THE ROCK SHELF: It’s no wonder we’re...

THE ROCK SHELF: It’s no wonder we’re hearing so much buzz about the current issue of Spin magazine. The rock monthly offers a chilling portrait (by Dean Kuipers) of rampant heroin use in L.A.’s hard-rock circles, depicting a squalid side of the rock scene rarely seen in most press accounts. The magazine also features a piece that quotes MC Serch of the rap group 3rd Bass as saying his feud with M.C. Hammer escalated to the point where Hammer “put out a contract” on him, hiring a posse of Crips to do the deed. Hammer has repeatedly denied the charge. In Spin, he calls it “ludicrous,” saying he only wants to “slap (Serch) across the head six or seven times and watch him cry.” . . . For lighter fare, check out Sh-Boom, which has transformed its June magazine into what executive editor Jim Dawson calls “our Hollywood rock ‘n’ roll Babylon issue.” Highlights include a piece about songwriter Sharon Sheeley titled “I’m Still in Love With Eddie Cochran!” (she was with the ‘50s rocker the night of his fatal car crash) and a goofy “Hollywood Rock ‘n’ Roll Tour,” penned by Art Fein, which takes us to the Hacienda Motel (site of Sam Cooke’s death), the Landmark Hotel (site of Janis Joplin’s death) and Martoni’s Restaurant, inspiration for Sonny Bono’s 1965 hit, “Laugh at Me,” which he wrote after being thrown out of the eatery because his long hair and bell-bottoms violated their dress code.