Blogcritics Comments on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Comment by julian on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:06:24 EST

downloaded it 4 free. got the discbox 4 xmas. 4 those who didn't get the second disc, it's just as good as the first. and i consider it their best work 2 date. and i've been there since "Pablo Honey".

Comment by THOM YORKE FANS on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:16:55 EST

When you were here before, couldn't look you in the eye. You're just like an angel, your skin makes me cry. You float like a feather, in a beautiful world I wish I was special, you're so fucking special. it's all about THOM YORKE expressive face

Comment by Josh on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 01:03:47 EST

I paid about 3 bucks american for the download, and just recently bought the store released version. Personally I find the downloaded version to sound quite good. I'll admit that I might not be listening to it on an expensive audio system, but if I spent that much money on a stereo, I would opt to buy the 80$ pack. And the reason I would buy the deluxe version is to have a piece of history (maybe a little hyperbole, but who doesn't want an album made especially for them?) If I had enough money, believe me, i'd buy it as soon as possible. on another note, I have rebought some albums I had on CD, this time opting for vinyl. We must also remember that the "two pieces of vinyl" have the amazing In Rainbows on them. And finally: Radiohead have said several times that the downloadable version was to preempt the bootleggers. That's what it was, a band sanctioned (and probably better quality) bootleg. I love Radiohead, and hope they continue to make great music, no matter what format it happens to be on.

Comment by As If on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:01:48 EST

Artist owns the art, artist does what he wants, and you do what you want. What could possibly be wrong with that? I appreciate the fact that people like free music, and it's cool that Radiohead made that option available - since most major bands offer a couple songs for free and sell the rest through iTunes, the download-only option seems like roughly the same thing to me (i.e., it covers both those bases). But I happen to enjoy giving money (and business) to people whose efforts I support, and I try to avoid giving money (or business) to people I distrust. I bought the set happily, and it's coming any day now. I have no problem helping to support the boys. They deserve it for everything they've given me - which is worth a LOT more than the cost of all the Radiohead CDs I've bought (all of their full-length US releases). I wish they were here so I could buy them all a round of drinks as well.

Comment by Christopher Rose on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:38:28 EST

Tom, your links weren't stripped out, you missed the "more than" arrowheads at the end of each url. Fixed now.

Comment by Tom Johnson on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:18:58 EST

Why were my links stripped out of my previous comment? They were rather important to the point of what I was saying.

Comment by Tom Johnson on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:06:26 EST

Hmmm, that's funny. That contradicts what I've been seeing. It turns out that only 2 out of 5 "fans" chose to actually pay for the album after all, and the band averaged about $2.26 for each download due to that. I guess maybe I do realize the "commitment and dedication" of Radiohead "fans" afterall, huh? Of course, the band denies this but won't actually tell anyone how they did, which means it likely is worse than that. Let's not forget that there are server fees and such to pay for hosting all these downloads - not a small amount of money we're talking about, either. And I still fail to see how the $80 box is "not a bad deal." It's far too much for what you get - two pieces of vinyl and two CDs in a box. The music on the CDs will be available soon, so it's not like there's something exclusive here (remember, there was nothing said about CD 2 being exclusive to the box and therefore that material will be out somewhere, somehow.) But if $80 spent on that is a good deal to you, more power to you. I'd rather buy 7-8 other $10-12 CDs, but whatever.

Comment by Alex on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:30:22 EST

Oh yeah and Mr. Tom, I don't think you realize the commitment and dedication of most Radiohead fans. Here's a story for you... my brother who is paying his way through college with a part time job, never has money and rarely eats well, decided to pay his $2 dollars (which was all he had on the 10th) to get the album and contribute somehow instead of eating a decent hamburger or not paying at all! I applaud him and those like him. ps- I just ordered the $80 pkg, and he is waiting for the CD release to buy that also... I guess we just value what they do. Radiohed! CHEERS MATES!

Comment by Alex on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:18:23 EST

I don't understand those of you complayning about what they have done, seriously! You dont think a FREE MP3 RADIOHEAD ALBUM even if it's at 160kbps, is not something we should thank them for? Not to mention what their approach will do to the future of the music industry? If you want to pay for a CD may be you should just go BUY the new Brittney Spears album or Paris Hiltons'. That should be enough to please your minds. Oh yeah, and if you value what they do, $80 for the pkg is not a bad deal AT ALL. What? you dont need the artbook and the VYNILS? How about you just wait for the CD then and stop bitching!

Comment by Tom Johnson on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:53:55 EST

You seem to be under the impression that the British pound was worth less than the US dollar at some point. It wasn't (aside from a couple of brief blips in the past that have no bearing on today's prices). It has always been somewhere around 2 times as much as the US dollar.

Comment by Ian on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 15:22:38 EST

It's only 80 dollars because the value of the dollar is at such a tremendous low in contrast with the strengthening of the pound. Just because the value of the dollar has dropped doesn't mean the band is going to lower the price in pounds. If the dollar was worth twice as much as the pound, Americans would be thinking "Holy fuck, the greatest band that has ever graced this Earth is selling this masterpiece bonus (Vinyl and the whole bit) for a mere 20 dollars." Would they raise the price then for the Brits just so the Americans now have to pay a closer to actual value amount? The Brits might protest that. Now having the album, the only qualm I have is that the audio quality is 160 kbps. Maybe that's where they want to goad people into buying the new album. Maybe they thought "Hey, We'll entice people that haven't listened before into hearing this, thereby increasing our fan base (how could they not with this album?), and we'll only disseminate a 160 kbps album. We'll likely end up with even more people buying the album." Even if their marketing strategy is designed to bring in more money, they are at least not "thieving" us. In any case, it's a wonderful album.

Comment by Tim on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 07:05:23 EST

I think this is their best album so far (although i love everything they've ever done) anyone else agree that it;s amazing? so many layers and backing vocals - i hear something different everytime i listen to it.. can't wait for the second half of the album T

Comment by Wavejammer on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 19:02:39 EST

That's OK Jackie, I have over 4000 fantastic CD's to hold me over till "In Rainbows" is released next year in it's truer format the Compact Disc. Btw, I've owned reference-quality stereo systems (latest is an Adcom preamp/poweramp set-up with an M&K speaker system) for the past 30+ years and Yes I can tell the difference!

Comment by saat on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:59:59 EDT

i dont go for the download....i'll buy the cd no matter what they ask me to pay for it :)

Comment by Brian aka Guppusmaximus on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 16:58:45 EDT

Well, I think the concern wasn't the style in which the album was delivered but the quality of said album.Unfortunately, if you can't hear the difference in the compression scale,meaning less than 96kbps to a max of 320kbps, then I would question how much of the actual "music" you can hear. Also, I don't believe I read anything on here about how "disasterous" the decision was going to be but how they should've disclosed the streaming quality,again, of said product. I personally feel that an artist by name of NiggyTardust has approached this type of marketing in the manner as which the people here thought Radiohead should have.

Comment by Jackie on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:04:24 EDT

Maybe I'm hard of hearing, but I really can't tell the difference in sound quality that other people were concerned with. The songs sound CD quality to me. So, Wavejammer, you're missing out on a fantastic album.

Comment by Matt on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:35:44 EDT

Surprisingly enough, the album itself is even more brilliant than the manner of its release. All of the naysayers predicting disaster have been proven wrong. In excess of a million downloads were "sold" and the discbox orders exceeded their expectations (they had to hire more people, as these were made to order). I think too many people underestimated how many hardcore Radiohead fans there are, and our willingness to pay a price that we do not see as unfair. With the music world so full of overmarketed, hyper-packaged, unoriginal re-hashed turds lauded as wonderful art, its refreshing to see a truly talented and unique group of musicians with a progressive release aimed at revolutionizing the entire industry to the benefit of the artist and the listener greeted with such a massive response.

Comment by Matt on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:35:09 EDT

Comment by Greg Kulbert on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:05:15 EDT

Now you may watch most of the tracks of Radiohead album 'In Rainbows' at the site Radiohead In Rainbows. These will load from the site itself.

Comment by Wavejammer on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:53:48 EDT

I think Radiohead thinks were a bunch of dummies! The downloadable version of 160Kbps, a mediocre at best bit rate isn't even worth my time to listen to no matter how good it is. The only way I'd even think about paying any of my coin for it would be if it were offered in FLAC.

Comment by Ivo Wallclimber on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:55:52 EDT

Brilliant. The album, the music, the distribution. Simple, simply brilliant. :)

Comment by mjike on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:28:54 EDT

okay, look, i dont claim to know what radiohead is up to with this latest stunt. if indeed it is a stunt. maybe its just an experiment. i wonder if they are trying to find out if making the record available for (basically free) download will hinder their record sale next year. i did download the album (for free), but i will be purchasing the release next year as well. while i cant really afford to buy the currently available deluxe set, i still enjoy holding an actual physical album in my hands. and i dont mean some burned copy. i guess the record collection is that important to me. say what you will, but good music is important enough to me to pay for it. oh, and as a side note, i also do not think the $80 is too much to pay for the current package deal. i mean, considering the materials included.

Comment by Tom Johnson on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:00:38 EDT

I'll ask once again, both here and in the other piece I wrote: if you had known there was going to be a CD release, would any of you have paid anything for this? If so, would you have paid as much as you did this time?

Comment by Tamjam13 on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:20:09 EDT

So this is what Radiohead meant by OK COMPUTER, They actually are putting those words into action. It's the computer age and it can either kill us or we can use it to better us and fight the evild around us like record companies. They take an artform like music, water it down, and feed it to the masses. Instead they should let the people decide what they want to listen to and how much they are willing to contribuite in order to kepp the artist alive. If people don't like the artist then they will starv and die off. It's survival of the fitest, only the best material can survive now.

Comment by The Atheist on Radiohead's In Rainbows -- Debacle or Brilliant, Forward-Thinking Scheme?

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:25:10 EDT

You're lame bro. How dare you call them thieves. No one wants our money anymore, America is going to shit so deal with it. Maybe if you stopped you're crack habit you can afford it.