Rolling Stone Wednesday September 19, 2007

TODAY'S TOP ROCK HEADLINES

THE NEXT COVER OF ROLLING STONE: HUNTER S. THOMPSON Hunter S. Thompson is on the cover of the next Rolling Stone, on stands today, in honor of the upcoming book Growing Up Gonzo, which comes out in November. Click HERE to see the cover and read an excerpt, and check back later this week for a gallery of Ralph Steadman's Rolling Stone covers.

VAN HALEN REHEARSALS MOUNT EXCITEMENT FOR REUNION TOUR In preparation for their upcoming reunion tour, Van Halen have been hosting open rehearsals in Los Angeles with attendees ranging from superfans to Scott Ian from Anthrax, who blogged "Seriously, the hair on my arms was standing up. . . Do whatever you gotta do to get tix to see this." Click HERE for more, and click HERE to see a photo gallery of images from the rehearsals.

PHIL SPECTOR TRIAL JURY DEADLOCKED After seven days of deliberations, the jury deciding Phil Spector's murder trial has confirmed they are split 7-5. It is not known which way they are leaning, and the judge has suggested he may instruct the jurors to consider the lesser charge of manslaughter, rather than murder. Click HERE for the latest, and to see what this means for Spector.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS PERFORMANCE ROUND-UP: WILCO, BJORK AND MORE Click HERE to see video clips of twenty-three performances from Austin City Limits, including My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Wilco and more, and click HERE for the rest of Rolling Stone's festival coverage.

FALL MUSIC PREVIEW: COUNTING CROWS Click HERE to watch Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz discuss the making of the band's upcoming album, plus catch live footage of the Crows in action playing new track "Cowboy," which Duritz says "may be the best song we've ever done."

For more of the latest music news - including the results of the Kanye West/50 Cent chart battle - visit RollingStone.com.

TODAY'S PICKS

DAILY TRACK: Heavy Trash - "Crazy Pritty Baby" Like his fellow goth-punk godfather Nick Cave, Jon Spencer is a master of the offhandedly irreverent blues move, turning riffs like "Crazy Pritty Baby" into prime perversion. Click HERE for more.

DAILY VIDEO: Austin City Limits Festival Performance Round-Up: Bjork, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Wilco and more

DAILY REVIEW: Kenny Chesney - Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates Kenny Chesney won America's heart as the fun-loving country boy, the one who schmoozes with Jimmy Buffett and Uncle Kracker for island-hopping party hits. Unfortunately, in Nashville, even the most lovable party boys are expected to grow up and sing about husbandhood, so now it's Chesney's turn. "Shift Work" is a fine duet with George Strait, who has more great songs about husbandhood than Chesney has fingers and toes. Click HERE for more on the album.

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

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS Jarvis Cocker, 44 Daniel Lanois, 66 TODAY'S ROCK ON TV (ALL TIMES EST) NBC 11:35pm - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM 12:35am - Late Night with Conan O'Brien: ROGUE WAVE 1:35am - Last Call with Carson Daly: PAOLO NUTINI CBS 11:35pm - The Late Show with David Letterman: AGAINST ME! 12:05am - Jimmy Kimmel Live - MUTE MATH