In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Mikal Gilmore looks back on David Bowie's incredible rise to superstardom as Ziggy Stardust and his subsequent career as rock's greatest changeling. In an excerpt from the story, Gilmore details how a conflict with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page had the singer heading off to Los Angeles to study occult texts while subsisting on a diet of peppers, milk and cocaine.

Photos: David Bowie Through the Years

We also went behind the scenes of forthcoming albums by Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, the Mountain Goats, the National and Best Coast, and talked to Common about his ongoing beef with Drake. Plus, we looked at how 10 top songwriters make their money, listed Jack White's greatest collaborations, reviewed live gigs by Springsteen and Rick Ross, analyzed this week's charts and looked back on this week in rock history.

Photos: Remembering Etta James

In pop culture, Peter Travers praised Gina Carano's performance in the new action flick Haywire, we panned Ricky Gervais' performance as host of the Golden Globes, Aziz Ansari told us about his introspective new standup show and we recapped the season premiere of American Idol along with fresh episodes of Glee and Jersey Shore.

Photos: Random Notes

Our Weekend Rock Question for you this week is: Who is the most unique singer of all time? You can answer on our website, at facebook.com/rollingstone or on Twitter using the #weekendrock hashtag.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'This Is the End' Brings the Goods
• 
  TV The Women of 'Mad Men'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories