In Rainbows

Radiohead decided that they would let the public decide how much to pay for the privilege of downloading their new album In Rainbows. Not wanting to be a freeloader I voluntarily plunked down £5, which resulted in a charge of approx. $11 on my credit card. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning an e-mail arrived directing me to my exclusive download. This was the strangest way I've ever purchased music....

The file was made up of 10 MP3s. I worried that the sound quality would be inferior, but it wasn't. I burned them onto a CD, listened on some decent Bose speakers last night and couldn't discern any difference in dynamic range from the usual. As for the album itself. Radiohead continues to go from strength to strength. One could go on and on trying to figure out influences and comparing them to this band or that. Suffice it to say they continue to take wildly divergent influences and yet create something wholly their own.

I'm not sure why Radiohead became my favorite band. I only discovered them after they'd been a big deal for a while (about the time they released Kid A). I guess something about them resonated with my personality and sensibilities. I relate to their music in different ways than at first, but it continues to fascinate. Like the symphonies of Sibelius, the films of Kubrick, or the poems of Eliot, every one of their albums (except the first) is a polished diamond that takes me to an interesting place each time I listen. In Rainbows promises to do the same.