Two weeks ago, AFI stopped by the MTV Newsroom to talk about their new album Crash Love, their tour and awesome fan club. We didn't get very deep into their new look, but anybody familiar with the band need only look at frontman Davey Havok to realize that they've shed some of the gloomy goth of previous efforts in favor of a more glam look. (In the their new single "Medicate," Havok looks a little like Scott Weiland.) Crash Love certainly reflects that new direction, as the new songs have a certain pop sheen and a more theatrical quality to them than the arena hardcore of records like Decemberunderground.

But they've gone one better on their current tour. The group hit up their own official blog a few days ago to share a free download of a song they recorded during soundcheck: A cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust." Bowie's classic 1972 tells the story of the main character from his concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and features one of the most recognizable riffs in rock. The AFI version plays it pretty straight: The amps are turned up loud for the big hook, and Havok is clearly having fun wrapping his elastic voice around Bowie's twisty phrases and vocal lines. (The lyrics weren't entirely perfect, though: He admits at the end of the track that he sang "the fries tried to break our bones." The actual word is "fly.")

Sadly, the group had to cancel their concert tonight in Scranton, Pennsylvania, citing illness. (Hopefully they'll still be able to attend Friday night's Ulalume Festival, which MTV News will be attending.) Though "Zigggy Stardust" hasn't popped up in any AFI live shows on this tour, the Bowie cover would be a great addition to their songbook. The track is currently available for as a free download — just another way the band looks out for the Despair Faction.

Today we celebrate the birth of one of the more controversial performers of the last two decades. Fred Durst, the red-hatted frontman of Limp Bizkit, turns 39 years old today. Back in 1997, Durst's band stormed onto the rock scene with a bristling mix of metal, hardcore, hip-hop and Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque sex funk. The group first gained attention with their extra-loud cover of George Michael's "Faith," but they made the crossover into superstardom with 1999's Significant Other (which featured the hits "Nookie" and "Break Stuff"). Durst became a staple on "TRL" and — along with his friends in Korn — built a tiny nation of disaffected suburban youth.

His career has not been without controversy. In addition to being accused of inciting riots at Woodstock '99, Durst has had public altercations with stars like Creed's Scott Stapp and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, while he's claimed in public to have had sexual relationships with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. (There was also an unfortunate sex tape incident.)

The turn of the millennium wasn't kind to Limp Bizkit. Despite the success of Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water, the band produced a pair of albums that landed with a thud and had to deal with the departure of guitarist and muse Wes Borland. But Durst made hay getting involved in film. A longtime director of Limp Bizkit videos (as well as clips for Korn, Cold and Staind), Durst has directed two feature films: The surprisingly sensitive "The Education of Charlie Banks" and the underrated football film "The Longshots." He's currently touring with the reunited Limp Bizkit (once again featuring Borland on guitar) and plans on releasing a new album once the run wraps up. Here's hoping he gets back to the business of making videos, for as "N 2 Gether Now" proves, he has a knack for it.

I had mixed feelings when I read in the Los Angeles Times this morning that two-time music industry washout Carly Smithson (you remember her — she was the tattooed Irish lass from the seventh season of "American Idol" whose husband looked like The Enigma) has formed a band with three former members of mope rockers Evanescence. They call themselves Fallen. Some think Smithson's ejection from "Idol" came too early, but clearly Rocky Gray, John Lecompt and Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody think the timing was just perfect.

Visual resemblance to Evanescence singer Amy Lee aside, Smithson is up for the gig if only because she sang the band's smash "Bring Me To Life" on last year's "Idol" tour (she also has the same vampire tan as Lee). And lord knows guitarist/songwriter Moody has finesse with crafting poppy tunes, thanks to his post-Evanescence work with Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson.

Smithson's genius move got us thinking: What other "Idol" flameouts might have a second shot fronting lead-singerless bands?

Velvet Revolver: The hard rock act featuring ex-members of Guns N' Roses had some success, but more than their share of headaches with Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland. Hello Constantine Maroulis! He's got the Broadway chops, the hair and is — most importantly — drama-free.
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It's been 17 years since Guns N' Roses released a studio album full of fresh material — the one-two punch that was 1991's Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II — and in that long stretch, fans have learned one thing: Axl Rose refuses to rush the creative process. OK, they've also learned that a lot of lies can be told over 17 years and that a band can still tour successfully, even if that band looks nothing like anyone remembers.

Now that Hits Daily Double is reporting a firm November 23 release date for Chinese Democracy, the wait for some fresh GN'R — at least in the way Rose meant for it to be heard — looks like it may soon be over. It also got us to thinking about what's transpired since Guns N' Roses' last studio LPs dropped. And the short answer is "a lot." Read more...

By Christopher "CJ" Smith

Yesterday we ran a story about this fall's slate of superstar releases, but there are plenty more albums due out this leaf-changing season.

October 7

Rise Against's Appeal to Reason: Will these punkers be able to follow up on the success and critical acclaim of 2006's The Sufferer & the Witness?

Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul: The Brit rockers cling to legitimacy on their seventh album, which (surprisingly) has been getting favorable reviews. Can they stage a comeback to relevancy? Read more...

By Rya Backer

Remember that line in the hip-hop/Sting tour de force "I'll Be Missing You," when Puff Daddy (that's what he went by in those days) says he'd "give anything to hear half your breath"? Well, that's how I felt last week. I gave anything, and last night, I heard Stella take a victory exhale all over this week's episode. To put it in simpler terms: Designers were paired up (thanks to the help of Tim's magical, black velvet satchel) with the season's eliminated contestants. The partners had to put together an avant-garde look that corresponded with one of the designer's zodiac signs. Obviously. So, before we get started on this week's ins and outs, I've got a quick question.
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Dear Everyone Who Has Inexplicably Co-Opted the Phrase "Rock Star":

Please give it back. Seriously, it's not funny anymore. Really, I'm not writing this to be snarky or make fun of shut-ins still clinging to their prepubescent glory days (this isn't another "open letter to New Kids on the Block Fans," after all). I'm doing it because I care. And because I can still remember a time when "Rock Star" wasn't a catch-all term used to describe junior senators from Illinois and governors from Alaska. It was a state of mind, a way of life, a swearing, swaggering, strutting thing, one that wanted to sleep with you (or your sister), steal all your drugs and then get into a fight with a bouncer. You could point at someone and go "now that guy — the one with the bottle of Jack, the leather pants and the sh--ty attitude — THAT'S a Rock Star."

Now? Not so much. Over the past few weeks, I've seen the term used to describe the magnetic appeal of both Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (in pieces like this and this) and Republican VP nom Sarah Palin (here and here). While I certainly admire the political pundits (and basement-dwellers with a Blogspot account) of this great nation for trying to, you know, "rock the vote," I will most respectfully have to disagree with all of them.

More of James' argument, plus your chance to agree or disagree, after the jump!
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Last week, the Internet was all abuzz with speculation that Velvet Revolver had finally arrived at a Scott Weiland replacement and that that man was Spacehog's Royston Langdon — despite SH's recent reunion for two shows in Los Angeles. Well, it seems Velvet Revolver haven't made any decisions yet.

Bassist Duff McKagan told Billboard.com that, while the band has played with Langdon and that "he's f---ing awesome," they don't think he's the man for the job.

"We just have to make sure it's the right guy," he told the site, adding that Weiland's acrimonious departure some months back brought the rest of VR — guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, and guitarist Dave Kushner — closer. "Karmically, we deserve the right guy. It's a tough thing, man. We make a pretty big noise."

And while the guys take their sweet time finding their next voice (McKagan said they aren't actively auditioning potential replacements), they've been busy writing new material, which Duff calls "killer." Can't wait to hear it, Duff — but something tells us Chinese Democracy will hit stores before the next VR LP does.

Scott Weiland is out of the picture, and Sebastian Bach has respectfully bowed out, due to his BFF status with Axl Rose. So Velvet Revolver have dug deep into the 1990s alt-rock well and reportedly started rehearsing with diminutive Spacehog singer (and Liv Tyler's estranged husband) Royston Langdon. The "In the Meantime" vocalist, whose powerhouse operatic glam pipes landed him some David Bowie comparisons back in the day, is high on VR's list after a few good rehearsals, according to Entertainment Weekly.

"They all got along great," an anonymous insider told the magazine of recent jam sessions in Los Angeles. "It was really a refreshing change for the band." While the band's management wouldn't comment other than to say they're still auditioning singers, another unnamed source — this time at VR's label, RCA — confirmed that Langdon is "definitely in the mix."

The EW report comes just a week after Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg posted news of the band's reunion on the MySpace page of Arckid, another group he plays in with Langdon. Spacehog played a show at L.A.'s Viper Room on Monday, but future plans have yet to be announced.

Who would you like to see fronting VR?

Since it was revealed two months ago that singer Scott Weiland had been booted from the band, the rest of Velvet Revolver have been searching for his replacement. Apparently, the guys have been hosting auditions, and they've even fielded an offer from reality-television producer Mark Burnett, who wanted to make VR the subject of his next "Rock Star" series.

Over the past few weeks, several names have surfaced online as possible future frontmen for the group — including Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, who dismissed those rumors in an interview for this week's Kerrang! magazine.
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