John Mayer may not have set out to make a concept album, but as his fourth LP, Battle Studies, developed, he found the songs’ war theme oddly appealing. “I was loving the war theme, the battle theme. The militaristic, vulgar, violent side of a relationship on the down slope,” he tells Rolling Stone in [...]]]>

John Mayer may not have set out to make a concept album, but as his fourth LP, Battle Studies, developed, he found the songs’ war theme oddly appealing. “I was loving the war theme, the battle theme. The militaristic, vulgar, violent side of a relationship on the down slope,” he tells Rolling Stone in an exclusive video interview. “The record starts out sort of like the sun is out, then it gets darker. And then the sun comes back out at the end.”

Earlier this month, Mayer unveiled the video for the album’s first single, “Who Says,” which gives fans a raw look at one of his nights out on the town. In our Fall Music Preview, Mayer told Rolling Stone the song’s first lyric, “Who says you can’t get stoned?” was not about weed but, being “in control of the pleasure in your life,” adding that the record — which also features a duet with Taylor Swift — as a whole is “the next step in the story of who I am.”

Fans will get to hear that step on November 17th when Battle Studies hits stores, and pre-orders start today. Mayer has also lined up a string of dates to introduce Battle Studies to the world: a gig in New York on the day the record arrives, as well as stops in Toronto and Australia before New Year’s Eve shows with RS Breaking Artist Mayer Hawthorne. Mayer also revealed the locations he’ll hit on his 2010 Winter Tour:

Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Calgary, AB
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Edmonton, AB
Grand Rapids, MI
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Montreal, QC
Nashville, TN
New York, NY
Oklahoma City, OK
Omaha, NE
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
San Jose, CA
Seattle, WA
St Louis, MO
Toronto, ON
Tulsa, OK
Uncasville, CT
Vancouver, BC
Washington, DC

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Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet tour wrapped its record-breaking run last month in Israel, but fans can still catch Material Girl’s incredible Hard Candy stage show on October 30th when EpixHD.com airs footage from her sold-out four-night stand in Buenos Aires from December 2008. As a first look at the footage, Billboard premiered the above video [...]]]>

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet tour wrapped its record-breaking run last month in Israel, but fans can still catch Material Girl’s incredible Hard Candy stage show on October 30th when EpixHD.com airs footage from her sold-out four-night stand in Buenos Aires from December 2008. As a first look at the footage, Billboard premiered the above video of Madonna and company performing a funky, reworked “Into the Groove” — a song that Madonna herself told RS she feels “retarded singing.”

Sticky & Sweet up close: photos from Madonna’s tour.

This new take on “Into the Groove,” which featured in the “Old School” segment of Madonna’s concert, samples other dance-floor classics like Newcleus’ “Jam On It” and Sugarhill Gang’s “Apache” while characters from late artist (and Madonna pal) Keith Haring dance on dozens of giant screens. But the most awe-inspiring thing about the performance is Madonna herself, as the then-50-year-old jumpropes Double Dutch — while singing.

That’s just one of many reasons the Queen of Pop was featured on our cover for the past two weeks. For 49 more, check out our gallery of Madonna’s 50 Most Iconic Moments. And read Madonna’s own words in exclusive Q&A.

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• Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour Rolls Into New York With Reworked Hits, Virtual Britney
• Madonna Wraps Record-Breaking Sticky & Sweet Tour in Israel
• Madonna Looks Back: The New Issue of Rolling Stone

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