Luckily for the video’s creator, IAmAhYell, those who are simply fans of Radiohead on Facebook also get to see it, thanks to a Facebook feature that says things like, “Thom Yorke is posting about a Page you like: Radiohead.”

Radiohead has over ten million fans. It should be a good day for IAmAhYell’s YouTube views.

The amazing cover comes from Tel-Aviv-based Rotem Shefy (vocals) and Leat Sabbah (cello). They first recorded the song last year, and then launched a Kickstarter project, which is why you see the nicely produced video below.

For a minute there, I lost myself.

[ShefitaANDSabbaba via UPROXX]

The Guardian has a huge, and definitely read-worthy profile out right now, in which Yorke talks his projects both past and present. For a brief bit, he also talks about music as content in the internet age.

Here’s some interesting stuff from that interview:

“We were so into the net around the time of Kid A. Really thought it might be an amazing way of connecting and communicating. And then very quickly we started having meetings where people started talking about what we did as ‘content’. They would show us letters from big media companies offering us millions in some mobile phone deal or whatever it was, and they would say all they need is some content. I was like, what is this ‘content’ which you describe? Just a filling of time and space with stuff, emotion, so you can sell it?”

He went on to lament companies like Google and Apple “commodifying” music:

“[Google and Apple] have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions. And this is what we want? I still think it will be undermined in some way. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Interesting words from Yorke, who in 2007 put the Radiohead album In Rainbows up online and let people choose how much they wanted to pay to download it.

[The Guardian via The Verge]

This time, the oil companies are seeking out the rights to start drilling in the Arctic, a place already in extreme danger thanks to the effects of global warming. While there is still debate about what causes global warming, climate change is real, and it is severally effecting the Arctic regions and the wildlife within them.

Film actor Jude Law comments on the problem in the Arctic:

“As the Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are being forced to go far beyond their normal habitat to find food and look after their young. This film is a powerful expression of how our fates are intertwined, because climate change is affecting all of us no matter where we live.”

“Right now a handful of oil companies are trying to carve up the Arctic for the sake of the next quarterly results but a global movement is growing to stop them. I stand with hundreds of thousands of others who think the area should be made into a sanctuary, protected from corporate greed for good.”

Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke also comments on the problems in the Arctic:

”We have to stop the oil giants pushing into the Arctic. An oil spill in the Arctic would devastate this region of breathtaking beauty, while burning that oil will only add to the biggest problem we all face, climate change. That’s why I’m backing this campaign.”

Greenpeace released the video featuring the artists in order to raise awareness of the issue and, in hopes of gaining support to put an end to drilling in the Arctic forever. Their ultimate goal is to have the areas declared as protected wildlife sanctuaries, making them free from corporate exploitation into the future.

Take a look at the video:

Thanks to the efforts of Quinton Sung, we now know exactly like such a thing would sound like, thanks to his conversion of Radiohead’s Kid A and OK Computer to the 8-bit sound format and uploaded them to YouTube. Not just songs from these albums, mind you–although, there are some of those available as well–but the entire albums.

Not only that, but with Kid A, there are clickable annotations that allow you to jump to each song on the album. Check it out:

Mi gusta, también.

Its really amazing to see how accurate these two dancers are with their timing, and it’s easy to see the time they’ve put into mastering dance. See for yourself in the video below, and check out Iannelli’s other projects on his website.

The studio-live performance will be broadcast by the BCC, which revealed its intentions at the BBC Worldwide website. According to their statement, the performance will be available to broadcasters in June, but is embargoed until July, 1st. As indicated, Radiohead’s performance will be courtesy of the In The Basement series, a web-only program that has featured such artists as The White Stripes, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, and P.J. Harvey.

As for the Radiohead portion, the King of Limbs performance will be a live, in-studio performance, lasting for 55 minutes. The performance will be filmed in hi-definition, and is expected to be broadcast around the world. Of the partnership, the BBC offers:

Salim Mukaddam, VP Music Television at BBC Worldwide said, “It is a real honour to be working with Radiohead on this project. Radiohead are a band that rarely performs for television, but when they do, it’s a moment to savour. There is already huge anticipation for this performance and we’re delighted that they’ve decided to work with us at BBC Worldwide, confirming our position as market leaders in Music Television. As a fan I cannot wait to see these beautiful songs brought to life in this programme.”

As for Radiohead, it’s not their first time performing for In The Basement. There is, of course, video of their 2009 set:

In 2007, Radiohead released "In Rainbows," allowing fans to pay whatever they wanted for downloads of the album. Radiohead will try a different strategy this time – simply charging a set price $9.00 for MP3s and $14.00 for WAVs).

RadioheadTHANK YOU FOR WAITING5 hours ago 18,573 likes 1,680 comments

The whole "In Rainbows" thing didn’t work out quite as well as the band had hoped. In 2008, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke told Hollywood Reporter:

"I think it was a one-off response to a particular situation," Yorke said of the band’s downloading policy for the album "In Rainbows." 

"It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do," he said. "I don’t think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time."

"The King of Limbs" will be released in a physical "Newspaper album" format on May 9. 

An interesting mix to say the least. Google explains:

Why did we focus on musicians and fashion designers this round? It’s often the clothes we wear and the music we listen to that help express our personality and style. And when we first unveiled iGoogle artist themes, we heard that many of you wanted even more themes in these areas. We hope this new collection gives you more choices so that your iGoogle page reflects your personal style.

Oh yeah, it’s fashion week too as Andy Beal points out. That might have something to do with it. As for my personal style? I’ve yet to come across an iGoogle theme that reflected it, but perhaps that’s just because I have no style.

There’s 28 new designs in all, and that puts the total number up to somewhere close to 1,700. That number has grown significantly since Google started sharing the iGoogle Themes API earlier this year. I’m surprised we haven’t seen more advertisers making their own iGoogle themes to promote things like movies, similarly to how they do with AOL Instant Messenger Buddy Icons.

There are some such examples like this one from The Dark Knight, but I’m fairly certain it was created by a fan, rather than made by the movie studio’s people.

This seems to be a relatively untapped branding outlet. It may not have the reach of a buddy icon since it’s not sent back and forth between users, but a theme will still attract some eyeballs by users looking for a new one, and by other people who see it on the users’ screen, so I can’t imagine it being a totally wasted effort.

Radiohead took the opposite approach with their theme(s), by not even including their name or likenesses in the design. The only way you’d know it was a Radiohead theme would be to see Google’s own label. But that’s because Radiohead are artists and are not worried about suckling the "corporate teat".

Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more brands being incorporated into themes in the future, especially given Google’s recent aggressive advertising endeavors.

Name your own price may have been as low as zero for a lot of people who eagerly took advantage of the Radiohead promotion for its In Rainbows album. Whatever deal the fans received, they ought to treasure it, as frontman Thom Yorke said it won’t happen again.

Yorke suggested in Hollywood Reporter the event happened under unique conditions:

“I think it was a one-off response to a particular situation,” Yorke said of the band’s downloading policy for the album “In Rainbows.”

“It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do,” he said. “I don’t think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time.”

Other acts like Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Portishead, and Coldplay made efforts to get music into the hands of their fans for free. One must believe this led to positive outcomes; Prince, for example, had to add several London shows to the original slate when demand exploded after he distributed a CD with a newspaper.

Free music isn’t the kiss of death for a band. The Grateful Dead and Phish generously permitted bootlegging of their shows by fans for years, enhancing their reputations in a world where corporate radio simply didn’t play jam bands on the air.

Yorke hit the main point in his comments, noting that Radiohead can enjoy a direct relationship with fans now. In truth, any band with a few minutes to get on MySpace or Facebook or Bebo can do that too.

The real point of that relationship involves both the band and the fans. No one expects Yorke to be online at odd hours answering questions in a forum; he needs to be in a studio. But whatever personal time musicians put into the fan relationships, safely behind a chat window and webcam, should yield a solid public relations gain for the band.