Anyone with an ear to the wind will know that Radiohead, Best Band in the World™, have a new album on the way – due to drop, in just a few of days, on October 10. With the sudden announcement of record number seven, In Rainbows, I almost feel old hat commenting on it.
That said, Thom Yorke and co. have well and truly pulled the wool over the world’s eyes with this, their latest party trick. I suppose not being signed to a record label, they can do anything they like – and it sure doesn’t hurt being the critically and commercially adored megabrand that they are.
The lowdown is, In Rainbows will be released in at least two but almost definitely three forms. The first to see outside light will be a digital download in which the customer, free-minded beings like you and I, will be able to name their own price. The most exciting format is a “discbox” including the In Rainbows CD, a bonus CD from the recording sessions, a two-record vinyl edition of the album, and a hardcover book. The discbox is available for pre-order from the band’s web site, costing £40 or close to $100 AUD, and every buyer gets access to the download. In Rainbows also looks likely to be released as a standard CD in early 2008 but, pfft, that ain’t innovative and this is Radiohead we’re talking about!
Lazy, I? No, just a little differentSo, yeah, wow. I don’t really know what to think and I’ll reserve my judgment for the actual music but still it’s a pretty bold move. As the lad at Pitchfork says: only a band in Radiohead’s position could pull off something so audacious. And as I say: what does it mean for future album releases? In effect, the band have made a mockery of the usual PR circuit – isn’t it requisite nowadays for bands to get their promo on, only to have their music leaked at some inopportune time? Haven’t they effectively leaked it themselves, and asked us to pay for it (if we want to)? Subversion of the highest order! Or is it?
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