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January
• Britney Spears began 2008 with a child-custody related meltdown (dubbed the Hostage Brituation) that led to a brief hospitalization. As a result, her father was able to wrestle control of her financial affairs via a conservatorship that will remain in place indefinitely. [Full Story]
• With talk of a Kinks reunion in the air, the band's guitarist, Dave Davies, took to the Internet to share his feelings: "It would be like a poor remake of Night of the Living Dead." [Full Story]
• Fans hyperventilated at the news that Panic at the Disco would be dropping their "!" with the release of Pretty. Odd. [Full Story]
• Chris Daughtry created an uproar when he bad-mouthed American Idol, saying the show was on the "decline." Randy Jackson refuted Daughtry's comment, but the show would later suffer yet another season of declining ratings. [Full Story; Follow-Up; Randy Jackson's Response]
• Heath Ledger died just months before his iconic turn as the Joker helped The Dark Knight become the year's biggest film. Peter Travers said farewell to the actor, who passed away due to an accidental drug overdose at age 28, and we looked back at Ledger's 2006 Rolling Stone cover story and examined his apparent Nick Drake obsession. [Travers' Reaction; 2006 Cover; Nick Drake Obsession]
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February
• John Mellencamp became the first of many artists to accuse soon-to-be-Republican presidential nominee John McCain of using their music without authorization. McCain also issued the first of many apologies to rockers. [Full Story]
• Britney Spears' family helped orchestrate an intervention that landed her in the psychiatric ward of UCLA's hospital. Spears was released early, challenged her parents, and then landed on the first of her two Rolling Stone covers this year. [Full Story; Cover Story]
• Paramore were at the verge of breaking up, canceling a European tour because of "internal struggles." Thankfully, the band hugged it out. [Full Story]
• The Grammys came and went with a whimper. Amy Winehouse walked away with trophies for Record and Song of the Year, as well as Best New Artist (and performed via satellite), but the show was deemed a flop. [Live Blog; Backstage Report; Photo Gallery; Winners List; How to Save the Grammys]
• Dave Clark Five singer Mike Smith passed away, as did Band of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles. [Smith Obituary; Miles Obituary]
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March
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five at ceremony in New York. [Full Report; Photos]
• In what seemed comical at the time, Dr. Pepper offered everybody a free can of soda if Guns n' Roses released Chinese Democracy in 2008. Axl thanked the soda company for the support. It seemed like a match made in heaven. To be continued ... [Full Story]
• Rolling Stone endorsed Barack Obama by putting him on the first of three 2008 covers. [Full Story]
• South By Southwest featured a rare performance from R.E.M. and scorching set from My Morning Jacket. Rolling Stone caught up with Robyn and got a preview of My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges. [R.E.M. Report; Robyn Interview; All SXSW '08 Coverage
• The Raconteurs tried surprise everyone by quickly releasing Consolers of the Lonely. Unfortunately, Rock Daily ruined the surprise, then iTunes ruined the quick release. [Rock Daily's Investigation; Itunes' Goof]
• The L.A. Times published — and later retracted — a story that Diddy had a hand in the shooting that killed Tupac Shakur. In the end, it was all fiction conjured by a imprisoned con man. [Full Report]
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April
• U2 and Jay-Z both joined Madonna and signed huge contracts with Live Nation. Jigga scored a 360 deal that includes his own label, while Bono and Co. wound up with a boatload of stock that they'd later sell off. [Jay-Z Story; U2 Story]
• Velvet Revolver parted ways with troubled singer Scott Weiland. Stone Temple Pilots reformed when the band reunited with troubled singer Scott Weiland. [Velvet Revolver Story; STP News]
• Jane's Addiction reunited to rock the NME Awards while My Bloody Valentine announced they would reform to curate and bust eardrums at All Tomorrow's Parties.[Jane's Addiction Reunion; MBV Reunion]
• All of E Street mourned as Bruce Springsteen's longtime keyboardist Danny Federici passed away. [Full Story]
• The Martin Scorsese-directed Rolling Stones film Shine A Light hit theatres as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Jack White hit Rolling Stone's cover. [Full Story]
• Prince made the crowd go crazy by covering Radiohead during an epic headlining set after being a last-minute addition to the Coachella Festival. [Prince Report; All Coachella Coverage]
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May
• In a battle of David versus David, rocker Cook defeated crooner Archuleta by 12 million votes to win the American Idol title. [Full Story]
• Trent Reznor thanked his fans for their years of fervent, Nine Inch Nails patronage by giving away his new album The Slip for free. [Full Story]
• Roger Waters' giant inflatable pig escaped, roamed the countryside and ultimately deflated. [Full Story]
• In preparation for their new album, Metallica launched their Website Mission: Metallica, or as we call it, How Lars Ulrich Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Internet. [Full Story]
• Trey Anastasio hinted at a Phish reunion. To be continued ... [Full Story]
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June
• Rock & roll icon Bo Diddley died at the age of 79. Billy Gibbons, George Thorogood and Buddy Guy all remembered the creator of the Bo Diddley Beat. [News Report; Memorial]
• The Chocolate Factory remained open as R. Kelly was found not guilty of child pornography charges. Reminisce about all the courtroom drama, missing moles and unreliable witnesses here. [Full Story; Complete Trial Coverage]
• Bonnaroo 2008: Pearl Jam and My Morning Jacket bonded, Kanye West riled the crowd and called organizers "squid brains" and MGMT danced like hippies. [Full Coverage]
• Lil Wayne accomplished what was believed to be impossible in a post-Napster world, selling more than a million copies of Tha Carter III in a mere seven days. [Full Report]
• A blogger thought it would be a good idea to leak some finished tracks from Axl Rose's Chinese Democracy. The FBI visited his house ... and we all know how this story ends. [Leak Story; FBI Visit]
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July
• VH1's Rock Honors paid tribute to the Who. Roger Daltrey talked about Pearl Jam, the Flaming Lips and retirement, while Wayne Coyne and Eddie Vedder weighed in on the Who's impact. {Daltrey Interview; Wayne Coyne Interview; Eddie Vedder Interview
• Live Nation continued their pursuit of music industry domination by preparing to roll out their own ticketing venture. The concert behemoth also signed contracts with Shakira and Nickelback.[Ticketing Venture; Shakira Report; Nickelback Report]
• Rock Band 2 revealed that new Guns n' Roses song "Shackler's Revenge" will appear in the game. [Full Report]
• Billy Joel bid goodbye to Flushing, New York's iconic Shea Stadium with a pair of star-studded concerts. Sadly, this would be the highlight of the Mets' season. [Full Report; McCartney Joins Joel]
• Alicia Keys hinted at collaborating with the White Stripes back in May, and revealed she and Jack White would duet on the theme song for the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. [Full Report]
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August
• The music world lost producer Jerry Wexler, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore and soul man Isaac Hayes. [Jerry Wexler Obituary; LeRoi Moore Obituary; Isaac Hayes Obituary]
• Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails and Kanye West took over the Windy City as yet another Lollapalooza weekend swept into Chicago. [Full Lollapalooza Coverage]
• Bono proved he reads RollingStone.com as the U2 frontman posted a long comment reminiscing about the band's first album Boy. [Full Report]
• AC/DC revealed they'd make their triumphant return aboard a Rock N' Roll Train, announcing a Wal-Mart-only release and massive tour for Black Ice. [Full Report]
• Election '08 fever began as the Democratic National Convention hit Denver and brought Kanye West, Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine, John Legend and many more to town. Plus, Death Cab's Chris Walla blogged for Rolling Stone while National Affairs live-blogged Obama's acceptance speech. [Tom Morello Report; Kanye, Rage Report; Death Cab for Cutie Blog]
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September
• Metallica's Death Magnetic hit stores and instantly drew ire for its "poor mastering." Metallica brushed off the controversy and capped off a big month by posing for the cover of Rolling Stone and joining Run-DMC, the Stooges and War among this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees. [Sound War; Cover Story; Rock Hall Nominations
• The RNC could easily have stood for Rage's National Convention, as RATM brought their trademark chaos to the Republican gathering with a near-riot, an impromptu march and a fierce concert, and wrapped it up all with a pepper spray-inducing post-show protest. In other words, it was like Lollapalooza all over again. [Near Riot; Protest March; Show Report; Protest and Arrests.
• The VMAs marked the first step in the meteoric comeback of Britney Spears, plus Kanye debuted "Love Lockdown" and host Russell Brand offended a lot of people. [Live Blog; All VMAs Coverage]
• Oasis' Noel Gallagher was assaulted onstage during a concert in Toronto, injuring the guitarist and fulfilling the dreams of Blur fans everywhere. [Full Report; Attacker Arrested]
• The Great Gig in the Sky lowered its velvet rope to welcome Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright and Infinite Jest writer David Foster Wallace. [Wright Obituary; Wallace Story]
• Travis Barker and DJ AM survived a South Carolina jet crash that killed the plane's two pilots as well as the duo's assistant and security guard. [Full Story]
• MySpace Music, the all-in-one music service/social network, finally became a reality as it launched after agreeing to a deal with EMI, the last major label holdout. [Full Report
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October
• Phish confirmed they'd be reuniting for concerts in Virginia in March 2009. [Full Report
• Even more shocking: We learned Guns n' Roses' Chinese Democracy was finally coming out after more than a decade of waiting. The title track hit radio to a massive response. [Album Announcement; Radio Report]
• The Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen & Billy Joel, Jay-Z and many more were among the artists lining up to play benefit shows for Barack Obama. [Dead Report; Joel/Springsteen Report]
• Foo Fighters made a villain out of John McCain after the GOP candidate used "My Hero" without permission. [Full Report]
• The makers of Rock Band secured the rights to produce the first-ever Beatles music video game. [Full Report]
• Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson was struck by tragedy after her brother, mother and nephew were murdered in Chicago. The man eventually arrested for the crime is Hudson's brother-in-law, William Balfour. [Full Report]
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November
• Bruce Springsteen revealed his new album Working on a Dream would be released in January. The album's title track also hit radio. [Album Announcement; Radio Report]
• Yes We Can! Rockers celebrated Barack Obama's victory. [Full Report]
• The great Mitch Mitchell, drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, passed away. [Full Report]
• Rolling Stone revealed the Top 100 Singers of All Time — and some star-studded ballots. [Full Story; Ballot Gallery]
• Chinese Democracy is released with minimal support from Best Buy. The album fails to achieve massive first-week sales numbers, and Axl Rose points the finger at Dr Pepper. [Release Report; Dr Pepper Story]
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December
• Grammy nominations were announced, with Coldplay and Lil Wayne leading the pack with the most nods. The question now is, if Chris Martin and gang win for Song of the Year, do they have to give the award to Joe Satriani? [Grammy Nominations; Satriani Lawsuit]
• Britney Spears' Circus hit the streets with a sales bang. The star graced the Rolling Stone cover for the second time and we repaid the favor by attending her birthday party. [Photo Timeline; Spears on GMA]
• Rolling Stone revealed the Top 50 Albums and Best 100 Singles of 2008, with TV on the Radio's Dear Science and Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" leading the charge. [Best Albums; Best Singles]
• Axl Rose granted his first Chinese Democracy-related interview ... to a pair of message boards. The album's sales continued to slide. [Online Interviews; Wal-Mart vs. Best Buy
• The first signs that 2009 might rock: New U2 and Prince albums are on the way. [Prince Report; U2 Report