oh, go for it then

pretty much what i imagined their thought process to be. they're just a fucking band. a fucking band. and the release seems to be just that, a band that completed their software, wanted to alpha and beta test it as shareware, before it got packaged into high street product.

too many people in the business, don't understand how bands think and act. how records are made. and what the thought and physical process is. i've met so called "a&r" people that had NO clue as to the process, all they did was line up popular songs and go "here, copy that". that is how "out of sync" the business is, from the public, and from the "source", the software "developer".

there's some kind of werid filtering going on, after the master is turned in, or with some cases (often in japan), the "a&r" is at the studio, messing with it. this is where some of the classic "us (band) and them (record company)" clashes start from. those moments of "huh?" "what?" those blank stares.

i am not debating what is right or wrong (it really depends), but i find, that in most cases, the more you try to alter the original intent, or thrust, the more unnecessary time is spent (time is money), which often leads to unnecessary stress and emotions. believe me, i've gone there too many times. which is why i keep going on about the "source". as i stated in the liars post previous to this, in their case, all i did was to "drink their intent" via jeremy and try to make it happen as quickly and without pain as much as possible. if that means shouting at someone without the band noticing, i will and have done it. anything that gets in the way of creativity, gets it.

get it right at the source. as someone involved in music and i am not in a band or a songwriter, all i can do is assist in amplifying the "source". now, if you have difficulties understanding the "source", you're kind of half blind and possibly making decisions that may not be suitable. dare i say, irresponsible.

the "business" is painfully missing a link, between the "source" and commerce. they are supposed to be done hand in hand, but oftentimes, it seems to be done in isolation from the "source". these things happen, probably in any business.

but the music business is about selling human intent.

in a can. or 1's and 0's. or in sweaty form. or in a t-shirt.

yes, you can go out for a meal with 40 quid, get real dude.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=radiohead_exclusive_interview&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

NME: Have you found it difficult to find the inspiration to make a new record, given that you don't currently have a record label?

Thom Yorke: "It's really liberating not to feel part of the record company structures. It should be an extremely positive place to be in but I think at the moment it's like the cartoon bit when Roadrunner comes of the cliff and keeps running - then looks down.

"It's an extremely strange situation to be in, and one of the things you discover really quickly, when you discover you're not committed to anything, is that you need some level of commitment because otherwise you just start fucking about, which is what we did for ages.

"You have to wake up and think of the new bands who are trying hard while we spend a year mucking about not doing anything in particular. We have to get out of that frame of mind."

"I always wanted us to be in a situation like Tom Waits was when he stopped for a long time and came out and did 'Swordfishtrombones' and 'Raindogs'. He started again and was doing a lot of that from his own studio in his own time at his own pace and it seemed to be a world apart from anything else that was going on.

"I think that was just him finding his own space, and removing himself from the bits he hated about where he'd been before. And I think that's what we're in the process of doing."

NME: So this feels more like starting again, rather than a full stop?

Thom Yorke: "Yeah. And it's trying to work out how that works. That level of freedom is like being in mid air."

NME: What's he brought to the sound? Nigel Godrich had a very unique production…

Thom Yorke: "It's very different. We're still trying to work out whether it's right or not to be perfectly honest, because at the moment what we need is someone who is what I'd call a tutor - who is a guy you're answerable to."

Colin Greenwood: "We need an A&R man - for the first time in our career we don't have a record contract and we need an A&R man. We don't want a record deal, but we want their A&R."

NME: Are you planning on signing another record deal?

Thom Yorke: "What's cool about it is once we have something that makes sense we have the luxury of going to people and going, 'We've got this, do you want it?', and there being no additional baggage.

"Record deals should be like that anyway. The days of the development deal, like major record companies using tax avoidance schemes to invest in new bands then dropping them like a shot, it's not really necessary anymore."

NME: Would it feel right not to have a label at all? Is that something you'd consider?

Thom Yorke: "I don't think we'd have a deal in the old sense."

http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=radiohead_exclusive_interview_part_2&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

"Personally, one of the things I find the hardest is being part of the whole Radiohead thing and I'm not really interested in that any more. I'm trying to work out what exactly it is that keeps me wanting to do it. None of us really want to be part of that band, like that any more, just because it's a particular monster. And you don't want to be in this situation where you're just feeding the monster. It should be the other way around, whatever that means!"

NME: Do you mean that you feel consumed by the size of the band?

Thom Yorke: "Only on bad days. It's just baggage really, from over the years. You can't come out of it scot free, but it's really just personal blockages in my head. It's not a big deal, I just get shit scared, which is stupid really, because the whole point of starting up again like this is to get away from that."

Colin Greenwood: "If you're doing anything that's important or confronting, you're going to get the fear. That validates it in a way. For me the big thing about having kids last year is that, as a parent, you've got to have something that you do that you're happy about that defines yourself, because if you don't have that you're no good to anyone. In a good way it validates the passion you had for music.

"If Ed was here he'd be talking about that as well. Last couple of years he felt that Radiohead were just a bunch of baggage that he didn't need in some ways, and then last year he came to terms with it and realised that's part of who he is and what it is that defines himself. That's what he needs to do, and that's cool. Between all our records we tend to go away and come back. I think that's really important."

NME: There is talk of this download single… Is that going to happen?

Thom Yorke: "I don't know, it depends. I hope so - it's just finding something that makes sense. It's not supposed to be a big deal but it's difficult not to think like that because that's how I'm used to thinking about things."

Colin Greenwood: "It's amazing how much conditioning you have from being in a six-album record deal. We were talking about the whole download idea because there's something about it that's deeply wrong because it's something you worked on and you're giving it away for free, but you want to do something that's of the moment and immediate and share with people because that's what you're excited about now, not next year as part of a full-blown album release, and you want to do something that's not part of iTunes or something, or corporatisation, turning the internet into a record company. Something that's direct from us to you. It sounds cheesy."

Thom Yorke: "It's getting away from the preciousness of the whole thing. No fucking song and dance, it's not a fucking big deal, it's just a piece of music. We're not part of this big empire. It's trying to get away from that because it's the death of anything creative. And you see it in every artist, it's the same thing. At some point the monster takes over."

http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/31555

Radiohead new album: 'band will sign record deal'

Managers admit they need 'infrastructure' to help put album out
2 hours ago
Radiohead's managers have said that the band will sign a record deal to release new album 'In Rainbows'.

As previously reported, the band are releasing their seventh album as a download first on October 10 and fans can name their price.

Managers Chris Hutton and Brice Edge spoke to BBC Radio 4's 'Today' programme this morning (October 4) about the release.

Responding to whether the band would sign a deal, Hutton said: "Yes, absolutely. We've got about seven days to sort it out. We tend to fly by the seat of our pants.

"The band think they [are] incredibly proud of this record and feel that it deserves to be brought into the mass marketplace. That's why we need a record company who have that infrastructure to deliver the CD."

The managers also denied that the album's unique selling point marked the death knell of the record industry.

"It's just another way of doing things," Hutton said. "Hopefully it will motivate artists and record labels to think about things a lot more and not accept the status quo."

Edge also said that the band had faith people would not just download the album for free.

"We're prepared to take a risk," he explained. "If your music is great, people will then pay for it."

Hutton added: "The wonderful [thing] is that the consumer can decide how much a download is worth. I'm not sure how much just a digital download is worth. I'm not sure 79p - the iTunes price - is the right price."

The band also defended the £40 price-tag of the discbox edition of the album.

Hutton argued: "£40 is huge value for money. How many drinks can you have for £40? Can you go out for a meal for that money?"