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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, October 8, 2007 Radiohead's latest album is online; you name the price By Andy Rathbun, Herald Writer In July, a couple weeks after Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien said the band's seventh disc was nearly done, front man Thom Yorke wrote a short message on their Web site. "Things are quiet here now," he said. "We are unable to explain. Nothing can be revealed. We have not disappeared. Merely become invisible. For a short time. We may be hiding in the woods." Droll, cryptic posts like these were Pavlovian for some fans. The heart quickened. Something was coming. Sure enough, the group leapt into clear view Oct. 1. "Well, the new album is finished, and it's coming out in 10 days," guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote, posting a link to an exclusive site where fans could order a download of the album for free. Ten days from Oct. 1? That's Wednesday -- and that's unusual. This whole thing is very unusual. Radiohead, among the world's best-regarded acts, command a large following. Generally, a new album would come with months of promotion: singles, shows, maybe a Rolling Stone cover. In other words, it'd come with a well-oiled machine behind it. It also would get leaked to the Internet, almost certainly, sometime before its release. The group was between record contracts, however, when they decided to plop the album online. And it goes without saying that record labels' well-oiled machines have been sputtering. Taking all that into account, this whole "In Rainbows" thing could be seen a few different ways. Maybe Radiohead, between record contracts, decided to throw the dice and try to prove their commercial worth, getting some leverage for negotiations. But no, that doesn't fit. The group stands to make more on tours than they do on the album's release, after all. So maybe Radiohead's just screwing with their label. The group's never been crazy about corporations, writing in the liner notes of "OK Computer" that the lyrics were reprinted "by kind permission even though we wrote them." Subtle, no? It doesn't look like they're trying to go it alone entirely. Shortly after the Oct. 1 announcement, a Music Week interview with the band's management revealed the group was nearing a new record deal. A packaged CD might hit stores in January. Maybe they just did it for the fans. Whatever the reason, it was a wonderful monkey wrench to toss into an already broken machine -- the type of move that turned the traditional record company model on its head. This group, who have a song called "No Surprises," built a crazed sense of anticipation over the course of a few hours instead of a few months. It seems as if, instead of knocking a society with "no alarms ... please," they gave it a joy buzzer. Right now, you can pre-order the download at www.inrainbows.com. You'll get 10 tracks, and can pay whatever you want. Well, almost whatever you want: The band will let you order the album for free but, according to http://blog.limewire.com, they won't accept more than around $205, or 99.99 pounds. Remember, these guys are British. Oh, and they're rich. Don't forget that. They are very, very rich. After placing an order, fans get a confirmation e-mail. In it, the group notes they "value your custom" -- not your order, or their customers. Maybe it's a typo, or maybe not. Whatever the case, thanks guys. We value your custom, too. On another note ... There's this bit of dialogue from "Almost Famous" where writer-director Cameron Crowe takes a stab at explaining rock and roll. In the 2000 movie, a guitarist starts talking about Marvin Gaye's "What's Happening Brother," saying there's "a single woo at the end of the second verse. You know that woo? That single woo?" "That's what you remember," the guitarist says. "It's the little things. The silly things. The mistakes. ... It's what you leave out. Yeah, that's rock and roll." He's right, and it's similar idiosyncrasies that elevate Band of Horses "Cease to Begin," putting it on par with their 2006 debut, "Everything All the Time." The South Carolina-based group sticks to the blueprint of that previous release. Again, the three piece nails down a simple, majestic sound, lacing "Islands on the Coast" with a darting guitar and building "Is There a Ghost" into an explosive and uplifting bit of paranoia. Sounding a bit like the Shins' James Mercer, singer Ben Bridwell sells every line, even turning potentially banal choruses such as "The world is such a wonderful place" into effective, earnest truths. The band accents this 10-song collection with their characteristic nods to southern and western music -- an affected twang here, a barroom clap there. While the group hasn't grown much over the last year, with records like this, they don't really need to. Writer Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.

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