Don’t get any big ideas, they’re not gonna happen.

The CMJ Music Marathon is coming this week. While the magazine itself, has become a 6 page pamphlet in recent years. The marathon is still kicking, alive and well. It's always a great week, with tons of bands to see, parties to attend and friends to catch up with. UNKLE and British Sea Power are probably the two bands I want to see most. Saw some parties with cool lineups too, which invariable, always end up being some of the best shows, plus they tend to have free booze. Can't complain there.

So earlier this week, Radiohead, announced the release of In Rainbows. It's safe to say, few bands have been able to reinvent rock as often as the British quintet has in recent years. Now Radiohead has gone and done it again, and not necessarily by the music itself, but the means by which it is being distributed. By choosing to release their seventh studio album, In R
ainbows, as a digital download through their own site, on a sliding scale, determined by each consumer willing to part with an email address. An idea, that was actually coined by, Jonah Matranga with his Onelinedrawing project. After two days, sources within the band’s camp were claiming that more than 1.2 million copies had been downloaded.

As guitarist, Jonny Greenwood has said over the past few days, the band’s intent is not to start a revolution or give away its music, but rather to prevent it from leaking out to the public over several months before the official CD release next year. In turn, it is the band’s hope that once fans hear the music on compressed MP3 files, they’ll want to buy the sonically superior physical product. An lp version, cd bonus and the downloads up front. All for $81, which seems high, but I guess it all makes sense, when those are the superfans buying it in the long run.


On Monday, Trent Reznor posted on the Nine Inch Nails website, that he has finished his contract with Interscope and his hoping to put out is his own albums, free of label pressure and interference.

Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the
following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
Exciting times, indeed.

So, his upcoming Year Zero Remix will be released on the label, and could be the last. Trent Reznor announced a release date and format options for the upcoming Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D, also known as Year Zero Remixed. This follows the April release of Year Zero and features contributions from Saul Williams and Ladytron, both of whom have recently opened for Reznor's crew, as well as mixes from the Faint, Fennesz and members of New Order and the Knife. One track, "My Violent Heart" by Pirate Robot Midget is actually "a fan's work," he wrote, adding "I thought it was great, it filled a need."

Just read that Nada Surf will be releasing their new record, LUCKY, on February 5th, 2008 on Seattle label, Barsuk Records. This is Nada Surf’s fifth record and third for Barsuk, following the highly successful and critically acclaimed Let Go (2003) and The Weight is a Gift (2005). You can hear and download "See These Bones" now, in a bunch of different places. Do it. It's a great song. The album was co-produced by the band and John Goodmanson (Death Cab For Cutie, Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney). Many great artists make guest appearances on the record, including: Ben Gibbard, Ed Harcourt, and Jesse Sykes. To help announce the coming of the new record, Nada Surf is about to embark on a national headlining tour. The dates begin October 13 in Philadelphia and end November 2 in Baltimore. Sea Wolf will support.