The main image is of Billy Jo, the lead singer from the punk band called Greenday. He is wearing all black and is posed with his arms held behind his back which shows he was deliberately told to pose like this. This is a convention as most magazines take the photographs of the people on the front cover specifically in the studio. He is wearing all black which goes with his hair and contrasts with his pale skin. His clothes are plain apart from the punk style silver and black belt he is wearing. The background of the image is bright yellow which gives off a punk feel which links with the main image of him as he is in a punk band. Bright Pink, white, black and yellow are all used for the text colouring which also suggests a punk feel as yellow and bright pink are bright, in your face colours and black and white are more depressing/menacing and these are both traits of punk music. The font which is used is bold and plain which make it stand out. Other photographs are placed around the main image and look as if they have been cut out and scattered randomly which also creates a punk feel as punk music is random and 'scattered' rather then smart and organised. Text is overlapping the main image of Billy Joe and some of the other smaller photographs. The text links with the photographs as it says: Icons and then lists names of artists and bands underneath which links with the photographs as the photographs are of some of the artists/bands listed. The main image of Billy Joe overlaps the masthead slightly with his head and arms covering the letters E,R and R. This shows that the magazine is well known and the public will recognise what they can see of the masthead. The masthead is in a black font which has a decayed feel about it as some of the letters look like they have been decayed and the edges of them are rough. A white line goes across the text. The masthead links with the genre of the magazine as this type of font would be associated with punk/metal music.
The main image is of a visually attractive slim female. She is wearing bright yellow bikini style summer top and matching yellow earrings and a flowery necklace around her neck. She is holding sunglasses and is holding one frame up into her mouth which together with her face expression, create quite a seductive look. She is looking straight at the camera and is wearing dark smoky eye makeup and bright red lipstick. Her skin is airbrushed to look as near to perfection as possible with it still looking realistic. Her outfit and the sunglasses create very much a summery feel which links with the main story of the magazine, which is shown on the cover as 'Ibiza, the real story' in bright, bold writing. Woman in bikinis e.t.c and 'Ibiza' are both icons of dance music so this shows the magazine is about dance music. The font colour of this is bright yellow which matches the female's yellow top and flowers. The background of the image is green plants which also reflect the summer theme. Red, white and yellow are the colours used for the text on the page. The text is generally bold and these colours help it stand out more, contrasting with the green background. The masthead is bold and white and in a 'clubber' type font. The model's head slightly overlaps some letters which suggests the magazine is popular but not so popular that it is recognisable still when covering more of the letters.
Applying LIIAR To A Magazine Cover:
Language: The language used on this cover links with the type of music the magazine is about: Rock, as on the cover it uses the words: Madness, Excess, Destroyed, Legendary. These words are linked with rock music e.g. rock music uses distortion guitars mostly and the lyrics usually include words such as 'Destroy.' The word legendary also goes with the magazine as the magazine is about 'rock legends.' At the top of the magazine the word 'war' can be seen, which also links with the genre of the magazine. The word 'Studio' links with the fact that the magazine is a music magazine as this is where bands record their music, and the word 'band' is also related to music. Overall, the full cover has been put together, I think, to deliberately use these words to portray the fact that it is a magazine about rock music.
Institution: 'Rolling Stone' magazine is published and co-founded by Jann Wenner, who also owns Men's Journal and US Weekly magazines. The magazine is about politics and music and is based in the USA.
Ideology: The purpose of Rolling Stone magazine is to entertain and inform the reader about music and politics. The cover reflects that it is aimed to inform the public about music as it has an image of a band on the cover. It also has text about the stories inside which are about bands/artists. It, however, doesn't really include much about politics showing that music is more dominant then politics now in the magazine. The music genre of the magazine is mainly rock music so the magazine is aimed to inform the reader about this music.
Representation: The magazine represents rock music, the genre of music it is about, in a positive way. This is obvious as most of the articles are about rock bands and the front cover main image is of a rock band. They are large and cover most of the front cover which is showing them in a positive way as they dominate the cover.
