So I’ve been waiting anxiously for about 10 days for the new Radiohead Album, In Rainbows. I say only 10 days because that’s about how long ago anyone found out they were even releasing an album! Some of you may already know, but Radiohead decided to do something a little bit revolutionary. They released this album without a label & offered it to be downloaded with a “Name your own Price” choice. This means you can download it for free, or a million dollars. They will also be selling a physical copy of the CD sometime next year. Currently there is a Collector’s Box with some art, extras, vinyl, and the CD for about 60 dollars you could buy as well. So there’s a lot of buzz around the method with which they have released this album. But now it’s out, and the topic of conversation is the album itself.

I love Radiohead. They’re my “favorite band” if you were to ask me that question. I’ve been listening to them since I was an awkward teenager and now that I’m an awkward adult I still love them. However, before the release of In Rainbows this is how my order of preference fell:

1 – The Bends
2 – OK Computer
3 – Pablo Honey
4 – Kid A — Tied with — Hail to the Thief
5 – Amnesiac

Although lately I’ve been listening to Amnesiac again and its not as far to the bottom as I thought. Upon first listen of In Rainbows I just kind of assumed that it would fall above Amnesiac somewhere, but now I am not so sure. I mean, 15 Step, is an awesome song, and Bodysnatchers is interesting. Then of course just the fact that they recorded Nude is completely exciting. But after that the album kind of tapers off for me. I can hardly remember the songs after that and I have listened to the album about 15 times so far. Maybe it’s just too mellow for my tastes, or I just don’t get to hear enough of Thom’s singing being amazing. I’m still not sure. For now I am going to rank it on par with Kid A & HTTT.

One thing I do think is weird, however, is people who are actually surprised and/or offended that Radiohead will be ALSO releasing this CD on a major Record Label sometime next year. I’m not quite sure what you thought they were doing, but I think people thought this was more of a movement than them doing something for their fans. I’m not even really sure why people get so up in arms against major record labels. In the world of the internet, and myspace, they are becoming less of a monopoly. However, just because I don’t think any band has the time or the inclination to pay for & track the global sales & distribution of a CD, especially if you are a band as large as Radiohead, doesn’t seem like such a crazy thing to me. However, it still stands that the fact that they even made it an OPTION to support the band without the proxy of a label is a big enough “fuck you” for now. But the CD with official art, and packaging will be released for those of us that like the artwork & other inclusions that come with a physical CD. So put down your torches & calm down people. If you don’t want to support the label, then just download the MP3′s!

After giving the CD another listen whilst writing this article I like it a bit better. It’s definitely a mellow album, and I need to be in a certain mood to appreciate it, but its composed beautifully and is a quality expected from Radiohead. Maybe one day they’ll decide to rock the fuck out.. until then I still have The Bends.