Radiohead – In Rainbows (Staff Pick!)

Title: Radiohead - In Rainbows
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 2007, Rock, Alternative Rock Art Rock, Abingdon, England 8/26
Condition: New (BC) | Members: Thom Y (68' - ), Jonny G (71' - ), Colin G (69' - ), Ed O (68' - ), Phil S (67' - )
Cultural Facts:

1. Personal Struggle: Thom Yorke was born with a paralyzed left eye and underwent multiple operations before he was six. One surgery left the eyelid permanently drooping, and he has spoken about being bullied over it as a child, giving very real context to the outsider perspective that followed him into adulthood.

2. Notable Track: “Nude” had haunted Radiohead for roughly a decade before In Rainbows. Versions existed as far back as the OK Computer era, but the band repeatedly abandoned the song until Colin Greenwood devised the bass line that finally unlocked the arrangement heard here.

3. Label Drama: After completing their EMI contract, Radiohead released In Rainbows themselves online and initially let listeners choose what they wanted to pay for the download, including nothing. The experiment bypassed the traditional label system and turned the release itself into one of the most discussed music-business stories of the 2000s.