Apologies for the dearth of posts lately. I have been a busy particle. But before I write my post on the Interpol and Bad Religion shows (yes, I saw Bad Religion. I can die happy now), I need to tell you about this: Radiohead is giving away their new album. They are letting the buyer decide how much to pay. I think all you have to pay is the credit card processing fee of 90 cents.

Yes, other bands have done this kind of thing before, but never a band as popular as Radiohead. And that part is important. Their popularity means they have a lot to lose. A band that is not so popular has less to lose since the fan base is smaller and fewer people would be buying the album and the forgone revenue would not exist. For Radiohead, they stand to lose, or gain, a lot. If it works, they will have proved a point that has been a long time in the making: music does not need record labels. The record label is no longer a necessary part of the music distribution and marketing process. They weren't necessary to begin with. After all, they didn't always exist. The only purpose I see labels serving now is as more of a "music club." Bands can join together and help fans find new bands, thus helping to give smaller bands more exposure by associating with similar bands.

Bands can rent their own studio time, hire their own engineers, pay for their own mixing and disc pressing, do their own marketing via a website, and open an online shop. No need for the label. All you need is money and some organizational skills. If a band has those two things, there is no need for a record contract. The label is an unnecessary middle man.

What's also interesting about the Radiohead deal is the lack of an iTunes affiliation. None of the articles I've read mention iTunes. Did Radiohead ignore iTunes altogether? If so, it could be proof that even iTunes should examine its role in music distribution, or perhaps lower its prices.

Either way, I'm very happy Radiohead took this risk. It's one step towards taking music out of the hands of record labels and putting it back into the hands of artists. Record contracts and record company desires are not conducive to the creation of good music. Good music is what we want. Musicians who own the rights to their art is what we want. Contractual obligations and creative restrictions do not help either of those goals. The issue is that record companies, unlike bands, are not artistic endeavors. They are business enterprises. Art and business, by their nature, do not always mix well. Free one from the other and both would probably prosper more.

For reference, you can check out this guide to recording contracts. It makes me want to buy an Entertainment Law textbook and read up on music industry contract basics.

It's been a long time since I've been to San Antonio. I promised my friends there many times I would come visit, but alas, law school and work continually got in the way. Well, last weekend, I finally made good on my promise. I caught a flight down to San Antonio (aka SA aka Saytown) on Friday and hung out with all my old friends.

Friday found us at Blue Star Brewery for First Friday, which is a monthly art, music, and food extravaganza held in South Town, an area of San Antonio south of Downtown. After beer and dinner at Blue Star, we stumbled over to Beethoven's for Oktoberfest, where my friend consumed yet more beer and I got to play DD, which was fine by me because I wanted to see her have a good time (read: get drunk... friends are always funnier when drunk). Her friends also met us at Blue Star and were thoroughly entertaining. They tried to use my lawyering skills to sue each other. I got to explain the difference between assault and battery. I hope I got it right.

On Saturday, we had lunch with the infamous Skorloff and his Girl at Liberty Bar, which is really half-bar, half-restaurant. We got to learn about British toast soldiers and humpty dumpty, and Skorloff and I had Guinness for lunch. Good times. After that, we visited the Skorloff-Girl residence and I marveled at all the progress he's made on the house in the last three years. I think it mostly has to do with the addition of Girl, and the contractor Skorloff hired.

Then we went to a football party to watch the Texas Longhorns lose a great football game. Good job guys! I forgot that the object of football is turn the ball over to the other team as many times as possible. I'm glad you cleared that up for us.

After loafing around for a while, we got off our collective asses and went bowling with some other folks I hadn't seen since I left SA in 2004. They reassured me nothing had changed since I left. That was good to know. So, when are you moving???

I discovered two important and profound things while bowling that night. First: bowling with a beer in one hand will improve your performance. Second: bowling with your non-dominant hand will also improve your performance. Net result? If you're right-handed, hold a beer in your right hand and bowl with your left. I promise your score will go up.

Everyone slept in Sunday morning and we ate lunch at Twin Sister's, which is kind of like Liberty Bar, except with less alcohol and more breakfast. I caught a three o'clock flight and was sped off back to Dallas just in time to chill out at home for a little while and head to band practice at six.

It was a fun and crazy weekend and I had a great time. Thanks again to the coolest girls in San Antonio for driving me around and playing host for a weekend. You are both welcome in Dallas any time.

The last few months I have lost lots of sleep trying to find the answers, but I still haven't figured out what the questions are.

It's frustrating and I am tired and I felt like venting to my particlefamily (or molecule? ).

Coolest shirt, ever.

I installed OpenOffice. Hooray for free software! It's not as slick as MS Office 2007 (or 2003), but it gets the job done.

If you have no idea what I'm talking, go here.

But i finally added a new post category: geek. See the previous three posts. I probably should have done this when I started the blog way back when. Call it laziness. All geeks are lazy by nature.

In other news, happy weekend! I have to go outside now. It's 76 degrees outside. I think Fall just got here.

Consistent with my new role as bass player in a Beatles band, I ordered this bass. It should be coming in the mail today. It's a replica of 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, and even though it's neither a 1962 nor a Fender, it looks the part and was way cheaper than a Fender!

Ever seen a 6'2" mustachioed guy in tight, rolled up jeans and no shirt don a red wig and red heels? Well, then you need to go see Gogol Bordello. I can say with confidence that you will never see anything else like it. The music, the show, the energy, the atmosphere. Every bit of that show was unique and special and completely insane.

I had some stomach issues this weekend but I went out anyway on Sunday to see the show with my old friend and fellow bike geek El Raymundo. My stomach felt a little queasy but it held up for the duration of the show. Thankfully The Granada has an upstairs balcony area that was significantly less crowded and free from the mass of pogoing hipsters. I would have gladly joined those bouncing masses, but my stomach would not allow it. It looked like a party down there.

I saw Interpol with a coworker the other week and it was everything I expected. They were good, really good. Maybe too good? They didn't miss a note and the sound was fantastic. Those guys can write some interesting songs. I notice that as they move through their career, their songs take on a more dynamic quality - more stops/starts, breakdowns, melodic layerings, vocal solos, and drum riffs that depart from the usual rock beats.

The only weird thing was that they hardly moved during the show, and neither did the people in the audience. I realize an Interpol show isn't exactly a punk show, but it does qualify as rock, and rock music generally makes people move. I suppose Interpol fans are too cool for school to rock out at a live show. But when Interpol played their harder songs and the only "rocking out" I saw consisted of some head-bobbing, I starter to wonder if Interpol fans might need to loosen up a little. Regardless, it was a good show.

Oh, and as for their opener, The Liars, I hesitate to call them an "opener." I also hesitate to call them a "band." Bloc Party once sarcastically described their band in the third-person by saying, "They do everything that's required to conform to the currently received ideas of what a band is: ostensibly to play instruments at the same time, but also have a title for the work created." While this is funny for Bloc Party, it is not funny for The Liars, because The Liars did not really play their instruments at the same time. At least the melodies did not seem to go together at the same time. Maybe they did in some alternate universe. I'm actually not sure there were melodies. I do know that air molecules were moving in wave formation, because I heard their terrible noise and felt it in my chest. Other than that, I was not able to discern any patterns, ideas, or musical structures.

In other news, I downloaded the new Radiohead album. I gave them $10, or $1 per song. I think that's fair. It's what iTunes would have charged. Did anyone else out there buy it?