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Radiohead branded 'one trick pony' by Tool

Maynard James Keenan attacks 'In Rainbows'

The wisdom of Radiohead releasing new album 'In Rainbows' as a download has been attacked by Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan.

The singer suggested that the band were more interested in publicity than thinking of anything more long-term.

"I love Radiohead. They're a great band, but I do think - and i'll go on record now as saying - i'll probably be wrong and time will tell - what they did is a one-trick pony in a way," he explained. “Cause it might work for a publicity thing to allow people to download it, but it's very comfortable for them to be able to do that. They're going to make lots of money touring and they've already made lots of money selling records."

Keenan added that he believed Radiohead's action may inspire other musicians to follow suit, but this would not necessarily be a good thing.

He told Spinner: “One thing that I see the musicians wanting is more independence and, you know, more control over their destiny. The one downside to it is that for the most part, the reason they make music is because they're damaged goods and they're generally not that bright when it comes to making business decisions.

"So eventually the vampires that survive the aftermath of the industry collapse will figure out a way to get their fingers back into these guys."
 

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Comments (3)

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sugargirl 

Nov 20, 2007

I don't see the problem with putting albums up for downloading. The band is moving with the times and accommodating for new technologies. It will be cheaper for the buyer and easier for them to get hold of. A win-win situation.

42thefloor 

Nov 20, 2007

I think the title of the article is quite misleading, what he said wasn't suggesting Radiohead are a 'one trick pony' but the way they published the album for download, as in their next album wouldn't be released again like that. I think whoever writes these article needs to be a bit more careful, or are you trying to create a newsworthy slanging match between the bands?

Moz_1983 

Nov 21, 2007

Maynard is right. Radiohead were heading down a great path but they shot themselves in the foot when they announced that they'd be releasing a higher quality downloadable version of In Rainbows, AND when the cd comes out it'll have bonus tracks. Those who paid for this download have just been crapped on.

'According to Radiohead's manager: "If we didn't believe that when people hear the music they will want to buy the CD then we wouldn't do what we are doing." Ouch. Radiohead was moving in the right direction, but if they really want to start a revolution, they need to place the "pay-what-you-want" digital album on the same content and quality level as the "pay-what-we-want" physical album.'

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