Rolling Stone

Washington. -- The government of Singapore has banned the new double album by the American hard-rock band, Guns N'Roses, called ''Use Your Illusion I and II.'' I've never been to Singapore, but it appears they know something there that we in the United States have forgotten. They know obscenity when they see it and are not afraid to try to stem its flow.David Geffen, president of the label that records Guns N'Roses, said of the advance sale of more than 4 million copies, ''When you give the people what they want, they'll show up in droves.

The resurrection of Hillary Clinton as a potential president may now be taking place. Hard to believe, but a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday showed the former first lady, U.S. senator and now secretary of state is viewed as more qualified to be president than the current occupant of the White House, who came from nowhere to beat her out for the Democratic nomination in 2008. Both she and President Obama are thought to be more qualified for the job than three Republicans who have expressed interest in it. Ms. Clinton, according to this poll, is thought to be qualified by 57 percent of the voter respondents, while 34 percent say she is not. As for the president, 51 percent think him qualified for the job he has held for the last year and a half, while 44 percent disagree.

When Toure answers his line in Brooklyn with an easy, laid-back "hey," you immediately feel at ease. It's the same vibe that gives him access to such celebrities as Eminem and Jay-Z, who've let him slip into their worlds, take a peek, then take readers along for the written joyride. Over the past decade or so, the 34-year-old journalist, author and cultural critic - known by his first name only - has gained a following covering music, all things hip-hop and American pop culture for many of the nation's best-known media outlets.

Reading intensely intimate accounts of depression can be like hearing tales of bad LSD experiences. Little objects and activities turn into giant obstacles, a roll out of bed in the morning is a row across the Atlantic, food is pointless, fear is constant, and the rawest, darkest, most ungenerous truths about being human become the only truths. Andrew Solomon's autobiographical "Anatomy of Melancholy," in the New Yorker for Jan. 12, is a terrifyingly clear window on the life of a seriously depressed man. Solomon, author of a novel and a study of Soviet artists, is explicit about the depths of despair to which he sank during his worst periods, one of which coincided with a book publicity tour.

There's always a tiny spark of excitement whenever the phone rings. Maybe it's an old friend; maybe it's a business opportunity; maybe it's a bomb threat. Or maybe it's Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. One just never knows. This happened a few weeks ago: The phone rang, and the voice on the other end said, "Hello, this is Ian Anderson." Strange, since we didn't recall scheduling an interview with him since 1997. But, hey - free call from Tull, you know? So we had a nice little chat about nothing in particular.

WHERE IS America's mind today? It's in the organs, for one thing. Remember that country song that goes "No one knows what goes on behind closed doors." Now we do.Americans can turn on a series called "Real Sex" and watch a home striptease class; its premiere was HBO's highest-rated documentary for the year. Or they can flip to NBC News and get "I Witness Video." There they can see a policeman's murder recorded in his cruiser's camcorder, watch it replayed and relived in interviews, complete with ominous music.

Rock critics are often too eager to praise the Rolling Stones, and proclaim that the band's newest album -- whatever it happens to be -- is its best work since (pick one) "Some Girls," "Exile on Main Street" or "Beggar's Banquet."Of course, it almost never is. The albums frequently end up being something like "Tattoo You" or "Dirty Work," careerist garbage that even dedicated Stones fans dismiss. No wonder, then, that many readers now take the phrase "the best Stones album since " as meaning "pretty much the same stuff as last time."

Did you hear they cured the common cold?Did you see where scientists can now predict exactly when twisters will hit so no one will get killed again?Did you read where Ted Marchibroda will be in the sequel to "The Full Monty"?This has been a test of the emergency news system. Had news actually been committed, you would have missed it -- given the recent hype heaped on one single sitcom. Entire magazines, newspapers, TV shows, Web sites, school curricula, sermons and cookbooks have been devoted to the S-word.

"TC It isn't the sort of job you're likely to find listed in the want ads. For one thing, they don't want just anybody sending in a resume; only applicants of the highest caliber will be seriously considered. Besides, they've gotten enough free publicity since the job opened that there hasn't been any real need to advertise.But if there were an ad running somewhere, it would probably look like this:"BASS PLAYER WANTED for established English rock band with recording contract. Good pay, reasonable hours, high visibility.

Rock stardom may not offer much in the way of rules of conduct, but there are some things we just don't expect our pop idols to do. We don't, for example, expect to see them hanging out with anything less than glamorous young supermodels. Nor do we expect them to set up their amps or tune their guitars; that's what the roadies do. And when it comes time to do phone interviews, we definitely don't expect them to do the dialing themselves.So when the phone rang at the appointed hour one afternoon in January, what I expected was some handler telling me to "hold please, for Mr. Jagger."