10.11.2007
"now that you've found it, it's gone..."
i'm sure i'm a little bit biased, but even the staunchest radiohead hater would have to admit that the excitement they created yesterday with the online release of their seventh album (some 10 days after announcing it was even being released) was pretty awesome. people in the us were staying up past midnight, constantly checking their inboxes for the link to the album, downloading it when the link finally arrived, listening and offering their feedback all before going to bed. no one, not even music critics, got to hear the album before anyone else. they created a shared, online listening experience and jesus christ, what an awesome concept.
my own initial experience with in rainbows was a little bit different but no less enjoyable. i went to bed tuesday night before my email arrived. yesterday morning at work, i read that post on stereogum and got all giddy with anticipation. throughout the day, i went online and read whatever i could about the album which only heightened my anticipation. on the drive home from work, i turned on npr just as they ran a story on the new album and the groundbreaking release process. i have to admit, i was a little upset that the story/review featured snippets of some songs because i wanted to hear them on my terms. but whatever. when i got home, i went right to the family tandy, downloaded the album and burned it onto a cd. a process that would have taken two minutes on the lynbrook dell took me a good half hour, but i kept my eyes on the prize.
once i had the cd all ready for my ears, i set it down until i had 42 free minutes to listen to it in its entirety without interruption. i had dinner, got a haircut (damn, i look good), took a shower, watched blades of glory with mom (loved it!) and then it was time.
i went downstairs, plugged my headphones into the adopted stereo and sat on my bed (luckily, the headphones have a superlong cord). as the album began playing, i found myself whisked away to a land of welcomed wonderment. i was sitting cross-legged but that didn't stop my foot from moving. i basically re-fell in love with my favorite band and i hadn't even fallen out of love with them. what an amazing experience.
i listened to the album again this morning as i drove into work. the drive is so short that i found myself wishing for green lights to turn red.
i'm sure i'm a little bit biased, but even the staunchest radiohead hater would have to admit that the excitement they created yesterday with the online release of their seventh album (some 10 days after announcing it was even being released) was pretty awesome. people in the us were staying up past midnight, constantly checking their inboxes for the link to the album, downloading it when the link finally arrived, listening and offering their feedback all before going to bed. no one, not even music critics, got to hear the album before anyone else. they created a shared, online listening experience and jesus christ, what an awesome concept.
my own initial experience with in rainbows was a little bit different but no less enjoyable. i went to bed tuesday night before my email arrived. yesterday morning at work, i read that post on stereogum and got all giddy with anticipation. throughout the day, i went online and read whatever i could about the album which only heightened my anticipation. on the drive home from work, i turned on npr just as they ran a story on the new album and the groundbreaking release process. i have to admit, i was a little upset that the story/review featured snippets of some songs because i wanted to hear them on my terms. but whatever. when i got home, i went right to the family tandy, downloaded the album and burned it onto a cd. a process that would have taken two minutes on the lynbrook dell took me a good half hour, but i kept my eyes on the prize.
once i had the cd all ready for my ears, i set it down until i had 42 free minutes to listen to it in its entirety without interruption. i had dinner, got a haircut (damn, i look good), took a shower, watched blades of glory with mom (loved it!) and then it was time.
i went downstairs, plugged my headphones into the adopted stereo and sat on my bed (luckily, the headphones have a superlong cord). as the album began playing, i found myself whisked away to a land of welcomed wonderment. i was sitting cross-legged but that didn't stop my foot from moving. i basically re-fell in love with my favorite band and i hadn't even fallen out of love with them. what an amazing experience.
i listened to the album again this morning as i drove into work. the drive is so short that i found myself wishing for green lights to turn red.
