OK Computer
Radiohead
As an occasional admirer of this band, I’ve never quite got my head around the fact that OK Computer is considered by many (British) music fans to be one of the Greatest Albums of All Time. On its release, I listened to it just once and, unmoved, moved on. Ten years after its release, OK Computer’s slow-growing appeal has finally worked its magic. I still wouldn’t rate it as a desert island disc, but it is undeniably a great album, well deserving of the ‘classic rock’ tag.
Recorded during the dying days of Conservative rule in the UK, perhaps it was the despairing-yet-hopeful tone and the theme of alienation that captured the Zeitgeist of the time. Intelligent without being intellectual, and political (Electioneering) yet never literal or linear enough to be hectoring, it also must have represented a sophisticated alternative to mainstream Britpop, which by then had lost much of its spark. The ‘prog rock for the nineties’ tag that some critics lumbered it with doesn¹t really stand up, even if the three-part structure and ambition of “Paranoid Android” does have more than a whiff of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” about it. But contrasted with the muscular economy of the opening “Airbag” and the wonderfully evocative, saturated soundscape of “Subterranean Homesick Alien”, it makes perfect sense as part of a seamless sequence that runs all the way (via tunes as memorable as “Karma Police” and “No Surprises”), to the emotionally bruised finale of “The Tourist”. This is one of those rare albums that can be listened to as a single piece of music.
The dense instrumental textures never seem over-stuffed and are wide-ranging and often thrilling, driven by Phil Selway¹s meaty drumming, layered with growling guitars and the varied use of keyboards, synthesisers and electronic treatments. Tom Yorke’s dread-filled voice will get on some peoples’ nerves. It sometimes rises into a trademark falsetto and is often partly buried in the mix, but when it emerges, there are none of the usual boy-meets-girl clichés. And for that, we must be thankful.
Reviewed by Jon Lusk
This is a band among a multitude of others.
@cheokech: definitely the kind of guy who has been told OK Computer is the greatest album of all time so he is persuaded it is. Thom Yorke is surely endowed with a dazzling voice. Radiohead obviously have talent but are certainly not the best band you could come across.
xD
10/10 This and In Rainbows are the band's finest moments IMO. Brilliant. I'll never be able to understand anyone who says otherwise. Their loss.
6 or 7 / 10. good, but not their best and pretty damn over-rated.
obviously the greatest album of all time along with Kid A 10/10
@sunheadbowed you have ears full of shit if you think that Ok Computer has a 3.5
obviously not the greatest album of all time (lol) OR the 90's, but definitely among the best of 1997. 8/10? oh who cares.
Classic
The best.
3.5/10
I dedicated this photography (http://tinyurl.com/73fdqrv) to Exit Music, you may like it :)
Absolutely brilliant. Best 90's album,hands down.
It tok me like 8 entire album plays to fully like this album. But now I can listen to it anytime and say it's a masterpiece
let down!!! la amo!!!!!
way better than Kid A
Let Down! Great song, what a wonderful lyrics!!! and beauty melody. [2]
Let Down! Great song, what a wonderful lyrics!!! and beauty melody.
Join! https://www.facebook.com/radiohead.fanpage
What can I say? A masterpiece.
Subterranean Homesick Alien
The best album in the music history.
>listened to this album for the first time 2 days ago >definitely one of the best albums
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This is what Radiohead sounds like.
THIS IS WHAT LOVE SOUNDS LIKE.
You might enjoy this blog post that includes RadioHead's Fitter Happier http://humandynamics.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/not-ok-computer/
http://puddlegum.net/radiohead-01-and-10/
Orgasm [74] Eargasm [3]
I listened to this album for the first time 2 days ago as my formal intro to Radiohead. My mind was absolutely blown. The electronic touches accent the album's alternative/space rock vibe beautifully. Definitely one of the best albums to come out within the past 20 years.
Sometimes I think people canonize this album too much and that we've been overexposed to it. I just got listening to it for the umpteenth time and yeah, it deserves all the praise it gets.
What was I doing with my life before I first listened to this album?
Best album ever. A modern masterpiece of art.
masterpiece [3] one of the best rock albums ever made. UNTOUCHABLE
masterpiece [2]
Masterpiece
i kind of like Kid A better, but OK Computer is a masterpiece indeed!
best album of 90s(sorry kurt)
-What did you do today for God? +I listened to Radiohead.
masterpiece.
PLEASE, IF SOMEONE HAS TICKETS FOR ANY OF BERLIN SHOWS, CONTACT ME
THE Radiohead album. Their other stuff is real good too, but it began here for me.
Absolutey a remarkable album! A must listen!
Greatest album ever or greatest album ever?
just featured radiohead on my new blog www.coachellafestival.tumblr.com. every day for 99 days I feature one artist that is a part of the coachella 2012 lineup, creating an information center where you can access basic artist information, third party reviews, music videos, and song downloads conveniently in one place. enjoy!
every second is brilliant
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