In Rainbows Review

Okay, so I finished listening to In Rainbows (About 10 times…) and here’s what I have to say about it:

It’s an overall amazing album. Great music from Radiohead, as usual, and the distribution medium is also refreshing. In the first 24 hours, the album has been downloaded 1.2 million times. That’s a buttload of money, assuming an average payment of 1 pound.

Okay, so, song-by-song now.

RADIOHEAD GET

Yay. I got In Rainbows a few minutes ago. I’m already listening to it. So far, I like what I hear. Yay. Full review tomorrow.

Anyways, my electric company fails it. Yesterday, someone crashed into a big light pole and knocked it over. We lost electricity for nearly 14 hours (starting at 8 PM 9 October and ending at around 10 AM 10 October).

It was a bit scary, but using candles to light the house is really fun.

Carry on.

Re: In Rainbows

Okay, details have cleared up. It’s coming in ONE WEEK.

Good synopsises (synopses?) from other sites:

From Time Magazine:

“While many industry observers speculated that Radiohead might go off-label for its seventh album, it was presumed the band would at least rely on Apple’s iTunes or United Kingdom-based online music store 7digital for distribution. Few suspected the band members had the ambition (or the server capacity) to put an album out on their own. The final decision was apparently made just a few weeks ago, and, when informed of the news on Sunday, several record executives admitted that, despite the rumors, they were stunned. “This feels like yet another death knell,” emailed an A&R executive at a major European label. “If the best band in the world doesn’t want a part of us, I’m not sure what’s left for this business.”

Labels can still be influential and profitable by focusing on younger acts that need their muscle to get radio play and placement in record stores — but only if the music itself remains a saleable commodity. “That’s the interesting part of all this,” says a producer who works primarily with American rap artists. “Radiohead is the best band in the world; if you can pay whatever you want for music by the best band in the world, why would you pay $13 dollars or $.99 cents for music by somebody less talented? Once you open that door and start giving music away legally, I’m not sure there’s any going back.”"

And my favorite, from Best Week Ever:

“All right, fellow record industry executives, let’s go over how we’re going to break even this quarter. Johnson, you did get Taylor Hicks that five-year extension with Ford, correct? Nice work, if those commercials catch on, we can mix some Ford jingles onto an album of Joe Cocker covers and boom — that might break even. Wilson, how’s the progress on that new Coldplay album? None?? Alright, have them release “X&Y Live” and just play the album in its entirety with a slightly different order and a bonus encore of “In My Place.” Bam! We’ll be swimming in breaking even in no time!

Alright, on to the biggest item on the menu — the new Radiohead album. I’ve invited Mr. Jonny Greenwood here to explain his radical new idea about how to release this record, and while I haven’t heard the concept myself, I’m sure it’ll break us even, possibly two or three times over!! Take it away, Jonny:

Hello everyone. Well, the new album is finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days; We’ve called it In Rainbows. Love from us all. Jonny

Wait, Jonny, let me get this straight… you’re taking the most anticipated album of the last five years and releasing it yourselves, via your website and not any record label, and people can pay any amount they feel like paying, like a museum or something? And it’s coming out nine days from now???

Wait, Jonny, why are you coming towards me? Are you going to whisper an answer into my ear? Why are you undoing my belt? Jonny? I don’t like that look in your eye. You can’t pull my pants down in front of all these other people! Please don’t do this, I swear I can help promote your new album, I can get a song into the next “Batman” film, I can– AHHHH!!! OWWW!!!! OWWW!! JONNY!!!! PLEASE STOP!!!! JONNYYYY!!! THAT REALLY HURTS!!! OW! OW! OWWWW!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH……. “

Win!

In Rainbows

Radiohead is the best band in existence. If you disagree, you need to listen to more Radiohead. Seriously.

Anyways, they announced their newest album, In Rainbows.
What’s special is that you can get it as a download on October 10, and as a physical ‘discbox’ in December. The discbox costs something, of course.
But the download doesn’t have to.
No really, it’s up to you.

This means they are releasing an album FOR FREE.

They must have balls of steel to stand up to record companies like that. I seriously want to pay them something. A hundred dollars, even. But I’m poor, don’t have a credit card, and have no moneys.

So, I’m waiting for that Wednesday. The day after Orange Box, by the way.