It is well known among music magazine readers that Rolling Stone is very progressive and forward-looking and always presents artists who are not yet so well known to a wider music audience. Some of these artists develop into real gems, while others have to learn the hard way that their musical performances do not meet the tastes of the wider audience and that they are denied a breakthrough and success.
However, in addition to its talent scouting, Rolling Stone always offers a lot of knowledge, entertainment and information worth reading, even for the less broadly positioned music aficionado. This is also the case in the current issue from August 2022 (serial number 334).
The cover itself points to the 30 best unplugged albums. The occasion: 30 years of MTV Unplugged and – by chance or intention – the 12-page article also starts on page 30. Although the music format was introduced in 1989, it was not until 1992 that Eric Clapton made it a household name, a brand name. Anyone who has one or two MTV Unplugged albums on their CD shelf can look here very reliably and competently to find out which recordings they can enrich their collection with. Because in addition to Clapton and Nirvana , many other artists have already demonstrated their acoustic skills on MTV. One positive thing to note is that Rolling Stone did not succumb to the temptation to create a hit list and counted down from 30 to 1. The cover fits the theme and does not show a star, as is usual, but simply an acoustic guitar. Perfect choice!
Other artists in the current edition who are well-known to a wider community include Gilbert O'Sullivan in a question and answer game, a history of the 35th anniversary of the dance film Dirty Dancing and a guide to the great works of Kate Bush . The English singer is currently very popular after the TV series Stranger Things used her 1985 hit " Running Up That Hill " . And - on top of that - July 30th has been declared " Wuthering Heights " Day worldwide for years. People dressed in red meet up and imitate Kate Bush 's dance from her 1978 hit. In modern parlance, this is now called a flash mob . Perfect timing!
Finally, let's take another look at the 'newcomers' in the current issue of Rolling Stone. Avriel Benjamin 'Avi' Kaplan , who earned his first musical merits with the a cappella group Pentatonix (now a three-time Grammy winner), is extremely interesting. In addition to his guitar playing, his bass voice is particularly impressive. It will be very interesting to see what Avi's solo career will become. For this reason alone, it is exciting to read the article in Rolling Stone!