The new issue of Uncut arrives in UK shops this Friday – though subscribers should hopefully find their copies plonking through the letter box a day or two early. We celebrate 40 years of the Ramones with an extensive cover story by Peter Watts, who’s interviewed surviving band members as well as many of their co-conspirators, friends and peers. To compliment Peter’s terrific piece, we’ve compiled a list of the 50 Greatest American Punk Albums (plus singles and compilations), from the pivotal years of 1975 to 1983.

Also in the issue, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones talk to Garry Mulholland about the Small Faces’ peerless run of singles from “Whatcha Gonna Do About It?” to “Afterglow (Of Your Love)”. Elsewhere, John Robinson tracks down Bob Johnston, the irrepressible producer who presided over a slew of legendary albums by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash and –of course – Lindisfarne. Sharon O’Connell, meanwhile, travels to Portland, Oregon to hang out with Stephen Malkmus in sub-zero temperatures. In An Audience With… the mighty Jim Jarmusch answers your questions on – deep breath – Neil Young, Tom Waits and Jack White as well as his run of awesome movies. In our Album By Album feature, Jefferson Airplane reminisce about their many career highlights and in Making Of… XTC revisit the story behind “Making Plans For Nigel”.

In our packed reviews section, Beck tells us about his new release Morning Phase, we celebrate The Beatles’ American albums, and bring you a wealth of new albums by Tinariwen, Sun Kil Moon, Tom Petty’s impeccably connected keyboardist Benmont Tench, Wild Beasts, St Vincent and Angel Olsen. In reissues, there’s a long overdue box set compiling the best of Mike Bloomfield and also a welcome reissue for some choice material from Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance, while live we catch Neil Young on his old stomping ground at Massey Hall and The Waterboys as they bring their Fisherman’s Blues anniversary tour to Hammersmith. In film, I’m delighted to finally get a chance to write about Dallas Buyers Club, the latest mesmerizing performance from Matthew McConaughey, and in DVD John Mulvey celebrates the genius of Parks & Recreation. Richard Williams remember the late Phil Everly, Neneh Cherry picks the records that changed her life in My Life In Music and we meet the radical new faces of mainstream country music, Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark.

On the front of the issue, our CD is crammed full of great new music from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Marissa Nadler, Angel Olsen, Glenn Tilbrook and many more.

The issue of Uncut is in shops from Friday, January 31 and is also available digitally from the usual outlets. We’re off to watch the first three episodes of HBO’s True Detective – but in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a couple of Ramones-related clips to get you in the mood for this month’s cover story, including a recent performance from Bruce Springsteen and Jesse Malin covering “Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio?”…

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Live, CBGB’s, 1974

Live, Max’s Kansas City, 1976

Ramones interview, The Tomorrow Show, 1981

Bruce Springsteen & Jesse Malin, “Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio?”