Though frontman Trent Reznor has been an outspoken critic of the major labels, up till recently he was unable to take make good on his criticisms. Now that he is free of a label, Nine Inch Nails have released a new donation-suggested 36-track album titled Ghosts I – IV. He explained:

This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as… something.

We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.”

The album can be purchased, completely DRM-free in both MP3 and lossless formats as well as CD and a $300.00 deluxe vinyl option. You can also download some of the album for free. The details can be found here.
Source Continue reading Nine Inch Nails release new donation-suggested album →

Alkaline Trio have posted the third in their series of studio videos discussing the recording of their upcoming record and debut for Sony/BMG. In this addition, Matt Skiba shows some footage from the recording sessions and discusses the variety of “axes” used on the record.

In the time since their previous record the band signed to V2 Music, which shortly afterwards was shutdown, landing the act at major label Epic Records (which falls under the Sony-BMG umbrella). In the past few years the popular act released a rarities and b-sides compilation via Vagrant titled Remains and frontman Matt Skiba performed in the duo Heavens.

A reissue of the Trio’s fan-favourite 1998 full length Goddamnit is due this March via Asian Man Records.

Source Continue reading Alkaline Trio posts new studio update with Matt Skiba →

Swedish punk group Millencolin have posted the first video from Machine 15, their first record in three years. It will be released on May 6th through Epitaph Records in North America. It arrives on April 7th in Europe. The band recorded with producer Lou Giordano (Sugar, Taking Back Sunday, Plain White T’s), saying, “We wanted the kind of crisp sound that Lou is notorious for. Plus we have a great chemistry with him.”

Machine 15 will be the band’s first release since 2005’s Kingwood.
Source Continue reading Millencolin: “Detox” →

Russian Circles have posted a new song from their upcoming Suicide Squeeze debut. The record is titled Station and is due out May 06, 2008.

You can find “Harper Lewis” on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading Russian Circles: “Harper Lewis” →

A Chicago-local news organization has put together a short feature on some of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the sad death of former MIA vocalist Mike Conley. It also discusses some of Mike’s previous endeavors and talks a bit more about his life before the tragic circumstances which befell him last week.

You can see the piece here.
Source Continue reading Report looks into suspicious circumstances around tragic death of MIA singer →

The A.K.A.s have posted a new track from their upcoming full length. The record is titled Everybody Make Some Noise and is due out March 18, 2008. It is the follow-up to White Doves & Smoking Guns which was released in 2003.

You can check out “Dead Flowers Forever” on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading The AKAs: “Dead Flowers Forever” →

Ahoy hoy. I’m Justin and this is Navel Gazing. Every week we take a look at the important stories: what got you talking, what got us talking and what seems pertinent to touch on again and serve it up to you. Your regularly schedule Canuck will be back next week but for now it’s just you and me. Giddy up.

Big news this week for fans of tents, 10 dollar bottles of water and Playstations: the final lineup of the 2008 Warped Tour was announced and includes favorites like Against Me!, Bouncing Souls, the Briggs, Bedouin Soundclash, Pennywise, Rise Against, Reel Big Fish, the Vandals and GBH. There’s a metric tonne of other bands as well.

Speaking of Against Me!, they showed up quite a bit this week. Apparently they raised $18,000 for Harvest of Hope and have booked dates in Australia with Crime In Stereo. They also posted an acoustic rendition of “Baby I’m An Anarchist” and an unreleased track called “Gypsy Panther.” Rowr.

Epitaph is going where no label has gone before with a deluxe edition of New Maps of Hell. Bad Religion themselves have extended their House of Blues tour. Other news related to the big “E” is that they’ll be releasing Millencolin‘s new album Machine 15 in May. In the same general vein, Rancid will be recording at Skywalker Ranch. That’s George Lucas’ place, if you hadn’t heard. Oh, and those Canadian collectivists Propagandhi will be heading to Japan with Comeback Kid. We got a studio update from our friends in Alkaline Trio. Rumor has it the new album will have lots of skulls and severed arm imagery associated with it.

It feels like some sort of VH1 “Revenge of the 90’s” style thing when I hear about Goldfinger‘s new album to include Good Charlotte, Used, Save Ferris and Youth of Today cameos, while I fear for the children after hearing about Fall Out Boy‘s “Beat It” cover. Speaking of, Panic At the Disco customized a Civic for their tour. Woo. I’m drawing a thread here, see if you can follow, Paramore talked about their UK tour cancellation and Sid Vicious, Ian Curtis, Billie Joe Armstrong to pitch Converse in new campaign.

And finally, if there were any doubt that the CD is nearing the end of its life as a medium it was erased as the iTunes Store became second biggest music retailer.

Chris is passed out somewhere in Richmod and as such there was no Video of the Week this week. However you should browse through our archives and send us suggestions of who you’d like to see here! Ben apparently is actually trapped underneath Chris’s comatose body as Vinyl File took a break as well. Our Editors’ Picks this week featured Election Day, from somewhere in the cold bowels of upstate New York. This week also brought new Streaming Music from a number of bands, including Capillary Action‘s new LP and Gangster Stamina, the new EP from Dirty Tactics.
Source Continue reading March 3rd, 2008 →