• After releasing roughly 1,342 different versions of Zeitgeist in 2007, the Smashing Pumpkins will kick off 2008 with the release of their American Gothic EP, an acoustic set that features four unreleased songs: “The Rose March,” “POX,” “Sunkissed” and “Again, Again, Again (The Crux).” Corgan says the EP (which will be released digitally January 2nd) title is “continued comment on the state of our country.”

• A second wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of the Notorious B.I.G. against the Los Angeles Police Department has been delayed indefinitely, as the family failed to file the lawsuit against the city in the necessary time frame.

• In perhaps its most desperate measure yet, the music industry has asked legislators to undo a fifty-year-old exemption that allowed terrestrial radio to broadcast songs and artists without paying royalties.

• A new Tina Turner musical, titled Simply the Best, will reportedly debut in London. The show, which was penned by the singer herself, will feature songs from throughout her career.

• Ashlee Simpson has an out of body experience (and frolicks on a giant Rubiks Cube and channels Gwen Stefani) in her new video for Bittersweet World single “Out of My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” — Timbaland’s latest attempt since Nelly Furtado’s “Say It Right” to keep Eighties nostalgia alive.

[Photo: Getty]