In Rainbows...

So my good friend Sarah has this post, in which she asks weather or not Radiohead ripped her off in some weird dollar to Euros and/or hidden fees fiasco when she bought their new album. My friend Brandon had a similar problem, and he figured out that since Radiohead were in England, they were using pounds instead of Euros, or the other way around or something, and yes, his transaction was a little higher than he expected. But he still got the album, and he got it for cheaper than he would have in a store or on itunes, so he's okay with that. It's all about the art, right?

Now, I didn't have those problems because I got it off a friend from work, so I really didn't pay anything for it. I think it was all an elaborate marketing ploy, but it worked. People seemed to love the concept. I know it did, and I had every intention of buying it. I was going to give them about $10.00, but when a guy at work waltzes up with the thing on a flash drive, what are you gonna do? I am weak willed, everybody knows that.
On to the album: I love it.
OK Computer is arguably one of the best albums ever made ever, and is the benchmark I use for all other Radiohead albums. Kid A was close. Amnesiac a little further away. Hail to the Thief and The Eraser were complete let downs. I don't hate them, but When I have OK Computer and Kid A sitting there in the same pile, I'm gonna reach for one of them. I do the same thing with The Pixies. Bossanova and Trompe LaMode always take a back seat to Doolittle and Surfer Rosa.
In Rainbows, especially when compaired to The Eraser, really lets you know that Radiohead is a group effort, and not the All Thom Yorke Show, unlike some bands like The Cure or Coldplay*. The mellow, guitar-driven tracks are like seeing an old friend, back to their usual self after getting out of rehab. And I an sure Phil Selway is happy to be able to actually drum again.
They keep the ethereal, psychedelic aspects that remind me of bands like Tones on Tail and Galaxie 500, back in the '80s, and are what made Radiohead great, like a rock band conceived completely under water. And there are some solid lyrics in there. All in all, I think they are back on the right track, and I'm happy for it.

In Geek News:

Wil Wheaton is interviewed for BoingBoingTV:



He goes into a nostalgic narrative, summarizing a story he's written for his new book, about that time in many of our young nerdy lives, when we had our allowance in our hands and found ourselves staring up at the wall of action figures at the local K-Mart (back before they were ghetto), trying to decide weather to save our cash for something big like the Millenium Falcon, or to go ahead and get the instant gratification of holding Greedo in our hands right then and there. I have to say that he hit the nail on the head with that one, and this was something my brother and I struggled with every weekend of our lives until we discovered girls.
I was always the saver, my brother the spend it now type, and I would hold that over him every chance I got. Like when I pulled out some Halloween candy sometime after thanksgiving, or when I bought a rare back issue of Groo the Wanderer that one time. It made him furious. He ended up stealing a good portion of stuff from me over the years because he just couldn't stand it. We are still like that to a certain extent. I can't wait to get a copy of Wil's book.


That is all.

-JP





*Let it be known that I cannot stand Coldplay. Overrated and dumb.