and such a pretty garden"
(8/10)| and such a pretty garden" |
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| Artist | Radiohead |
| Title | OK Computer |
| Type | Album |
| Released | 16.06.1997 |
| Genre | Art rock |
| Style | Alternative |
| My rating | (8/10) |
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Tracklist:
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Credits:
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This album is allegedly among the best things that music has to offer. I've known about it for a really long time, even before I was even actively listening to music for pleasure. I remember listening to it for the first time during the covid pandemic as a part of my big Radiohead listening spree. Back then, I didn't have virtually any strong feelings about the album. I liked it, but I definitely liked their other stuff more, especially "Kid A", a successor. Over the years I've grown to not like it for it showing up all over every people's favourite music lists - I thought it was overrated. Although after recent relistening my opinion did change, but not that much. I now aknowledge how interesting and hauting this music is and I have a lot to say about it.
The opening track, "Airbag" really quickly establishes this album signature, bitter and complex harmonic style. It's sound in terms of audio production and instrumental tones seems not that far removed from the band's previous effort, "The Bends", but the music feels different.. The harmony is faaaaar more complex and intricate, there's a lot more dissonace and interesting sound combinations that don't really appear in any other entry in band's discography. The opening riff sounds like an evil King Crimson song, like "Red" or "Vroom". In combination with the drums it sounds even more scary and menacing. It's a very fitting song to start. It also establishes one of the most important themes of this album - a relationship between human race and technology. Thom's vocal hooks there are really memorable and elevate the song to one of the coolest on the album.
What comes next, never fails to amaze me. "Paranoid Android" is Radiohead at their proggiest and most intricate. The main guitar theme during the breakdown middle part is so peak. I love this song! Damn it's so good. Thom also shines there, providing one of his most iconic performances ever. I also like how the guitars screech their way through the wall of sound. I always forget how energetic and powerful this song feels and like I said I feel surprised every time I hear it after a longer break. It goes really hard!
"Subterranean Homesick Alien" further continues the trend of harmonically elaborate songs and crazy good arrangements. The track (fittingly! given it's name) sound spacey and ethereal. I especially enjoy the chorus, which I always thought is very catchy interestingly enough. I often get it stuck in my head. Another banger song.
I know people like "Exit Music" one a lot, but I kinda don't get it. It's fine but I don't ever remember how the majority of the song goes. And I feel kinda same way too about the "Let Down". I know it's been memed the the oblivion for being Radiohead's most underrated song and stuff and sounding comically simmilar a Muse song... Again, the vocals here are a standout. It's to be honestmy favourite aspect of the album - almost every song features some amazing vocal melodies and hooks that linger in my head a long time after a listen.
"Karma Police" is a classic that everyone knows! Not much to say about that one, except that I remember it being used in an obscure late 2000s/early 2010s meme Lego stop motion animations with Dane Cook (examples: here and here). I fondly remember watching those as a kid and being as confused as you right now... (I still am)
The next "song" is "Fitter Happier", that is still without question one of my most favourite things this band had ever done. Everytime I hear it, I get moved by this piece. It's creepy, uncanny and unironically makes you think... Not much more can be said about it that haven't been said already. I always get chills during this track. The contrast between "Fitter Happier" and "Electioneering" is pretty hillarious, since after the deepest stuff you'll ever hear comes this goofy-ass hillbilly song. I like it a lot tho! Its beat and overall vibe reminds me a lot of some classic rock bands, and I think it really fits this album. It serves as a nice breath of fresh air and provides a plenty of never-before-explored by Radiohead musical vocabulary. It's also probably one of my favourite songs in the latter half of the record, which to be completely honest, is pretty lacking at times. Songs like "Climbing at the Walls", "Lucky" and even "The Tourist" despite being wonderfully crafted songs, can sometimes tire me. This is probably my greatest problem with this record - sometimes it just gets kinda overwhelming, even tho I simply cannot pinpoint what exactly bugs me about it. I don't even remember how some of this songs go, even tho I'm super familiar with them for years now. Maybe it's its loudness and squeakyness(?)/trebble-heavy production that makes it tiresome to listen for the LP's entire duration. I dunno, it's still an exceptionally interesting music experience, I just don't regard it as the best album ever.
Lastly, I wanna talk about "No Surprises", which is the most beautiful song on the record, and probably also one of the most vulnerable and touching songs the band has ever done. Everything about it feels so ethereal for me. Its music video, its lyrics, everything. I remember I've heard it used in a 2020 movie called "The Midnight Sky", that I watched with my family during christmass that year. Apparently, the movie was slammed by the critics and received little to no public attention (as far as I'm concerned), but I remember being very moved by it. It resonated with me on emotional level and hearing THIS SONG used in it, made the whole experience much more powerful for me. I still remember this movie every time I listen to this song...
In conclusion, it's an epic album. It's a must-listen for every music nerd and an established entry in mucore/rymcore album compilations. And it's for a reason. Even tho I don't regard it as my favourite album, (heck, it's not even the band's best imo!) I don't really think it's "overrated" and stuff anymore. I used to think that way, but after revisiting it and contemplating it for some time, I gotta say it grew on me and I understood it's meaning and position in the hivemind of internet music culture.