ice age coming.

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

Radiohead may have just pulled the biggest musical coup in history. i can't even sum it up in one sentence.

How? Well, first off--the band haven't given us an album since 2003's lackluster "Hail to the Thief" (unless you count Thom Yorke's boring solo album "The Eraser"--I, of course, don't)...and they told us that we wouldn't be getting one until at least 2008...letting us all down for a 4th straight year.

That announcement was particularly depressing when the band had a blog about their recording sessions and after Jonny Greenwood (the world's greatest guitar player) told Pitchforkmedia that the band was "done recording".

Damn you, damn you to hell, right?


Wrong, foolie.


What does it mean? Well, an $81 package that includes 2 vinyl lp, 2 cds and a hardcover book and/or a digital download on October 10th.

Correct--the band announced the album on September 30th and are releasing it on October 10. That may be the fastest turnaround for any major-label band ever.

Hold up, though--Radiohead are no longer a major label band--the band don't even have a label anymore. "Hail to the Thief" fulfilled their obligation to Capitol/Parlophone--and you can be damn sure that no money-making label would want to be part of anything that the band are currently doing?

Why? No, it's not because of the music (I've only heard a few of the songs--"Nude" has been a fan favorite since forever and is the song that almost caused the band to break up on the 1997 documentary "Meeting People is Easy"...and "Reckoner" was a terrible song from the "Amnesiac" tour)--it's because they, in theory, are giving the album away for free.

Yes, for free. You decide how much you want to pay for the record on the band's official site--and we are promised the download of the album on October 10.

O rly?

srsly?

Really.

I'm torn over whether or not I'm going to buy the $81 dollar set. I don't have turntables and think it's extravagant to buy right now...but, then again, I'm pretty sure I'd pay, quite literally, at LEAST my left arm to see the band (as long as the arm was numbed first).

Srsly.

I'd talk about how much I love the band, but that's for another day. Most of my screennames/email/everything in my life have been related to the band, and continue to be to this day.

Really.

Here's the tracklist for the RH nerds out there:

Disc 1

1. "15 Step"
2. "Bodysnatchers"
3. "Nude"
4. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"
5. "All I Need"
6. "Faust ARP"
7. "Reckoner"
8. "House of Cards"
9. "Jigsaw Falling into Place"
10. "Videotape"

Disc 2

1. "MK1"
2. "Down Is the New Up"
3. "Go Slowly"
4. "MK2"
5. "Last Flowers"
6. "Up on the Ladder"
7. "Bangers and Mash"
8. "4 Minute Warning"