Below, you can stream Coexist, the new album from softcore rockers The xx. Or, you can click through to their website, where via Facebook, email, or Twitter, you can share the stream with your friends and become a blip on the interactive share map being generated on the page. The map tracks each share across continents and landmasses, creating a sort of spindly road map of fans connecting with each other. You can move a vertical slider up and down to see the timeline of shares evolving from the release of the stream to the release of the album on 9/11. TECHNOLOGY.

The xx are basically providing an incentive to share via an aesthetic experience. It's yet another indication that participation is becoming more and more important to build and maintain a fan base. But for us, there is no nifty/flashy tech replacement for good ol' fashioned quality music. Listen: