WEEK 8 - OK COMPUTER

This week, I am going to share another historically important musical masterpiece. Radiohead’s OK Computer is frequently cited as one of the best albums of all time, landing on countless top 100 lists. People generally view it as the best album of the 90’s, which is extremely impressive as it must compete with Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten. The band released OK Computer in 1997 as their third studio album, following lukewarm critical response to previous albums Pablo Honey and The Bends. I doubt anyone at the time expected one of the greatest albums in the history of rock music to come from this particular group of English musicians, but now critics compare it in importance to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

So what’s the big deal? For me, the magic comes from its innovative sound and boldness. The creative process the band undertook allowed them to experiment and take risks. They recorded the album in a gothic mansion in Somerset, England, allowing them the luxury of spontaneous working hours and intellectual space. The members of Radiohead essentially wrote their instrumental parts for each song independently, only coming together near the end of a song’s production to put it all together. The band particularly focused on using more electronic sounds, coupled with the organic textures of acoustic guitar and strings. The atmosphere of the album, needless to say, is very haunting and unusual. I guarantee if you haven’t listened to it before, it will certainly be a novel experience.

The lyrics and subject matter of the work compliment the musical soundscape beautifully. Lead singer Thom Yorke cited the writings of MIT linguistics professor and public intellectual Noam Chomsky as a major inspiration. Chomsky’s writings focused heavily on consumerism, and Yorke’s album shares a harsh criticism of modern capitalistic trends. In “Paranoid Android,” Yorke sings, “ Ambition makes you look pretty ugly / Kicking and squealing gucci little piggy,” commenting on the unhappiness and brattiness brought about by living for material gains. In an interlude titled, “Fitter Happier,” a robotic voice describes the characteristics of an ideal modern human saying, “Concerned but powerless / An empowered and informed member of society / Pragmatism not idealism / Will not cry in public.” The use of the robotic voice highlights the cold, callous nature of modern emotional expectations.

While some of the album criticizes the state of the world, Yorke also takes time to empathize with people’s emotional plights. He speaks from a very personal perspective, putting himself in the center of the chaos and confusion. At the end of “The Tourist,” he practically screams, “Hey man, slow down, slow down / Idiot, slow down, slow down,” expressing his frustration with the dizzying speed at which we feel the need to experience our lives. In one of my favorite songs, “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” he sings, “Up above aliens hover / making home movies for the folks back home / of all these weird creatures who lock up their spirits / drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets.” He takes an alien’s-eye-view of humanity and draws saddening conclusions about people’s self-denial and dissatisfaction with life.

It’s obviously not the happiest album of all time, but OK Computer certainly has profound musical and intellectual value. Listen to it here.