What I Changed My Mind About

I saw a post on, I think, Web Worker Daily yesterday with the above title, but it was yet another post on the ongoing struggle with email in the business world. Yawn.

Personally, I changed my mind on a good few things last year, but one topical and of note would be my view on music distribution.

I had been one of a group of people stating that they still wished to purchase a CD, feeling the need to own something physical, and because so much album art is, as the name implies, art.

Today, I feel more that the only thing tying me to buying a CD is that i'm still unable to purchase lossless music online, even though that would essentially be the same bitstream that I can rip from any purchased audio CD (legally or otherwise - that's this weeks episode of the RIAA soap). DRM free music is gradually becoming available, but is there anything lossless? I haven't seen anything. If it becomes available, I may never buy another CD.

As for album art, yes, it's great, but it's just as great pictured alongside the tracklisting in Canola, pictured above, which incidentally, i'm loving. If you have a Nokia tablet, give it a go (it is an actual beta though - some issues, but very usable and only going to improve).

As for the Radiohead experiment, some will now no doubt be accusing them of a backpedal, as interviews post-CD release seem to speak little of the band embracing the new medium and giving a finger to the industry, more just doing a little experimenting. I chose to pay 0, incidentally, with a view to trying before buying. If I had enjoyed the album, i'd have returned and paid. I didn't enjoy it in the slightest, and wouldn't pay for it. What little artist I have inside me though would rather allow somebody to do this than force them to pay up front for something they then found they didn't want. Where's the artistic integrity in that?

For allowing me to do this Mr Yorke, I salute you. As to your music, few would argue that you're an acquired taste, and i'm not sure i'm ever going to be able to extend mine beyond your past radio-friendly singles.