The former White Stripe releases his first solo cut – the supercharged Blunderbuss

No anniversary tour this year, but Mick and Keith reveal the band will release some killer shows online

“You can either look upon [my playing] as highly individualistic or say, ‘Goddamn it, he can only play three things!’?” Keith Richards once said. In the YouTube series Keith Richards Riff Cousins, 35-year-old Virginia journalist Scott Galupo teaches Richards’ coolest riffs – from the slick hammer-on riff in “Beast of Burden” to the weird F-diminished-seventh chord found in Richards’ solo cut “Make No Mistake.” “I thought it would be fun to share with people who might not be as obsessive as I am,” says Galupo.

“LMFAOOO I just got a Kanye West beat!” Azealia Banks tweeted in March. That’s just the latest blast of good news for the wicked-talented Harlem MC, who’s working with the dude who produced Adele’s 21 on the year’s most hyped LP – and it’s not even out until fall.

The singer celebrates smash LP with box set, movie and tour

While shooting this film, RS contributor Jay Bulger moved in with explosive Cream drummer Ginger Baker in South Africa – and their fights got so intense Baker eventually broke Bulger’s nose. “He takes no prisoners,” says Bulger. “If he had been born earlier, he would have been a pirate.”

Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern shot LCD Soundsystem’s final gig at Madison Square Garden – and also frontman James Murphy (above) dealing with the end of the band the next morning. Says Southern, “He’s onstage at this big iconic venue, and then he’s just an ordinary guy who has to take his dog out and answer his e-mails.”

To mark The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary, filmmaker Brett Morgen shot more than 50 hours of interviews with the band – and is digging up a treasure trove of lost footage. “We’ve been looking under every rock,” says Morgen.

Filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) takes a truly detailed movie on the iconic singer. The film is due out in the region this month.

Riding along as the surprise hitmaker takes New York

Meet the 86-year-old who played more shows last year than Bob Dylan, My Morning Jacket and Wilco.

The punk idol’s new record – due out on June 5th – includes songs for Johnny Depp and Amy Winehouse

Rock’s most trusted doc (he has treated Adele, Steven Tyler, amongst others) is on the verge of performing miracles

Thanks to Museum of Modern Art curator Klaus Biesenbach, Kraftwerk are the first band ever to get a career retrospective at a major art museum – “the biggest honor an artist can have,” he says. Last month, Kraftwerk played their full discography in MoMA’s New York atrium, complete with 3D visuals. Biesenbach wanted the tiny audiences to feel like they’re with Kraftwerk in their storied Düsseldorf studio: “You are there with the artist,” he says, “making art.”

Like his new favorites: The wild bluegrass crew Punch Brothers

Most of disco’s signature moments were exotic studio creations born of excess. So it takes a certain type of fanatic to re-create that sound now, let alone in the form of a 17-piece touring band. Meet Brooklyn’s Escort, led by keyboardist Eugene Cho and guitarist Dan Balis. The band’s trump is Adeline Michèle, its Paris-born frontwoman, a Donna Summer fan who models in her off time. With their backup singers, strings, horns and percussionists, Escort’s live shows require some serious planning. “We’re not going to do some sprawling long tour,” says Cho. “But in some ways, it works to our favor – if we come to town, it’s going to be a big deal.”

New Orleans player Dr. John has made his best album in four decades, with an assist from Black Key Dan Auerbach

The man who played guitar with Sam Cooke and wrote the first Number One hit for The Rolling Stones has a new LP

Want to rock the charts? Call Hit-Boy, Clams Casino or Jamie XX – three rising producers whose sounds are making hip-hop knock harder (and weirder)

Cheap Trick have had a simple philosophy over their 40-year career: Never turn down a show. “Tonight we’re doing a private gig for a bunch of rich bankers,” says Rick Nielsen, the power-pop icons’ lead guitarist and main songwriter. “We once opened up the Hard Rock Cafe at the Narita Airport in Japan. Eight people showed up. But the tour never stops, and we can play anything: a stadium tour, a bar mitzvah, a funeral. We can do it all.”

How one drunken night helped fun. score the year’s biggest hit with "We Were Young"

Getting naked, wasted and bloody is all part of the job for the singer.