What Are You Listening To? This Week: AFI, Beastie Boys, Maroon 5, KT Tunstall and Blake Lewis

What’s playing on AFI’s tour bus? We knew you wanted to know; click through the jump for Mike D., Adam Levine and more. Davey Havok “Nick Cave, Grinderman [the self titled debut from Cave’s newest side project]. I love Nick Cave. This record is fantastic. It really reminds me of Birthday Party. The reason I love it so much — and I was thinking about this last night when I recommended this album to a friend — is that Nick Cave doesn’t give up a fuck. He really, truly doesn’t. He’s doing what he wants because he loves it. That sentiment is overriding in Grinderman. It’s gritty, it’s raw, it’s dark, it’s bluesy. And he’s such a great storyteller.” Mike D “All the songs that M.I.A. has released, she’s put a bunch out there on the Internet prior to her album release. I like all of them, especially “Bird Flu.” I’m a big fan of that one.” KT Tunstall Cat Power, The Greatest. “I was so impressed. It’s so much more accessible than I expected. In a brilliant way. It’s a really fantastic episode that really grew on me. She’s got an absolutely inimitable voice.” Adam Levine “I was listening to the new Kings of Leon record yesterday, and I like it a lot. I didn’t know what it was, a friend of mine was playing it, and I was like, ‘That’s really great, what is that?’ ‘Kings of Leon,’ [Levine’s friend replied]. I said, ‘Okay, good. Download.’ They’ve got something really special happening.” Blake Lewis “I could name 10 bands right now that should be signed to a major label,” the singer said of the plethora of talented acts back home in Seattle. Lewis listed his current favorites: Mob Law, Doxology, and Common Market. “Hopefully, some people are going to come out to Seattle and take some good notes, because there’s a lot of talent. I’m very lucky and fortunate that I got to get on this show and I try and rep my homies as much as possible.R

Published: 2007-06-02 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: General

Single Minded: New Tracks From ‘High School Musical 2,’ Junior Senior, Eisley, Davey Havok’s Blaqk Audio and Lori McKenna

Cast of High School Musical 2, “What Time Is It?” [MySpaceTV] In spite of hard-learned lessons throughout the late Nineties, the answer to this question is apparently not “4:30.” Just give in and play this already. You know you’re wondering what it sounds like. Junior Senior, “Can I Get Get” [Junior Senior MySpace] Remember “Rapture”? Junior Senior are really, really hoping the answer to that question is “No.” Eisley, “Come Clean” [Eisley MySpace] Texas band turns the “Dust in the Wind” chord progression into a lithe and lovely late-summer ballad. C, G and A Minor send a letter of heartfelt thanks. Blaqk Audio, “Semiotic Love” [Blaqk Audio MySpace] Davey Havok from AFI fuses Hi-NRG and Darkwave, which should thrill the oft-neglected gym rat/ponyboy demographic. Lori McKenna, “Witness to Your Life” [Rhapsody] McKenna’s got a tough voice and a bottomless supply of big, winning hooks. Also, she said if High School Musical 2 sells more records than she does this week, she’s going to retire. Then she threw a TV.

Published: 2007-08-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

AFI FEST 2007 Presented By Audi: Around ArcLight - Day 3

HOLLYWOOD - NOVEMBER 03: The band El Tambor plays the Cinmea Lounge Music Cafe during AFI FEST 2007 presented by Audi held at the Rooftop Village at ArcLight Cinemas on November 3, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Published: 2007-11-04 Provider: ViewImages Keywords: USA, California, ArcLight Cinemas, Playing, Film, Band, Presenting, Audi, Film Industry, Institute, Arts Culture and Entertainment, Hold, Celebrities, AFI Fest, Hollywood, American