Radiohead - OK Computer (Capitol; 1997)

(As a reminder, this is part of my "Favorite Albums" series. I wrote this review in two parts. There were a few weeks between due to changing apartments and adopting a dog. It’s still not completely finished, but I’d like to post it anyway. I’m not sure that I would ever finish talking about this album, because I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand it.)

Growing up in the 90’s was odd. There were no great social movements, no epic wars, nothing to set the decade apart in a historic way from any other era (except a growing fear of the new millennium). From a musical perspective, things were looking vile. Legions of Nirvana copycats rampaged. The internet had been birthed by 1997, but was not extremely accessible (i.e. cable modems) until around 1999. As a result, finding independent music was extremely difficult unless you lived among a great music scene, had a college radio station nearby, or a very knowledgeable older sibling. I had none of the three.

By some terrible misfortune, I didn’t actually purchase this album until 2005. Shame on me. When I finally did buy it, I looked through the album insert. What I saw was absolute chaos. Burning airplanes, a Jesus statue, super highways, misspelled lyrics, and general messiness. When I look back on the mid-90’s, I think the insert matches the general state of things. But then I begin to wonder if that sort of messiness could be unique to any single timeframe. It seems that in every decade there are those who are more aware of the chaotic elements of human society and who are unable to cope with or improve it. Maybe OK Computer was just the epitome of that feeling wrought through music in this time and place. By “place”, I mean outside of America. After all, this album made Radiohead ridiculously popular in the U.S., which shows that although not all people can relate to these sounds and ideas, they are definitely not confined to any single time or place (although they could hold truest in the “democracies” of the U.S. and England).

The album begins with “Airbag,” the perfect introduction to the off-kilter Brit rock that the listener is about to encounter. In less than ten sentences, Yorke describes the disarray that society was moving towards as timed ticked away towards the new millennium. Topics such as war, commercialism, and materialism are touched upon, but in a way that suggests the possibility of overcoming these things. “Paranoid Android” goes through a few distinct movements, including a standard Radiohead guitar rock anthem and a bossa nova acoustic passage. This track also includes the most notable quote of the entire album (“When I am king you will be first against the wall”), and embodies the helplessness so common among people who desire change. “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is a breakthrough for the group, combining sensual keyboards, swooshing guitars, and lyrics about alienation from your environment and peers. The song suggests that Yorke would feel more at home with invaders from space than with the people he’s known his whole life. “Exit Music (For a Film)” demonstrates the sheer power of Yorke’s voice. Close your eyes and imagine a dream (or nightmare) where you try to escape a pursuing foe, hand in hand with the only friend in the world you can trust. “Let Down” goes best with the album artwork; both depict the cluttered world from a person’s everyday point of view. The song points out that life is overwhelming and we’re often let down in our ambitions, but there is still some hope that comes from the utter spectacle that is the world.

“Karma Police” is one of the most recognizable acoustic guitar-driven epics of the 1990’s. Although the musical equation is not a breakthrough by any means, the track is a prime example of the mastery of subtleties shown throughout the album. “Fitter Happier” obviously doesn’t fit in musically with the rest of the album, but is a reflection of the robotic mindlessness displayed by masses of people day in and day out. “Electioneering” blares with the audacity of the greatest British rock, and might be the closest tie musically to Radiohead’s earlier work. “Climbing Up The Walls” is a statement about fear, but mostly from the public perspective and not as it is used by governments to maintain control (but that could spur a “chicken or egg” debate in contemplating which came first). The song is chilling with its buzzing bass progression that opens into an alarming final passage. The video for “No Suprises” will always be remembered as a steady shot of Thom Yorke’s (rather ugly) face in a container filling up with water, only to release and let him breathe at the very end. The xylophone and guitars ring together to create a gentle lull that almost erases the previous song, like a political leader covering up a really nasty secret. “Lucky” provides one of many allusions to airplanes and crashes. Yorke speaks of walking away from a crash as if he hopes to escape the disasterous modern day scene. “The Tourist” is another double sided story. Is Yorke a lost tourist in the seemingly foreign world around him? Or is this just a commentary on the inability of humans to acclimate to things that they don’t understand (displayed in this case by a frustrated tourist)?

I may have gotten carried away in covering each specific song, but I felt that it was necessary. I always knew that this album was magnificent, but I had never taken the time to read the words and really think about the work as a whole. It is only at this point that I can fully understand why this is considered by many to be the best album of the last twenty-five years. Radiohead succeeds in sounding like nothing ever before, while still sticking to the basic guidelines of 90’s British rock. The album shifts between pessimism and optimism throughout. What really makes the difference on this album is the little things. The sounds that you can’t label as any specific instrument. The layers that peel away with each successive listen. The dual meanings and bold ideas of Yorke’s lyrics. The passion that comes alive in every moment of recorded sound.

OK Computer is a modern masterpiece. Radiohead probably knew well before all the critical and commercial approval that it would be near impossible to top or recreate this work. What they would need is a reinvention, and that is exactly what came three years later. But that is a different story…