We thought the Grim Reaper might have fucked right off with himself but, no, the Hot Press flag was flying at half-mast again this week as Greg Lake succumbed to cancer.
It seemed extra poignant given that the former ELP man has become synonymous with ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’, one of the coolest of Yule songs. Thank you, Sir, for the happy memories.

To cheer ourselves up we’ve assembled another ace collection of Free Music Friday downloads, streams, vids and trailers, which kicks off with this stunning acoustic session from hot Nashville property Margo Price who plays the Dublin Button Factory on January 22. We’ll be talking to the Buffalo Prairie, Illinois firecracker in our Hot For 2017 Special, which hits stands with an almighty thud next month. Jack White adores her, and so do we.

Cut from the same classic country cloth is this version of ‘The Rose With The Broken Neck’, which Jack White performed in Jackson, Wyoming with some old friends.

Mr. W has also helped Cat Stevens to reprise his 1960s debut single, ‘I Love My Dog’.

At The Drive-In have released their first new song in 16-years, ‘Governed By Contagions’, which they'll give you in return for your email address, which seems a fair swap. From an as-yet-unnamed album, it reminds us of the Dead Kennedys.

Also turning back the clock with the first taster from January’s Damage And Joy album are The Jesus & Mary Chain. Hopefully this means the brothers Reid will treat us to another scabrous Vicar St. show.

If it’s “metal-punk spew” you’re after, look no further than Kralice’s ‘Hate Power’, which is just one of 31 tunes available free click here

Also worthy of your immediate download attention is The Life And Death Of Scenery, a full-length offering from North Carolina’s L’Orange and Mr. Lif. click here

Enemies say "farewell cruel rock world!" with album number three, Valuables, which can be streamed in its wonderful entirety. We're gonna miss the old scamps...

Power pop fans will love the generously endowed 18-track introduction to Fastball, an Austin band who we suspect have a few Squeeze records in their collection.

Captain Cuts, the production trio who’ve worked with everyone from Ellie Goulding and Grouplove to Icona Pop and Britney, go for glory themselves with the Kanye-referencing ‘Life Of Emo’.

Legendary Dublin popsters Blink celebrate the March 23 re-release of their A Map Of The Universe album, with new tune ‘Happy Christmas 22 (I Still Miss You)’.

How could we possibly resist a free album from a Finnish punk band called Flapperpuck?

Peter Milton Walsh, who was briefly a Go-Between scores another massive French hit with No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal. Pretty much unknown elsewhere, the Australian may just be the oldest person on our impending Hot For 2017 list.

Overhead, The Albatross go vocal (well, sort of) on the typically coruscating ‘Our Youth Our Younger’.

J. Cole trails his Eyez album with this slick mini-doc.

Tokyo’s Diskotopia label treats us to a 15-track sampler featuring offerings from the likes of Greeen Linez, A Taut Line, Outerwear and Fujimoto Testuro.

Kate Moss dons a ’68 Comeback Special leather jumpsuit and lip syncs her way through the vid for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra-assisted version of Elvis’ ‘The Wonder Of You’.

It’s a Free Music Friday ‘howaya’ to St. Francis Hotel, a London-Irish production duo who are making some serious waves internationally.

Mixtape of the Week honours go to DJs Critical and Clyde who mash Kanye and Chance The Rapper up into something truly remarkable. How copyright compliant it all is we’re not sure.

And that is where the penultimate Free Music Friday of the year slings its immaculate hook. If you want to get in before 2017, zap your links ASAP to @stuartclark66