The next track Exit Music (For a Film) also accompanied the credits to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. Instead, Yorke criticises the people who “lock up their spirits” for popularity and wishes to escape “uptight” society on an alien spaceship. This time, however, there’s no self-deprecation. Subterranean Homesick Alien expands on Creep’s themes of not fitting in.
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Jumping from mellow acoustic instrumentation, aggressively distorted guitar solos and haunting baroque sections, Paranoid Android is the greatest Prog Rock song since the early ’70s. It’s split into three ‘moods’, inspired by the Beatles’ Happiness is a Warm Gun, and explores isolation, violence and death. Despite being a reaction to the world in 1997, the barrage of life is no less overwhelming 20 years on.”ĭark comedy, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy references and occasional 7/8 timing follow on Paranoid Android. Ironically, Electioneering sharply points out about progress (or lack thereof), “when I go forwards, you go backwards”. “The true genius of this album lies in how timeless it is. Inspired by the thrill of surviving a car crash, Yorke reflects on the unpredictability of technology, emphasised by the bassline’s erratic stopping and starting. This is especially present on the opening track Airbag, where the programmed drumming contradicts Yorke’s warnings against putting our lives in the hands of tech. Critics have also highlighted the paradox between the technologically innovative music and the technophobic lyrics.
and the recording techniques of spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone and Krautrock band Can were other major influences. The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello, R.E.M. Singer and principal songwriter Thom Yorke stated that OK Computer‘s starting point was Miles Davis’ intense 1970 jazz-fusion album Bitches Brew, inspired by the beauty of “building something up and watching it fall apart”.
Soaring to number one on the UK album charts, reaching an impressive 21 on the US Billboard 200 and receiving humongous critical acclaim, Radiohead were now a household name. With the release of OK Computer, that all changed. However, its lack of worldwide commercial success also left them looking like a one hit wonder. An honest reaction to their sudden fame and a dramatic musical shift, The Bends proved that Radiohead were something special. Still, some critics noticed potential, and two years later their second album The Bends fulfilled that. The single Creep was a worldwide success, but the album was criticised for being too derivative. Radiohead released their debut album Pablo Honey in 1993 to middling reviews. In other words, Radiohead’s third album OK Computer may be 20 years old, but in 2017, it’s more relevant than ever.
The difference is, now we consume it through devices that know our favourite restaurants, daily commutes and exact location.
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Film, TV and music still love to warn us about tech, from Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror to Arcade Fire asking “what if the camera really do take your soul?” on their 2013 album Reflektor.
Still, I’m no stranger to techno-paranoid media. I will never live in a world where everything – from schools to houses to pockets – isn’t filled with computers.
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