the world we set on fire
i still think radiohead is hugely overrated. nothing i've ever heard from them has been as innovative as their rabid fans claim. and thom yorke is a little too whiny for my taste.
that said, it's kind of cool that they are releasing their new album online and allowing buyers to pick their price. initially i thought it was just a publicity stunt, and that they would get too many people spending $.01 on the disc and prove we net.music_fans are just scavengers who don't like to pay for things.
but the more i think about it, the more i like the plan: because i personally think that the value of an album does vary depending on the artist that creates it, and the quality of the work. i would pay $10 for the new jimmy eat world disc coming out in a few weeks; i would pay $3 for this radiohead album because i don't like the artist as much. if social distortion released a new disc and i had to buy it without hearing it first, i'd only drop a max of $5.75, because their last few have been weak. and under no circumstances would i ever pay more than $12 for a disc ever again, because CD prices nowadays are much too high for what you get.
i certainly don't think this will begin a sweeping trend through the music industry; i think it's a cute tactic and it may even get me to buy the album when i wouldn't have otherwise, because i want to support the cause. maybe trent will stick to his word and after ending his record contract, charge $4 a pop for a digital version of his next album.
Radiohead....overrated? Are you smoking crack? You would pay $10 for Jimmy Eat Dong, but only $3 for Radiohead. Man...I just don't know what's wrong with you.
What Radiohead have you listened to? Wait....it doesn't matter, because all of their albums are good. I wouldn't consider myself a "rabid fan," but I love their music. Besides...according to Michael Scott we are supposed to support the rabid.
I'm going to have to agree with Nickolini, except that "Pablo Honey" was mostly mediocre crap. Radiohead is one of the best bands of the last twenty-plus years. "OK Computer" is one of my all-time favorite albums.
I think it's a brilliant idea, and I agree that if more artists did this, I would be buying a lot more albums for $4-5 dollars instead of skipping them or "acquiring" them through some other means.
I think Trent is serious about ditching record labels, or at least leaving Interscope, as he has nothing but bad things to say about them anymore. Of course, Trent is notorious for thinking out loud in interviews and then never following up on it.
Speaking of which, you heard how he said he was going to disband the current touring lineup after the tour they just completed, right? He says he's done with the "rock band" format for now and plans to do something different when he tours again. I'm sure whatever he does will be cool, but I can't help but be disappointed over not getting to see 90% of their songs performed the traditional way.
$3 might be a little high, actually. i might have to roll in at $.99.
radiohead isn't really my style, and usually i can appreciate stuff outside the genres i enjoy if it's interesting and innovative. i've listened to ok computer, kid a, even the bends back in the day, and they just put me to sleep. just not my genre...
This is a good tactic for established bands/artists, but I don't see how it's going to do much for the start-ups.
Granted, if I heard a single on Scrubs I liked, I might drop $4-5 for the album...which is better than nothing I guess.
So yeah, it sounds like a great idea. Tops, Sport.
Am I the only one who just doesn't get Radiohead? I bought Okay Comptuer 'cause I believed the hype. Listened to it a handful of times and just don't get it. Maybe I'm shallow.
There are times when you read the first sentence of an article and it just kind of makes you do a double take.....like having Radiohead in the same sentence as overrated...
Amnesiac is a great album that I think isn't talked about as much as Kid A (which of course is a classic.)
btw, when i get Guitar Hero 3 at the end of the month, my band name is gonna be Jimmy Eat Dong. thanks nick...