In 1992, Radiohead released their debut single, “Creep, “off of their first album, Pablo Honey. The song and album were not popular upon release, but in 1993, “Creep” rose to number two on the U.S. rock chart, and Radiohead became an overnight success.
Their sophomore album, The Bends, further garnered popular and critical support for the band with a more mature sound and more developed songs.
In 1997, however, Radiohead released their most critically acclaimed album to date. OK Computer distances itself from the grungy sounds of their previous albums and addresses growing concerns about the rise of technology and fears of dystopia.
The first track, “Airbag,” opens the album by establishing the main character, who, by a stroke of luck, survived a car crash. The main character admits, “I’m amazed that I survived / An airbag saved my life.” Through its smooth, crooning guitars, “Airbag” explores the idea that many people do not live in the moment, and they need a traumatic event, like a car crash, to wake them up.
The centerpiece of the album, “Paranoid Android” appears earlier than expected on the second track. The six-and-a-half minute ballad is split into four parts, each with a completely different feel from the last, clearly inspired from other rock ballads like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The song opens with a picky guitar and light drums, then moves to a harsh, vengeful section. The third section is perhaps the most captivating, slowing down and introducing enchanting back vocals before moving into a jarring guitar outro. The song deals with intense themes of loneliness and paranoia, hence the title.
As paranoid as the main character is about the world around him, he remains grateful that he is not a conformer: “I may be paranoid, but no android.”
The third track, “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” with its spaced out guitar and continuations of earlier themes, talks of a small town in which everyone is uptight. The main character wishes that aliens would take him away and show him the world. He admits that his friends will call him insane, but he no longer cares.
From here, the central themes of the album seem to shift. On “Exit Music (For a Film)” the main character talks to a lover over haunting guitar chords. The story is clearly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, with mentions of the woman’s father and his immense anger. The song slowly builds its guitar, eventually bringing in fuzzy bass and drums, until it climaxes in a grand fashion, with compelling keys and beautiful vocals scorning the woman’s parents.
The fifth track, “Let Down,” is a crowd favorite and the most compelling song on the album. With beautiful vocals and drums over arpeggiated guitar in 5/4 time, the song seems to swirl around the listener as it progresses.
Although the fifth track is beautiful, its themes are darker. The main character sings of being “crushed like a bug in the ground,” and constantly let down by everything. He still has hope, however, and in the final, most enchanting chorus, wishes that one day he can escape all his disappointment.
The 1984-esque “Karma Police” confronts worries of being watched and having no freedom of thought and speech. The main character expresses fear of the karma police, which bear resemblance to Orwell’s thought police. In the final section, however, the main character seems to have been freed, admitting that “for a minute there, I lost myself.”
The seventh track is an interlude named “Fitter Happier,” and its robot voice talks of a symbolic pig in a cage, most likely representing humans who conform to society and allow themselves to be controlled.
The album then seems to turn to Radiohead’s roots in a grungy song, “Electioneering,” similar to tracks from The Bends. It is a fun addition more than anything, and its core themes stray from the albums themes.
The ninth track is very different from anything else Radiohead had done up to that point. “Climbing Up the Walls” bears more resemblance to their future works, like Kid A or Hail to the Thief. It feels drawn in close and personal, which fits the central theme of someone being inside another’s mind, controlling it or influencing it.
The tenth track is “No Surprises,” a very popular yet sad song, even today. Repetitive guitar arpeggios and slow, swinging percussion slows down the album to confront some of the saddest themes of the work.
In this track the main character talks of the monotony of normal life. He wishes that he could face “no alarms and no surprises,” and realizes that the only way to end this pain is by ending his life. He asks someone to “get me out of here.” The beautiful instrumental and hard hitting lyrics help create the most palpable emotion on the album thus far.
“Lucky,” the penultimate track, boasts one of the most optimistic themes yet, with the main character feeling extremely arrogant due to his survival of a plane crash, saying that “I’m your superhero.” The song is strikingly similar in feel to the opening song.
The final track on the album is also the slowest. “The Tourist” is a slow burn with a haunting chorus. The main character seems to be driving and he yells, “hey man, slow down” to an oncoming car. The last words spoken on the album are “idiot, slow down, slow down,” implying that the main character gets in a car crash at the end of the album.
This ending creates a never-ending loop, as the opening track of the album is the main character waking up from the same car crash. This continuity suggests that the main character will never escape his fears and worries about society, as technology will keep saving him only to hurt him again.
Overall, Ok Computer is a masterpiece and one of the best rock albums ever. Its pioneering instrumentation, haunting melodies, and perplexing themes cement it as one of the best albums of all time.
Even today, more than twenty years later, the album’s sound is futuristic, and its replay value is as strong as ever. OK Computer is a musical journey that can only truly be experienced by listening to it front to back.
