Radiohead: “OK Computer” (Album Review)

Genres: Alternative Rock, Art Rock, Post-Britpop

        Radiohead’s OK Computer feels effortless. Even when looking at it closely, it’s still difficult to wrap your head around how the band created such a great album. Featuring addicting guitar riffs, Thom Yorke’s majestic vocals, and more, OK Computer has it all. Universally loved, everyone can (and if not, definitely should) see how well-crafted each and every part of the album is. 

        Yorke’s vocal performance across the record is nothing short of incredible, but it truly flourishes when Yorke’s sheer versatility is matched with shifting instrumentation to create something much more dynamic. Great examples of this can be heard across “Exit Music (For A Film)”, “Let Down”, and “No Surprises”. With “Exit Music (For A Film)”, there’s large and small moments that create an overarching sense of drama. Yorke’s somewhat shaky vocals and varying dynamics are what makes the song thoroughly chilling. Without this performance, the depicted conflict would feel much weaker. On “Let Down” and “No Surprises”, Yorke gives two somewhat similar vocal performances. I like to see it as “grand emptiness”, that is, giving a large voice to nothingness. This serves to increase the feeling of isolation that relate to the record’s themes. All of these examples are just a glimpse of how perfectly made OK Computer is. Layers upon layers of mixed elements are carefully put together in such a purposeful way. If there’s any quality that should be looked over after listening to this album, it’s definitely the level of pure craftsmanship.

        “Let Down” is a track that greatly represents OK Computer as a whole. It’s not the most grandiose or extravagant song, which causes some to overlook it, but it’s still an incredibly solid piece. As mentioned previously, this is a track where Yorke’s vocals shine, creating a beautiful spectrum of monotony. His expressiveness allows his expansive performance to convey emotions of pain and bitterness, while tying it back to the song’s core themes of endless disappointment and apathy. Through his voice alone, such a complex emotional experience is easily communicated. Lyrically, the concept of absolute futility is displayed by showing a meaningless struggle. Each part of this song is just so well made and acts as pieces that fit together to make up a bigger puzzle. 

        OK Computer’s presentation of the negative societal change influencing the human condition in regards to one another is wonderfully told through the lens of ever-advancing technology. The power of such a narrative lies in how the human emotion of fear is cultivated, but by means of something so completely unnatural. “Airbag” speaks to this concept, by being a partial retelling of a car accident that Yorke had been involved in. His life was saved by an airbag, a piece of modern technology. The increasing distance between each person and the resulting loneliness could be pinned to technology, but it was also a source of aid to Yorke. Is the album’s central theme undermined by its own opening track? Here’s what makes things interesting. Technology is what prevented Yorke from dying, but it also created this life-threatening situation in the first place. Whether we create our own feelings of emptiness and despondency as individuals and as a societal trend, or whether these feelings are forced on us by outside sources isn’t the main focus. Pondering the answers to these ideas is much like getting so caught up with thinking about OK Computer and it’s role in popular culture. In the end, we all need to “slow down” and learn how to enjoy the ride while we can.

        It’s hard to argue that OK Computer goes “above and beyond”, and invents totally unheard of sounds or creates a unique narrative, but that shouldn’t matter too much. Even if it’s not the most boundary-pushing piece of music ever, it is still such a complete album. The instrumentation is clean and dramatic exactly when it needs to be. The storytelling is vivid and crafts a realistic yet surreal image of the direction that society is headed towards. The album structure leaves the listener fully entranced, allowing each song to progress until an organic conclusion is reached. All of this (and so much more) is accomplished within the span of 53 minutes. What does any of this mean? I’m not saying that OK Computer isn’t ambitious and creative or trying to present it as generic. However, I am saying that OK Computer’s greatness doesn’t exist through qualities of uniqueness and unconventionality. For me, this album represents streamlining in some of the best ways possible. I see OK Computer as best representing what can be fundamentally considered as “good”—if we should even think about art in such terms. Sometimes the act of going through a puzzle is more important than the puzzle’s actual end result. 

Favorite Tracks: Let Down, No Surprises, Lucky, Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alien, The Tourist, Electioneering, Airbag, Exit Music (For A Film), Karma Police

Least Favorites: Climbing Up The Walls

Enjoyment: 10

Critically: High 9

Arbitrary Number: 9.7/10