Joe Jonas on Taylor Swift Dis: "That's Just How It Goes"

By now, the split between the otherwise reclusive Joe Jonas and Taylor Swift has been well documented. Jonas dumped the country star with a 27-second phone call. She went on to pour her heartbreak into "Forever & Always," on which she sings, "Did I say something way too honest that made you run and hide like a scared little boy?" Joe then shot back with "Much Better," which includes the line "I'm done with superstars and all the tears on her guitar," a reference to Swift's "Tears on My Guitar." He's upped the ante on the Jonas Brothers' current tour, changing the line to "I'm done with country stars."

Why take the rift public? Joe tells Rolling Stone in our new cover story that the song was just something he had to write. "Relationships give you ideas of what to write about," Joe tells RS, "but sometimes it's hard to be honest. I mean, you have to be, but it's like, 'I don't really want to say anything bad about this person, but I'm going to write it.' That's just how it goes."

Of course, the band talked about much more than public displays of heartbreak. Our Jenny Eliscu found the band rehearsing for its summer tour and trying to march the long path to musical credibility. Read more about our Jonas Brothers cover story here, and check out photos from the issue here.

The complete Rolling Stone cover story, "Boys to Men," is on newsstands now.

• 
  MUSIC The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments
• 
  MOVIES & TV 'Game of Thrones': The Show Vs. the Books
• 
  POLITICS Matt Taibbi: Facebook IPO vs. Shareholders
• 
  VIDEOS Exclusive: Garbage Rip Through 'I Think I'm Paranoid'

Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter