Radiohead: OK Computer

Although released in May of 1997, Radiohead’s OK Computer is a monumental release that could easily be considered the first album of the 21st Century. While it is not an easy listen, every song on the twelve-track release has its place. There is no filler; the amalgamation of sounds forms a symphony of alternative rock excellence.

OK Computer was the perfect release for Radiohead at the time. It was part of an arc for the band that went from cookie-cutter indie rock with their debut Pablo Honey, to an influenced sound in the band’s sophomore release The Bends, and finally to an influential sound.

While The Bends showed Radiohead were not one-hit wonders, OK Computer solidified that they were able to make their own way in the craziness that is the music industry. The album showed they are able to do whatever they want to do and be successful at it.

The themes of OK Computer were extremely timely. The new millennium was approaching at its release. The Internet was becoming more prevalent in daily life; most people had at least dial-up internet in 1997. Music and art are always a reflection of the time they are created, and the sounds recorded for OK Computer mirror that time with perfection.

Thom Yorke shows that he is emotional, thoughtful, and opinionated in the first single, “Paranoid Android.” The song, coming in at over six minutes long, is an epic affair switching between musical styles and tones. Critics often compare it to “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” by the Beatles and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. “Paranoid Android” transitions from time signature to time signature beautifully.

The second single on OK Computer, “Karma Police,” according to Yorke, is a song that is “a song against the bosses.” He says, “Karma is important. The idea that something like karma exists makes me [Yorke] happy. It makes me [Yorke] smile.”

While the song is based on an inside joke among the band about behaving or the Karma Police will get them, it speaks to the confusion of doing your best. To be a good person and still getting punished. The bad things happen to good people thing that happens to everyone in life. The part of life where you tried, you tried so hard to figure it all out, to do it right, and you still get boned.

OK Computer is a masterpiece. Listening to it should take you out of this world and transport you to a place that is above the clouds. No matter what mood you are in, this album has the potential to change the chemistry in your brain. The stars aligned in 1996 when Radiohead went into the studio to record it.

Must Listen To Tracks: Paranoid Android, Let Down, Karma Police, No Surprises, Exit Music (For a Film)

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