I don't think we're in Kansas any more...

While some Universities are trying to protect the interests of their students in the face of ever-increasing copyright tightening, others aren't.

The University Of Kansas falls firmly into the "other aren't" side, threatening its students with a 'one strike and you're out' policy:

"If you are caught downloading copyrighted material, you will lose your ResNet privileges forever," reads the notice. "No second notices, no excuses, no refunds. One violation and your ResNet internet access is gone for as long as you reside on campus."

That this is a bit of a short-sighted kneejerk reaction is probably given away by how sloppily the threat of removal of internet access is - if you buy a track off iTunes, you are downloading copyrighted material. Kansas probably means illegal copyrighted material, but even there, the wording is sloppy. No excuses? What if a student believed they were downloading a legally-released mp3 which turned out to be illegal? Any law which doesn't allow the accused at least a vestige of explanation for their actions would seem to be a bad law.

If you're looking for a university this year, and are considering Kansas, you might want to weigh the merits of an institution which puts the interests of record companies ahead those of its students.

The past's future: 1981 - 7. Modern Romance

Even Smash hits couldn't quite muster up any enthusiasm for their reader's decision to predict a glorious future for this bunch of David Hamilton-friendly smoothies, managing just a "funky outfit" to describe them.

Here, take Ay Ay Ay Moosey - note the sort-of-rappy but at the front, a clanging attempt to inject something modern into a song which could otherwise have been playing when Glen Miller crashed into the sea:



[Buy - or don't: The Platinum Collection. I'm not sure they ever actually achieved platinum status. Platignum, perhaps.]

The countdown will continue across the weekend

Hook off - New Order sail on without Peter

Peter Hook's recent announcement of the end of New Order came as a bit of a surprise to the rest of New Order, who hadn't decided to throw in the towel. And still don't intend to:

Sumner and Morris said they were surprised.

"We would have hoped he could have approached us personally first," the duo said in a statement.

"New Order have not split up," they added.

"Whatever happens musically or otherwise, New Order have not split up, they continue to exist," the statement continued.

Exist, albeit in a diluted form that would make the current Four Tops seem like the real thing.

The past's future: 1981 - 8. Bow Wow Wow

Smash Hits points out that Bow Wow Wow actally been 1980's 10th most promising act, pointing out tartly that going up one place is

not much recompense for the all the fuss that's been made about them over the last year.

Still, they did better than the blokes' subsequent incarnation as Chiefs Of Relief; Annabelle Lwin is still recording, although nowadays with a Buddhist sensibility rather than the original Ants and the Sex Pistols manager.

C30 C60 C90 Go is on YouTube, but unembeddable, so here's the video for Louis Quatroze instead:



[Buy: Aphrodisiac, which somehow manages to not include Sexy Eiffel Towers

Borrell returns to dust; returns to Dunst

What can be more romantic than a man deciding he'd like to move in with you because, erm, his old house has fallen down. We're not entirely sure how one of the walls in Johnny Borrell's place collapsed - perhaps people had just banged their heads against it listening to him talk one time too many - but as the house has collapsed anyway, he's decided he might as well move in with Dunst.

The past's future: 1981 9 - ABC

Continuing our countup of Smash Hit's Brightest Hopes for 1982, Martin Fry's then-still-bright-eyed ABC. Described by SH as "scintilating", nobody knew the future held a brief period channelling the ghosts of the Archies before returning to hoofage on the 80s revival circuit.

A slightly blocky recording of a festive reworking of The Look Of Love:



[Buy: This year's ABC compilation Never More Than Now

Mariah perfume panic

As if the bad boys wandering past queues outside bookshops yesterday evening saying "oh... this is the one where he dies in the end, isn't it?" wasn't cruel enough spoilerage fun, it seems that someone has taken to faking Mariah Carey perfume ads and scattering them online, just to spoil the, ah, fun of a celebrity-endorsed bottle of very, very expensive water. Elizabeth Arden are having beautifully scented kittens:

An image of Mariah Carey with her fragrance bottle photoshopped in the corner is being featured on several blogs today, and is categorically not the advertisement for her new fragrance, nor is it even remotely close. The real ad for M by Mariah Carey will debut exclusively on TMZ during the second week of August."

Other celebrities might wonder why Carey is giving an exclusive to TMZ, a website not noticeably fond of treating the famous with the dignity and respect they might hope for. We wonder if TMZ have any 'not mentioning the whole going a bit off the rails' thing in their side of the deal?

The past's future: 1981 10 - Orange Juice

This weekend, we're revisiting the Smash Hits Reader's Poll 1981 "Most Promising New Act for 1982" results, counting down from 10 to 1. We're still debating if we should skip over number 5.

What's really interesting is that, with probably just one or two exceptions, the ten bands chosen by Smash Hits readers to shine in 1982 all feature band members who are still doing quite nicely for themselves in 2007, which might be a warming thought as to the wisdom of crowds (or Smash Hits readers, at least) or perhaps unsettling that bands tipped 25 years ago are still hanging around now.

So, without further ado: Number 10 - Orange Juice. This is Simply Thrilled Honey, from the 1986 Dada With Juice video. Which they're doing in an Orange Juice factory:



[Buy The Glasgow School, 23-track Orange Juice best-of]

The Dave Pelzer of pop

There's an interesting piece in today's Mirror exploring how Kerry Katona has managed to amass a three million quid fortune despite an expensive drug habit and no visible talent.

She has, in effect, flogged the only thing she has - misery:

"Kerry has enduring appeal because her life has all the key elements that make a great story - love, tragedy and betrayal," says one magazine executive, who has paid Kerry for a string of exclusives.

"Unlike many stars, Kerry is happy to lay bare every facet of her life and admits she is flawed.

Triumph over tragedy sells - and Kerry sells lots."

So, in effect, when her house was broken in to, the raiders were helping her to open up a new revenue stream. And the treatment for "bipolar disorder" at the Priory? That'll be a new gazebo or something right there.

The paper, sadly, never gets round to considering if it's entirely helpful to pay someone with a miserable life in eturn for sharing that misery, and what the psychological effect of knowing that your lifestyle can only be comfortable if you continue suffer is.

Madonna mafia movie mumblings

Also according to Newton's column this morning,