NIN front man Trent Reznor has made it clear in the past that he pretty much hates the music industry as it currently stands, and that music sharing and online distribution is really the wave of the future for the biz. Well, now Reznor fans are going to benefit from this way of thinking because NIN's latest album called "Ghosts I-IV" has been released online containing is a 36 tracks of industrial instrumental goodness for only five dollars a shot. Or, if you just want a sampler, they are also offering the first 9 tracks totally free. Head over to the official "Ghosts" site here for more info, or preview a few tracks below to see what its all about. "Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain." Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music ...

Jack Johnson's new album entitled "Sleep Through the Static" is already available on iTunes and other retailers as of this week, but we have the video premiere of the first single called "If I Had Eyes" ready for your viewing pleasure. Via BrushFireRecords.com: "Check out the official music video for Jack Johnson’s new single “If I Had Eyes” from the February 5th Brushfire Records’ release “Sleep Through The Static.” The video is directed by The Malloys. It is the featured video on the home page of BrushfireRecords.com." Click here to watch the video or head over to brushfirerecords.com for more info on the new Jack Johnson record.

Death Cab for Cutie fans will be happy to know that there is a new album in the works which is currently scheduled for a May 2008 release date. Until yesterday the new album had no name, but Death Cab has finally settled on "Narrow Stairs" as the official album title. No single previews yet, but you can take a peek at some studio footage from "Narrow Stairs" here. Also, Death Cab's Chris Walla has a new solo album out that is definitely worth having a listen. "Field Manual" is available in stores as of yesterday, or for your listening pleasure at mtvu.com. Chris Walla "Everybody On"

Looks like Nada Surf is hip to the power of the internet and how well viral marketing works, because they are streaming their entire new album "Lucky" live on MySpace starting today. Before you head over to check it out, you also might want to take a look at their new music video "I Like What You Say" by clicking here. Via NadaSurf.com: "You can't buy Nada Surf's new album "Lucky" until early February, but starting Friday, January 25th fans, friends and frenemies (??) can stream the entire record on the band's myspace page: myspace.com/nadasurf Tell your friends, and don't forget to let us know what you think."

Last.FM defined the "social music revolution" when they launched several years ago with hopes of becoming the world's largest social music platform. After being acquired by NBC last year, I was unsure what was going to happen to such a great site and service. Who would have thought that it would get even better by providing the ability to play full-length tracks and entire albums free of charge. Read the entire article from the official Last.FM blog below. "Something we’ve wanted for years—for people who visit Last.fm to be able to play any track for free—is now possible. With the support of the folks behind EMI, Sony BMG, Universal and Warner—and the artists they work with—plus thousands of independent artists and labels, we’ve made the biggest legal collection of music available to play online for free, the way we believe it should be. Full-length tracks are now available in the US, UK, and Germany, and we’re hard at work broadening our coverage into other countries. During this initial public beta period, each track can be played up to 3 times for free before a notice appears telling you about our upcoming subscription service. The soon-to-be announced subscription service will give you unlimited ...

Maybe I've been living under a rock, because I have never heard of the "Black Cab Sessions" before today. But when I got word that The Kooks jammed a new song freestyle in the back of a cab I had to give it a look. "A challenge has been laid down. Forget chart positions, forget ticket sales, or brand-extending toiletries or myspace friends or any other measure of success. From here on in, it's all about how well you can rock in the back of a cab." "The Sessions are all about great music and the venue strips this to its essence. We aren't picky about genre and will happily open the cab door to anyone who blows us away" Click here to see Black Cab Sessions Chapter Twenty-Five featuring The Kooks, and head over to blackcabsessions.com for more great bands performing unplugged in the back of some random taxi cab.

R.E.M. is putting the finishing touches on their new album now entitled "Accelerate" due for an April 1st 2008 release. Partially recorded in Vancouver and Dublin with Bloc Party/Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee, "Accelerate" will be R.E.M.'s 14th studio album. According to NME, "Confirmed tracks for the album include 'Until The Day Is Done', 'Living Well Is The Best Revenge', 'Mr Richards', 'Staring Down The Barrel Of Middle Distance', and 'I'm Gonna DJ', a regular in the band's set on their 2004/2005 world tour. Frontman Michael Stipe said the guitar-driven LP is "the fastest we've made in 20 years". He told Q: "I think the songs on 'Around The Sun' are great, but in the process of recording we lost our focus as a band. Now, that focus is back. And it's razor sharp." For more R.E.M. goodness you should also head over to Ninety Nights which will be streaming a new 30-60 second short video for... well... ninety nights leading up to the release of "Accelerate". The video's are a bit off the wall right now, but my hunch is that it will all make sense by April 1st. Each video can also be downloaded in HD for the duration of ...

TheSixtyOne.com "brought to you free-of-charge by two guys who quit their jobs to give musicians and listeners a fair shake", is a new site dedicated to bring musicians and music lovers a place to be discovered and discover alike. TheSixtyOne.com features a Digg-like interface that allows musicians to post their songs after which users can listen and rate the music. Songs that get the most votes eventually show up on the front page of the site for maximum exposure. Songs that you really enjoy can be added to your account collection (once you have registered for a free account). Once registered, there is a point system that comes into play as well which makes things even more interesting. You use points to vote for songs you like, but if that songs gets popular, you make even more points. Listen to music on "The Rack" (tracks that haven't made it to the front page) and you earn free points as well. The more points you have, the more you can interact with the site. Earning points also gives you a higher user rating. You will find a bit of everything (music wise) on TheSixtyOne.com from alternative to hip-hop which makes the site ...