notes from underground

I really like In Rainbows. It’s my favorite Radiohead album since OK Computer, for sure, and that album is still one of my top five favorites of any band from all time. But In Rainbows kind of bothers me, too. It’s irritating that the focus was so focused on the album’s price… I had friends who downloaded it for free, and even a few who paid a couple bucks for it, and then didn’t listen to it for months. They participated in the media event, and then moved on, only later going back to actually listen to the music.

In a way, this is related to why I am irritated at the new videogame Spore. It’s become such a media event, overshadowing projects like Braid. I would never argue that Spore is a bad idea, or a bad game, or not worth paying attention to… I just think that Braid has a lot more to do with the future of the games industry than Spore does. I guess that’s technically the opposite of Radiohead, where In Rainbows is clearly an evolutionary step forward in terms of marketing… but in both cases, the media hoopla overshadows the real creativity and artistry.

I’ll leave motionographer.com to deal with most recent motion graphics awesomeness, but I really think that Of Montreal’s Wraith Pinned to the Mist video by Kangaroo Alliance ought to be seen. This was the first animated video Kangaroo Alliance has done, it was featured at ResFest. It’s cute, vaguely hallucinogenic, bizarre through and through, and really cool for all its simplicity. I approve! Also, Of Montreal are worth noting on their own, if it is even possible to have missed them by now.