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Concept art for Bruce Springsteen's new "High Hopes" album.

On Sunday, there'll be a way for fans to hear a new song from the upcoming Bruce Springsteen set "High Hopes" legally.

Here's the catch: You'll have to watch a television show to do it.

Or you can just wait for the program to end, and then direct your internet browser to the Boss' website.

A "High Hopes" song will play at the conclusion of the Jan. 5 episode of "The Good Wife," a popular legal drama that airs on CBS. Right after the show is over (it airs from 9 to 10 p.m.), the entire "High Hopes" album will stream for free on http://www.cbs.com/springsteen. The stream will be accessible from 10 p.m. on Sunday night until 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13.

Snippets from three more "High Hopes" songs will be worked into the following episode of "The Good Wife," which will air on Jan. 12 — the title track, "Hunter of Invisible Game," and a version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" punched up by Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. The album, which heavily features Morello's guitar, will be officially released on Jan. 14.

Unlike many other classic rockers, Bruce Springsteen has never hawked his songs hard to Madison Avenue. Yet he's getting cozier with the tube than he used to be. As every baseball fan knows, "Land of Hope and Dreams," a track from the "Wrecking Ball" set, was used by TBS for its 2012 postseason promo spots. It was the rare inning break that did not feature the "Hope and Dreams" refrain. Springsteen's decision to license songs to CBS guarantees him a large audience for his new material — the program is a hit — but does not seem to have been guided by any larger conceptual design. "The Good Wife," which stars Juliana Margulies as a lawyer married to a disgraced politician, has no direct relationship to New Jersey, or rock music. Keith Eisner, the writer of the Jan. 5 episode, is from the Garden State, but he's not part of the extended E Street entourage. It's possible that the Boss just likes the show.

"High Hopes," Bruce Springsteen's 18th album, is something of a mongrel dog: It's a collection of covers, stray songs, and odd tracks that never fit with any prior set. It follows closely on the heels of "Wrecking Ball," a 2012 set that confronted the emotional and spiritual consequences of the economic downturn. "High Hopes" will contain a version of "American Skin (41 Shots)," a song written about the NYPD killing of Amadou Diallo, and revived during the Wrecking Ball Tour in the wake of the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case.

The decision to release "High Hopes" songs through "The Good Wife" is the latest in a recent run of creative promotional strategies by pop superstars. Beyonce surprised the world by making an entire set on iTunes available without any of the customary promotion or hype that usually accompanies new albums. Jay Z partnered with Samsung for the rollout of "Magna Carta Holy Grail," and Kanye West premiered songs from "Yeezus" by projecting grainy videos on the sides of buildings around the world.

"High Hopes" was briefly made available on Amazon last Saturday. But that wasn't a marketing strategy — that was a mistake.

*And I make mistakes, too! Initially, I posted that this album would stream on Springsteen's own site after the Jan. 5 episode of "The Good Wife." That was wrong. It'll be at CBS.com/Springsteen.

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