EDIT 8/18/2007: It was revealed this week that Radiohead don't expect to release their new album until 2008 because they want to sign to a label and give the label time to market the album. On the one hand, this makes sense. on the other hand, Yorke is a rabid anti-capitalist and the band has plenty of money (reportedly). so, why not just distribute it themselves? do they really need marketing? On the other hand, I'd probably feel better that a label was handling the business end of things. I can't imagine any of them are good at accounting.
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I don't get excited about releases much anymore, particularly about music. There are still some movies that I hear about and can't wait to see (Superbad, Sunshine, a few others that I can't remember right now). But with music I've gotten burned so many times in the past few years that, even when I end up liking the albums after initial disappointment, said initial disappointment has left me uninterested in new music from bands I've already heard of.
And now I'm officially tired of waiting for the new Radiohead album.
Unlike some of you, I still enjoy Radiohead's work. And, in the past, I haven't felt like the time between albums was unnecessary. I felt that the band needed time to create their music and all that, so I didn't get too bent out of shape when things took 2 years instead of 1 (which is how all that old school metal worked out in the 80s).
When I heard Pablo Honey I enjoyed it. The Bends came out 2 years later and surprised me. I hadn't followed the band and with no internet, I had no idea an album was in the works. That was a good feeling -- walking into Sam Goody at the shitty Bridgewater Commons mall only to see an endcap of THE BENDS. "I remember this band." I told my cousin. He liked them as well. I plopped down my 13$ and went home with my cousin to listen. good times. goooood times.
For OK Computer, I knew about the release about 2 months ahead of time because I was working at Borders and it showed up in our lavish title look up (TLU for those of you in the know) system. Part of me must have been somewhat anxious because I was randomly typing in band names to see when stuff would be out. Again -- a nice, unexpected release. But after that. Oh, after that the internet made things ugly.
I was able to follow Kid A's development for a lot longer than any other album. I even heard tracks a few months before the release (thank you Napster). The result -- i never got that fresh CD feeling from the music. I love the album, but OK Computer and The Bends blasted from my stereo after a small amount of anticipation. I was excited, but not tired of waiting. With Kid A, i never got tired of waiting, but I also didn't really get as excited because I heard a few songs one day and then more the next after some devoted time searching online. (I will add that I was tired of waiting to confirm that what I had downloaded was the final version. the same thing happened later with Hail to the Thief).
The time between Pablo Honey & the Bends was 2 years (93, 95). Between The Bends & OK Computer -- 2 more years.
Kid A came out in 2000 (that's 3 years, for those counting, although it was an OCTOBER release after June for the previous. so, that's 3 years 5 months. I know. I'm picky.)
Amnesiac came out in June 2001 even though it was essentially finished with Kid A. (and the tracks were leaked in late 2000).
Hail to the Thief was a June 2003 release. That's 2 years after Amnesiac -- so, back on schedule, right? Sure. But Hail to the Thief is now 4 years behind us.
That's right -- it's been 4 years. Thom Yorke's solo release last year doesn't count.
The sad thing is that the band went on tour last year to test out new material. and a lot of it sounds good. But they have spent countless hours in the studio since starting in March of 2005. From the March 05 blog post: "We're rehearsing at the moment, and again it's fun. We all want to push forward, and when you have five people who are all like that, you couldn't ask for a better thing. We're all kind of *hungry* for new new new at the moment. Good songs".
Oct 2006: "weve started the record properly now. starting to get somewhere i think. finally." This was after they toured for the summer in both the US and Europe. Note that the band always takes off most of December and some of January. so this 'proper' recording session was going to be Oct & Nov. 2 months. to record songs they just spent 5 months playing live and about a year writing and rehearsing prior to that.
January 19th 2007: "back at werk. so we have staRTed up again had a good today. working on a version of 15step and rebuilding our studio in the wind".
IN April 07: "Radiohead starts up again having finally caught up on some sleep next week. I have a cd of what we;’ve been up to…and you haven’t.yet.(sorry)."
June 15th: "Yes I know its been a while ….. but we’ve been working on this album for a while …… BUT WE ARE NEARLY THERE …..".
And then there are rumors circulating that Radiohead was in NY mixing the album last month (July). they still don't even have a record contract. No contract. No label. Not even a sense that the album is done yet. Perhaps a June 2008 release? Making it 5 years?
I know Rob will tell me not to be so anxious because the CD won't be that good anyway. But this is my favorite band. the band I have listened to for longer than any other band (14 years of my sweet, sweet life). I enjoy lots of music, but this is the one band that I still look forward to. And they have tested my patience. But I think the internet has to take some of the blame here. I saw the band in concert last year. and i also downloaded concerts. So, I have heard tons of live versions of the new songs. The only thing left is for the illegal copy to leak and I can ruin all the fun. But maybe I'll just force myself to wait until the CD is in stores (Radiohead is one of the only bands whose CDs i still buy physical copies of.)
That is my goal. To hold out. To build up some excitement after 4 years of waiting and wishing Hail to the Thief were better (though I still like it more than Amnesiac). here's hoping the release is this year and not the next. or the next. or the next.
