Blender February 2009

FEATURES
38 FALL OUT BOY
The bassist is conflicted about his fame. The guitarist wishes he had some. The singer wanted to quit the band and go solo. And the drummer is just waiting for the apocalypse. But somehow the emo foursome has managed to keep its shit together.
44 KID ROCK
Sixteen-year-old Blake Peebles has pulled off one of the greatest feats in all of teenage history: convincing his parents to let him drop out of high school to play Guitar Hero for a living.
48 THE '09 USERS' GUIDE
From Christina Aguilera to U2: It's our look at the artists who'll be clogging your hard drive this year.
54 USHER: LADIES' NIGHT
Blender goes to the R&B smoothie's ladies-only show and gets intimate with his sexed-up fan base.
REGULARS
06 BLENDER BIBLE
10 LETTERS
13 BURNER
A field guide to the rock face and more
16 USEFUL TIPS: FRANZ FERDINAND
The dapper Scots illuminate us on the fine art of the straight-razor shave.
22 ALMOST FAMOUS: ELECTRIK RED
This sexy R&B foursome's goal: to bring its "effortlessly ghetto chic" to the masses
24 GREATEST SONGS EVER: "HALLELUJAH"
Gloomy Canadian folkie Leonard Cohen embraced his powerlessness on this oft-covered anthem.
26 COLLECT CALL: THE KILLERS
168 hours with the snazzy Las Vegas showmen
30 DEAR SUPERSTAR: SLASH
The ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist on his triumphant shoplifting career and the drug he misses most of all.
35 STATION TO STATION
Axl Rose's decision to finally release Chinese Democracy raises one big question: Why?
76 WHO DOES JAMAL "GRAVY" WOOLARD THINK HE IS?
He plays Biggie onscreen, he got shot in the butt and he makes love "Nascar, fast-car"-style.
THE GUIDE
59 NEW RELEASES
Britney Spears, Kanye West, Guns N' Roses, Beyoncé, David Cook, Akon, the All-American Rejects and more.
66 REISSUES
New Order, Miles Davis, Franco, Pavement, R.E.M. and the Smiths
68 MOVIES
Wendy and Lucy and Two Lovers
70 GAMES
Prince of Persia and a look at Soulja Boy Tell'em's (blood-soaked) dream games