Much to our Radiohead-loving surprise, the scene at the Union Square distribution of their newspaper, The Universal Sigh, wasn't exactly swarming with fans today. Though there was a line that stretched around the block at 1 p.m. from where the paperboy (a little shortsightedly standing in front of Beth Israel) began giving out newspapers, by 1:05 p.m. everyone who had been waiting for a copy had one. By our calculations, the paperboy (later joined by a papergirl) had about 1600 papers to distribute. When we left the scene at 1:15 p.m. there was still an unopened box of newspapers, and it was doubtful whether the passersby now taking them had any idea who Radiohead are.
Even after reading The Universal Sigh, there isn't much you'll learn about the band other than the kind of creative writing they are currently partial to. The word "Radiohead" doesn't feature once in the 12 page paper, though much of their distinct new album art does, including an image captioned The King Of Limbs. There are also some rather depressing short stories by British authors about nature versus materialism and impending disaster.
You'll notice one of those mysterious-looking QR codes on the back page, but it just links to the official website that has a bunch photos of happy people who braved the potential paper cuts to pick up a copy. As for those hoping for an online edition of The Universal Sigh, a PDF briefly available on MediaFire was removed for violation within hours, which just makes those of us who nabbed a copy feel extra special.
