Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 22

Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 22 - Index

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RADIOHEAD is letting consumers decide
how much to pay for their new album,
“In Rainbows.” That’s right: you – listener,
music fan – name the price. Or take it
for free like ketchup at Wendy’s. Some
applaud the band for stickin’ it to “The
Man.” Others accuse them of manipulating
consumers, the furthest thing from stickin’
it to “The Man.” Either way, it’s fun to say,
“Stickin’ it to ‘The Man.’”
So let’s review other times when “The
Man” got stuck by the point of a rock star’s
moral compass.
In July, Prince distributed his new album,
“Planet Earth,” as a freebie in the “London Daily
Mail.” (Take that, “The Man!”) And in 1994, Pearl
Jam cancelled every show connected to the
admission-mongering giant, Ticketmaster. (Ha!
Stickin’ it to “The Man” again!)
Although these actions beat a path straight to
“The Man” – the one down which Thom Yorke
currently charges to stick him – “The Man”
remains. He is barely emasculated.
Partially because these same self-appointed
revolutionaries succeeded in joining rather than
beating “The Man.” Prince referred to his
streamlined music delivery system as a form of
“direct marketing” and Pearl Jam headlined this
year’s Lollapalooza, where thousands honored
Ticketmaster.
That’s why Radiohead’s gesture is suspect,
quite possibly a future guilt trip in disguise. We’ve
all seen it before; some seemingly spontaneous
act of generosity turns into a down payment
for a return favor at a later date. I can hear
Thom Yorke now, probably when he needs help
moving into a new apartment: “C’mon dude,
remember that time I let you download my
album for free?”
Worst of all, he’d be talking in an English
accent. Compared to our low-rent twang, that
fancy junk makes you want to apologize for
the whole independence thing and stamp the
Queen’s mug back on a dollar bill.
Of course, Thom Yorke would then become
“The Man,” much like King George was
back in the day when our Founding Fathers
launched a nation on the notion of stickin’
it to him.
Interestingly, the Founding Fathers then
became “The Man,” and soon found it
gettin’ stuck to them in the blues songs
that eventually gave birth to rock, roll and
the overstated gloom that Radiohead now
offers at whatever price we chose. They
lifted the riff right off one of our tunes.
If anything, Radiohead should pay us for
downloading “In Rainbows.”
And they can name their own price.
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