Radiohead - OK Computer
Rating: 9/10
Genre: Alternative Rock
I originally wasn't going to do this review. I KNOW that everybody has done this TO DEATH, but I do not care. It must be done. Here I go.
There are certain classics that will, no matter what, be known as an epitome of classical standard for all the future of that particular art. For example, all movie fans will forever idolize The Godfather. All literature-obsessed bodies will continue to glorify Shakespeare. All fans of cartoons will find solace in The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo. There's something wonderful about music though, and it's that there isn't just one kind of music. I know, there also isn't just one kind of movie, but...a movie is a movie. It's the same experience no matter what it may be about. You sit down, you watch something, it means something, the end. Music isn't quite like that. Sure, we sit down, we listen to something, it means something, the end. But...music also manages to utilize tens upon hundreds of elements in one song, where it then throws them into a giant melting pot for mixing, and then finally dump the contents onto the person who is experiencing the music (a.k.a., the listener). It is only fair to conclude that each and every song is felt and experienced differently by each and every individual.
To be fair to the movies and books and cartoons of the world (all of which I hold dear to my heart as well), I know that each of the aforementioned things applies to all forms of art. It seems though that, with music, we are given a much more vague and self-reliant hold on exactly how to enjoy it. When you sit down and watch a TV show, all you need is a little bit of attention, your eyes to the screen, and a comfy place to sit. If you have all of these, the only thing that can keep you from enjoying said program is an intellectual difference. With music, it requires much more work on the listener's part; you need to focus on the sounds, listen to the words, form the atmosphere that the song will carry, and remain in an alert and sound environment (at least when you're still getting used to a particular piece of music). This is one of the reasons that I turn to music to quench my artistic thirsts.
Radiohead in particular does not help the average listener. Quite the contrary, actually; when I first heard OK Computer, I was compelled to turn it off because I was so out of my element upon hearing it for the first time. That was years ago now, and I'm glad that I continued to give this band (and more importantly, this album) chances. What starts out as a very attention-needing listening session, OK Computer manages to lay all of its cards out on the table in a very easy fashion, once you've gotten to know it. It's almost like the really interesting cool kid who doesn't trust anybody: almost everybody knows who they are, and many people who have become friends with that person find them to be incredible, but...at the same time, it's a really difficult task to get yourself that high in this person's graces. OK Computer flat out rejected me and my tastes the first time I heard it, and I was so discouraged that I didn't go back for well over a year. I just took it that Radiohead wasn't for me. I later couldn't handle all of the hype for this band, and decided that I would jam this thing into my head no matter what. Some say that forcing something on yourself is a bad thing, but I learned that statement to be a false one.
As I'll say with many of the albums featured in my favorites list, I like to listen to my albums as a whole. This does happen to be one of those records where I don't like to single out songs, but...that's the wonderful thing about this album: I can. I can actually listen to this as a whole, but then go on to pick out and listen to individual songs that are of particularly noteworthy quality. Some say that this would throw off the album consistency, but I don't find that true for OK Computer. Radiohead paints a wonderful picture on almost every track that this album has to offer (I say almost due to two filler tracks: "Airbag" (which everyone loves and I find to be a whiny mess), and "Fitter Happier" (a crappy (and creepy) interlude of sorts). Analyzing just a few of these key songs, I'd like to point your attentions to what many (myself included) consider Radiohead's very own "Stairway to Heaven": "Paranoid Android". This was the first Radiohead song I ever heard, and I didn't care for it the first time I heard it. I decided I'd let it grow on me though, and I am satisfied with this song. Yeah, it's a great song, even if there are a few better songs from this album anyway. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" earned its high graces from me when I decided to play it on repeat one night for 65 times. I slept through most of those sixty-five listens, but the theme is forever embedded into my conscious and subconscious mind. "Let Down" earns itself as the most beautiful song of the album, and "Karma Police" gets the award for the catchiest. Still, one song will always reign over the others for me, and that song is "Climbing Up the Walls". This is a contender for my favorite Radiohead song ever, packing in some of the strongest emotional themes that has ever been touched in alternative rock: fear, insanity, and the unknown.
While these aren't the only songs noteworthy of mentioning from OK Computer, I feel that I'd only be bringing down the review and wasting your times mentioning more, such as "Electioneering"'s Muse-esque qualities or "Exit Music (For a Film)"'s wonderful sentiments (okay, I slipped up a bit there, lmfao).
Radiohead would not go on to do another rock-based album in a long time after this one; even this album wasn't all rock-based. The Bends serves as the final truly rock album by Radiohead, and I really wish they had balanced their future works out as well as they did here. Maybe that's why this is considered by many to be Radiohead's Blackwater Park. Who knows? All I know is that each song manages to speak for itself. This is a quality that I find many bands struggle with; Mr. Yorke demonstrates the proper way to do such things.
Just how this album managed to evolve my tastes is something that I can barely begin to describe.
This album is simply one of the greatest and easiest listening experiences for any person who has the patience and will to achieve such zen. I encourage everybody to not give up when they hear this...it's far too amazing to give up on. There are certain classics that will, no matter what, be known as an epitome of classical standard for all the future of that particular art, and OK Computer has went down as that very standard that all experimental and alternative rock follows.
Have a lovely day, everybody.
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