On Saturday morning, I set my alarm for 10 a.m. and promptly jumped out of bed when it went off. Oh, I know what you’re thinking.

1. Why the hell would you set your alarm on a Saturday?
2. If you were to set your alarm on a Saturday, why the hell would you wake up before noon?

Well friends, I have four syllables for you – Radiohead.

After their latest album In Rainbows debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts here in the U.S., the band decided to embark on a 22-city North American tour. Everything must be bigger in Texas if two of those coveted cities include Dallas and Houston. God, I love living in this enormous state.

Anyway, tickets for the Dallas show went on sale 12 p.m. CST on Saturday, Feb. 16. This explains why I set my alarm with ample time to rush to my nearest Ticketmaster location (Macy’s at the local mall) and try to snag two tickets of my own.

I got to the mall around 11 a.m., idly shopping and burning time until noon. I even set the alarm on my phone for 11:45 to reinforce the urgency of the situation. By then, I perused through racks of baby clothes and Martha Stewart Housewares on the third floor until about 11:58 when I finally went to Customer Service to line up.

Boy, I’m glad I didn’t wait a minute later.

There were already about seven people in front of me, each purchasing four tickets of their own. The reserved seats were already sold out and only lawn seats were available; this is less than five minutes after they went on sale!

Finally, my turn came around and it was the most beautiful transaction I’ve ever made. I will never forget the way my two tickets glowed inside that golden Ticketmaster envelope. I remember thinking to myself, “This is how it must feel when you hold your newborn baby in your arms for the very first time.”

It’s safe to say I was pretty stoked.

I periodically checked the Ticketmaster Web site throughout the weekend to see if tickets were still available. The Superpages.com Center in Dallas has quite an accommodating lawn; I’ve been to many-a-show there. Tickets were still available the last time I checked Saturday night, but they were all gone by Sunday morning. This meant that I had two members of an extinct endangered species stowed away safely in my wallet, and it felt pretty damn good.

So what’s the big deal with Radiohead? Well, first of all they’re awesome. Their third album, OK Computer inspired this very blog’s user name. Second of all, they’re arguably the most interesting band I know save the White Stripes (I can’t get over the fact that the Stripes only wear red, black and white and pretend to be siblings when they’re actually ex-husband and wife). It’s hard to beat such a monochromatic, seemingly incestuous development, but Radiohead come in a close second. Plus, I like them way more.

But why do I find this British music group so interesting? I mean, they wear different colors and as far as I know, none of them were previously married to each other. However, their Oct. 2007 release of In Rainbows was historical.

Radiohead released their 7th album digitally, allowing fans, listeners and frankly, anyone to pay whatever they wanted for it, including nothing. I personally waited until Jan. 1 to snag my own hard copy for $7.99, but I’m sure many took advantage of the virtually free album. I wanted the hard copy because I like building my tangible CD collection, and well, it comes with stickers.

I bought the latest issue of Rolling Stone with Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke, pensively gracing the cover. The article went in-depth about the unconventional release of In Rainbows, and said that the average amount the album sold for totaled to $2.26. Though this seems low, it’s actually more than they would have earned if they formally released the CD through a traditional record label.

Interesting.

Another fascinating factoid about Radiohead is their sustainable habits. According to Treehugger.com, the band make an effort to tour responsibly in order to reduce their carbon emissions and ecological footprint. Not only do Radiohead use alternative forms of transportation when they tour (sea, rail, road), they started playing gigs in cities to encourage concert-goers to take public transportation rather than their own cars. (I will keep this in mind come May 18 when I commute to the Superpages.com Center via railroad).

But I suppose the thing that intrigues me most about this great band is the fact that they seem to exhibit a complete disregard for the current music industry and its trends. They like doing things their own way whether its touring by train or digitally releasing their record. And since they have such a loyal fan base that expands the entire globe, this way of thinking totally works for them.

In his Rolling Stone interview, York said, “If I die tomorrow, I’ll be happy that we didn’t carry on working within this industry that I don’t feel any connection with.”

Letting fans and the public know their unconventional stance on music industry normalcy is probably the gutsiest publicity move they could choose to do, however, it’s also their smartest and most successful.

Currently, the public doesn’t like the music industry either. Therefore, seeing huge bands like Radiohead express their individualism and integrity in their own unique way resonates even more with listeners. I know I feel that way, which is why I set my alarm before noon on a Saturday to purchase tickets to their show.

I’ll never be able to fully explain what makes Radiohead one of my favorite bands, albeit such an interesting one. Maybe it’s their foreign exoticism, maybe it’s the fact that in terms of their music, there’s nothing quite like it.

But the mere fact that I can’t explain why I love them is probably why I love them as much as I do. They’re a constant mystery, surprising fans left and right with digital album releases and short-lived North American tours. I like how they keep me guessing and I love how they never disappoint. And I know their concert in May will totally blow me head over heels.

Radiohead over heels, that is.