Bruce Springsteen is wholeheartedly embracing new technology in advance of the release of his latest album, Working On A Dream. The Boss has made the song “Life Itself” available as a free exclusive download at the Amazon MP3 store as well as debuting its video on YouTube.

It’s the third song to have been introduced online from the Boss’s upcoming new disc, due Jan. 27, which the New Jersey rock icon recorded with the E Street Band.

The clip accompanying the moody, mid-tempo track is fairly straightforward, much like the earlier “My Lucky Day” video, made up mostly of scenes of Springsteen in the recording studio alongside fleeting montages of nature and people standing around looking apprehensive.

Meanwhile, “My Lucky Day” and the classic song “Born To Run” will also be released as downloads for the video game Guitar Hero: World Tour; also available for free until Feb. 4.

In a new interview, Grand Funk Railroad founder Mark Farner says that he’s open to the possibility of reuniting with the original members of the group once again, nearly a decade after the “We’re An American Band” rockers’ last attempt at reconciliation ended in an acrimonious split.

“I’ve been trying to put the band back together,” Farner says during a lengthy conversation on Nightwatcher’s House of Rock.

Drummer Don Brewer and bassist Mel Schacher have been touring under the Grand Funk Railroad name since 2000, with .38 Special vocalist Max Carl, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick and keyboardist Timothy Cashion. The original trio initially split in 1977, with Farner moving on to become a successful Christian rock act. They got back together in the mid-1990s for a series of concerts and the new live recording, Bosnia.

Farner adds, “I would love for the three original guys to play music for the fans again – because I love the fans. I see that the fans want that. And I'm a fan too. I mean, wouldn't you have liked to have seen The Beatles play together again dude? All four of them? On stage together, the magic that would've been there? Even when they were on The Ed Sullivan Show, the magic that was there, they were anointed for that. But that s#@% just hits the fan, and the fans get cheated.”

In the same interview, however, the singer admits that Brewer and Schacher have so far been resistant to his pleas to get back together.

Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus is denying reports that the band will launch a two-year world tour in support of Chinese Democracy in March, claiming he was misquoted in a St. Lewis newspaper interview promoting the one-night-only reunion of his local band, Pale Divine.

“I never said that GN'R would be playing St. Louis, nor did I say that we will be doing free shows or that we are starting a two-year tour in March,” the guitarist said in a statement. “Selective hearing. Never said it."

Guns N’ Roses has done little to promote the album, which took 17 years to make and was released exclusively at Best Buy outlets on Nov. 23. It has sold less than 500,000 copies since it came out.

The disappointing sales figures, however, did not stop singer Axl Rose from suggesting over the holidays that there might be a Chinese Democracy follow-up in the near future.

"For now we'll concentrate and keep our focus on this album but I will say I've always thought of it as a double," he said on one of the band’s message boards.

Two guitar titans are set to share the stage in a rare union of six-string legends. On Feb. 21-22, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck will perform two shows at Saitama, Japan’s Super Arena. Despite their parallel histories, Clapton and Beck have previously joined forces only at recording sessions, benefits and several festivals.

Ironically, both guitarists served apprenticeships in the Yardbirds, the seminal blues-rock group that also helped propel the career of Jimmy Page. Indeed it was Beck who, in 1965, replaced Clapton in the Yardbirds after Clapton left in protest to the band’s move toward a more pop-oriented sound.

Remarkably, the combined professional careers of both men total nearly 100 years of music-making. While Clapton’s playing has become progressively more conventional, Beck has continued to push the envelope with regard to style and technique.

The heights to which each might inspire the other are largely what make the forthcoming pairing a much-anticipated event. As reported by Rolling Stone, the Japan shows will mark the first instance in which Beck and Clapton have appeared together in a major arena performance.

It turns out one of the country’s most forward-thinking ad agencies also has innovative ideas when it comes to holiday perks.

This year Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the company behind such marketing successes as the “Whopper Freakout” and “Domino’s BFD Pizza Builder,” gifted each of its 900-plus staffers with their very own guitar. Not only that, but the Florida-based company set up an ultra-cool guitar-instruction microsite to help assist the employees (and the public) in the development of their six-string skills.

Dubbed “CPB ShredSchool,” the site features videos of upper management offering guitar lessons, along with accompany tab and even an online tuner.

In the introductory course, co-chairman Alex Bogusky demonstrates (with nails polished black) how to play Extreme’s “More Than Words.” Even if you don’t like the song, the hilarious image of an awestruck guy (presumably a co-worker) sitting at Bogusky’s feet as he strums is worth the (free!) price of admission.

Among the other lessons are “Guitar Shredding 101” and demonstrations of how to play “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “Blackbird.” Behind the humorous touch lie some truly helpful tips for any player just starting out. You can check it all out by clicking here.    –Russell Hall

Prince says he will release not one but three albums in the coming year.

As reported by the L.A. Times, the first disc from the ever-prolific Purple One will be an electro-flavored effort likely titled MPLSOUND. Prince told writer Ann Powers the album features “trippy, experimental pop songs.”

A second disc, titled Lotus Flower, was previewed in early December on the L.A. radio station Indie 103.1. The Lotus Flower tracks are said to be deeply rooted in guitar, and will sport lots of heavy rock riffs and solos. One song, the apocalyptic “Dreamer,” was partly inspired by African-American comedian and activist Dick Gregory.

Although it wasn’t exactly clear, presumably the third album will come from Prince protégé Valente. Titled Elixir, the disc combines Valente’s “buttery voice” with beats by Morris Hayes and guitar work from Prince.

The quirky Minneapolis rocker told Powers he’s nearing completion of negotiations with a “major retailer” to distribute all the albums in physical form.

Nearly three decades after his death, John Lennon is appearing in a promo ad supporting the non-profit organzation "One Laptop Per Child." Thanks to modern technology, Lennon’s voice and image have been digitally configured to encourage Americans to support an effort to provide poverty-stricken children around the world with laptop computers.

The ad, which was sanctioned by Yoko Ono, features a Lennon voice-over as multi-colored icons "fly" together to form an image of the former Beatle mouthing the words: "Imagine every child, no matter where in the world they were, could access a universe of knowledge. They would have a chance to learn, to dream, to achieve anything they want. I tried to do it through my music, but now you can do it in a very different way. You can give a child a laptop, and more than imagine, you can change the world."

Notwithstanding its commendable intent, the promo has generated controversy, with some viewers lambasting the ad as "creepy" and others criticizing a process that "resurrects the dead to shill modern products."

Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC, defended the promo in a press release. "We deeply appreciate Yoko Ono's support in allowing us to create the spot and we hope that its message will get people to imagine the power of education to change the world." To view all the promo videos, click here.

Freddie Hubbard, a jazz trumpeter whose style influenced a generation of players, died on Monday (December 29) at age 70. Hubbard had been hospitalized since November after suffering a heart attack.

During his lengthy career, Hubbard collaborated with such jazz titans as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. His earliest recordings, made for Blue Note at the turn of the ‘60s, bore the influence of Davis and others, but he soon developed a unique style that dazzled his peers.

"He played faster, longer, higher and with more energy than any other trumpeter of his era," his long-time manager and producer David Weiss said.

Wynton Marsalis concurred, telling the Associated Press earlier this year that "[Hubbard] influenced all the trumpet players who came after him. Certainly I listened to him a lot. ... We all listened to him. He has a big sound and a great sense of rhythm and time and really the hallmark of his playing is its exuberance. His playing is exuberant."

Hubbard won a Grammy in 1972 in the category of "Best Jazz Performance By a Group," and played on more than 300 recordings. Funeral services are pending. A memorial service tribute will take place in New York in early 2009.