The album art brilliantly depicts London in the aftermath of the next Ice Age... along with some other weird shit.
Radiohead are one of those tragic cases of bands with an amazing repertoire of music who are only known to the general public as "the band who does *top hit*". If you grabbed some random Joe Schmo off the street and asked them, "Quick, what do you know about the band Radiohead?", chances are, most of them are going to answer "Oh, I really enjoy that song, 'Creep'." Now I have nothing against that song (in fact, it's probably one of the better songs off of the band's rather lackluster debut, Pablo Honey), but it is by no means the best representation of Radiohead's music. In fact, everything after their debut has been cited as some of the best alternative rock music (or just plain music) of the past 20 years.
/mu/ also follows this consensus. People on /mu/ bring up Radiohead a shit ton, lumping praise after praise on all of their post-Pablo Honey albums (save for The King of Limbs, which has generated more of a mixed opinion) and making jokes about their eccentric frontman, Thom Yorke. Not only is Radiohead's follow-up to Pablo Honey, The Bends, on the /mu/ essentials list, but they have two - check 'em, two - albums labelled as /mu/core: OK Computer and Kid A. Well, shit, thought I upon first noticing this, Radiohead must be quite interesting. Up until that point, I had fallen under that crowd of people who only really knew "Creep", so I had expected some more emotionally-heavy britpop. So, I figure, what better place to start than OK Computer, hailed by several critics as one of the best rock albums of the 1990's? Boy, was I in for a surprise.
Before sharing my opinion on it, however, a little back story for those not in the know. Radiohead is an English band initially formed in 1985 as On a Friday, as due to the band members' schedules, they could only rehearse on Fridays. It was not until 1991, when all of the members had gotten university degrees, when the band finally got serious, recording demos and playing many live gigs. This eventually attracted the attention of EMI, who signed the band to their Parlophone label. At the label's request, the band changed their name to Radiohead. Although between 1992 and 1993, they put out their Drill EP, Pablo Honey, and several singles, they were met with limited success in Britain. However, they caught on in America due to heavy MTV rotation of "Creep". Soon, they were successful (much to Thom Yorke's chagrin, as he hated the celebrity image he was projecting) and recorded a followup album, The Bends, which was released in 1995 to critical acclaim. The album showed a clear shift in direction, with a greater use of keyboards and ethereal guitar riffs. The band would further pursue this direction in 1996, when they went to St. Catherine's Court to record and hired Neil Godrich for the first time to produce their third album. This album, OK Computer, was released in 1997 and was instantly a smash hit across the globe, earning Radiohead its first Grammy for Best Alternative Album and debuting at number 1 on the British charts. Since its release, major publications such as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork have listed it as one of the greatest albums of all time and it has been credited as the album that killed Britpop (though really, I blame the Gallagher brothers with that, because fuck them). That being said, what do I think of it? Is it really as amazing as people claim it to be?
Radiohead, circa 1997, L-R: Phil Selway, Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood
The answer is yes. Fuck yes. OK Computer amazed me on my first listen, and that was before it all really started to sink in. After listening to the songs several times, I began to realize just how much of a sonic masterpiece this album really was. Not only that, but I also began to realize that this was truly a stunning album lyrically. Really, though, I know I won't convince you by just blanketing this album with generalizations, so let me further explain.
Almost immediately, the album opens with the groaning guitar of lead guitarist Johnny Greenwood accompanied by sleigh bells. Then, the drums burst in with great intensity and lay down beats like clockwork. In the meantime, bassist Colin Greenwood plucks away at a segmented bass line that is unconventional and Thom Yorke sings of being back to save the universe. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Airbag", the opening track of the album, an ethereal song blanketed by a haze of layered guitars. With a count-off of four blips, the song segues into "Paranoid Android", one of Radiohead's better known non-"Creep" songs. It is something of a "Bohemian Rhapsody" for the post-Cold War world; the song cycles through three distinct sections: a primarily acoustic section, a menacing section in which Johnny Greenwood bursts in with a strong solo, and a slower section with a cascade of vocals courtesy of Thom Yorke. In the meantime, Yorke sings of paranoia and the growing interference and regimentation of technology which were both common in the 1990's. The result is something that is quite brilliant. However, these two tracks are only a glimpse preview of the voyage that is to come.
The album's third track, "Subterranean Homesick Alien" returns to a more ethereal tone, with lyrics about alien abduction and electronic piano creating a cosmic atmosphere. Next, there is "Exit Music (For a Film)", which, as you may gather, was indeed in a film - 1996's Romeo + Juliet, to be exact. It is not really a love song, but more of a somber reflection of unrequited love, a desperate wish to hold on to everything that is falling apart around one's life driven by an acoustic guitar and later, heavily compressed bass and drums. The next song, "Let Down", is a cheery-sounding song at first, but really, looking at the lyrics, it is how one observing the modern world feels so isolated by it all and that emotions towards these things are fake. The final song of the first half of OK Computer, "Karma Police", is another one of the band's well-known songs outside of "Creep". Stemming from an inside joke in the band and borrowing a chord progression from "Sexy Sadie", the song is centered around acoustic guitar and piano. After two repeats of the unusual verse-bridge format, the song goes into space and is surrounded by a variety of electric noises while Thom Yorke says how he's lost himself before it all comes to an end with a harsh repeated noise generated by a feedback loop. Almost immediately after, the album transitions into "Fitter, Happier", a spoken-word piece performed by the Macintosh SimpleText program. Although it starts out with a promising message, it slowly degenerates (as the background noises grow more dreary) into proof of how regimented modern life has become. Have you noticed a trend yet, folks?
Hint: It's not unicorns and rainbows.
To release the rage built up by the previous track, the band launches into the most overtly-political, hard rock song on the album, "Electioneering". For its sound, it's considered the oddball on the album by many critics, but I myself have come to accept it for what it is, even if it's not as brilliantly crafted as the rest of the songs on the album. After this, we have "Climbing Up the Walls", an extremely off-putting song made creepy by the St. Anger-esque drum sound, the unusual orchestral arrangement, and Thom Yorke's lyrics describing insanity and his screeches at the end. The insanity of this then dissolves into the depressingly-cheery "No Surprises". Much like "Let Down", the song centers around an angelic electric guitar riff while being accompanied by glockenspiel and acoustic guitar. Under the surface, though, Thom Yorke sings about a man collapsing to the pressures of the modern world with a hauntingly beautiful delivery. Next, we have a song previously released on a charity album in 1995 to help the kids in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the conflict in Yugoslavia, "Lucky". It was a clear indicator of the sound Radiohead would take with this album, with a three-piece guitar arrangement, haunting keyboards, and lyrics about a guy surviving a plane crash. The album ends on a more relaxed note with a track penned by Johnny Greenwood, "The Tourist", with lyrics attacking the fast life that many people in the 1990's tended to live, Radiohead included. A haunting waltz sort of song, it has a constant build that finally concludes with the guitar and bass dropping out and the song ending with a bell tone.
This album is just... Wow. The music is absolutely brilliant. Layers of guitars, keyboards, and electronic noises combine to create a flurry of sound that is very much representative of the Information Age. There is not a moment on this album where I can say that any of the music is too overblown or pretentious (with possibly exception to "Electioneering"), and it all fits well with the lyrics. That's another thing too, the lyrics. If you haven't figured it out already, OK Computer is an attack on post-Cold War society, pointing out the increased paranoia, isolation, and utter confusion caused by the rise of computers and other technology. Rather than attacking poverty, it attacks excess made possible in the 1990's. In a sense, it's an accurate prediction of what 21st century life, with the War on Terror and the advent of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, would be like as well.
"Just gotta invite 10 more of my friends to visit my farm and then I'll have enough money to buy that new skin for my tractor..."
The musical prowess of the band is also made evident on this album. Johnny Greenwood, the lead guitarist of the band, is well known for his aggressive manner of playing, often dubbed "abusive guitar", and it definitely shows. On songs like "Paranoid Android" and "Electioneering", you can hear the strain and power exerted by Greenwood with his electric guitar. However, he also takes a more subdued approach on other songs, like "No Surprises" and "Let Down" and rightfully so, as it makes them all the more beautiful. Being the only member of the band who was versed in music theory, he also arranged all of the string parts heard on the album. Ed O'Brien, the other guitarist of Radiohead, brings similar chops to the table, his most noteworthy contribution perhaps being the harsh noises at the end of "Karma Police". The rhythm section, composed of Colin Greenwood on bass and Phil Selway on drums, is also solid, sometimes getting complex along with the guitar and other times keeping a quieter presence. Thom Yorke, the lead vocalist of the band, delivers the lyrics with a rather low register in most songs, yet can go higher to emphasize points as seen in songs like "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and "Karma Police". His tone is somewhat verging on monotone in some cases, but in an album which criticizes the droll, regimented life of the 1990's, this is perfectly acceptable.
Overall, OK Computer is a perfect commentary on the horrors of modern life and a sonic adventure. The music is ethereal some of the time and tense the next, never shifting into a comfortably consistent style. The lyrics brilliantly expose modern life for what it is - wrought with paranoia, greed, hopelessness, and without soul. The musical prowess is nothing to glance over as well, as the band members are extremely versatile in their delivery, yet never deliver in a manner that seems too overblown or ridiculous. I would heavily recommend this album to anyone who loves rock music, concept albums, or is seeking to get more into 90's rock music. It is, indeed, a shining gem of 1990's British rock, and I can certainly understand why many people around the world, /mu/ included, regard it as one of the greatest albums of all time.