Freeloading

In Rainbows is Radiohead's best record in years, though it's their only release I've not bought. I feel slightly guilty about my gratis download, as the band's pay-what-you-want, online-distribution experiment deserves support. One would like to see musicians be able to sell recordings "directly" to listeners and eliminate, as much as possible, the record companies that, historically, have deprived so many artists of royalties for their labor.

Regretfully, living hand to mouth precludes any purchases that aren't absolute necessities. (I'm sure Radiohead, as class-conscious Oxford lads, have read their Jude and would understand.) Even if I had "disposable" income, it would go first to books I want to read that aren't absolutely vital for my research. But when I finally land that tenure-track job I've promised to buy tickets to see Radiohead live. I take it on faith that neither securing a job nor securing Radiohead tix is a pipe dream, however horrendous the queue for both might be.