According to the AP -
"Radiohead let its fans decide how much to pay for a digital copy of the band's latest release, "In Rainbows," and more than half of those who downloaded the album chose to pay nothing, according to a study by a consumer research firm.
Some 62 percent of the people who downloaded "In Rainbows" in a four-week period last month opted not to pay the British alt-rockers a cent. But the remaining 38 percent voluntarily paid an average of $6, according to the study by comScore Inc."
I'm part of that 62%. I didn't want to plunk down another 10 bucks for a record I wasn't going to listen to. I accept that Radiohead is innovative, but I felt like it was at the expense of good music. For me, In Rainbows took a step to bring me back into their fold. To me, they realized their fans were disappointed, made some good music, and gave it to their audience as a peace offering. Well, apology accepted.
As a side note, it was interesting to me when I told my friends I paid nothing for it. Their reaction was surprised/slightly disappointed. I'm not sure why, Radiohead did give me a choice to pay what I wanted for it. How often does one have the opportunity to get a CD for free and not consider it stealing? I would say most of my friends don't have a strong objection to downloading music before they (maybe) pay for it, and yet most of them paid for In Rainbows when they could have got it for free.
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6 comments:
I got mine for free. Much better than the last few. Obscure music is fun but not something I love to listen to on a regular basis. It's nice to have new songs...and I mean songs. So thank you Radiohead for paying me back for all the money I forked out for your experimental CDs. Cheers!
Ben
I really like the new album and I think their stunt was totally worth it. But let's not sell short the genius of their "experimental" albums. I loved Kid A when it came out for the express reason that it wasn't like any of their other albums. It was more like a 20th century composition/rock opera/soundtrack than an actual album . However, be that as it may, Kid A and Amnesiac still remain (for lack of a better word) "weird". I acknowledge that. That is why I highly recommend checking out an artist named Christopher O'Riley. Many people have probably already heard of him so I don't claim to have discovered anyone. That being said, anyone who is even a fringe fan of Radiohead should check him out. O'Riley has taken Radiohead's songs and arranged them for instrumental piano. The first time I listened to his stuff I couldn't believe how well it translated. Once you get away from the quirky spacey frenetic world of synthesizers and noise you can appreciate how beautiful some of these songs really are. Here's a review of his latest album that says it way better than I ever could. http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/o/orileychristopher-holdme.shtml
Check it out.
Let's try that link again:
http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/o/
orileychristopher-holdme.shtml
I'll just stick to listening to Jeff Buckley and Muse...since Jeff started it all and Muse are continuing it in a much more agressive fashion. But you said it sounded like a soundtrack and I have to agree. I listen to a soundtrack every once in a while...usually when I am feeling nostalgic. I want something that will get me wanting to write music...not go "WTF is this?"
Ben
Yeah, Kid A and Amnesiac seem to be written for what you see after you rub your eyes for a long time and you see a bunch of stars and swirls and flashes. There's just no need for either.
It's all just shining moments of glory. Never completely brilliant, just spots and swirls. It's like looking at modern art. Some of it's plain old bad. Others are Ok. And few are great. My only issue with those two albums are that they seem like initial ideas that never got finished. the songs just wander around and never find themselves. Don't get me wrong...I'll preach the goodness of Radiohead till I'm blue in the face. But after working on music with other people, there are times you come up with a good verse or a good chorus and the rest of the song just isn't falling into place. You can't push it to make it something it's not...which is a complete song. That's why I think the songs don't stick with you as much as their earlier stuff.
Ben
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