NINE INCH NAILS‘ Trent Reznor self-released a new instrumental album, Ghosts I-IV, in a blitz last night through ghosts.nin.com. He’s taken yet another angle on the donation-ish digital distribution model. He’s giving away Ghosts I, asking $5 for the all four parts in MP3 or FLAC lossless format, and offering a variety of physical editions ranging in price from $10 to $300.

As you might expect, word of the release exploded and the site has slowed to a crawl, temporarily making downloads nearly impossible - but fret not. Taking it yet another step further than Radiohead, Trent proved himself forward-thinking and is outsourcing the bandwidth load to popular BitTorrent sites like The Pirate Bay. You can pick up Ghosts I for free through the indestructible official NIN torrent here. That’s the beauty of BitTorrent technology - it doesn’t slow down as more people try to download the file, it gets faster.

As for the album itself, we just finished a first listen of Ghosts I and it’s quite nice. Soft, dreamy soundscapes reminiscent of Clint Mansell, Thomas Newman or Jon Brion compositions. But you don’t have to take our word for it - find out yourself for free!

Music mega-producer Bob Ezrin has recently writtin a letter where he slams the music industry while at the same time uses Trent Reznor of as an example of how an artist might skirt the system on one’s own terms—and with integrity intact.

It’s a long read but a good one.

Trent Reznor is a true visionary. He has broken and reinvented the rules of engagement on every level, from recording to touring to interacting with his fans. (more…)

The good time rock and roll of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem couldn’t last forever. Web site sadkermit.com has unveiled their latest creation, a video of Kermit The Frog covering Nine Inch Nails’ classic “Hurt.” This probably isn’t officially sanctioned by the estate of Jim Henson, since I don’t remember Kermit shooting up on The Muppet Show back in the day. The Web site also features audio of a depressed Kermit covering Radiohead’s “Creep,” Elliot Smith’s “Twilight” and a take on the quintessential Kermit song called “The Rainbow Disconnection.” Poor little guy. It definitely isn’t easy being green.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day the pope of mope himself Trent Reznor has a new NINE INCH NAILS track out in cyber space for everyone to listen to. It’s called “My Violent Heart” and Fire In The Stereo has it.

UPDATE: The mp3 was apparently found on a flash drive left in a bathroom stall at NIN’s Lisbon, Portugal show this weekend. Not leaked by the band. It’s been taken down.

The tracklisting for the new record Year Zero can be read after the jump. (more…)