A new Nine Inch Nails song hit teh intarwebs last night, and it’s solid stuff. “Discipline” probably won’t win Reznor any new fans, but it’s a great combination of the sounds of NIN’s last two studio albums: its radio-friendly beat and melody make it a second cousin to With Teeth’s “Only” and “The Hand That Feeds,” but the sound and (believe it or not) vocal restraint is very Year Zero.

The best part? He’s giving it away. Head to http://discipline.nin.com, and in exchange for your email address and zip code you’ll get the song as a high-quality MP3, complete with lyrics and album art that instantly reminds me of my favorite Russian puzzle video game. He needs a J block to clear those lines! Have fun getting this out of your head — set it to repeat for extra fun:

Download: Tetris Theme (mp3)

Here’s what’s new in stores and worth your time this week:

Flight of the Conchords, Flight of the Conchords
New Zealand’s fourth most popular digi-folk paradists, fresh off their Grammy win, are back with their first full-length on Sub Pop. With foreign tongues firmly planted in-cheek, Bret & Jemaine dip their toes into electro, hip-hop, folk, reggaeton, psychedelia, and soul, and you’re guaranteed some hearty belly laughs. Try this non-album track on for size, taken from the free Record Store Day Sub Pop sampler Happy Birthday To Me:

Download: Flight of the Conchords, “Bret, You Got It Going On” (mp3)

Grab Flight of the Conchords at Amazon MP3 for $8.99.

Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
Manchester’s Elbow were spawned from the same British musical landscape that gave us Radiohead and Coldplay, but unlike those two bands they manage to be experimental without the pretentious knob-twiddling and emotional without resorting to cloying, over-earnest, piano-pounding balladry. The Seldom Seen Kid is lush, atmospheric, and inspiring stuff — definitely worth a look at $7.99 from Amazon MP3.

Carole King, Tapestry (Legacy Edition)
Does the world need yet another edition of King’s classic debut album? It’s debatable (even King herself admits as much in a fantastic recent interview on The Colbert Report; “The reason now is because Sony decided it was time to put out yet another package”), but the bonuses here sound like they may be worth it: a second disc of previously unreleased live, solo versions (just her & a piano) of all the album’s songs in order, recorded between 1973 and 1976. Probably worth grabbing the physical disc, given that these 2-disc Legacy affairs usually have well-written liner notes — order it from Amazon.com.

Do you like free music? Do you like Gnarls Barkley? Do you like listening to recordings in reverse for hidden, often Satanic, messages? Well, I have the website for you:

http://www.fronttobackbacktofront.com/

In exchange for some easily faked, mostly non-intrusive contact information, you’ll be given a free download of ELPUOC DDO EHT, a 44-minute long mp3 of Gnarls Barkley’s new album The Odd Couple in complete reverse. Enjoy, kids — I’m waiting for the inevitable “Cee-Lo is dead” hysteria to sweep the blogosphere…

I love having my socks knocked off unexpectedly, and a few weeks ago I had Detroit’s The Hard Lessons to thank for that. I was at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston to see headliners The Sterns with my pal Charlie, who hosts/produces Well-Rounded Radio, an excellent monthly podcast. The Hard Lessons were first on the bill, and after they left the stage there was really no reason to stick around — there was no topping them that night.

I had no expectations for the opening act at a tiny club off the beaten path outside Boston, and maybe that’s why I dug The Hard Lessons so much. They started performing the opening number without any introduction at all, dispersed through the crowd. Ko Ko Louise started singing with a voice that made me look up from my Newcastle — her voice is deliciously soulful with just a hint of at least a second-hand smoking habit. To my left drummer “The Anvil” (who might have the best. stage name. ever.) started shaking a tambourine, and singer/guitarist Augie (a dead ringer for the bearded Dave Grohl) strummed his unplugged guitar in another part of the audience. By the end of the song, they’d grouped on stage, plugged in, and began to kick complete ass.

At times they were bluesy, at others they were new-wavey, but at all times they were having fun and doing their best to make sure we were, too. That I love. They played the tiny, sparsely-populated club as if it were a sold out Wembley, and the good times were as infectious as their tunes. Count me a convert.

They’re sadly done with the road for a while, but the good times keep rolling on disc. They’re in the process of releasing a series of EPs this year (B&G Sides Vols. 1-4), and they’re giving the first 3 volumes away on their website, with the fourth to come later this year. Here are my favorite tunes from that bunch, both of which they played at O’Brien’s:

Download: The Hard Lessons, “See and Be Scene” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Hard Lessons, “Shake My Tree” (mp3)

(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Like what you hear? You can snag their Wise Up! EP at the iTunes Store and get the B&G Sides EPs and their debut album Gasoline at their online store.

This year, how about letting Uncle Sam give you something on tax day for a change. How do free CDs sound?

I’ve got discs to give away from two of my favorite new artists: The Duke Spirit’s Neptune and The Wombats’ EP. I’ve introduced you to them before, but in case you’re not familiar, take a listen:

Download: The Duke Spirit, “The Step and the Walk” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Wombats, “Kill The Director” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

So how do you get your hot little hands on one? Well, we’re looking for a few good ideas for themed playlists, so simply add a comment to this post with your best idea for a selection theme. We’ll add all entrants’ names to a hat & draw the two winners at random, and, regardless of whether or not you win, if your theme sounds like fun, we’ll follow up with playlists sometime later this year.

This contest will run for a week, until Tuesday, April 22 at 5 p.m. Winners will be notified via email. Cool? Good luck!

Here’s what’s new in stores & worth your time this week:

The Wombats, The Wombats EP
Last week’s US release of their debut EP flew under my radar because it was iTunes-only and buried in the store, but The Wombats are finally legitimately available in the US — woo-hoo! If you’re not familiar with these other lads from Liverpool, sample their wares in a couple of my earlier posts. The Wombats EP features five cuts from their (hopefully soon-to-be-released in the US) full-length and the CSS remix of “Kill the Director,” and it’s a steal at $3.99 from iTunes.

Does It Offend You, Yeah?, You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into
Think Daft Punk covering The Killers before they began to suck. The album vacillates between throbbing, cheeky, oddball club music and soaring, synth-fueled rock, and it’s surprisingly fun. It’s hard for me to turn down an album whose final song is titled “Epic Last Song.” Grab it on the cheap for $6.99 at the iTunes Store.

The Black Crowes, iTunes Originals
The re-formed Black Crowes are the focus of the latest installment of iTunes Originals, which is a fantastic mixture of hits, freshly-recorded acoustic takes, and enlightening interviews. The Crowes edition features five new, stripped recordings including “Good Friday,” “Welcome to the Goodtimes,” and new single “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution.” It’s a great set — grab it at (duh) the iTunes Store.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
I’d like to thank everyone who gave me Nick Cave-related advice when I asked for it a couple of weeks back. I took your recommendations and, coupled with a lot of research, snagged the 1989 Best of comp and 2004’s Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, and have officially become a convert (one listen to “Into My Arms” and you’ll cross over, too — it’s simply one of the best songs I’ve ever heard). I’ve really enjoyed the title track, and the reviews of Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! pin it as one of Cave’s best ever, so I’m anxious as heck to give it a spin. Grab it at Amazon MP3.

Adele, 19
This debut album from hotly-tipped British soul singer Adele has already topped the UK album charts, spawned a #2 single (the excellent “Chasing Pavements”), and even garnered her a Brit award (the first-ever Critics’ Choice prize), and now it’s finally hitting US shores. I imported the disc from the UK & have been digging it all year — she’s got an amazing voice, and with it she’s been able to do what I thought to be nearly impossible: cover Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” without turning it into shmaltzy crap. iTunes is the exclusive distributor of 19 for now, so grab it there — it comes with a music video for “Melt My Heart to Stone” and a digital booklet.

Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, Enjoy
I can’t believe this flew in under my radar all the way back in January! My favorite jazz ensemble that exclusively covers Björk songs released a studio album! I can’t remember how I first stumbled across Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, but they’re one of my favorite musical oddities, and their interpretations of my favorite Icelandic pixie’s best work is really creative and fun. You’ve really got to hear it to believe it:

Download: Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, “Hyperballad” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Fans will totally dig it, and I think it’ll please non-Bj&oum;rkophiles, too: if you’re turned off by her odd vocal tics (and I know loads of people who are), you’ll finally be able to enjoy her songs. Grab it at Amazon MP3.

Sorry for any bumps over the last 20-ish minutes — I just finished upgrading Selective Service to WordPress 2.5. If you encounter anything that’s more funky than functional, please drop us a line — thanks.

More musical merriment tomorrow!

Despite the average reviews, I couldn’t resist taking in the new Martin Scorsese/Rolling Stones concert doc at our local IMAX theater, and I’m happy to report that Shine a Light is a pretty darn good time. The critics are right, it’s not Scorsese’s most illuminating musical documentary work (do yourself a favor and rent The Last Waltz for that) but it’s vibrantly shot, and the attention to detail in sound is fantastic. When the camera isolates a band member, the sound mix responds in kind — never before has each of the band members’ contributions been so clear.

I also don’t think that it’s the Stones’ best concert film performance (the band is much tighter in Rolling Stones at the MAX, an IMAX presentation of their 1989 tour behind Steel Wheels) or documentary (Gimme Shelter, which documents the disaster at Altamont and follows the band during the recording of Sticky Fingers, is required viewing for any music fan), but the show features a number of excellent guests (Christina Aguilera’s vocals on “Live With Me,” despite the slightly creepy bump-n-grind with Mick, make it one of the film’s best numbers), and all of the Stones are enjoying the crap out of what they do on stage. Each of them is a pleasure to watch in different ways: Ronnie shows off his chops with a nice turn on pedal steel guitar during “Far Away Eyes”; Charlie has a fantastic moment where, after playing through a blistering “All Down The Line,” he turns to a camera set up behind his left shoulder and exhales with his entire body — imagine “PHEW” in pantomime; Mick is still a bundle of insane energy, but the thing I most remember from his performance is watching the unique way his mouth formed words while he sang — it’s fascinating; and Keith, to me, is the star of the show, displaying unbridled joy while riffing on his guitar, and comfortably taking the spotlight during his 2-song set in the middle of the show. You’re guaranteed a good time — my wife Alexis, who only knew a handful of their songs before going in, had a blast, and was humming “As Tears Go By” for the rest of the day.

If you decide to see Shine a Light, do yourself a favor and find it in IMAX — all of the principals are larger than life, and the crisp sound and humongous screen adds to the spectacle. Thumbs up. Here’s a little taste of the show, one of my favorite numbers from the soundtrack to Shine a Light:

Download: The Rolling Stones, “She Was Hot” (mp3)

Like what you hear? Go see the movie at your closest IMAX theater, then grab the soundtrack to Shine a Light at iTunes — it comes with a bonus track, an unused live version of “Undercover of the Night” recorded during the filming at the Beacon Theater in NYC.

April Fool’s! I know we’d promised regular 1st of the month playlists, and by delivering them 3 days late, we totally put one over on you guys. [Nelson Muntz voice] Ha-ha! [/Nelson Muntz voice]

Anyway, this month’s inspiration comes from UNKLE Matt, who laid out the challenge like this:

The theme is the self-referential, the post-modern, what people are annoyingly calling “meta” these days. Songs that mention other recording artists by name, the more the merrier… The only stipulation being that we can include only one rap song, as that genre is partially built upon the whole battle rap/I’m down with so-and-so kind of thing. Other than that, this guy’s the limit.

So it’s off to the name-check races — enjoy!

• Uncle Sam’s “Social Networking”
• UNKLE Matt’s “Name-Dropping”
• Onkel Rudi’s “Name Check, Mate!”