A new documentary on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has been announced. Johnny Depp has been tagged to direct the video bio, which begins next week. Depp and Richards have been friends for more than a decade, and the guitar legend even played Depp’s father in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

Depp last directed 1997’s “The Brave,” starring Marlon Brando. He’ll be seen next in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Richards agreed in 2007 to pen an autobiography to be published by Little, Brown & Co. in the U.S. and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in Britain in the fall of this year.

Part of the documentary will center on Richards’ punishment-defying biological makeup, which has enabled him to keep on going like the Energizer Bunny despite the man’s repeated efforts to do himself in…

Ableton and Swayzak are offering a free Live Set for download that demonstrates how the dubby electronic band from the UK constructs their live shows.

“We take a fairly unstructured path to making a Live Set. Clips are grouped by type (beats, bass, percussion etc) but we don’t usually split a track into stems in order to replay it. We assign key commands to mute each track plus key commands which turn the global effects on and off (on the master channel). We have two sends (reverb and delay); this provides some space and, of course, “dubbiness.” It’s important to really know all the sounds—we usually go through and listen to each one on solo during preparation for a gig (we also delete or transform them if they are boring).”

Swayzak describe how they use Ableton in the video below:

“Then it’s a process of improvisation, as we build up songs using the clips. The aim is to keep the music as fluid and organic as possible—we’re not trying to reproduce an existing piece of music, rather to create something new and unique in real time. Sometimes, of course, there are mistakes or rather “unintentional deviations” that take us off into new directions. Overall, it feels best when we just play without thinking too much and arrive at a point where we don’t know how we got there. After all, it’s supposed to be LIVE.

More information on the Swayzak Ableton Live Pack.

Famed music producer Phil Spector was finally convicted of second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson more than six years ago. Wearing a his trademark dazed and confused look and a black suit with a red tie and pocket square, Spector showed no reaction as the verdict was announced. Now 69, he faces a sentence of 18 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 29.

The jury spent 30 hours deliberating the verdict – most others would have spent 30 minutes.

Prosecutor Alan Jackson said he believed the jury reached the correct verdict, and he acknowledged the strength and backing of Clarkson’s family. But defense attorney Doron Weinberg said Spector’s defense team disagreed and planned to appeal. “We don’t believe justice was done,” Weinberg said. (Of course you don’t Weinberg, there’s a lot more money to be made here! —Ed.)

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler declined to allow Spector to remain free on bail pending sentencing, citing Spector’s years-long “pattern of violence” involving firearms.