Yorke Worship
Come on, is Eraser really that great?

July 24 - I gave Thom Yorke of Radiohead's solo album Eraser a fair chance. I heard it before the release and after a few times and really wanted to love it. But it failed to capture me in a way that great albums should. A few tracks stood out but I don't routinely go back to listen. Critics are generally favorable with its 76 average Metacritic score. But none as much as the people who give out the British Mercury Music Prize. Only weeks after it's debut it was added to their shortlist of the year's best albums. That seems rather fast to me and like they had their minds made up before they heard it. Kind of like how Rolling Stone never gives anything less than four stars to albums by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan or U2. Other 2006 Mercury Prize nominees include the Editors, Guillemots, Muse, Hot Chip and the Arctic Monkeys, who it seems like years ago now were shoved down our throats as the next biggest thing. The winner is announced on Sept. 5 but odds makers seem to favor Yorke and the Monkeys by 5-to-1 over their competitors.