OK Computer

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OK Computer is an album that needs no introduction, I remember growing up my dad talking about this album, and how it was one of the greatest albums of all time, so I'm surprised it's taken me this long to listen to it on my own. Needless to say, I have high hopes for this album, I've listened to Radiohead's previous albums, so it'll be interesting to see how much of a leap in quality this one is.

The album starts off with "Airbag" about a car crash Thom Yorke was in. The writing here changes from being very blunt about what happened:
"I'm amazed that I survived,
An airbag saved my life"
and being much more cryptic and metaphorical:
"In an interstellar burst,
I am back to save the universe"
I see both of these lines as discussing near-death experiences, with the second one being the aftermath of such an event, and how we deal with disasters like this. I think that the line "I am back to save the universe" also refers to how Yorke was able to turn an accident like this into a work of art. It speaks to how much humanity can make the best out of a terrible situation. I think this song brings up the theme of how delicate life is, and the paranoia that can surround that. Sonically, this song isn't a massive departure from "The Bends", it just sounds like a natural evolution from that album's overall sound. Overall, this is a really strong opener that sets up the ideas of the album well, on top of being a good song on its own.

The next track we have here is "Paranoid Android", which, unsurprisingly also discusses themes of paranoia. In addition this song approaches ideas of being fed up with modern life. This song also uses some robotic backing vocals at the beginning that really emphasize these themes, by using these types of vocals in the song, it's saying how much technology has become a part of everyday life. The slow build up throughout the song becomes a quick explosion of noise, much more than we've heard throughout the album so far, almost like an explosion of frustration towards the world.

Following this we have "Subterranean Homesick Alien" the title of this song suggests a feeling of isolation and "other"-ness from the world around you, keeping consistent with the other ideas explored in the album so far. This is definitely the most otherworldly sounding song on the album so far, going with the imagery of space and aliens that is used in this song. This song develops the ideas explored on the previous songs further, with it describing the desire to live in an idealised world, even if it means being taken away from everything you're familiar with. The town is described at the start of the song, with it being filled with people resigned to their fate, not have any strong desire for change or really anything. This makes the character's desire to leave the town a lot clearer, and also makes the character a lot more relatable to the audience. It's probably my favourite song of the album so far, it's the one with the most central and clear focus, and the one which executes the idea the best.

The next song is "Exit Music (For A Film)", a song who's concept makes a lot more sense when I learnt that it was made for a Romeo and Juliet film. The song centers around someone leaving a controlling relationship with their father to be with someone else in a healthier relationship. Though in a different context, this song shares the same idea of wanting a better life as the previous track. This idea is shared also with the story of Romeo and Juliet. This song has a slow build-up, as it becomes more extreme in the both the writing and the production, conveying the gravity of the situation these people are in, with it ending on "We hope that you choke", directed towards the father of the situation.

"Let Down" comes next and is a very blunt description of the world around them, with the narrator comparing themselves to a bug. being crushed under the weight of the world. The urban imagery in a lot of the lyrics here further push the idea of disdain towards the modern world. If I'm being honest, this is probably the song I have the least to say, other than it's a good song.

The next song, "Karma Police" is about how people will put you down for their own benefit for their idea of "Karma". This song also touches on frustration towards those in high positions, whether that be bosses or politicians. The idea of trying your best, but it not being enough is also very present here, especially with the line:
"I've given it all that I can, it's not enough,
I've given all that I can, but we're still on the payroll"
The frustration that this line has towards the system, and the modern, urban world is clear and relatable. The idea of not being able to do what you truly want because of someone controlling you. This controlling relationship is similar to one that was seen with the father in "Exit Music". I haven't mentioned Thom Yorke's singing yet, it's one of the most distinct parts of the album to me. His unique style of singing leads to him clumping a lot of words together, his voice feels cold and desolate here, reflective of the world he describes.

"Fitter Happier" comes next, and works well as an interlude for the album. There is a robotic voice reading off a number of ideal aspects of life. This is perhaps where the themes of the downfall of the modern world are at the most clear. This could have been the ideal world that was mentioned in "Subterranean Homesick Aliens", somewhere that has no trouble. However, the way this is presented, almost feels like it's satirizing the idea of a "Perfect Ideal world" that was discussed previously, this could easily be what a figure of power sees as a perfect world, a world where people keep to themselves, and don't stand up for anything, it's a perfect world for someone to control others. The fact that this is read off in a robotic voice, and not a human one could further show how ridiculous this idea is. It's a robot telling a human how to live, logical conclusion of this drab, miserable world the album has built for us so far. Musically, it's one of the least interesting songs on the album, but thematically, I find it fascinating.

Next up, we have "Electioneering" a combination of "Election" and "Engineering", this title could suggest how, when it comes to political power, nothing actually matters, and everything is rigged against the people. One of the liveliest songs on the album, this feels like an evolution of the sound of "Pablo Honey", where Radiohead were completely leaning into the grunge sound that was popular at the time. The subject of this song, a politician who's focused on "Saying the right things" to get votes, this what the song declares as "Electioneering". Perhaps the most telling line in this song as to the overall idea is:
"When I go forward you go backwards"
It's showing that politicians will exploit the general public for their own personal gain, while leaving the public out to dry. This feels like a satire of how politicians really act, or at least convey themselves to the public. It's an idea that's aged scarily well.

The next song is "Climbing Up the Wall" and it sounds desolate, the drums sound noisier than usual, and the subtle distortion on Thom Yorke's singing and the guitars at the end create a very oppressive and lonely atmosphere, done on purpose of course. I feel like this song is about the feeling of self-doubt and anxiety that's deep inside all of us. Towards the end, this song crescendos, and the guitars get more distorted, and the singing turns to screaming. It's the first moment of the album that I can say blew me away with how good it was.

Next we have "No Surprises" the song from this album I have the most personal connection to, I have distinct memories of being in my dad's car when I was little and listening to this song. It's one of the songs that I remember most fondly from when I was younger, the melody of this song has been engraved into my memory. There's a certain emotion that I feel with this song that I don't with any other song from this album, it sounds so much more different than anything else here, and really, anything else Radiohead had released up to this point. The melody of this song has this lullaby quality to it, which I think is what makes it so comforting to listen to. The writing here isn't too much of a deviation, there are still themes of paranoia, commentary on the modern urban world, and anti-government ideas are still here, but it's presented in a completely different way. The song is almost saying "Let go of all of your worries", it reminds me of the ideas presented in the first track, on how humanity can make the most out of the situation they are in. It is both hopeful and tragic, by far my favourite song on the album.

"Lucky" comes next, and it was going to be hard to follow up something like "No Surprises". Lucky feels like a mocking of any hope this album this album had the line "It's gonna be a glorious day" feel almost sarcastic in how they're conveyed. The line:
"I feel like my luck could change"
feels completely hollow, it feels like the character is saying it without really meaning it, only saying it to make themselves feel better about themselves and the position they're in. The references to "Air Crash" and having to be pulled out from a lake, it's almost like the song is saying, well things can only get better from here can't they? But they know the answer deep down is no, they can't.

And now we've reached the final song with "The Tourist", I think it works well as a closer, it's probably the peak when it comes to the singing on the album, the whole song feels like its tying a ribbon on everything the album has built up to.
"Sometimes I get overcharged,
That's when you see sparks"
Is a really clever line, and outlines the character's frustrations towards the world really well. The repetition of "Slow Down" towards the end feels like it's speaking to the whole world, to not become over-reliant on technology. It's a really simple but effective way to close out this album.

To conclude, I absolutely understand the hype behind this album, it's approach to ideas to the decay of the modern world haven't really aged since it's release. I appreciate the massive impact this album had on rock music, and music as a whole. This album is beautiful in it's tragedy, it's struggles feel relatable. Again, thank you so much for 300 followers, and if you're reading this, then thanks for reading my review, I know it was pretty long, so thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this.