When recounting rock music's most forward-thinking visionaries, certain names will invariably come up: The Beatles, David Bowie, and of course, Spinal Tap.

Now the same rock pioneers who gave the world the all-black album cover, the 14-inch stage set, and the musical divergence of "Jazz Odyssey" are offering Tapster, an alternative to the legally troubled file-sharing service Napster. Like Napster, Tapster.com allows users to download music for free in the MP3 format. However, unlike Napster, Tapster.com only offers one song.

"Napster's a bit complicated, really, what with all of the songs available," Tap guitarist Nigel Tufnel (a.k.a. Christopher Guest) noted. "One of the brilliant things about Tapster is that there's only one song to choose from."

Yes, visitors to Tapster.com can download the previously unreleased "Back From The Dead." The launch of Tapster is timed to get fans primed for the September 12 rerelease of the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap," which

gave rise to the fictitious metal outfit. The Rob Reiner-directed mockumentary will finally return to home video next month, and MGM Entertainment is rolling out the red carpet for the cult hit. The band has already turned up on VH1's "The List" and has been playing select live shows as well (see [article id="1434548"]"Spinal Tap To Roar Again"[/article]).