OK Computer

The album has a few (not many according to me) excellent tracks. But i think I was kinda disappointed probably after all the positive feedback this album received. As said by several reviewers the album has to speak to you. If this is not the case, you probably will not enjoy most of the tracks. This is pretty much my case. But this is only a matter of opinion.

My recommendation is to try to listen to the album before purchasing it coz you could either love it or hate it.

Still the track "No Surprises" is super famous and really really good.

What else can be said about this album? Whether you are a fan or not, OK Computer is one of the landmark albums of the 90's. And seeing the way the music industry is becoming more and more focused on putting hacks like Nickelback, Buckcherry, and Kid Rock in the top 40, this may be one of the last real landmark albums like this, ever. At least in guitar-based music. This album has withstood the test of time as well. I was just a kid when this came out, my friend had one of those "Now! That's What I Call Music" cd's, and crazily enough, Karma Police was on it. Kind of funny to think that that is how I was introduced to Radiohead, but even as a kid, I was captivated by it. I remember my favorite part was when Thom sang "Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself", I'd always sing to that part. Of course being a kid, I never went out and bought the rest of the album for another 4 or 5 years, when I heard Karma Police on the radio again.

It's been about 7 year since I bought this album, and I still listen to it a couple times a week at least. Somehow it still feels just as fresh as it did the first time, even today. That is how you can tell this is a great album. I still hear something in it I hadn't before, whether it's a new meaning for a lyric, a buried guitar line, or a tone in the vocals, I still get a huge amount of joy listening to this album.

The lyrics are incredibly deep, thought provoking and (mostly) come off without being pretentious. The music behind the lyrics (and sometimes in front of them) is beautiful and brutal at the same time, as is I guess, everything else about this album and even this band. I don't usually like getting into the whole "This song/album/band is better than that/them, which is better than those..." deal, but to me, this is Radiohead's best. I'd only consider Kid A as a better album, but hey that's just my opinion.

I don't usually like going track by track but with over 2,000 reviews already for it, I'm doing this review more for myself than anything else.

Airbag - 9/10: Perfect opening track. I don't think it is as good of a song on it's own though. The notes at the start kind of signal the beginning of the album I thought.

Paranoid Android - 9.5/10: I feel awful not giving this a ten. It's such a good song, it's just not quite perfect though, I thought the transition points during the song were a little abrupt and weak. Other than that it's perfect.

Subterranean Homesick Alien - 10/10: Love this track. One of the happiest Radiohead songs I think. Thom based it off of a paper he had to write as a kid in school.

Exit Music (For a Film) - 10/10: Maybe I'm crazy, but I find the lyrics in this song comforting. More hopeful than depressing. I love the effect in the middle.

Let Down - 8.5/10: A little overrated but still very good. Kind of droney but the vocals are beautiful.

Karma Police - 11/10: It's been my favorite song for most of my life, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Fitter Happier - 9/10: I always skipped this song at night at first. It's so powerful, it's almost frightening, at least when you're still just a kid. Now that I've heard it upwards of 500 or so times, it loses some of its effect and treads dangerously close into pretentiousness but still comes off pretty well.

Electioneering - 8/10: After "Fitter Happier", the first few guitar notes still raise hairs on the back of my neck. Loses steam towards the end. I think the lyrics are a little weak and preachy.

Climbing Up the Walls - 11/10: I think the most powerful song Radiohead has recorded to date. Not message-wise or anything though, it's like this song is something of its own. The way the strings are played against each other gives an unbelievable sound. The lyrics are VERY well done for what they are. Another song that, even today, will raise hairs on the back of my neck.

No Surprises - 8.5/10: Sorry but I just think this song is a little overrated. Lyrically, it starts off clumsy but gets much better by the end. Musically it starts off well and finishes amazingly but just the way the first minute or so of the song is, it's hard to give it a much higher rating.

Lucky - 11/10: Radiohead's most underappreciated song. This is one of the only songs that has ever reduced me to tears. Not happy tears or sad tears. I can't even describe it. Ahh. It's one of the most beautiful songs that I have, or ever will hear in my life. I only hope that someday, I'll be able to see them perform this in concert. Haha I hope no one sees me though, I don't know how I'd react.

The Tourist - 10/10: Great song, great message, perfect album closer.

Really, I know this album has been hyped up, and maybe part of the reason I love it so much is because it's one of the first cd's I've ever bought, and it's the only one that I've listened to as often and religiously as I have with OK Computer. Even if you aren't into this kind of music, or if hype turns you off, this is an album that everyone needs to listen to at least once in their lifetime. I don't know if I would go so far to say that it has changed me in anyway, but it has certainly played a huge factor in what I listen to these days, and it has carried me through many bad times, been there for me during the good times, and has been on in the background at so many memorable points in my life. I wish that more people could get from this album what I have.

It seems to me the general public/media thinks Radiohead is only for depressed,melancholy,artsy,elitist.Most of these people only listen to the billoard top 10 and have never really heard of Radiohead.If they have heard Radiohead before,they never give them a chance because of what others have said.Radiohead is "boring" "depressing",these people probably don't pay attention to an artist lyrics/musical ability and only listen if the song is catchy. This explains how songs about Super Maning a Hoe and Poker Faces can get so popular.

Getting that out of the way,Radiohead is one of my favorite bands and OK COMPUTER is my favorite album from them.The flow of the album is amazing from start to end.Every time I listen to this album its like i am in a different mind state. It makes me think of my past and future.Especially the opening track AIRBAG the song is very sentimental to me because a airbag really did save my life when I was younger.The whole album is great but stand out tracks to me are, PARANOID ANDROID,EXIT MUSIC,LET DOWN,KARMA POLICE,and NO SUPRISES.The thing about Radiohead is the lyrics may seem depressing but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel with there songs. Here is a example , some lyrics of NO SUPRISES.

I'll take a quiet life,
a handshake of carbon monoxide
with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
Silence, silence.

It seems depressing, right?what it is talking about is suicide,but the end of the song leaves on a positive note.

Such a pretty house
and such a pretty garden.
No alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises (get me outta here),
no alarms and no surprises, please.

What I think they are saying here is.People may be depressed/suicidal but they can change it and live on to see a brighter future.That is why I love Radiohead and I am not depressed, I hope my review helped you out.

This has got to be my favorite Radiohead album ever, and the sound quality is superb on the re-issued vinyl. Thanks for helping me complete my collection!

"This album must be the greatest, because everybody says it is"..."it must be profound because it is ambiguous"...I think the point is that every generation/decade needs its own heroes, not recycled ones from past generations. And plenty of past talents don't measure up to their hype (Sinatra, Dylan, etc). EVERY british/american pop/rock band since the 1960's watershed has been derivative, trying to resurrect the cultural youth phenomenon of that era (or at least it's marketing potential) while trying to make a fresh statement, and largely failing because cultural phenomena can't be manufactured and youth culture has been particularly adrift since then. And just how do you emulate an era while simultaneously trying to bury it?

So how do they rate the #1 spot on "best ever" lists? Does Radiohead really have more to say than any other band since 1960, or do they say it better? Maybe they deserve respect for sheer hard work and determination through years of hated touring and recording, and still coming up with sensitive, interesting, fresh and energetic albums? Maybe they are the best middle-ground between 90's thrash/grunge instrumentals and intel/emo lyrics and vocals? Maybe they deserve a "retrospective achievement" award for those who survive cultural trendshifting with the most grace, skill and sensitivity in evidence? For all of the above reasons, maybe they deserve that. However, modern musicians should no longer be on comparison lists with decrepit 1960's bands, because those times and the worldview they reflected are increasingly irrelevant and overdue for retirement, some might say long overdue.

In the deepest analysis, American/British popular "youth" culture is a self-important and self-absorbed fantasy, based more in commerce than meaning, and blind to the greater global cultural reality.