Converse is flogging the deadest of horses with a new dead-celebrity line of sneakers. This summer, the footwear giant will unveil shoes festooned with diary entries by the late, great Kurt Cobain, as well as designs for Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Sid Vicious and Hunter S Thompson. The latter is probably turning in his grave, but that won’t stop Converse from coaxing living artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and MIA – who once sang about the evils of ‘product pushers’ – into doing an ad for them. Cough cough sellout.

Regarding the latest reincarnation of The Smashing Pumpkins: Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin are confirmed to head back to the studio this spring (they have recorded as a duo before) with possible appearances by members of their touring band. GREAT news: they’re following Radiohead’s lead and are considering a digital release. ‘The record or CD format places too many limitations on your piece of art,’ drummer Chamberlin told www.spinner.com. Vive la révolution!

Radiohead got it right when they wrote ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar’. Fine-tune your shredding skills a hop, skip and click away at www.guitarinstructor.com. The site offers comprehensive video tutorials, including a picking guide with Dave Navarro and an alternate tuning lesson with crusty guitar legend Joe Walsh. It’s US$1.99 per download, but how can you put a price on skill? Here’s a quickie but goodie: Dr Pepper has promised to give every person in America a free can of soda – if and when Guns N’ Roses finally spit out their long-awaited (and by long I mean long) album Chinese Democracy. The beverage giant has a blog devoted to the cause: www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com.

In March, garage rockers Be Your Own Pet got the ol’ controversy ball rolling. Their record label, Universal, dropped three songs from BYOP’s latest release Get Awkward for being ‘too violent’. The decision has sparked outrage from bands concerned with preserving artistic freedom of expression. Hmm… a band fronted by a petite blonde whose fan base is made up of gangly ’tweens sure seems like a threat to society. Of course, Universal does have its squeaky-clean reputation to maintain, what with a roster including Marilyn Manson, 50 Cent and Eminem (riiight). Thankfully, the Far East gets the uncensored version. From what we can tell, it’s only a US-based censorship.

Finally, you know the world’s coming to an end when… Kanye West launches a travel website. Pimp your flight at www.kanyetravel.com.

CD releases
• Felix Da Housecat, Global Underground 34: Milan, 12 May
• Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs, 17 May
• Spiritualized, A&E, 19 May
• Alanis Morissette, Flavors of Entanglement, 20 May
• Scarlett Johansson, Anywhere I Lay My Head, 20 May
• The Wedding Present, El Rey, 20 May
• Booka Shade, The Sun & The Neon Light, 26 May
• Martina Topley-Bird, The Blue God, 26 May
• Ellen Allien with AGF, SOOL, 27 May