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Radiohead, Ingenious After All These Years

by Zoe Strimpel
Sun, 20 Jan 2008 at 2:18 PM

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Radiohead's swooning odes to dysphoria were an integral part of our youths. What's surprising is the band's longevity and the way in which we keep taking it seriously, unlike, say, Green Day or Sublime, who were arguably just as important 15 years ago. The key? That perfect mixture of independence and ingenuity that inspires not only disturbingly great songs but unexpected marketing strategies, such as allowing fans to pay any price, or nothing, to download the latest album, "In Rainbows."

Well, Thursday night the band proved its ingenuity again. Again, it bowed to the people, or sort of. Playing a surprise gig (12 hours' notice) in a small record shop on London's Brick Lane meant that anybody could nip in and watch. Or rather, only the first 200 to show up. So it didn't quite work out as planned, because a great deal more people came, and the band was forced by police to relocate to a bigger place nearby called 93 Feet East.

Fans were delighted by the run-through of "In Rainbows" and an additional greatest-hits excursion. Radiohead seems to have cracked the secret to eternal life: It's all about moving with the times.

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