It was a revolution because rock music was supposed to be rebellious, but Radiohead saw that it was becoming trite and rebelled against it to do something new.įor a lot of people, myself included, that all adds up to a lot of magic. It feels like an opera that you went on with a rock band uncomfortable with being called a “rock band.”Īt the end of the day, OK Computer is a record that feels inspired by Miles Davis and Pink Floyd, as well as many of the techno bands of the day. But both songs, despite their genre trappings, feel like the band is thinking completely out of the box.īy the time the album is over with The Tourist (which has a number of small flourishes that call back to earlier songs on the record, if you’re looking for them), it feels like you’ve been on a journey that went well outside comfortable rock music. Electioneering was some of the last “typical” stadium rock they ever made. Karma Police was the last time that Radiohead would write a “typical” radio-friendly song. Exit Music (For a Film) stands on its own, and on lesser records, would be considered a standout track. Muse wasn’t around in 1997 (and frankly, Muse is garbage next to Radiohead and has never compared). They had also never made anything so daring.Ĭonsider Exit Music (For a Film): the backing track initially appears to be solely a guitar, and eventually is filled in with a choir. It’s that they never made a record that felt so important, or so consistently impressive. It’s not that Radiohead hadn’t made good music before - I have a couple friends who insist that The Bends was the best alt-rock record of the 90s.
The album, as a statement, was deeply surprising for Radiohead. (I’d reference a single track, but there are so many when they do this.)
While their rage is sometimes felt through raw power ( Paranoid Android’s guitar parts are mind-numbing), they’re just as often likely to explore nuances within electronics and instrumental manipulation. It’s a typically sad Radiohead record, but it’s also incredibly angsty: the band’s palpable irritation with the world is matched perhaps only by Nirvana’s Nevermind.Īnd it sounds like they’re angry about everything: technology, trains, police, the upcoming new millennium ( OK Computer was released in 1997), and… Well, so much more. OK Computer has an edge to it than Radiohead’s previous work, even at their most depressing ( Creep, My Iron Lung, or Sulk), simply does not have.