Alright, I’ll confess it: in spite of the headline above, a downloadable library card might be the least interesting part of the “Radiohead Public Library,” a new online collection of the band’s material. The clever touch emphasizes how much the Radiohead Public Library (henceforth RPL) does feel like browsing an especially disorderly research archive.
The archive launched today, and in a brief introduction, the band describes it as “an online resource consisting of videos, music, artwork, websites, product, and various ephemera.” It’s really loosely organized by album, and as NME notes, you can find links to work that’s been historically difficult to discover online. The four-track Drill was just added to the band’s YouTube channel. TKOL RMX 8, an addendum to the 2011 remix album TKOL RMX 1234567, is back online after its original digital stream decreased.
You can sign up for a library account to place product orders, but the card itself is just a downloadable image file– preferably, you ought to probably print it out, crop an awkwardly shot passport picture onto it, and laminate it for future use.
RPL likewise includes scanned newsletters, album art, and a shop where you can purchase dozens of old Radiohead tee shirt styles– they’ll start delivering February 3rd. NME writes that band members Colin and Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke will each work as a “librarian” for one day from now up until January 24 th– Colin Greenwood published a curated playlist this morning with some commentary and a picture of his library card.
Radiohead has actually expressed uncertainty of major streaming services, but the band has likewise made swaths of its catalog offered totally free in the past– consisting of the pay-what-you-want album In Rainbows It also released 18 hours of formerly unheard OKAY Computer studio sessions in 2015, following a blackmail danger by a hacker.
