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I can start off by saying everything about this record, from the presentation to the format (even the release date) was an absolute shock and pleasant surprise.

Not only does Trent Reznor push boundaries on more angles than your trig teacher tried to shove down your face, he pushes a release format pioneered by Oxford’s finest Radiohead a tad further.

Rating:

Ghosts I-IV is without a doubt the most adventurous tangent Trent and Co. have gone on yet, and with a solid effort behind them (2007’s “Year Zero”) maybe it was time for it.

The new 36 track collection is available for download from NIN and for a limited time through the Amazon MP3 album store. 36 tracks? Nine Inch Nails? Sounds fancy and pricey…toss that theory out the door and check out my order screenshot below (you can also click the image to head over and download “Ghosts” directly from Amazon):

5 dollars for one of the finest pieces of music I’ve had the pleasure to hear over the last 5 years.

Everything within this incredible body of work visits and leaves with irreverent class = commercially unrestrained, hauntingly beautiful instrumentations when, if taken in bites at first, will reward the imminent front-to-back listening marathon to truly appreciate the cohesiveness stemming from the fruits of Reznor’s arduous 10-week recording sessions last fall.

Hardcore NIN fans will appreciate the artist growth and breathtaking compositions offered on “Ghosts I-IV”, but there will be a large chunk of bum-outs that will write this off as redundant, too far off the mark to be considered a tangent as opposed to a total departure.

I encourage listeners, if not for anything else than the one track for you that’s worth the price to dive into this phenomenon headfirst and let it affect you the way it was meant to.

On a side note, there are pluses and minuses to choose where to get your download from. Nine Inch Nails’ servers are much slower than grabbing the record from Amazon (you will need to install the Amazon MP3 Downloader), but Amazon also didn’t include the exclusive PDF available through NIN’s site.

But no worries; after downloading from Amazon you can get ahold of the 40 page PDF, featuring high resolution photography from Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan, straight from the Nine Inch Nails’ “Ghosts” website or just click here.

Everything is moving along at somewhat of a quick pace (although these days bring me a few distractions).

The AIDS Foundation Art Collaboration piece was a massive success, so rest assure that our collaboration ended up being the most sought after and most bid on piece of the auction from 5 am to 5 pm! All I have to do now is keep trying to pin down the woman who won the bid and see where she’s hanging it!

I wasn’t present at the auction unfortunately, but just letting my head sit back for a few days with friends in Los Angeles (and ended up running around to Beverly Hills and Brentwood to get the last of my ‘missing’ tax forms).

There’s just something in that town that feels like nowhere else on earth (besides the smog). Plus, in Skele’s words, if you are looking to blow off some steam Hollywood has a lot of options.

Also, FFFFOUND! continues to grip my world. It looks as if the registration has been switched from “Private BETA” to now just an “Invitation Only” Service.

I suppose you can’t win them all, but what you can do is rehash the tips I gave in a previous post on scoring a FFFFOUND! invite of your own.

Also, feel free to visit ‘my found’ and check out the collection I’m constantly trying to build. Those areas are public, so have a blast!