T. sure makes great croutons and oatmeal cookies! A husband could eat them all day!... The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an especially good Letter-to-the-Editor column today. Click here and scroll down to "Peace and Prosperity Are Significant Achievements." See what I mean? (The letter was written in response to this article.)
U2's manager doesn't like Radiohead, doesn't like iTunes, and doesn't especially like music fans. He thinks that the state ought to be able to disconnect "repeat infringers" who have the temerity to download free music. Read about it here. What's a "repeat infringer," anyway? The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims that it is illegal for me to copy a CD that I purchased onto my own computer. In other words, I'm supposedly not allowed to back up the CD or transfer it to my iPod. (Presumably, I have to buy a separate downloadable copy for that.)
Last fall, Radiohead took the daring initiative of making an advance copy of their new CD "I N / R A I N B O W S" available to their fans as a free download. I wasn't all that familiar with Radiohead other than knowing that they were well-regarded. But this was a chance for free exposure, so I took it. And guess what? "I N / R A I N B O W S" is good. It's rhythmically and musically complex while not sacrificing anything to tunefulness. (Jazz critic Fred Kaplan agrees with me -- scroll down to "Jazz and Radiohead.") I liked it so much that I bought the formal CD release (the download, while free, was not of the best quality) and picked up "Hail to the Thief" (good) and "OK Computer" (near great) in the bargain. Whatever U2's manager thinks of Radiohead, their strategy created at least one new fan.
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