Evan Serpick | Rolling Stone

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99 items by Evan Serpick

Jay-Z Previews "American Gangster" LP: "I'm Better Than Al Capone" | ARTICLE

On Friday night, Jay-Z invited a handful of journalists up to Roc the Mike Studios in Manhattan to hear tracks from American Gangster, his new album that's due out November 6th. Hova recorded the disc...
October 9, 2007 9:44 AM ET
Allah, Amps and Anarchy | ARTICLE

In late August, a creak ing green school bus with red camels stenciled on its side rolled up to the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Ohio. Seventeen exhausted, beer-reeking punks, with mohawks...
October 4, 2007 2:00 PM ET
On the Charts: Kanye West, 50 Cent, Kenny Chesney Lead the Way to Monster Sales Week | ARTICLE

The Big News: As you already know, Kanye West beat 50 Cent in their debut-week sales showdown, but the real winner is the music industry. Kanye's Graduation sold 957,000, the biggest single week tally...
September 19, 2007 12:32 PM ET
Radiohead Catalog Goes Digital For the First Time, But Not on iTunes | ARTICLE

All Radiohead albums are now for sale as unrestricted MP3s at the U.K.'s biggest digital outlet, 7digital.com, marking the first time the band has agreed to sell its entire catalog on a major download site. The band...
September 18, 2007 12:33 PM ET
On the Charts: "High School Musical 2" Enjoys Another Week at the Top Before Kanye and 50 Arrive | ARTICLE

The Big News: Call it the lull before the storm -- in the week before Kanye, 50 Cent and country star Kenny Chesney released their blockbuster records, sales for the top fifty albums were as slow as...
September 12, 2007 12:08 PM ET
Kanye vs. 50 Cent | ARTICLE

Three months ago, 50 Cent and Kanye West met up to listen to each other's albums. "50 said 'Can't Tell Me Nothing'...
September 6, 2007 2:35 PM ET
On the Charts: "High School Musical 2" Still Unstoppable, Yung Joc and Casting Crowns Debut In Top Five | ARTICLE

The Big News: In its third week week of release, the High School Musical 2 soundtrack is really slipping -- the tween crack is still number one, but selling 209,996 copies this week, it only bests its...
September 5, 2007 12:30 PM ET
On the Charts: "High School Musical 2" Continues Dominance, Talib Kweli Grabs Career-Best Debut | ARTICLE

The Big News: Get used to seeing the High School Musical 2 soundtrack near the top of the charts for a while: In its second week of release, the tween juggernaut sold 367,055 copies -- more than...
August 29, 2007 1:16 PM ET
Download in a Box? Apple to Sell Album-Specific iTunes Giftcards in Stores | ARTICLE

Not content to just dominate music sales online, Apple will soon be taking up space in your local retail chain. According to Billboard, this fall, the company will begin selling album-specific iTunes gift cards inside DVD-sized boxes...
August 27, 2007 1:38 PM ET
On the Charts: "High School Musical 2" Scores Major Debut, Dave Matthews and Hip-Hop Heavyweights Hang In | ARTICLE

The Big News: It was a tyker revolution this week, as kids invaded record stores to buy the soundtrack to High School Musical 2, which sold 615,361 copies in its first week of sales -- the second-biggest...
August 22, 2007 12:31 PM ET
Billboard Singles Chart Discovers Internet Radio Streams | ARTICLE

Beginning this week, Billboard will include audio and video streams from services like Yahoo! Music and AOL in its formula for the weekly "Hot 100" singles chart. The top songs will still mostly be determined by radio...
August 3, 2007 2:54 PM ET
Public Outcry Staves Off Destruction of Internet Radio | ARTICLE

This Sunday, exorbitant new royalty rates for Internet radio outlets like Pandora and Yahoo are set to go into effect, a change that, many webcasters say, will force them out of business. Despite the industry's Day of...
July 13, 2007 12:54 PM ET
Police, Pumpkins, PSAs: Live Earth New York, Onstage and Backstage | ARTICLE

Anyone who watched Live Earth on TV yesterday knows it was nearly impossible to catch any one city's lineup in its entirety, so here's a close-up look at who played and who was chatting it...
July 8, 2007 12:56 PM ET
The Best Music You're Not Hearing Today | ARTICLE

As we previously reported, a coalition of Internet radio outlets has gone silent today to protest a massive increase in royalty rates set to go into effect July 15. The SaveNetRadio coalition, which includes massive...
June 26, 2007 4:41 PM ET
iTunes Now Bigger Record Store Than Target, Amazon, Sam Goody | ARTICLE

It's a good week to be Steve Jobs: All the world is atwitter about Apple's iPhone, which hits stores Friday, and now comes news that the iTunes Music Store has become the country's third biggest music retailer....
June 25, 2007 3:41 PM ET
Record Biz Meltdown Continues: Sony Studios to Close | ARTICLE

In yet another sign that the music industry might just close up shop and move to Florida, Sony Music Studios — one of New York's biggest recording hubs — will close its doors in August, citing...
June 14, 2007 1:40 PM ET
Preview Paul McCartney's New Album, "Memory Almost Full" | ARTICLE

When Paul McCartney sat down with producer David Kahne to record his latest album, Memory Almost Full, which comes out June 5th, the ex-Beatle said he wanted it to compare to everything he'd ever done. "I said...
May 15, 2007 11:31 AM ET
Al Gore Continues to Fight for Live Earth DC | ARTICLE

As Rolling Stone has already reported, Al Gore has twice been defeated in his attempts to hold the U.S. leg of his seven-continent, twenty-four-hour Earth Day event -- featuring stars like the Red Hot Chili Peppers...
March 30, 2007 5:47 PM ET
Republicans Block Gore's Live Earth in DC | ARTICLE

Republicans have stymied Al Gore's attempts to stage the July 7th Live Earth concert in the nation's capital. Planning continues for the seven-city, twenty-four-hour event -- Madonna confirms she will headline the London leg of the show...
March 29, 2007 4:09 PM ET
Live Earth Update: Roger Waters, Senators Get Behind Gore | ARTICLE

Roger Waters, Duran Duran and Korn have been added to the lineup for Live Earth, Al Gore's seven-city, twenty-four-hour concert for the environment. But organizers hit a snag when the National Park Service denied them a permit...
March 22, 2007 12:13 PM ET