Cover Story

The Picture-Perfect Life of Taylor Swift

At 19, the world's biggest new country-pop star is a former 4.0 student who's never touched a cigarette or had a drop of alcohol. Inside the pretty blond head of America's (most driven) sweetheart.
By Vanessa Grigoriadis

Country Lolita: How Taylor Swift is reinventing teen stardom
Cover Shoot Photos: Swift poses for Peggy Sirota
The Story Behind the Story: Grigoriadis on what Swift is really like behind the scenes
Exclusive Video: Watch Swift react to seeing her first RS cover
Taylor's Family Album: Snapshots from the star's home life
Q&A: Swift on boys and breaking into the bigtime
Swift Onstage and Backstage: Photos of Taylor's swift rise to stardom

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Madam Speaker Draws
The Line

In an RS interview, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks bluntly about Republican efforts to undermine the president's agenda — and her commitment to prosecuting top-level Bush officials. By Tim Dickinson

The Briefing: Obama's
West Wing

Nothing says power like the corner office, especially when it's oval. A look at who's sitting where in the White House — and the access they have to the president

FEATURES

Derek Trucks' House of Blues

He's a two-decade master of the slide guitar, an Allman Brothers Band member, a husband, a father — and he hasn't even turned 30. What's Derek Trucks going to take on next? By David Fricke

Q&A: Guitar hero Trucks on jamming with legends and covering Dylan

End Times in the Motor City

In America's most ruined metropolis, hope can barely keep up with bitterness and despair. A dispatch from an urban apocalpyse. By Mark Binelli

Greening Detroit: With the auto industry on the ropes, read our past coverage on the challenges we face in moving beyond oil to a cleaner, more eco-friendly future

• The Good News About Global Warming NASA scientist Dr. James E. Hansen has found a new way to cool down the controversy over man-made climate change
• Alternative Energy Comes of Age The obstacles to wind and Solar Power and automobile fuel cells aren't so much Technological as Political
• The Ethanol Scam Politicians are high on turning corn into fuel — but ethanol not only hurts the environment, it's also one of America's biggest political boondoggles

CLOSE-UP

Jimmy Fallon's Night Moves

The SNL alum gets ready to take over Conan O'Brien's desk job and conquer TV's insomniac frontier.
By Jason Gay

VIDEO: Behind the Scenes with Jimmy Fallon

2009 FASHION SPECIAL

The Virgins

The New York buzz band gives the downtown rock scene a sleek makeover and tries on some of spring's hottest looks. Photographs by Theo Wenner

Rock and Roll

Green Day Think Big on
New Album

In the studio with the trio as they prep their epic 21st Century Breakdown

First Listen: A preview of Green Day's latest slab of politically charged punk

Industry: Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger Would Create Biz Giant

Reunion: Pop-Punk Kings Blink-182: Reunited and Ready to Party Like It's 1999

Blink-182's Rock Show: A Look Back at The Pop-Punk Trio’s History in Photos

On the Charts: Eminem's Hit Builds Buzz for Relapse

Checking In: JJ Cale Rolls On With New Disc

Breaking: The Low Anthem's Old-Time Rock & Roll

ON THE ROAD

Black Keys in NY

The Ohio duo swill bourbon, scarf hot dogs — and unleash blues-rock explosions
Plus: Behind the masks at Slipknot's biggest gig

Q&A

Stevie Nicks

Fleetwood Mac's singer on turning 60 and making nice with Lindsey Buckingham

Stevie Smokes: Austin Scaggs caught up with Stevie Nicks. Check out the story behind his interview

PROFILE

M. Ward: Pawnshop Troubadour

How the laconic folkie's vintage sound made him indie rock's go-to collaborator

TELEVISION

Bill Maher's Life After W.

He spent eight years skewering the Bush White House. So what's the most merciless political humorist on TV going to do now that Obama wants everyone to play nice?
By Sean Woods

New Rules: Bill Maher Takes Aim at the Economic Meltdown

RECORDS

U2's New Horizon

Bono and crew return with their best since Achtung Baby

PLUS: Beastie Boys, War Child Presents Heroes, Black Lips, Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel, Clem Snide, Lamb of God, Raul Malo, JJ Cale, Cotton Jones, Bell X1, Living Things, the Prodigy, Matt and Kim, Bishop Allen, Rush, Miranda Lee Richards, Kinky

Fricke's Picks: Southern Blood Brothers, Classic Oz Rock

MOVIES

Bank on It

Clive Owen takes on the new Evil Empire: financial institutions.

PLUS: Crossing Over, Eleven Minutes, Confessions of a Shopaholic

Travers Takes on the Oscars: Our movie critic breaks down the night's major categories

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Blink-182 Are Reborn: The dysfunctional Warped Tour godfathers mended fences and announced their return to the studio at this year's Grammys. In stories and classic photos from our archive, we look back at the band that launched a thousand fart jokes.

The Sound of Rebuilding: Three years after Katrina, artists and activists help New Orleans march forward.

Grammy Fallout: Who won, who lost and who got robbed? Our take, plus your chance to weight in on music's big night.

U2's First Time: As the band gets ready for its next big album, read our first major story on the Irish quartet. We called them "the next big thing," their label called them its most important signing since King Crimson and their frontman called himself "Bono Vox."