Refusing to let an old dog die, Billy Corgan has surprised no one in announcing plans for a new Smashing Pumpkins album. Despite being the only surviving member of the original Pumpkins line-up, Corgan has sailed forth, saying via the band’s website that the new album will be available for download for absolutely nothing.

“Free will mean free. You won’t have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop. You will be able to go and take songs as you wish, as many times as you wish,” says Corgan.

For an artist to willingly divulge their music for free is a rarity in today’s music industry and a telling sign that Corgan, like so many others (Radiohead for instance)  is furthering his attempts to tolerate file sharing. An odd move though, considering former drummer Jimmy Chamberlin cited his departure as the result of “lack of income.”

The album, Teargarden byKaleidyscope, will contain a whopping 44 tracks . This phenomenal amount of music is to be released as 11 EP’s, each containing four tracks. The epic long-player (surely the longest ever produced by one band?) will follow after the gradual release of the EP’s. 

- Carley Hall