Don’t get any
Big ideas
They’re not gonna happen

-Radiohead

Recently, I was watching the TV show House. In the episode, a patient was a soap opera star who was talking about how much he hated his job. He wanted to be in something important, something influential, a show or film that meant something. Any time one of the doctors told him to just quit his soap opera gig, he said “it’s not that easy.” When pressed for more explanation, he had none.

They never really went into any more detail than that, but it got me thinking: who decides how much one can push their art’s boundaries? Are artists here to entertain or innovate? Or both? If you’re hoping to push the envelope but just end up in a gray area that doesn’t revolutionize but does entertain, when should you resign yourself to be satisfied with what you’ve accomplished as an artist? Or should you at all?

When the show was over, we watched a live Radiohead performance on the Music HD channel. They mostly performed songs from In Rainbows. They are one of the best bands I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live, and the concert proved they’ve only gotting tighter as a musical unit since I last saw them. The difference in musical contribution to the world between them and, say, a band like Good Charlotte or Nickelback, is like night and day. But the latter two bands entertain large audiences. Some might call it mindless, others call it greatness. When it comes down to it, they’re both equally valid for different reasons. But if the members of Nickelback are in the business to innovate, should they accept their place in the music world (which, for the record, is in a spot pretty free of innovation), or should they keep pushing to be something they are most likely never going to be?

Read the rest of this entry »

As many people already know, the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, was released exclusively as a download this past week with the consumer’s ability to pay whatever they want for it (or pay nothing at all). Radiohead is one of my favorite bands, so of course I jumped on the opportunity to hear some new material. I wasn’t disappointed; they sound more confident than ever, and the songs are very interesting in their structure (very linear, something that we have come to expect from Radiohead).

The controversial element of the album is, of course, the price. Allowing the fan to choose what they pay is certainly a revolutionary concept, yet coming from Radiohead is not particularly surprising to me. Not only do they have the resources and wealth to be able to do it, experimentation is now their calling card musically so it only seemed natural for it to carry over into other elements of their career after they made an exit from the major labels.

I have paid a lot of money to see Radiohead live three times. I legitimately own every full-length CD they’ve released. I am a true fan of the band who has supported them all the way and will continue to support them. And you know how much I paid for the new album? Nothing. And despite what some people seem to think, I don’t feel the least bit bad about it.

Read the rest of this entry »