I Love Waking Up To Shit Like This

What a pleasant surprise!

Radiohead, argued by some (well, some of that some is me) to be the greatest band that's together currently, has finally come to a decision as to what to do about their 7th LP, just recently titled In Rainbows. They currently do not have a record label, or even a distributor to distribute In Rainbows, so instead, they have chosen to shake the foundations of the music industry.

They will be releasing their LP through a digital-only download next week. What's so revolutionary about this? Well, it's only available through their website, and you name your own price for the download. That is, whatever you deem a necessary price for this release, that's how much you'll end up paying. I payed 5 GBP (~$10) for my copy, and I am wholly content, knowing that every cent of that will be going to the band. Not like when I go to Best Buy, with 90% of the purchase price going to the MAFIAA, and 10% eventually reaching the band members. This is an excellent way, in my opinion, to conduct business. Keeps the greedy middlemen out of the act, so the people that are responsible for bringing us this great music can reap the benefits of their fans directly. If you're not one for digital downloads, however, you might have to wait on that physical CD for quite a while.

The physical CD itself will not be in stores until the first part of 2008, probably January-ish. In between these two releases, though, a discbox will be released, containing the following:

"THIS CONSISTS OF THE NEW ALBUM, IN RAINBOWS, ON CD AND ON 2 X 12 INCH HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL RECORDS.
A SECOND, ENHANCED CD CONTAINS MORE NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK.
THE DISCBOX ALSO INCLUDES ARTWORK AND LYRIC BOOKLETS.
ALL ARE ENCASED IN A HARDBACK BOOK AND SLIPCASE.
THE ALBUM DOWNLOAD AUTOMATICALLY COMES WITH THIS PACK."

Pretty sick, eh? Too bad it costs roughly $81. This band, as far as I know, is one of the best to ever exist, so I'm definitely picking this up when it starts shipping in December.

[edit]: As an addendum, I just noticed that the album download comes WITH the pre-order of the discbox. Well, fuck.

But in any case, this is definitely something not seen every day by anyone in the recording industry. It should, no doubt, shake up some stuff and possibly inspire other well-known acts to not feel pressured to find record companies in order to release music. Last I checked, this industry was all about bringing music to the listener, and the experience of that music. Radiohead understands this, and have become pioneers in the process.

For the time being, here's Thom Yorke, performing the 10th track from In Rainbows, entitled "Videotape."

WHY?! Why must you exist?!

So...I don't understand why this little middle room exists, other than to make incredibly awkward situations. Me, minding my own business on the way into the bathroom to conduct some business. I walk into this little halfway room, just four walls and two doors. It seems its purpose is to make it so that people can't be creeps and peep directly in to the bathroom, I guess.

It's so just awkward when you walk into that little bathroom purgatory, only to run directly into someone walking out of the bathroom at that same time. Because then, there's two of you in this little room that has such little purpose. And you're both trying to walk around each other to get to the door, but neither of you will make it past the other. Now you're stuck in limbo with this self-righteous bastard who thinks he is getting through that door, come hell or high water.

I vote that all future architects remove this little room from their plans. "Well, what do you suppose would replace it?" some laymen might ask. Well, here's an idea: How about you offset the urinals and stalls so that they're not directly in the line of sight of the door.

Mic Check One, Two

So, this is a little post to get this thing started.

It's about time I found a pedestal from which to complain.

Joining me in said complaining is the other Ally from the South, Robbie.

I'll try to make this not suck. No guarantees, though.