Rolling Stone USA - 08.2019

12 | Rolling Stone | August 2019

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“One of the most important ingredients in trust is truth, but speaking
Editor’s Letter truth can often make people quite uncomfortable.” —KAMALA HARRIS

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Rebel With

a Curfew

A FEW WEEKS after Billie Eilish became the first artist born

in the 21st century to release a Number One album, ROLL-

ING STONE contributing editor Josh Eells pulled up to the

L.A. bungalow where she’s lived with her parents her en-

tire life. He didn’t know what to expect. “I was apprehen-

sive,” says Eells. “I don’t interact with 17-year-olds very

often, and I certainly don’t have thoughtful, stimulating

conversations with them about their lives and work.”

It didn’t take long for Eilish to put him at ease with her

openness, easy humor, and reflections on what it’s like

to become one of the most famous pop stars in the world when you still have a

1 a.m. curfew. He sat with Eilish as she packed for a tour and, per her mom’s or-

ders, cleaned her room. Later, he shadowed her on the road from Salt Lake City

to Denver. “In her downtime, Billie was playing card games or driving around on

her scooter,” reports Eells. “The only person I saw have a drink backstage was

her dad, when he had a beer after one of her shows.”

Eilish’s ROLLING STONE cover comes exactly 20 years after another 17-year-

old, Britney Spears, first appeared on the cover, but the similarities stop there.

Spears started as a Disney Mouseketeer and recorded in a Swedish studio with

producers and songwriters twice her age; Eilish made her album in her broth-

er Finneas’ bedroom, where they created a wild fusion of pop, trap, and EDM

unlike anything else in the Top 40 universe. “The pop machine is not a part

of her music whatsoever,” Eells says. “It’s just her and her brother doing

what they think is cool.”

Since joining ROLLING STONE in 2010, Eells has written some of the maga-

zine’s most memorable cover stories — immersive, adventure-filled narratives,

like going skydiving with Miley Cyrus or sitting courtside for a Miami Heat game

with Lil Wayne. “We went back to Wayne’s mansion afterward, and I watched

TV on the couch while he had a dinner date a few feet away,” Eells recalls. “I was

still sitting on the couch while he and his date went upstairs to the bedroom,

then I tagged along to the studio at 2 a.m., then flew to New York with him the

next morning. I think at a certain point he literally forgot I was there. Which,” he

adds, “is the best-case scenario.”

JASON FINE

EDITOR

CHART BEAT

Introducing ‘RS Charts’

INSIDE THE STORY

“Welcome back to the USA,” a CBP

officer told RS writer Seth Harp

Cartel

guns

seized in

Mexico

Detained for

Reporting

WHEN contributing editor Seth Harp left

Mexico, where he was reporting on how the

American gun industry is helping to fuel cartel

violence, a U.S. Customs and Border Protec-

tion officer flagged him in the Austin airport.

Harp, a Texan, was held for four hours while

agents searched his phone and laptop. Similar

incidents happened to 33,295 Americans last

year; there’s been a 300 percent increase of

warrantless border searches since Trump took

office. “It was intentional harassment from

beginning to end, based on my occupation,”

says Harp. “It shows that an armed agency

permitted to abuse migrants and refugees

also abuses its powers with citizens.”

THERE’S never been a

more fascinating time

to cover the music

business. Streaming

is changing the way

we listen, and industry

mavericks are reshap-

ing the industry. As

part of our commit-

ment to covering these

changes, we recently

announced “Rolling

Stone” Charts (page

34), a look at today’s

biggest artists, albums,

and songs. Traditional

charts update weekly;

ours refresh daily, and

we give data and analy-

sis to find meaning

behind the rankings.

(Why did the Black

Keys LP debut high

on our albums chart?

Largely because their

fans still buy albums

— almost 35,000 in its

first week.) It’s another

way to accomplish our

core mission: bringing

you the most interest-

ing stories in music.