Breaking News: Radiohead Has New Album, May Have Gone Insane

Without any sort of advertising or warning, Radiohead, the single most important rock 'n' roll band of the last decade, announced quietly that they will release their first album since 2003 in ten days. It is titled In Rainbows. While this is surprising news in itself, the story behind its release is far more mysterious and intriguing.

The Daily Snooze had been following the rumors for the past few months, and it sounded like we'd get the next record from Thom Yorke and Co. around the same time J.D. Salinger decided to let us read his next novel. But the news that Radiohead had finished recording an album during the summer months, despite having no record label on which to release it, gave us hope. And then came this: Radiohead will release and distribute In Rainbows exclusively via their website, without any sort of conglomerated corporate clusterfudge of a record company to do it, and its contents, any harm. It will be available for download, or, for those old-fashioned music obsessives out there, you can purchase it as a double-vinyl record with lots of perks.

This news comes on the heels of reports that a cryptic website, www.radioheadlp7.com, was a fraud and had nothing to do with the band, despite the fact that all it featured in recent days was a countdown to this weekend. So much for the hoax - the website now links directly to the group's official website.

Okay, but that's not the best part. Are you ready for this? You might want to sit down. YOU PAY WHATEVER YOU WANT FOR THE ALBUM. As in, "Hey Mom, remember when you got mad at me for spending all my money on records? Well I got this album for a penny, and I got it legally. All you got back in the day for a penny was a stick of gum. Sucker!"

Okay, so free downloads of singles is one thing, and buying the physical Radiohead record with all of its benefits will cost a pretty penny. But releasing an album that, if anything like its predecessors, will top the charts in both the U.S. and the UK for a few dozen weeks, and selling it for practically nothing? That's more wild and crazy than Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd circa 1979. Radiohead must be rich... Mitt Romney rich.

Musicians have been talking about cutting out the mindless middle man of music, the record companies, since the beginning of time - or at least since the invention of the gramophone. Until the rise of our internet culture, however, such a plan (if proposed with the hope of turning a profit) would have required boatloads of personal money (see Mitt Romney's campaign for a modern and relevant example), or at least the desire to never have your music heard again.

In a June, 2006 discussion with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and guitarist Johnny Greenwood, critics Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis (see the Daily Snooze interview with Kot and DeRogatis here) noted Radiohead's fortunate position within the music world . They are best-sellers, with a highly devoted following, an activist bent, and an expired label contract. Both Kot and DeRogatis smelled anarchy in Radiohead's future and asked Yorke and Greenwood if they would release their next album without the aid of a record label. The response was coy, but now we have the final answer. Here's hoping that the band that revolutionized the music of the 1990s can revolutionize the music industry in 2007.

I'm Sorry: Was That Insensitive?

In his piece titled “Unbearable Whiteness,” Slate’s Jonah Weiner decries director Wes Anderson’s handling of race in each of his first five films, particularly his latest, The Darjeeling Limited. While his complaints may serve as an adequate review of this most recent movie (we here at the Daily Snooze have not yet seen it), Weiner’s arguments regarding the previous four seem more about a personal distaste for Anderson, and less about the issue at hand. For example, Weiner criticizes the way in which Danny Glover’s character in The Royal Tenenbaums, an African-American accountant, is referred to as “old black buck” and “Coltrane.” Weiner acknowledges Anderson’s self-awareness in such comments, but nonetheless views them as insensitive quirks.

What Weiner ignores is that Anderson’s main characters are consistently and supremely flawed. They are anti-heroes on the road to redemption, which, in Anderson’s world, is mainly a path towards becoming less of an asshole. Anderson is often compared to Preston Sturges, whose Sullivan’s Travels makes the case for comedic films as worthy artistic endeavors by parading the rich title character in rags so that he might better understand the life of a hobo. Would Weiner consider this insensitive to the poor? Would he view Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot, recently named by AFI as the best comedy of all-time, as sexist, since its two main characters play dress-up and pretend to be women in acts of selfish desire?

Wes Anderson can be obnoxious, as Weiner is happy to tell us. But Anderson does what every English teacher spouts each year: he writes what he knows. If the interactions between people of different races is awkward in Anderson’s films, it’s because they, like almost all exchanges between strangers, can be awkward in real life.

I’m sorry, was that insensitive?

Click here for Dana Stevens' review of The Darjeeling Limited at Slate.

Babyface Bayh: Clinton's Running Mate?

Roger Simon, chief political writer for the online magazine Politico, claims that yesterday's endorsement of Hillary Clinton by Democratic Indiana Senator (and former governor) Evan Bayh was more than just a boost for the Clinton campaign. In Simon's eyes, it was the beginning of a presidential ticket.

It is an intriguing prospect. Clinton is viewed as the polarizing, and at times, cold-hearted front-runner. Bayh is the babyfaced legislator whose stint as Indiana's governor also allows the boast of executive experience. (Here's hoping that he doesn't claim to be part of both the legislative and executive branches of the government like a certain other Vice President.) Politico promises to throw a few more names in the ring tomorrow, because, well, speculation is fun... even speculation of events that are months down the road.

We here at the Daily Snooze are still trying to figure out if there is any truth to the rumors from a few weeks ago regarding a Chuck Hagel / Michael Bloomberg ticket, composed of the retiring Republican Senator from Nebraska and the billionaire mayor of New York City. And we're also hoping for some sign that, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, the victor will have at least considered the moderate Republican Senator or someone of the same ilk. The idea of having a two-party ticket may prove ineffective come January, 2009, but it's an idea worth pondering. Let's see if anybody is willing to say as much in tomorrow night's debate on MSNBC.

Hey Super Furry Animals: It's a Hit

The Super Furry Animals' latest effort, Hey Venus, is a testament to that John Lennon line so eloquently delivered by Jack Nicholson in "The Departed": "Give me a tuba and I'll squeeze something out of it." This Welsh outfit, led by the chameleon vocalist Gruff Rhys, has never specialized in anything, because they're too busy exploring the nooks and crannies of each and every gorgeous melody they construct. Imagine a band full of musical geniuses who haven't medicated their attention deficit disorder and the Super Furry Animals is what you'd get.

In 2003's Phantom Planet, this meant hearing the sounds of automobile engines, birds chirping, and Eno-like ambient, all melted atop drum machines, trash compactor synthesizers, and pristine vocal harmonies - though not necessarily in that order. For 2005's Love Kraft, the organic silliness was traded for the blips and bleeps of technological weirdness, but the effort was still heavy with hooks and much more concise than their previous output. Now we have Hey Venus, the Super Furry Animals' most straightforward and efficient rock 'n' roll album to date.

Anchored in melodies that range from the head-banging/toe-tapping variety (not THAT kind of toe-tapping you perverts) to the soulful kind you'd rather absorb in your parents' basement with your favorite headphones, Hey Venus never lets up with the sonic surprises. If the sweet confessional tones of "Show Me Your Hand" and "The Gift that Keeps Giving" aren't your style, move forward to the brilliant chaos of "Baby Ate My Eightball," a song in which pretty much everything, including the vocals, sounds like lasers.

But to skip around on this album is to commit a crime. Only repeated listens can reveal the Celtic saloon sounds that jaunt their way through "Carbon Dating," the clap-happy, sing-a-long lyricism of "Battersey Odyssey," or the updated Basement Tapes songwriting of "Let the Wolves Howl at the Moon." SFA is not composed of kids anymore. They've been around since 1993, and with Hey Venus, they're starting to act their age.

You can read this review on Stop Smiling's website here.

Alonso's America: I am Hot Because I am Fly

The Daily Snooze received an email today from an old college buddy, Alonso Pena Alfaro, Nino de Rivera. That's right folks, he's from south of the border, which makes his take on American culture just a little more interesante, and at times, a little more twisted. The intent of today's email was to draw attention to a sad and tired fact of American life: popular music, for the most part, sucks. The rapper Mim's "This is Why I'm Hot" is currently the number one song in the country, and the article linked below by Alonso attempts to formulate a theory, helping us understand those complex and mind-boggling lyrics that Mims spits out so eloquently, and why so many people actually listen to them.

Alonso: I am lounging in the shade waiting for the sun to come over to my side of the house. I fear I'll be waiting until tomorrow. But until then I will be pondering the profound implications of Mims' logic analyzed in detail here.

I still don't know whether I am hot because I am fly, or if I am fly because I am hot.

[Editor's Note: Do yourself a favor and read the hilarious article linked above]

Doctor, Doctor: Healthcare on the Hill

Somewhere, Michael Moore is clogging his arteries in celebration of the increased political awareness of the millions of Americans who live without adequate medical care. Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton unveils her plans for universal health coverage today in Iowa after months of speculation regarding the platform. The plan could cost upwards of $110 billion each year, and would require all citizens to make an effort to first purchase a health insurance package before becoming eligible for all-conditions care. As Ryan Lizza points out in the most recent issue of the New Yorker, it is slightly ironic that Clinton, who is promoting herself as the "experience candidate," has been able to get away with telling pundits and campaign crowds that she "knows healthcare," without really divulging any details about her plan. Some of us at the Daily Snooze had barely reached the age of ten when Clinton took her first stab at health care reform during her husband's first term as President, and even we remember the massive failure that it became. It is not surprising, then, that Clinton's closest competitor, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, is a little frustrated. What good is experience if it only demonstrates bad judgment? As an Obama adviser tells Lizza in the New Yorker, "I'm sure George Bush learned how not to invade Iraq. Should we then trust him to invade Iran?" Good point, sir.

One person in need of a doctor's prescription in Washington is President Bush. He received a little help last week when General Petraeus got softball questions in the House and a lot of much deserved respect in the Senate (I mean, honestly, the General's military decorations look like a Rubik's cube was smushed on his chest). And while the Daily Snooze was a little dumbfounded when the Republican talking heads made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows hammering home the "success" of the surge, we tip our cap to the President. Perhaps sick and tired of tasting his own medicine, Bush has at least learned from two of his mistakes (i.e. John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales) and will nominate former federal judge Michael Mukasey for Attorney General. A tried and true conservative, Mukasey will at least bring about consensus in his confirmation hearings, as his record shows a steadfast defense of the rule of law.

Molly Reports: Led Zep Back In Action?

By Molly Schreiber

In one of the most exciting developments in recent rock ‘n’ roll history, the three remaining members of Led Zeppelin (Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones) have announced a single reunion concert.

The performance, expected to take place on November 26, will be the first time the band has officially reunited in 19 years. CNN reports that the concert will be held at London's O2 Arena in honor of the late Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records. All proceeds from the tickets sales will be donated to a charity formed in Ertegun’s memory.

Led Zeppelin’s history, checkered with pain and tragedy, will be celebrated with the November 13th release of their newest greatest hits record, titled Mothership. The death of drummer John Bonham in 1980 will also play an integral role in the reunion concert. Bonham’s son, Jason, will join Plant, Page, and Jones on stage in memory of his legendary father, as he did during their last "reunion" in 1988.

CNN also alludes to the possibility of a future comeback tour, depending on the success of their upcoming reunion. Our fingers are crossed.

The Daily Snooze Interview (Excerpt): Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis

The Daily Snooze had the good fortune to sit down with two of America's premiere rock 'n' roll critics a few weeks back at a restaurant outside their Navy Pier studio at Chicago Public Radio. Greg Kot (of the Chicago Tribune) and Jim DeRogatis (of the Chicago Sun-Times) have been hosting the Siskel & Ebert inspired rock 'n' roll talk show, "Sound Opinions," for nearly a decade. Since December of 2005, when the show made the move away from Chicago's 93.1 XRT to Chicago Public Radio's WBEZ, "Sound Opinions" has grown into one of public radio's most promising products. Syndicated in over a dozen markets, including Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis, the program is only part of what makes these guys tick. The rest of the interview will appear in an upcoming issue of the magazine Stop Smiling.

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The Daily Snooze: Which is more fun, writing or hosting Sound Opinions?

Greg Kot: What’s more fun than hosting, co-hosting Sound Opinions with Jim DeRogatis? [laughs] I’ve always thought of myself as a writer first. That’s the core of what we do. I think we’re both writers, really, at heart and soul. And, the radio thing is a huge, beautiful extension of that. It’s a lot of fun. We can’t play the music in the newspaper, but you can play it on the radio. It’s also good to have that back and forth dynamic. It’s a more direct version of that dialog. One thing I like about it is extending that whole idea, you know, of the dialog. I always thought that newspaper writing was a dialog with your readers. This brings it one step closer in a lot of ways, so I think that’s really cool.

Jim DeRogatis: There’s no way we would be able to do the radio show without being writers. I mean, without working 70, 80 hours a week covering the beats that we cover, we’d have nothing good to talk about on the radio. You look at most DJs, and they have nothing to say. I don’t think we think of ourselves as DJs, I think the radio show is icing on the cake. It’s a treat for us to do the journalism live and get instant feedback, as opposed to emails. You know, I give my review and he [looks at Greg] instantly contradicts it, you know. And then we’re able to play the music. There is no radio show without our writing.

The Daily Snooze: So how did the switch from XRT to public radio come about?

Greg Kot: I’ll spare you all the behind-the-scenes details, but I think more and more it became apparent to us that public radio was the right fit for us. Once you get used to the world of commercial rock radio, it’s a, you know, you learn a lot about it. And the taste and sensibilities of it. But we always thought of ourselves as a national show. And, you know, we’re in Chicago, but we’re talking about something that everybody in every city cares about. It seemed like a natural fit. And, I think there was some resistance from the commercial side to a show that was as wide-ranging as us. And we came in at that era when corporate radio was consolidating. And the interests were becoming narrower and narrower. They’d say, “You guys wanna talk about Sam Cooke, but we only play R. Kelly. We only play modern R&B. We don’t talk about that stuff.” So the limitations, there were a lot of limitations to what kind of commercial radio station would be accepting of this show. And I think more and more we saw the audience at public radio, the kind of programming specifically that WBEZ was doing, and what they were doing in launching national shows, made a lot of sense to us. Because it turns out they liked our show, too. We got approached, actually, by a couple of those people at their station that were huge fans of our show on XRT, that said, “You’d be perfect for public radio.”

Jim DeRogatis: We got approached by [Sound Opinions producer] Todd [Bachman] who was working on "This American Life," and Mike Danforth who was working on "Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me," which were the two smartest, youngest, shows. And I had already been talking to [Chicago Public Radio General Manager and Program Director] Torey Malatia and saying, you know, we think this is a natural. And smart audiences! It’s a place of freedom, and no genre restrictions. There’s not that music programmer’s concern, “What do you mean you’re going to do a show where you talk about Diplo and Art Brut, and do a retrospective on Yoko Ono?” That freaks out the regular commercial radio programmer. Even though, every music fan we know has the 10-CD changer, and they have all those records in there, along with Grand Funk and Led Zeppelin, and you know, that’s how people listen to music. And Art Brut.

The Daily Snooze: For whatever reason, as a listener, it always seems like you guys are having fun. XRT was different because it was live, and now you have to do retakes, but it still comes off as very natural, and I think there’s great value in that as a listener. How does your enjoyment affect the show's feel?

Greg Kot: I was talking about this with a couple of our producers the other day. You know what? I feel like we’re doing a great show, but it’s like I’m having fun with my friends. I mean, what’s more fun than to do this with my friends? It’s a lot of work! I mean, the background that you need to bring into this show, you’ve to be prepared, and you’ve got to be thinking about this stuff. It’s a week’s worth of work to go into a couple of hours for all of us, so it better be a good time. And, you know, I couldn’t think of better people to be doing it with. These are more than just producers, these are our friends. These are people we care about, and for whatever reason they’ve stuck with us.

Jim DeRogatis: I think the thing that people have heard before that they may not understand, or people who are just hearing it new, Greg and I try to be very spontaneous, and we will intentionally, even if we’re sitting together at the Police concert, we’re not going to talk about it. We’re gonna wait, and even when we have our show planning meeting, we’re not going to talk about it. We’re gonna wait. So we go into the studio, and if there’s a five-minute segment on the air about the Police, we haven’t talked about it before, we may tape six minutes, and the additional minute that gets edited down is probably us just hemming and hawing and saying, “What the fuck was the name of that song? Oh yeah!” or “Hey Greg, you said ‘Message in a Bottle’ when you meant to say ‘When the World is Running Down.’” So it’s pretty much first-take spontaneity.

Master (MC) Debaters: Kanye West and 50 Cent Go Head to Head

The current duel between superstar rappers Kanye West and 50 Cent began months ago when West moved up the release date of his forthcoming third album, Graduation, from September 18 to September 11. This set up a defiant consumer clash with 50 Cent, whose Curtis will be released the same day. Then came the dubious claim by 50 Cent that if West's Graduation sold more copies than Curtis, he would retire from the rap game. If only banishing 50 Cent from the cultural spotlight were so easy. With Amazon reporting that pre-orders for both albums placed Kanye as a 5 to 1 favorite, 50 Cent retracted his promise.

This didn't stop him from making another sketchy observation. Said 50 Cent, "I feel like Kanye is successful because of me. After 50 Cent, [hip-hop fans] was looking for something non-confrontational, and they went after first thing that came along. That was Kanye West, and his record took off." This is a bold claim, to be sure, considering the staying power Kanye has had in the two and a half years since he exploded onto the hip-hop scene. That's kind of like me saying, the hottest girl in high school denied me repeatedly (she didn't, I swear), so I took to hitting on the next girl who walked by, and she wasn't very attractive (although she wasn't much of an angel, if you know what I mean, so I stuck it out).

Still, both self-absorbed artists are putting their egos on the line on September 11, when the two will face off in a Stuart Scott-moderated debate on BET's show "106 and Park." LA Weekly's Jeff Weiss has put together a voter's guide so we can all tune in to next week's debate just a little better informed about the issues at hand.

Thumbs Up: Fall Film Preview

The Daily Snooze couldn't help but shudder when the greusome remake of "Halloween" broke all box office records for Labor Day Weekend. Aside from a couple of clever comedies and a cartoon about a Parisian mouse with high culinary hopes, this Summer left much to be desired at the movie theater, and the success of "Halloween" is symptomatic of a greater disease: Americans either have bad taste in films, or studio executives have created a culture of lowered expectations.

But fear not, says the New York Observer. September shepherds in seven movies that should be worth watching, according to Sara Vilkomerson. Topping the list is Brad Pitt's turn in the Andrew Dominik-directed "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." If you're not a fan of long titles, perhaps Wes Anderson's return to the big screen is more up your alley. "The Darjeeling Limited," starring Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody, and Jason Schwartzman as three brothers looking to reunite on a journey through the wilds of India promises its fair punch of hipster humor and sentimentality, which we think is a good thing.

Ragged Old Flag: America and Bush in 50 Years

Two recent articles have prompted the Daily Snooze to ponder some American history that has not yet come to pass. The first, "Bet on America," by Washington Post staff writer Joel Achenbach, places odds on America's role as global hegemon in 50 years. Despite the recent onslaught of "declinism" in the media and on bookshelves, Achenbach argues that America will still be numero uno five decades down the line. The catch? Being on top ain't what it used to be. With globalism rendering the black and white perception of a nation-state useless, a country's standing becomes less and less important.

He draws on national defense spending figures and pension statistics to further his predictions, and overall, it is a convincing piece. But it fails to address that intangible and mysterious factor that seems to be slipping from America's grasp these days: international perception. What good is sustained American power if the government fails to perpetuate the tenets and ideals on which the nation was built? I don't want to live in the most powerful country in the world. I want to live in the country that promotes equality among all of its citizens, provides for due process, privacy and education, and works to create a more unified global network of governments so that these qualities can be offered and encouraged within other nations, but not forced upon them. Granted, this is made infinitely more possible when that country is among the most powerful in the world, but you can have one without the other.

Karl Rove, the former close aid to President Bush, would probably argue differently. In a weird kind of self-written obituary, Rove assessed the Bush legacy last week in the National Review. He seems to think that the Bush administration has fortified America's place atop the global heirarchy, and that history will look kindly on the actions and policies of Rove and his old boss. He may be correct, but I suspect for the wrong reasons. The Bush administration's failures abroad have encouraged the European Union to assert itself more powerfully and increasingly take matters into their own hands. This, of course, takes some pressure off the U.S. to constantly perform as the global police officer, and maybe that will allow future generations of American politicians and citizens to focus on rebuilding an America that represents what it once did.