The Pot of Gold at the End of "In Rainbows"

As if allowing fans to download their latest album for any amount we wanted to offer—over a month before the CD went into stores—wasn't good enough, Radiohead is once again monkeying around with conventional wisdom (my favorite oxymoron) in the music business. They've partnered with online animation site aniBOOM to sponsor a contest to create animations for the In Rainbows music videos. I bought the album during the download period and have really enjoyed it; I don't watch videos usually but I'm gonna follow this because I'm curious to see how this plays out. I mean, in addition to believing that the recording industry is hopeless mired in OldBusinessThink, I'm big admirer of artists who push themselves to try something different—especially when so many of them who achieve the level of career success that this band have get "Old, Fat and Lazy," artistically and in the way they conduct business. Radiohead may ultimately decide that they never want to revisit anything they've tried on In Rainbows, but at least they were willing to take the risk in the first place. They're the kind of role models all of us need these days.

Brilliant or Crap? A Musical Litmus Test

This week's installment, another cover: John Vanderslice doing Radiohead (which is already something of an acquired taste, I'll admit, like a good single malt).

John Vanderslice – Karma Police

I love the original, and while the cover maintains the integrity of the song, it's as much Vanderslice as Radiohead and, as I've said, that's what I want from a cover. Plus, I really like music that challenges me whether it's rock/pop, country, jazz or classical. 

So let's get some comments going. Have a listen and force your opinion on the world: brilliant or crap?