Radiohead Denies "Wholly Inaccurate" Sales Figures, Ready "In Rainbows" CDs, First Single

When they weren't teasing us with a Webcast that's taking forever to play on our computers, Radiohead were very busy making other headlines today. For one, the band's management attacked a widely cited report by comScore claiming that 62 percent of people who downloaded In Rainbows didn't pay a cent. "In response to purely speculative figures announced in the press regarding the number of downloads and the price paid for the album, the group's representatives would like to remind people that, as the album could only be downloaded from the band's website, it is impossible for outside organisations to have accurate figures on sales," the statement reads, adding that the band "confirm that the figures quoted by the company comScore Inc are wholly inaccurate and in no way reflect definitive market intelligence or, indeed, the true success of the project."

In other news, it's been confirmed that the CD and vinyl release of In Rainbows will become available in non-North American music stores on December 31st. The album's ninth track, "Jigsaw Falling Into Place," will also serve as the first single, which will be released on January 14th. No details regarding the single's B-sides or formats have been announced. The CD and vinyl In Rainbows will hit shelves a little more than three weeks after the discbox — which costs $80 and contains the CD, vinyl and a bonus disc — hits mailboxes on or around December 3rd.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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