In Rainbows  (Self-released; 2007)  By Chet Betz & Joel Elliott
| 5 November 2007  All bets here are as hedged as they are
final.  But it must be good to be Radiohead, right? A band born
to be independent, a band that for years has successfully
skirted the boundaries of populism to make strangely populist
music that grazes off the many spheres of influence they wander
ably between, all the while gaining millions of fans in their
wake. This renown, in turn, allows them to pull the kind of
impressive-yet-overly-lauded stunt that is their In Rainbows
release stratagem. And thousands of like-minded bands can only
look up at their gods in envy, knowing full well that if they
did the same no one would buy their pricy vinyl packages, and
that the majority of their fans would leave a big fat zero in
the digital coffer. Radiohead have it so good they know they’re
risking nothing. The instant they announced Operation Rainbows
the war was over. Droves of heads conscripted; record labels
cursed; Radiohead enjoyed tea and