Thom Yorke gets the final thought:
Thom: “hope you are enjoying listening to the download of In Rainbows. its a relief to us all that finally its out there. its been a mad couple of weeks.. as i’m sure you can imagine. “I love pop music to death….. Most great composers rely on folk music. I rely on pop music. I’m not saying I’m a great composer or that pop music is folk music. There’s a whole endless thing going on out there. You make your little pond but if your pond isn’t connected to the river, which isn’t connected to an ocean, it’s just going to dry up. It’s just a little piss pool. I’ve lived too long to be happy in a pond.” I found this in WIRE magazine over a pint in the pub last night.. its Robert Wyatt”
Final thoughts 12 hours after the release and first listen through. Flick and I agreed on a rating of 8.4 for the album and suggested that if you haven’t bought the album, but are thinking about it, then a good place to start would be track 6 ‘faust arp’. You can download the mp3 from this blog. All the mp3s are available below, or for free from radiohead.com.
Mike: 20:25: So the reaction is restrained, but overwhelmingly positive. The critics seem to have had a field day comparing and recontextualising ‘In Rainbows’ with every single other work, yet struggling where to place, but still agreeing it’s better than ‘Hail To The Theif’. After 4 or 5 listens through I’m inclined to agree. It’s progressive, and really interesting, but not to the point that it needs serious study.
Flick: 20:38 Since Hail To The Thief was released, the world of blogs has matured. It’s interesting to watch thousands of blogs weigh in their reaction to In Rainbows. As with any great album, it seems that when you first listen to it your reaction is somewhat hesitant, although you know it’s great. Initially, some people may be against In Rainbow’s simplicity. But what really matters is if we are listening to this album ten years from now. I believe we will be.
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What are you final thoughts? How many out of 10? I say 8.2, and Flick says 8.5. But is this over cautious or just the demand of creation an immediate reaction to an album that expects one from you? You can’t just sit back and appreciate this album - you have to think. And I personally, despite enjoying the hype, am looking forward to sitting down with it, listening to it in different places, sharing it with friends and eventually, seeing it performed live.
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Mike: 20:30 DiS probe the Last.fm music blog site. “’15 Steps’ has been listened to over 22000 times so far. If we judge that the album’s been available for 12 hours, DiS’ rather tenuous grasp of maths reckons that as one listen every 2 seconds. Impressive stuff… “. Videotape has been listened to +8,500 times on last.fm, so we’re talking about 50,000 people having listened to the album all the way through today!
Mike: 12:07: Words of the day: Enchanting. Yowl.
Mike: 11:56: NEWS. After looking through the mp3 blog aggregator Elbo.ws Mp3 bloggers seem to have (collectively) already posted 8/10 of “In Rainbows”. They’ve not enjoyed “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi” and “Videotape” enough. Weird Fishes which quickly emerged as one of my favourites. Update: In about 18 hours bloggers had decided it was neccessary to upload every single track from the album. This very very rarely happens for any other release, but it seems to indicate that everyone loves a bit of it. Or just wants the traffic.
1. “15 Step” – 3:57
2. “Bodysnatchers” – 4:02
3. “Nude” – 4:15
4. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – 5:18
5. “All I Need” – 3:48
6. “Faust Arp” – 2:09
7. “Reckoner” – 4:50
8. “House of Cards” – 5:28
9. “Jigsaw Falling into Place” – 4:09
10. “Videotape” – 4:39
Mike: 11:53: Some people don’t really think about their reviews. Others get to the heart of the matter “Coldplay is for Pussies and Radiohead is for Art Fags. And Kanye likes both of them and all of them love rainbows and gay people and so do we and we love all of them goodnight.” [read more]
Mike: 11:17: Are you going to listen to anything other than In Rainbows today? If you want some other music, check out the great British bands I’ve written about here on the only mp3 blog solely dedicated to new British music. Check out my reviews of Jonquil, Cats In Paris, and Misophone for a taster of the sort of music I dig.
Mike: 10:55. I think that in this situation, it’s best to read the bloggers and fans take on things, and then, if you feel the need, read the critics reviews after they’ve had the time to digest it and consider it. I much prefer the single sentence reviews from bloggers and on web-forums that give feeling, not just a description of the sound and unneccessary reference points. Such in the utility of mp3 blogs.
Mike 10:49. I like Dave take on things at The Rawking Refuses to Stop “8) I bet Pitchfork gives it like a 6.8… 9) ALBUM OF THE YEAR. Believe the hype”; however some of his writers refuse to pay for it…. Dave splashes the cash and chucks £7 Radiohead’s way.
Mike: 10:31 The paid journalists over at NME have a go at describing the album, but they don’t have mp3s to give away do they? Mp3 bloggers do. Make up your own mind by listening to the album, it’s certainly intended to be listened to in its entirity. You can buy it at inrainbows.com and choose your own price.
Mike: 09:23: People have starting to reporting download problems with the official site. The album has inevitably appeared in the same form on various torrent and file-upload sites.
Mike: 09:29 Dave Allen, of Gang of Four, fits “In Rainbows” into Radiohead history “In Rainbow is not the ground-breaking existential, fuck-with-our-heads records that Amnesiac or Kid A were. It doesn’t take me on that helter skelter ride that OK Computer took me; it doesn’t even take me down the dark paths that Thom Yorke’s Eraser explored. Yet still it’s the most enthralling rock album that you’ll hear before the year is out… the end of an era…” [read more]
Mike: 09:23: Pitchfork seem to have the first proper news article up that says something interesting. Expect a review soon… [link]
Mike: 09:13: I’m saying that Hard To Find A Friend got first proper post on an mp3 blog, choosing to play “House of Cards“.
Mike: 09:11: Some initial reaction: “Color us pleased androids. BTW: The downloading process? Seamless, super-quick, and painless. {tankboy}, “I’m glad I stayed up and did this, because Radiohead’s done some things an album release hasn’t done for me in a while.” {Kids pushing kids}, “My first impression is that this is the band’s most enchanting, instantly enjoyable work since OK Computer or Kid A. But that might have to do with the fact that it’s 2 AM.” {Gorilla Vs Bear}
Mike: 09:08: Flick makes a really good observation about the single message, and thread running through the promotion, release, name and build up to the album. That, or the late night queueing for a line he can’t see the start of sent him a bit mental. “‘Endless urbia’ being stuck in binary code. With all the changes going on around us in this world, we are caught in binary code.” He elaborates on the signficance of the number 10 to this release. [link]
Mike: 09:00: Apologies if you haven’t been able to see this site for the last hour, the interweb seems to be melting.
Mike: 08:50: Second listen time. It improves a lot when you can just site back and take it all in.
Mike: 08:45: First thoughts: Impressive, rock and really well thought through. Unique. It’s a 7.9 so far in my books, but these things generally improve in time methinks. Reckoner or Weird Fishes are the strongest tracks so far.
Mike: 08:44: Reaction to Track 10: “Videotapeâ€: An end of album track, or just preparing you for this rest? Echoey, sounds like it’s fading out from the start.
Mike: 08:38: Reaction to Track 9: “Jigsaw Falling Into Placeâ€: Faster and punchy. This isn’t an ambient album. I really don’t know what this this - It’s certainly an evolution, and there’s a lot of big ideas tied up in this album, but they aren’t all that naviagable. Some strong singles. How is the other half of the album (on the second record of the vinyl + cd disc box?)
Mike: 08:32: Reaction to Track 8: ““House of Cardsâ€: Thom and Radiohead have been playing this one live for years. Another strong track
Mike: 08:28: Reaction to Track 7: “Reckoner†Sounds a little like Frustiante, or maybe Erasure? Or Thom Yorke. Guitar noodling and repetition all the way through. Overlapped and spaced out, string section hits.
Mike: 08:25: Reaction to Track 6: “Faust Arpâ€: Failed to impress.
Mike: 08:19: Reaction to Track 5: “All I Needâ€: I’m struggling to get into this immediatly, it’s a much bigger sound, and eventually begins to impress. It demonstrates that this must have been a good album so far.
Mike: 08:15: Reaction to Track 4: “Weird Fishes/Arpeggiâ€: More drum beat, and some piano. This album is going to play really well with the live crowd, all the sounds dripping through the floorboards above splash over the lyrics and all the instruments to remove any gaze, shine or anything. Smooth, and delicate. Best track of the album so far. The second half of this song is like half a song, like a song that was never finished.
Mike: 08:14 : Reaction to Track 3: “Nudeâ€: Slower, more messed up drum beat. Maybe this will sound better at full quality. Restrained, a lot of floating sounds.A grower.
Mike: 08:06: Reaction to Track 2: “Bodysnatchers†fast paced like a casual shrug of the shoulders, we’re heading back into old Radiohead territory here. This is gonna become a live favourite, the bass can go really loud whilst Tom goes mental.
Mike: 08:02: Reaction to Track 1: “15 Step†glitchy, and ethereal yet really comfortable
Mike: 08:01: Time for the first review of In Rainbows….
Mike: 08:02: Right I’ve started the download, and it’s super fast. Absolutly no download problems. I was sent the album at 7:39. A lot of people will be listening in work. We it forever be an album people associate with the morning?
Mike: 00:54: 21 posts and more than 1000 words all about an album that almost no-one in the world has heard. Isn’t the internet wonderful? I’ve never been this excited about an album. But, importantly I wouldn’t be this excited had this campaign not happened. Well done Radiohead. More tomorrow at about 8 A.M BST
Mike: 00:42: I’m listening to Hail To Thief then getting some sleep. No matter what happens people you will hear the album tomorrow morning. Stay strong, it’s what tom would have wanted.
Mike: 00:42: A straw poll over at a radiohead forum has it that 13 intend on paying anything up to $20. Whereas 23 forum voters have indicated that they’ve already order the £40 ($80) discbox. The BBC further revealed today that the maximum you can donate to Radiohead for the right to download is £100.
Mike: 00:34: The first review comes out. “6. FAUST ARP - I’d say this sounds like sort of a hardcore hip-hoppy version of the opening theme music from The Price Is Right. Definitely gonna be a bangin’ club track … 10. VIDEOTAPE - This is just 37 seconds of silence, followed by a gunshot. Really catchy”
Mike: 00:17: The consensus on the web is that the release won’t be uploaded until 9:00 - that’s when the working day starts, and just a couple of hours before the whole thing is made available to NME radio and XFM radio listeners to stream. So you are guaranteed to hear the album in under 12 hours.
Flick: 23:10: What Radiohead songs did people listen to last week while they waited? Here is the top 10 tracks according to Last.fm:
1. Karma Police
2. Paranoid Android
3. Creep
4. No Surprises
5. Airbag
6. Let Down
7. Fake Plastic Trees
8. Idioteque
9. Everything In Its Right Place
10. Exit Music (for a Film)
Flick: 22:34: Radiohead fans are posting frantically at Last.fm. The general consensus is: “How can we speed up time?”
Flick: 22:08: As we’re waiting for W.A.S.T.E. to email us with a link to download the album, bloggers and fans are wondering what time they will be given access to In Rainbows. Considering that millions of fans will be downloading the 48mb zip, we could expect W.A.S.T.E. to carefully time the emails to control the traffic. If this is the case, who will be the lucky blogger?
Mike: 22:00: 2 hours to go (maybe) and we already have branding analysis from BizMedScience “NextStage has been exploring the concepts Radiohead is using to promote “In Rainbows”. We just call it Democratized Talent and MiniMarkets.” [link]
Flick: 21:43: Radiohead are releasing the mp3s at 160kBps… while OiNK bit torrent has a minimum requirement of 192kBps. Idolator suggests that Radiohead are “trying to keep the album away from the too-cutesy-for-its-own-good BitTerrorist hub OiNK.” Could it be?
Mike: 21:21: The Philosophical and ethical dilemmas continue “How much should you pay for something that is free?”. A damn decent blog post on the subject. [onemanblogs]
Mike: 21:09: The fans get a chance to speak: “If they go by GMT, the new radiohead will be available in FOUR HOURS! OMFG — i have the ghey for the new radiohead! can’t wait :)” No more unneccessary abbreviations, nor emoticons tonight.
Mike: 21:04: Mr Ian Brown and Johnny Marr spoke out in favour of Radiohead’s plans at the Q awards last night. [gigwise]
Mike: 20:44:Radiohead fans over at Drowned In Sound are already committing logical fallacies about the Radiohead album: “You’re making all sorts of strawman arguments for the sake of making your anger sound more justified… I’m not some sort of Radiohead freak coming out of the woodwork- I’m more of a stickler for a decent, logical argument” Can you feel the tension?
Mike: 20:09: RUMOURMILL: The average price paid for ‘In Rainbows’ has been around £4.72 and the band have made around £1.3m so far. [source]
Flick: 19:59: This is Flick from Puddlegum, an indie music journal. I’m waiting anxiously for this release! Radiohead’s management declined to send pre-release copies to bloggers, so could this be viewed as a controlled album leak?
Mike: 19:46: The release will be in 160kbps sound, and will be delivered electronically in a 48.4MB zip file. Idolator wonders whether this is enough. Comments a la “have we come to this” ensue.
Mike 19:43: NME say “Check back on NME.COM tomorrow morning at 10:00 BST for the first track-by-track guide to the new Radiohead album.” I beg to differ. We’ll be first. (yes - it is a competition.)
Mike: 19:27: News reaches me that over at web-community and review site Drowned in Sound they’ll be embracing the new method of releasing an album, and will be asking reviewers to all come together and are asking for a collaborative review. They haven’t gone as far as embracing the wiki style - but are offering a £40 box set to any reviewers who’s entries form the final, collaborative review.
Mike: 19:13: I’m lucky to have already had a couple of other bloggers ask to be involved in the liveblogging so expect updates from them as well. All here on the only blog solely dedicated to new British Music.
Mike: 19:07: I’ll be liveblogging the release of In Rainbows right here and following the immediate reaction to the album all the way across the blogosphere. LIVE! Just like the album is doing, I’ll focus on the reaction of the blogs, and keeping a tally of what tracks the blogs choose to post.
(A live blog is a live reaction to an event. In this case, I be making frequent updates as I download, listen and following the reaction to the Radiohead album in the hour after it’s release. That is - presuming it comes out @ 00:01, and that not early morning sometime. It could be a long night.)
tag: Radiohead
Tags: Best of NBGL, Folk, Johnny 5 Is Alive, London, Not London, UK Music, not-folk-music, tuneup by Mike Smith
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