There’s a soft folky version of NWA’s Straight Outta Compton floating about. Apparently Nina Gordon – formerly of Veruca Salt – knocked it off in downtime recording for her new solo album. She’s kinda like a less earthy Beth Orton. It’s quite odd to hear her reciting Icecube’s gangster verse word for word… Switching from Icecube to a fey girl’s voice is pretty cool, the same trick Martine and Tricky employed years ago on their awesome cover of Public Enemy’s Black Steel.
Here’s a random tangent. Covers are no big thing of course, but in the past they would have been either temporaly limited to a specific gig, or else royalties would be paid on a live record. A cover of NWA on Gordon’s album – apparently there won’t be – would earn the the hip hop heads a few extra dollars (not that Dr Dre and Icecube are particularly low on funds). But the controversy of recording this track will undoubtedly help raise her profile – the song’s even available on her website – so does she owe NWA something?

I find myself at the Australian Music Online website regularly. It’s one of those rare Australian government projects that works. Maybe it’s because they’re affiliated with the funding bodies that steamroll a lot of the bands or that they aren’t dependent on commercial advertising.
The band interviews are pretty similar to the rest of the sites out there. But the music industry pieces are great – they pin down the people who actually run things. And it’s fascinating stuff.
They recently had my brother chatting about the workings of his label Elefant Traks, but they have have interviews with A&R, PR, managers, bookers, writers and basically everyone in the industry.

It’s a common sight to see someone’s grandma guiding the last dollars of her pension into a poker machine at RSLs and pubs in Australia. Supporters – mostly businesses making money from the bright boxes – say that pokies are a rare enjoyment for these people.
But in a country with the biggest per capita gambling losses in the world, most are simply addicted to the possibility of winning big. Designers of the machines say the big challenge is making the odds of winning look like chance, even when they are strictly controlled to ensure profit for the operator.
The cost to the community must be massive. But there has been no admission so far that it’s an issue. Maybe that is set to change. The Age quotes Victorian politician Robin Cooper, who has outside of party lines to call for a ban on pokies when the licenses expire in 2012.