Thoughts on King of Limbs

2011-02-20T14:03:00.000-08:00

I don't have a contrarian opinion about Radiohead. I think they're great and I think the new album is great.

I don't think they deserve EVERY superlative hurled at them, but I do think they are one of the best mainstream bands of our generation.

It's too early for me to have a fully formed opinion of King of Limbs, so I'm not going to say too much about it. One thing I will say is that it demonstrates that Radiohead can stay relevant in the new decade by keeping their ears open to new sounds. They're never on the cutting edge of electronic or sample based music -- in fact, they're usually about 5 years behind -- but they're great at finding a way to integrate it with their sound. Obviously, the song Bloom owes a lot to Flying Lotus, just like Airbag owed a lot to DJ Shadow and swaths of Kid A and Amnesiac owed a lot to Aphex Twin.

What I do think is interesting is their marketing strategy, which is something that interests me a lot these days. Not more than the music itself, but it's more fun for me to pick apart, and picking apart an album days after it's release is a waste of time (just check out some of the track by track reviews of King of Limbs already on the internet).

Radiohead would not be where they are today without the help of major labels. I saw this on my newsfeed today, and it's completely correct. When they left Capitol, it wasn't because of any disagreements. It was just good business. Maybe they don't want to support corporate interests, but from a business standpoint that's just a side benefit.

Going independent means that they get full control over how their music and recordings are used. They can get a distribution deal that will essentially cover the same ground as a major's and is more advantageous to them (they own the masters, they get to sell the record exclusively for a period of time, and you can bet they're making more than the average pittance per album most bands signed to a major make). The only difference is marketing and radio play, which as we all know does not matter for Radiohead in 2011.

Their management has this marketing strategy down pat. Everything from keeping the hardcore fans buzzing during the slow periods (members of the band will periodically get together for benefits and premiere new songs) to where to speculatively invest in the album release process (studio time and deluxe release packages) makes good business sense. But it's also ethical. And it keeps the attention on their music.

I don't begrudge bands like Radiohead for making money and being successful. in fact, I find it inspiring that they can do whatever they want, and they choose to keep making bold artistic statements 20 years into their career. (Sure, they've developed their own songwriting tropes as there are only so many songs a rock band can write, but they keep finding ways to give each album it's own distinct texture).

Radiohead didn't set out to be anything but an alternative rock band in the early 90s. They got signed to a major label at a time where major labels were looking to sign real bands. They had some early mainstream success. Then some artistic success. Then some freedom. Then more of both. They're an anomaly.

There are independent artists making amazing music these days without major label support. Once they record it, they too can announce a record and put it up online six days later. They can let people pay what they want, or they can sell it at whatever price point they want. In fact, there's a website that will do that all for them, for free. Then they can go on tour. They will not make the millions that Radiohead will undoubtedly make from King of Limbs and selling out sheds this summer.

I have a day job that I actually like, and I have a lot of fun gigging on the side. I love what I do. If I get to keep doing what I'm doing now for the rest of my life, I'm lucky. But, if someone offered me the chance to write, record, and perform my own music full time, I'd do it for rent and gas money.

And, if 15 years later, my record deal was up, I had a gigantic fan base and enough money to retire but still had something to say, and suddenly reaching the entire world was as easy as updating my website - I'd strike out my own and try something new.

I don't think anyone else would do it any differently.

chris sink: the blog

Thoughts on King of Limbs