Rosanne Cash Can’t Resist: Hotel De Rome

Unless you’ve spent the last 50 years cryogenically frozen in deep space, you may have heard of Rosanne Cash‘s father, Johnny Cash. When Rosanne locked in on becoming a successful country singer/songwriter, she had a formidable set of footsteps to follow. But she isn’t one to duck a challenge. Twenty of her singles cracked the top 20 in the country charts from 1979 to 1990, with 11 reaching the number-one spot. Her new album, The List (out next week on EMI/Manhattan), is a terrific reworking of country classics, handpicked from a list of indispensable songs her dad made for her 36 years ago. Having Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy and Rufus Wainwright appear as guest artists on the record is a nice fit. Rosanne will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week long. Read our Q&A with her.

Cash: After staying in Berlin’s Hotel de Rome, I divided all travel experiences into only two categories: the “Hotel de Rome” and the “Ryanair.” Since the Ryanair experience needs no explanation (cut-rate, DIY, no amenities), I will elucidate the H de R category, but it can be summarized thusly: You want it. The Hotel de Rome is in a 19th-century bank in East Berlin, and many of the gorgeous old architectural details have been preserved, but a kick-ass, post-modern vibe fills out those old bones. The spa, in the old bank vault in the basement, is tiny but gorgeous, and they have paid subtle tribute to the original purpose of the vault by embedding what looks like a few million gold coins in the walls. It glows in a soft but brilliant sheen. The public rooms are dramatic but comfortable, and high tea is served every afternoon. The flowers in the lobby are jaw-dropping. The guest rooms are large, subtly decorated and have big terraces and amazing views over the old East Berlin squares. The service: impeccable. I was performing in Berlin, and they made me a little chocolate guitar, with a welcome sign drizzled on it in raspberry sauce, and had it waiting for me in my room. I wanted to move in and get cuddly with the chef and the concierge and the bellman. Of course, the best part is that you walk out the front door, and you are in one of the greatest cities in the world, which had the incredible good sense to show the rest of the world how to unite itself. So, not only is the Hotel de Rome a sybaritic high, it sits inside a metaphor to which we should all aspire.