Review of Radiohead's OK Computer

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Nov 24, 1998

Radiohead's OK Computer was one of the most acclaimed album's of 1997. But is it really that good? Initial impressions of an album are rarely relevant because songs usually make sense only after a while. But a first listen reveals some things that just don't go away - some really great guitar at unexpected moments, the haunting voice of lead singer Thom Yorke, and a whole heap of weird noises.

On the other hand, this is not an album that should be judged on just one, or even a few listens. OK Computer is a very complex collection of songs that takes a long time to even begin to like. At first it sounds like a self-indulgent collection of rude noises, but gradually these sounds fall into place and the songs start to take shape.

"Airbag" is the opening track, and although it has a good driving rhythm it appears to lack something. Yorke explains the song: "every time you have a near accident, instead of just sighing and carrying on, you should pull over, get out of the car and run down the street screaming 'I'm BACK! I'm ALIVE! My life has started again today!'"

The next song, "Paranoid Android," is really a medley of tunes, and definitely the standout of the album. "Basically an excuse to weld loads of half-finished songs together, 'Abbey Road' style. It's Radiohead pissed and having a party." Next up comes "Subterranean Homesick Alien" which is along the lines of the opener - a dreamy guitar introduction, but otherwise the song is just a little lacking.

"Exit Music (For a Film)" is a brilliant, slower paced song. It has an intense feel to it, as Yorke's description reveals. "We wrote this for Romeo and Juliet. I saw the Zeffirelli version when I was 13 and I cried my eyes out, because I couldn't understand why, the morning after they shagged, they didn't just run away. It's a song written for two people who should run away before all the bad stuff starts. A personal song."

"Let Down" and "Karma Police" follow - both are really good but lack the impact of "Exit Music." The former is "about an enormous fear of being trapped," while the latter comes across as being "really schizophrenic." "Fitter Happier" is a piece of spoken nonsense which then gives way to the furiously exciting "Electioneering." Not the most biting political satire ever, but a really, really great song anyway.

"Climbing Up the Walls," fails to live up to the song's chilling subject. It concerns a real-life program that released mental patients. "This is about the unspeakable. Literally

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