” (feat. Drake and Tems), Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” But when you get to Number Five, you’ve entered the Upside Down — there’s Kate Bush ’s utterly perfect 1985 single “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” way higher than it ever got on the U.S. charts in its first run, during Ronald Reagan’s second term. And in her native U.K., “Running Up That Hill” has actually returned to Number One. It’s all, of course, due to the song becoming a key plot point in the new Stranger Things , where it literally saves the life of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink, also the star of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” short film ). In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now , Rob Sheffield joins host Brian Hiatt to talk about “Running Up That Hill,” why Kate Bush is primed for a generational rediscovery à la Joni Mitchell, the history of old … [Read more...] about How ‘Stranger Things’ Made Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ a Gen-Z Hit

The musical vibe shift is here, as decreed with near-simultaneity by Drake and Beyoncé last week. Drake’s new album, Honestly, Nevermind , and Beyonce ’s “ Break My Soul, ” both draw on strains of house music, and they share a single imperative: it’s time to dance. In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now , Jeff Ihaza breaks down the Drake album (which he just gave four stars), including why it might mark a post-mosh-pit turn for hip-hop, and how it proves repeated predictions of the end of the era of Drake dominance are premature. Meanwhile, Mankaprr Conteh examines Beyoncé’s “ Break My Soul ” — the first single from her upcoming new album Renaissance — and questions whether fans who got excited about what they saw as an anti-capitalist message in its lyrics might want to take a deep breath. Also in this week’s episode, Rob Sheffield shares some thoughts on Paul McCartney at 80. T o hear the whole episode, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, … [Read more...] about Why Drake (and Beyoncé!) Would Like You to Dance Right Now

“I just quit my job,” Beyoncé sings — in character, of course — on her new, house-influenced single “ Break My Soul .” “They work me so damn hard/Work by nine, then off by past five/And they work my nerves/That’s why I cannot sleep at night.” Numerous fans on Twitter and elsewhere got excited — perhaps too excited — and declared it an “anti-capitalist anthem.” But as Mankaprr Conteh points out on the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now , it’s quite unlikely that Beyoncé — a monumentally successful artist and businesswoman whose husband has, needless to say, also seen more than his share of capitalist triumphs — has turned against the economic system in which she’s thrived. ( T o hear the whole episode, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or press play above.) “I think that’s a stretch,” Conteh says. “It’s nice to think that Beyoncé is a voice for the everyday person who is struggling to make ends meet or struggling to thrive in a job that they may not love. … [Read more...] about Beyoncé Is Probably Not Your Anti-Capitalist Savior

Baz Luhrmann ’s box-office-topping new movie Elvis does manage to show the powerhouse singer Big Mama Thornton (played by Shonka Dukureh) performing “Hound Dog,” a song she recorded in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley . But it leaves out two very significant players: songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller , who wrote “Hound Dog” as teenagers for Thornton, and went on to write “Jailhouse Rock,” “You’re So Square (I Don’t Care),” “Trouble,” and other hits for Presley himself (as well as “Stand By Me” for Ben E. King and countless other classic songs). Leiber died in 2011, but Stoller is thriving at age 89 — and he tells our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that after many decades behind the scenes, he didn’t mind the omission. “Well, I didn’t expect anything,” he says with a laugh, “so therefore, I was not disappointed in that regard.” ( T o hear the whole episode, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or press play above.) On the episode, Stoller … [Read more...] about Did Elvis Presley Steal From Big Mama Thornton? The Real Story of ‘Hound Dog’