Killers’ Joy Divison Cover Hits the Web, M.I.A. Helps Jailed Aussie Kids Rhyme, Jadakiss Free From Gun and Drug Charges

From the Ian Curtis biopic Control, check out the Killers’ take on Joy Division’s “Shadowplay.” The cover, which will also appear on the Killers’ upcoming B-sides collection Sawdust, finds the Las Vegas band putting a glossy sheen on the moody 1979 classic, like it was being filtered through a Depeche Mode machine. Who knew Joy Division could sound so sunny? Following the first trial showdown of the music industry vs. an illegal music downloader, the RIAA promises that many more of its kind will take place, regardless of whether or not Jammie Thomas, a woman in court for downloading 1,702 songs from Kazaa, is found guilty. “We’re in the long haul in terms of establishing that music has value,” said RIAA president Cary Sherman. M.I.A. has teamed up with an Australian all-girls juvenile detention center to record a new song. Through the Heaps Decent program, which helps indigenous and underprivileged youths break into the music industry, M.I.A. spent two days recording the track utilizing the center’s doors and other noises to establish the beat. The finished product will soon be previewed on the Heaps Decent MySpace page before the full track goes on iTunes, with all profits going back into the program. Prosecutors in Westchester County, New York, have dropped year-old weapon and drug charges against Jadakiss over a lack of DNA matches on a handgun found in a car Jadakiss was driving when he was pulled over and cops found the car reeked of marijuana in October 2006. Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Neilsen is planning on opening a hotel/restaurant in the band’s home base of Rockford, Illinois. “Rick’s,” as the building will be called, will also include a museum that will house Neilsen’s large guitar collection, which includes axes previously owned by Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley and Jack White.

Published: 2007-10-05 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Afternoon News Roundup