The Twisted Adventures of Indiana Fanboy and The In Rainbows Skull
I wasn’t sure if I was going to legally download the Radiohead album when it was made available last winter. I knew I wanted the music, but I wasn’t sure about the download. I hate downloaded music.
I guess it has everything to do with the way I’ve listened to music my whole life. When I started buying music, it was on cassette. There was a physical object. You had to go somewhere to get it. You had to remove its clear plastic wrap. Owning that music came with a journey and accompanying physical activities. Grueling manual labor it was not, but this was my kind of archeology. The artifact was a treasure and it had to be recovered.
I got my first CD player in high school. The shape and dimensions of the treasure I sought changed, but the process remained the same. Even though I could dub someone else’s CD or cassette to a blank cassette — this was long before CD burners, friends — I never felt like I owned the music until I owned the music. I never felt like it was mine until I bought the album. Even when Napster turned the internet into the world’s largest bargain basement of music, I still bought CDs. That was part of the experience. That was when it felt “real.” Even free couldn’t compete. The physical artifact and the ritual were almost as important as the music itself.
I know this sounds silly to some (most) of you, but music is that important to me. I dress like a slob. I drive ordinary cars. I don’t travel. I don’t golf or ski. This is my pastime. This is my world. Life is too big and too complex to do everything the long way. We all pick and choose where we’ll take shortcuts. I’d rather eat a fast food cheeseburger and go buy a couple CDs than sit down in a restaurant and eat a decent meal or cook something myself.
When I learned that Radiohead was releasing their album first as a download with a physical CD likely to be released sometime in the future at an unspecified time, I was on the fence. I knew I wasn’t going to treasure the music and the experience as much with the download. I started talking myself into simply waiting for the CD. What finally tipped the scales for me in favor of paying for the download was the fact they didn’t know when they’d domestically release a CD of the album. With that uncertainty, I broke down and paid for the downloads.
I tried to get excited about it. Really, I did. I knew myself better than that, though. I listened to the MP3s a few times on my iPod but the magic never happened. It wasn’t until the album was released on CD — just as we were returning from our annual pilgrimage from S. Carolina — that I really started listening to it. The irony in all of this is that I’m listening to it right now, on my iPod, just as I was the day I downloaded it. There’s something about knowing the CD counterpart is resting comfortably next to my other Radiohead CDs at home that makes it feel okay to listen to it on my iPod as I work. No, it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t have to.
Now… if any of you want to part ways with your discbox version of In Rainbows…
Filed under: Tags: Radiohead
You and me both - we’re twins on this issue. Right down to choosing fast food and a couple of CDs over a sit-down dinner. I mean, I had the download of NIN’s Ghosts but waited to properly devour it until I actually had the box. I gave it a cursory listen and forced myself to ignore it for a long, long time - I even waited long past the day when it came out in stores. Does that make sense? Of course not. Part of it is the investment in it - I paid $80, I wanted to feel like I actually got $80 out of that, and just listening to the download two months in advance, having the music memorized by the time the package arrived, that’s not getting my money’s worth out of it.
I hope I can adapt to the new world of music that’s heading toward us. If it’s mp3s, I’m in trouble. I can’t do that. If it’s lossless, I will get by, but I’ll miss all the great artwork.
I too downloaded In Rainbows when it was first made available, paying $5. for it. I knew it was going to be coming out on CD, but I’m enough of a Radiohead fan that I needed to hear the music NOW.
That said, I also bought the CD they eventually released to stores and there is simply no comparison as far as the sound goes. The download served its purpose at the time, but the CD version is way fuller sounding. And with music as rich in texture as that found on In Rainbows, the CD is simply the only real way to go.
Also, I’m with you Josh when it comes to the whole concept of owning something that is tangible and that you can actually hold in your hands and look at while you listen.
My biggest complaint about the whole MP3 deal, is that the concept of being a music fan is becoming so de-personalized. I guess those days are long gone whether I like it or not though.
:::Sigh!:::
-Glen
Thanks, gents, for weighing in. Glen, you gave voice to one of my points better than I did. Personal. It did seem more personal to go and buy a CD from a store and hand someone money in exchange for a physical object. Even if it was just some moron in a blue shirt, there is still something personal about that. It’s missing in the electronic exchange. I love the even more instant gratification of digital, but at too much of a cost of the personal.
Tom, you and Mark are the guys I knew right away would understand this. You bought the deluxe NIN and the deluxe Radiohead boxes. I wish I had bought both myself. I did opt for the NIN download that came with the CD later on but didn’t wait to start listening. When the CD finally came, I was “over” Ghosts. I still listen to it and like it very much, but the arrival of the CD was less special having “spoiled” the surprise.
I guess that’s your way of saying you aren’t selling me the Radiohead box, too.
I might be able to help you with the second bonus disc Josh. I just have to see if it’s still on the hard drive.
-Glen
For Radiohead, I bought the deluxe box set… and the packaging and discs have sat up on the shelf in S.Rod and I’s office ever since— in other words, I could have done without it. But I bought the deluxe simply because of the bonus 2nd disc, which IMHO, is more consistent music wise than the 1st. There are a couple of clunkers on the 1st (House of Cards, Reckoner), but the 2nd is good straight through.
For NIN, I downloaded Ghosts for $5 and that was it. I love the instrumentals, but songs w/o lyrics are not for all occasions for me… at least not enough to buy the discs separately. Being a NIN fan since ‘91, I’ve already forked over quite a bit to Senor Reznor for discs, shirts, and concerts. Hell, he made The Slip for me! :o)
That second disc is what I’m lusting over, and I wish I’d bought the package so I could properly own that music. I’m sure it’s out there electronically in one form or fashion, but I wish I’d broken out the wallet and ponied up for the real deal. BTW, I like “Reckoning.”
I am a huge instrumental fan and having not been a NIN fan previously, I took the chance on it. You’ve definitely given Uncle Trent plenty of cash. I’m glad I bought the download/CD package. I really like Ghosts.
If you decide you and S.Rod need some office space, be sure to let me know. I’ll make arrangements to give your Radiohead In Rainbows box a good home!!
I’d probably part with the box now, definitely not the discs.
But then again, the LE version has eBay 2020 written ALL over it. Provided I’m still alive then, that is.