Is In Rainbows the Future of Music?

I know plenty of people who don't like Radiohead, but however you like them, you have to admit their decision to release their newest recording on a "pay-how-you-feel" basis was a gutsy one. For any band less established, the move could have meant certain financial suicide. But it seems that many people have at least paid the price they would have had they gone through iTunes. Radiohead is a band that has achieved that brand of success lots of bands want: the one where they have fans who will buy whatever it is they record. I'm sure Thom Yorke, if he released his grocery lists in book form, would become a cult status, if not rabidly successful, author.

The bigger question is what's going to happen to the music industry if people can pay iTunes prices and not have to visit iTunes to get the music they want? I bought the recording for 5 pounds. Combined with the processing surcharge, my purchase came out to be about $11. I think that is more than a fair price for a recording. It's what I pay at the used CD shops I frequent, and this time I know the money is directly going to Radiohead, and not the record store. (It's probably still a very small percentage, but it's probably more than it would be if I went through Borders Music or what have you.)

Still, I wish the download had come with liner notes and album cover art. What keeps me buying CDs still is the booklet that comes with the disc. I love to hold it in my hand, to look at the random art and to read about who the band thanks and the song lyrics. It's a big disappointment to open up the CD and find the booklet isn't even a booklet, but just a cover picture.

Someone came up with this for a cover art design. It's my favorite out of all I have seen.



Though, if you think of Radiohead as a doom-and-gloom style sort of band, these are sure to make you smile:

(Yes that is a My Little Pony on the cover of the first one, and Thom Yorke himself dressed up as a leprechaun on the second fan-made cover.)

I think there are a lot of people who feel the same as I do, and I'm not sure if name-your-price downloading will take off if it doesn't come with the liner notes. That's such an easy thing to add, though, and if it is added soon, I'm sure that this may be the next step in buying music.

The recording itself is quite impressive. I'm just getting into Radiohead, embarrassingly enough, and am more familiar with their The Bends, Pablo Honey and OK Computer phase. I heard after OK Computer they took a serious left turn in composing their music, but what I'm hearing on In Rainbows isn't too radical. It's more dancey (though would anyone really dance at a Radiohead show?) and reminds me of a drum-and-bass show I saw when I was in Hong Kong. Their music is still beautiful and yet catchy, and so far my favorite song on there has to be "Bodysnatchers" closely followed by "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi."