It was less than two weeks ago when Radiohead, after a four-year hibernation period with little indication as to when a new work would surface, announced that they planned to release In Rainbows, their seventh studio album, within the month.
In an even more surprising move, the band announced that they would be distributing the work digitally through their Web site inrainbows.com, operating independently of an overhead record label and leaving the price completely to the listener's discretion.
"It's up to you," states the Web site wryly. "No really, it's up to you."
The decision presents a novel approach to the music industry, designating fans as being credible listeners rather than enemies to be targeted and prosecuted by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The band's decision to release the work to everyone at the same time, including the press, may have also been motivated by the fact that their last album, Hail to the Thief, leaked all over the Internet several months before its official release. So this time, instead of fighting the problem, they undercut it.
Moral debate aside, one might find it interesting to see what actually happens when people are allowed to choose their own price, especially when openly offered a free ride.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood remarked, "It's fun to make people stop for a few seconds and think about what music is worth, and that's just an interesting question to ask people."
Since the Oct. 1 announcement and up until the album's release on Wednesday, Radiohead's online fan base has been abuzz, waiting for the 10 bundled mp3s to arrive like a visit from Santa. And with good reason.
Rainbows moves back into the abstract, settling somewhere between the disorienting wilderness of Kid A and the politically disgruntled realm of Hail to the Thief. And, given the chance to wear grooves into the brain, Rainbows becomes a pretty warm, cathartic piece of work.
Songs like "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" or "15 Step" paint a full spectrum of color into darkened passageways, letting the listener retreat into the dulcet noise or conduct a deeper investigation, whereas "Bodysnatchers" and "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" rock out in signature Radiohead style.
"Faust Arp" ventures more into Beatles and Stones ballad territory than is traditional for the band, but in its meandering still manages to blend smoothly with eclectic nature of the album.
In addition to the characteristically barren guitar riffs, it's comforting to know that Jonny Greenwood can still skillfully apply the full artillery of Theremins, keyboards, brass, bells and whistles without losing quality or integrity.
Thom Yorke's voice also proves to be more polished than ever - at least when his words are distinguishable. After a decade of crooning and convulsing, the singer still has that rare ability to successfully marry the sounds of beautifully tragic ghosts and willful alley cats being stuffed into burlap sacks.
In fact, he even says, "I'm an animal, trapped in your hot car" on tree-sap lullaby "All I Need." Poor Thom. Interestingly enough, the song resonates with "Climbing Up the Walls" from Ok Computer, in which Yorke states that he's "the key to the lock in your house/that keeps your toys in the basement."
A standard compact disc version of the album, complete with artwork, is slated to be released in early 2008, and fans are also given the option of pre-ordering a pricey box-set that will be shipped in early December.
However, the digital release method of Rainbows, with its emphasis on the music and solely the music, is already setting a precedent. Oasis, Jamiroquai and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have all told various publications that they may follow suit on their future releases.
Some people might interpret the fact that Radiohead offered no definitive price or proper warning of the release as a slightly pretentious move. After all, it's not really that hard to picture lead singer Thom Yorke irritably chewing on his sweater sleeve and remarking, "My work is too bloody genius for those pigf***rs to put a price on it" (the swine offenders being The Man).
However, the overriding statement of In Rainbows seems to be that the band is not trying to make a statement, but rather conduct an experiment.
