The informant is a 23 year old musician who enjoys learning exchanging stories about legendary bands with his fellow musicians. This piece would be exchanged during a band practice  or when speaking with another musician to prove knowledge of game-changing bands.

“So, English rock group Radiohead found themselves in need of a place to record their new record, The King of Limbs, in Los Angeles. They ended up using – uh, I believe she’s – because she’s a fan, actually um, Drew Barrymore’s basement. And um, in the, you know, her name was included in the liner notes and that’s when people figured out. Everyone thought that it was like some weird joke. And then after some more, uhm, you know, further investigation, they found that uh, it’s actually because that’s where they truly recorded it. And then, that album was actually like, pretty universally, hated by fans and critics, initially. And then, a few weeks later, everyone was like “Uhhhh actually this is like some of the freakiest, coolest stuff Radiohead’s done!” So, make a album in Drew Barrymore’s basement. People might not like it at first. So, just beware.”

This is important to the informant because it is an example of a band whose popularity did not guarantee an understanding of their music. The informant learned this from a fan-rub website about Radiohead. This would be performed during band practice or when in conversation with fellow musicians to prove one’s knowledge of music.

Analysis:

This story is interesting because it demonstrates the fickleness of the music industry and its fans. Even though Radiohead was already a highly successful band, successful enough to have fans like Drew Barrymore, their music was not understood immediately by the media or their fans. Musicians that are trying to make it in today’s industry are hyperaware of the fact that people will not blindly accept what you put out. However, in telling the legend of the making of this album, it reminds musicians that success is achievable and negative reactions to one album does not end a career.