by Samantha Scott
Daily Lobo
When does a subcultural phenomenon cross the line and become part of the zeitgeist?
This is a complicated question, and it's easier to explain this great leap forward with a concrete example - Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows. More than an album, In Rainbows signifies a major change in the way recording artists present and distribute their work. The music on the album is no more revolutionary than earlier Radiohead releases, such as OK Computer and Kid A. But In Rainbows is pure 21st century, as edgy and intense as we have come to expect from Thom Yorke and company. The revolutionary aspect and cultural importance of In Rainbows is the means by which it's made available.
Radiohead made the album available as a DRM-free download from their Web site beginning Oct. 10. And Radiohead wants you to do decide what it's worth. The band's prismatic Web site, InRainbows.com, presents fans with a sort of moral reverence and implicit trust. As for the price, the site reads, "It's up to you," followed by, "No, really. It's up to you." In a stunning blow to the forces of musical capitalism, potential listeners can name their own price for the download. Now independent of their former label, EMI, the band's only reference to a label is fashioned from an obscure allusion to an underground conspiracy of alternative mail distribution first described in a Thomas Pynchon novel, "The Crying of Lot 49." W.A.S.T.E., or We Await Silent Tristero's Empire, has long been the self-driven marketing arm of the Radiohead universe. The band's decision to place the new recording under this banner gives new meaning to the cryptic, Pynchonian concept of a subversive world of communication separate from the norm - a world that will ultimately supersede the dominant paradigm. This move indicates that Radiohead is in complete control of its artistic destiny.
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And Radiohead isn't alone. On Oct. 8, industrial rock guru Trent Reznor announced his intention to remain a free agent and to interact directly with fans, eschewing record labels. Reznor has publicly decried his former label, Universal Music Group. Most recently, Reznor encouraged fans to download his newest album, Year Zero, from file-sharing networks after Universal jacked up Year Zero's Australian price to $30. Prince made headlines earlier this year when he distributed a couple million copies of Planet Earth in a British tabloid, to the industry responded with venomous petulance. Record stores demonized Prince for cutting into their profit margin and BMG UK refused to distribute the album.
But the telltale fury of the recording industry's reaction to free music and direct distribution is symptomatic of a greater infirmity. As it stands, the recording industry has been outmoded by technology and digital culture. But savvy artists aren't waiting for the Luddite to catch up to society.
Upon In Rainbows' release, Yorke quoted English musician Robert Wyatt (ex-Soft Machine): "There's a whole endless thing going on out there. You make your little pond, but if your pond isn't connected to the river, which isn't connected to an ocean, it's just going to dry up. It's just a little piss pool. I've lived too long to be happy in a pond."
Forget about waiting. Tristero's empire is here.
