I should have paid them up front.
I should have given them $10, $15, or $20 just for the simple fact
that they’re trusting me. Of course, didn’t, but I will now…I will
go back and pay them for sure.
In case you haven’t heard, Radiohead’s latest album was released today. It’s only avaiable for download online , and
the cost is…whatever you want it to be! That’s right, when you get
to the end of the "checkout" you enter in a price. And of course like a child, I entered: £0.00.
"The recording industry as we know it is surely staring oblivion in the
face if it does not quickly and efficiently make amends with it’s
customers. We no longer require the shiny plastic discs, we want access
with value." (Dave Allen, pambelmoose )
You have to give kudos to Radiohead for trusting the music
consumer. They are now operating sans label, but I hope and pray that
this dist. method is a success and that labels will take notice of the
rewards that come from trusting the consumer. Here comes the part
where I preach…
GIVE THEM MONEY! Go to the site, go to the cart, and give them
money for the download. Whatever you think is fair. Give them $5,
$10, or even $20! Unless of course, you want them to fall on their
face, and proove right the old farts at the labels are still panic
stricken, and holding onto their DRM with all of their withering
strength. If ever the music community had a chance to make a
statement, Radiohead has just delivered the podium.
The album, by the way, is wonderful. In perfect Radiohead style, In Rainbows delivers the audiophile’s wet-dream of fuzzy analogue instrament sounds, and trippy off-beat rhythms. "Body Snatchers" is the second track and is a toe-tapping post rock anthem that swirls and builds as Thom Yorke’s voice peppers the song as only his voice can.
"Nude" and "All I Need" are two examples of slow, dark, downtempo meanderings that remind us of Thom’s solo album. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is a simple, upbeat acoustic driven piece that flirts with the historic athem-like style of "Creep," doesn’t quite get there for me.
The album ends with a tune that is slow, sparse, and intimate in the begining, but like the album, builds, and swells to a brief climax in the middle, and then slowly fades back down to eventual silence.
Is it the best Radiohead album ever? No. I’d say not. I don’t think it has the proggressive brilliance and fluidity of OK Computer, or Amesiac. But nevertheless it delievers for both fans and newbies the unmistakable, impossible to immitate, sound of one of the best group of pioneers in modern rock history. Now they have also become pioneers in music distribution, and I hope they are well rewarded for it!
