Rolling Stone Monday August 20, 2007

TODAY'S TOP ROCK HEADLINES

MORE ON BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S ALBUM: PRODUCER BRENDAN O'BRIEN REVEALS ALL Rolling Stone spoke to Bruce Springsteen's producer Brendan O'Brien to get the inside scoop on Magic, Springsteen's upcoming album with the E Street Band. O'Brien talks about picking songs for the album, and describes the disc's first single, "Radio Nowhere," as "a pretty straight-ahead rocker." For more news on the album, and for leaked details on Springsteen's fall tour, click here.

KANYE WEST WEIGHS IN ON THE STATUS OF HIP-HOP Four of the top ten albums on last week's album charts were by hip-hop acts: U.G.K. and Plies debuted at numbers one and two, with Common and T.I. filling the sixth and ninth spots, respectively. Leading the charge is Kanye West, who talks to Rolling Stone about the much-hyped showdown between him and 50 Cent when both release new albums on September 11: "Do you know how great this shit is for hip-hop?" he asked Rolling Stone. "When I picked that date, I was like, 'Yo, people are going to talk about this so much.'" Click here for more from West, and a rundown of what the rest of the year in hip-hop will bring.

DAVE MATTHEWS PLAYS SCHOOL FUNDRAISER IN EAST HAMPTON Dave Matthews and collaborating partner Tim Reynolds recently played a fundraising gig for the Ross School in East Hampton. The duo dug into the DMB collection and debuted a few new numbers, and the Smoking Section was there to catch it all. Click here for more of the Smoking Section, and click here for David Fricke's latest batch of picks: Maximum Cool, Modern Jug-Band and As Strange as 1969 Ever Got.

RANDOM NOTES: VAN HALEN REUNITED, KANYE WEST IN SWEDEN, AMY WINEHOUSE AND MORE Click here for photos from the week in rock, including Van Halen reunited, Amy Winehouse out of rehab, the Black Eyed Peas in South Korea and Kanye West performing with Peter Bjorn and John in Sweden .

THIS WEEK ON ROLLINGSTONE.COM: THE NEXT COVER, JOE LEVY ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS AND MORE Visit RollingStone.com for a sneak peak of the next cover of Rolling Stone this Wednesday, then check back on Thursday and Friday for an excerpt from the cover story and behind-the-scenes video from the cover shoot. Also this week: Rolling Stone editors run down the latest releases in New Music Tuesdays, we introduce our latest "Breaking" artist on Wednesday and Executive Editor Joe Levy answers your questions on Friday.

For more of the latest music news - including the latest Rock List - visit RollingStone.com.

TODAY'S PICKS

DAILY TRACK: Lori McKenna - "Falter" On her fifth release, this Massachusetts mother of five -- and songwriter for Faith Hill and Mandy Moore -- boasts a perky, sharp twang reminiscent of Dixie Chick Natalie Maines. She also has a gift for detailed storytelling on tracks like "Falter," a slow country-pop meditation on human failings. Click here for more on McKenna's album.

DAILY VIDEO: The Cribs Let You Inside Their Mobile Crib

DAILY REVIEW: Silverchair - Young Modern In the mid-nineties, the Australian trio Silverchair was a true boy band - very young men playing strong, original hard-rock songs on their own instruments. Drummer Ben Gillies, bassist Chris Joannou and singer-guitarist-songwriter Daniel Johns are still young (in their late twenties). They are also aggressively modern in the long reach of Young Modern, their first studio album in five years, from the balled-fist fuzz of "Mind Reader" to the sumptuous glam of "Strange Behaviour" (with strings scored and conducted by Van Dyke Parks) and the glassy jangle of "Waiting All Day." Click here for more of David Fricke's review.

ARTIST OF THE DAY: KANYE WEST The complete ROLLINGSTONE.COM archive includes videos, photos, interviews, reviews, and more.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Jamie Cullum, 28 Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, 36 Robert Plant, 59 TODAY'S ROCK ON TV (ALL TIMES EST) NBC 11:35pm - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: THE NEVILLE BROTHERS 1:35am - Last Call with Carson Daly: TEST YOUR REFLEX CBS 11:35pm - The Late Show with David Letterman: NEW PORNOGRAPHERS 12:35am - The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson: JEREMY FISHER ABC 12:05am - Jimmy Kimmel Live: SEAN KINGSTON