Radiohead Defies & Redefines Music Industry By Anthony A. Choman, Entertainment Writer
“Hello, everyone. Well, the new album is finished, and it’s coming out in 10 days; we’ve called it In Rainbows. Love from us all. Jonny”
The brief, albeit blunt, message from the band’s guitarist was in reference to their latest album, In Rainbows, and the nature of its release.
On Oct. 10, the entire world may purchase or not purchase the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows from the corresponding website; fans are being asked to pay what they think is a fair price for the new material, which is expected to range anywhere from nothing to eighty dollars.
As one might imagine this will cause an extremely large amount of traffic to appear on the said website; however, the band assures the public, via their official “unofficial” website (greenplastic.com), that they “are working on the current gear-grinding at inrainbows.com….it’s getting busy in there – busier than they expected.”
The last time the world has heard anything new from Radiohead was 2003’s Hail to the Thief, the title supposedly referencing America’s decision to re-elect Mr. George W. Bush. With the release of their last album in 2003 Radiohead had successfully and fully completed their contract with industry giant, EMI Group.
After Hail To The Thief in 2003 the band’s touring was limited to major festivals such as Bonnaroo (Manchester, Tennessee) and Glastonbury (Somerset, England), making their appearances slim to none as well as limiting their leaking/releasing of any new material.
The new album, In Rainbows, features ten new tracks and will be distributed via a website (inrainbows.com), created and controlled by the band itself. The real ingenuity/hysteria behind the release of this album rests in the manner in which the band has circumnavigated the major monsters that traditionally control the music industry (Warner Music Group, EMI, Sony BMG, and Universal Music Group), as well as any of the major digital-downloading entities, such as iTunes and UK-based online music store 7digital.
Whether or not you’ve ever purchased a Radiohead album or not does not seem to fit into this equation, at least not according to music industry executives and those already in the business: “This feels like yet another death knell, if the best band in the world doesn’t want a part of us, I’m not sure what’s left for this business,” sheepishly stated an A&R executive at a major European label. Most people, mainly detractors and would-be fans, are afraid that Radiohead has long since gone off the artistic-preverbal deep-end so to speak, however, it looks as though now we’re going to get to see how they’ll emerge from it, track by track and rung by rung.
At the expense of being a bit trite might I’d like to suggest to all the critics, naysayers, and industry executives out there that they re-listen to the song “2+2=5” by Radiohead: “There is no way out/You can scream & you/can shout/It is too late now/Because/You have not been/paying attention…”
What’s the Buzz over Halo? Review: Halo 3
By Daniel Alexander Nigro, Staff Writer So, by now, I’m assuming that people are either on the Halo 3 bandwagon or wondering what the big fuss is all about. Well, let me tell you, there is a reason why people are fussing over Halo 3, and it involves the combination of good game play, good storytelling elements and great multiplayer. The story should be familiar to those in the know, but if you’re new to the game, just know that an alien race has invaded Earth and there are a series of alien super- weapons that threaten to eradicate all life in the galaxy, and you, the player, are the last hope for humanity. Well, sort of. You have the strength of an army on your side, as well as several vehicles to drive, but it’s mostly you. If this sounds like something you’ve heard before, just know that the main characters are interesting enough to keep you emotionally invested in the game. The game-play, of course, is sublime. Once you get used to controlling a first person shooter with a game-pad, things just come naturally, as you’ll be shooting, jumping, driving and the like with ease. The driving controls do take getting a little used to, but once they click, they click. And the multiplayer, well, it’s why people are buying this game. There’s plenty of variety, too, with campaign co-op multiplayer for up to four players, multiple death match modes, clan support, map modification tools, and stat tracking. All of this combines to keep the multiplayer deep enough to make players keep coming back. Overall, if you’re not on the Halo 3 bandwagon, get on it. You’ll understand why it’s a cultural phenomenon rather quickly. Halo 3 $60 Xbox 360 On racks now
