The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I have the album!

It got a good 4 listens yesterday.
I love it!! This is the 3rd time I've had many of the tracks 9 months in advance, from one of those poor quality live gig boots that get out when they feel out the songs they're working on.
As with Kid A, and Hail to the Thief, the studio versions just Pop! The down side to the download is there's only 10 songs. I hear we get 8 more with the box set.

I paid 9 pounds, plus the exchange fee.

I highly recommend the album, if you're a Radiohead fan.

GlennCase wrote:Right?

Kid A is my fav.

Jefff wrote:

GlennCase wrote:Right?

Kid A is my fav.

I'm with you on Kid A, but you didn't really offer me a complete answer. I don't know what the circumstances behind that are, but I'm still curious, if you don't mind.

I was correcting Glenn. Kid A is my fav. Then OK Computer. Then the Bends.

Jefff wrote:I was correcting Glenn. Kid A is my fav. Then OK Computer. Then the Bends.

Oh, I think I get it now. Thanks.

My favorite Radiohead album is that one off all the B-Sides and unreleased stuff from the Bends and OK Computer era:

Lull
Lift
India Rubber
Bishops Robes
Coke Babies
Maquiladora
Talk Show Host

etc.

I'm loving this so far, and agree with Fluffy about the dynamics here, very nice. I paid 3 pounds and am impressed with the quality of the 160kbps MP3s. I wish it were higher, but hey...

I download it. So far, it's quite enjoyable. But where's the album art?

Though I think the Flickr album art thing is quite amusing: http://flickr.com/groups/inrainbowsart/pool/

<a href="http://flickr.com/photos/suburbia_org_u ... art/">this one's awesome</a>

I've had a chance to really ponder this "name your price" to download the 160bps album. This is pretty smart.
The way I see it:
1. People are going to pirate it anyway, so why not get a few bux in the meantime from people that will pay for it based on principle.
2. Bands don't make much, if any, from record sales, so this might make them more.
3. Let's turn the tables on the pirates and bootleggers and make their prices seem expensive
4. After all the hype has ended with the "name your price" deal, have a major album release (probably with a bonus track, etc) once the words Radio Head - In Rainbows is ingrained in everyones brain.
5. Increase record sale numbers to chart high with the music industry.
6. Increase interest to promote ticket and merchandise sales.
7. Increase traffic to their official web site for all of the above.

I'm sure others can add to this list, but anyway you look at it, this is a smart marketing idea.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:4. After all the hype has ended with the "name your price" deal, have a major album release (probably with a bonus track, etc) once the words Radio Head - In Rainbows is ingrained in everyones brain.

Well, yeah, from the beginning there was also the "discbox" release (which is what I ordered) which has a bonus CD (with enhanced CD content), and also both the main CD and bonus CD on vinyl, and they've also been quite public about their plans to release the main disc as a standalone CD in January. Oddly they want to do it through a label... I'm surprised they don't just do their own manufacturing (which is freaking cheap now) and ship directly to CDBaby, Amazon, etc., but maybe their primary concern is getting it into the major retail stores (which is the one thing the major labels are still the best at).

I'm sure there are certain loyalties to major labels that "have to followed" because they can get you in places that are contractually or "physically" controlled by them in one way or another. No matter how big you think you are, you have to play the game I guess. They don't call it organized crime for nothing. When you decide not to play the game anymore, you end up dead from an overdose or suicide so that album sales can continue without that pesky musician in the way.

Not to get too far off topic, but the above ranting here just reminded me of one of my spoken word pieces I like to do when the inspiration hits. I call it Phobacidic Phraseology. So rather than hi jacking this thread, I made a new one here >> http://songfight.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=97327#97327

You don't think established acts like Radiohead and Madonna can't go on without physical sales? I'm thinking they can do what they want. What percentage of their fan base doesn't have robust internet access? Sure they let you set the price this time, but they can simply average things out, and charge for future releases (also this one in the future) that will still net them way more than a cut from a label deal would. Lesser known acts will benefit once new distribution and sales models emerge, but will still need mega promotions.

Madonna seems to be cutting a deal with Live Nation, so her promotions deal is part of the contract there. Radio will become (even) less important than it is today for these bands. But new acts don't have that advantage. I'm a bad barometer since I haven't listened to radio since the mid 70s.

I realized why I'm so underwhelmed by this album. It sounds like fucking Blur's Think Tank. This is in no way a criticism of that album, I love it, but you'd think Radiohead would have come up with something somewhat fresh at this point.

Okay, as much as I like In Rainbows, Hail To The Thief is much better.

glennny wrote:My favorite Radiohead album is that one off all the B-Sides and unreleased stuff from the Bends and OK Computer era:

Lull
Lift
India Rubber
Bishops Robes
Coke Babies
Maquiladora
Talk Show Host

etc.

I agree with you on that one. Talk Show Host and Polyethylene are two of my favorite songs by them.

Hey, my discbox just shipped. Hopefully I'll get it soon (they said 5-18 days).

It arrived today! 17 days. Well, that was well within the estimate I guess. (Though I wonder if maybe my leasing office had just forgotten to let me know about it until today? They do that sometimes.)

We got ours on the 26th, it's pretty cool! The best part is the 26minute CD with extra tracks. All very very good.

Album of the Year!! No one comes close in my book.