Landmark album for a band who has created so much over their long career. This one made national headlines, not so much for the music within, but for the initial cost of the release....nothing or whatever you want to pay. It was a clever move by a band who could have sold it for $9.99 in a digital download from iTunes. A big F-U to the major record labels, who have struggled to end the file sharing explosion since the turn of the century and failed to adapt their business model to the internet age. Rather than prosecute, Radiohead chose to embrace the file sharing concept and released the album themselves. Surprisingly, the band had strong sales even though users could download it for nothing. I initially downloaded it for 5 pounds, but subsequently bought it on CD and vinyl. One of the few albums I have in all three formats.
Aside from the way it was initially distributed, the album itself is breathtaking and the strongest effort of Radiohead's career. There's not one dull moment, but tracks 3-8 could be the best sequence of songs ever recorded by any band. Just unbelievable songwriting and instrumentation, these songs still amaze after 5 years of listening to them. It's easily my favorite album of the past decade.
3. "Nude"
4. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"
5. "All I Need"
6. "Faust Arp"
7. "Reckoner"
8. "House of Cards"
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