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Bono wrote the hook for “Stranded” — his new Haiti benefit single with Jay-Z and Rihanna, which is subtitled either “Haiti Mon Amour” or “Haiti Mi Amore” — while on the phone with producer Swizz Beatz. “The idea of the song is ‘We’re not gonna leave you stranded’ and that’s what the chorus is,” Swizz Beatz tells Rolling Stone. “So me and Bono started going back and forth with ideas, and he was like, ‘You know this word stranded keeps standing out to me’ and I asked him to sing it, and he put me on hold ’cause he’s recording the ideas on a Dictaphone — so he did it there and then on the phone.”
Swizz Beatz got the song started by sending simultaneous texts to Jay-Z and Bono — but when they both called, he accidentally hung up on Jay while trying to conference them. After three hours of phone tag, they all agreed to the project, which came together in geographically scattered sessions, with extra production work by the Edge. “I knew that Jay would be able to tell a story, and that Bono would be able to sing and bring it home. The last component that I added was Rihanna, and she’s kinda like the angel that’s on the track, softening it up and giving it that caring feeling, because this hook is so powerful.”
The song will debut with a live performance on Friday night’s multi-network telethon for Haiti, and will soon be released as a single on iTunes, according to Swizz Beatz.
Stick with RS for full coverage of tomorrow night’s Hope for Haiti concert, including a live blog here on RollingStone.com.
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The Who have signed to play during halftime at Super Bowl XLIV, a source close to the performance confirms to Rolling Stone. “It’s 100 percent the Who,” the source says. “They signed a long time ago.” The official announcement from the band and the NFL is expected on Thanksgiving Day, according to another source familiar with the deal. The game, which will take place February 7th in Miami, will be broadcast on CBS.
Photos: U2, Prince, the Rolling Stones and more memorable Super Bowl halftime performances.
The Who will become the latest classic-rock act to play football’s big event, following Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty. As Rolling Stone noted earlier today, the band has a solid relationship with CBS: three of the network’s CSI series use Who tracks — “Who Are You,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’ Riley” — as their theme songs.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone’s readers voted the Who their Number One pick for potential Super Bowl Halftime Performers, and RS predicted the band would score the big gig. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered a “12-minute party” at Super Bowl XLIII, performing “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Born to Run,” “Working on a Dream” and “Glory Days” before a crowd of millions.
Check out photos of Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl party.
Follow Rolling Stone’s ongoing Super Bowl coverage.
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The country’s best inauguration party Tuesday night turned out to be in the other Washington: At Seattle’s tiny Tractor Tavern club, the Knitters (the rootsy side band led by X’s John Doe and Exene Cervenka) played a Americana-soaked barnstormer of a show — complete with a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder. “Whenever anyone’s being a cynic and an asshole, saying it’s just gonna be the same old thing, do me a favor and tell ‘em to fuck off,” Doe told the crowd, in one of the evening’s many happy references to the day’s events. Then he invited Vedder onstage to duet with Cervenka on a gleefully frenzied version of X’s 1983 tune “The New World,” with its sardonic lyrics about another election: “It was better before they voted for what’s his name.”
Vedder, who had managed to blend in to the crowd (which also included his Pearl Jam bandmates Jeff Ament and Mike McCready) with his hair tucked into a big black knit cap, was in a mood to celebrate: He pounded out the beat on Doe’s back with his fists, slow-danced with Cervenka, and played air guitar while the Knitters’ Dave Alvin (formerly of the Blasters) finished the song with a lengthy solo that incorporated both Chuck Berry licks and what sounded like part of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “Thank you, man in the black hat,” Doe said.
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