No surprises? Yeah, right.
Radiohead unleashed a couple of shockers this morning, announcing on their website that their new album "In Rainbows" will be released on Oct. 10 for download only and that fans will be able to name their own price for it. The band, which completed its deal with EMI, is selling the album itself at a special website.
No doubt many other veteran bands will be monitoring Radiohead’s progress closely to see whether they should consider releasing their new albums in a similar way.
A "discbox" version of the album will be released on Dec. 3, which will include a pass to download the album on Oct. 10, the album on CD and on two vinyl albums. It will also include a second CD with more new songs, digital photos and artwork, as well as lyric booklets, additional artwork and special hardback book packaging. The package sells for 40 pounds.
The tracklisting: 15 STEP / BODYSNATCHERS / NUDE / WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI / ALL I NEED / FAUST ARP / RECKONER / HOUSE OF CARDS / JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE / VIDEOTAPE
Radiohead unveiled many of these songs at Madison Square Garden in 2006 and, of course, live versions of them have been around on the Internet since.
(Read about some of the songs on the jump.)
UPDATE: The Playlist has collected some YouTube versions of the songs here.
The upbeat "15 Step," with its celebratory hand claps, starts like a spare, acoustic blues number, before moving into a lush, lilting guitar-led charmer - which also included the first of Yorke's shaking-shoulder, loose-limbed dance freakouts. It is catchy and dramatic, the kind of sticks-with-you song that could be a great single.
"Nude" is a gorgeous, angst-ridden ballad that builds to a soaring, falsetto close that recalls the other-worldliness of Sigur Ros.
"Videotape" is the sort of driving piano-rock that radio-friendly Coldplay and legions of other Yorkees aspire to, infused with interesting rhythms and lyrical meditations on heaven and hell that they could never dream up.