text:
OK Computer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
OK Computer
Studio album by Radiohead
Released
16 June 1997 (1997-06-16)
Recorded
4 September 1995 ("Lucky")
July 1996 – March 1997
Studio
Canned Applause (Didcot, England)
St Catherine's Court (Bath, England)
Genre
Alternative rock
art rock
Length
53:21
Label
Parlophone
Capitol
Producer
Nigel Godrich
Radiohead chronology
The Bends
(1995)The Bends1995 OK Computer
(1997) Kid A
(2000)Kid A2000
Singles from OK Computer
"Paranoid Android"
Released: 26 May 1997
"Karma Police"
Released: 25 August 1997
"Lucky"
Released: December 1997
"No Surprises"
Released: 12 January 1998
"Airbag"
Released: 24 March 1998
OK Computer is the third studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 16 June 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. The members of Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequent albums. Other than the song "Lucky", which was recorded in 1995, Radiohead recorded the album in Oxfordshire and Bath between 1996 and early 1997, mostly in the historic mansion St Catherine's Court. The band made a deliberate attempt to distance themselves from the guitar-oriented, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic range of influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.
Despite lowered sales estimates by EMI, who deemed the record uncommercial and difficult to market, OK Computer reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200, Radiohead's highest album entry on the US charts at the time. Five songs from the album—"Paranoid Android", "Karma Police", "Lucky", "No Surprises", and "Airbag"—were released as promotional singles. The album expanded Radiohead's international popularity and has sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide. In 2015, it was included by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. A remastered version with additional tracks, OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017, was released on 22 June 2017, commemorating the album's twentieth anniversary.
OK Computer received widespread critical acclaim and has been cited by listeners, critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums of all time. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and won Best Alternative Music Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998. The album initiated a stylistic shift in British rock away from the then-ubiquitous genre of Britpop toward melancholic, atmospheric alternative rock that became more prevalent in the next decade. The album depicts a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer is often interpreted as having prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life.
Contents
[hide]
1 Background
2 Recording
3 Music and lyrics
3.1 Style and influences
3.2 Lyrics
3.3 Composition
3.3.1 Tracks 1–6
3.3.2 Tracks 7–12
4 Title and artwork
5 Release and promotion
6 Critical reception
6.1 Accolades
7 Legacy
7.1 Retrospective acclaim
7.2 Commentary and interpretation
7.3 Influence
8 Reissues
8.1 2009 "Collector's Edition" reissue
8.2 XL acquisition and OKNOTOK 1997 2017
9 Track listing
10 Personnel
10.1 Radiohead
10.2 Additional personnel
11 Charts and certifications
11.1 Weekly charts
11.2 Singles
11.3 Certifications
12 Notes
12.1 Footnotes
12.2 Citations
12.3 Bibliography
Background[edit]
Thom Yorke (pictured in 2001) and the band sought a less melancholy direction than previous album The Bends.[1][2]
In 1995, Radiohead toured in support of their second album The Bends. Midway through the tour, Brian Eno commissioned the band to contribute a song to The Help Album, a charity compilation organised by War Child; the album was to be recorded over the course of a single day, 4 September 1995, and rush-released that week.[3] Radiohead recorded "Lucky" in five hours with engineer Nigel Godrich, who had assisted producer John Leckie with The Bends and produced several Radiohead B-sides.[4] Godrich said of the Help Album session: "Those things are the most inspiring, when you do stuff really fast and there's nothing to lose. We left feeling fairly euphoric. So after establishing a bit of a rapport work-wise, I was sort of hoping I would be involved with the next album."[5] To promote The Help Album, "Lucky" featured as the lead track on the Help EP, which charted at number 51 after BBC Radio 1 chose not to play it.[6] This disappointed Radiohead singer Thom Yorke,[6] but he later said "Lucky" shaped the nascent sound and mood of their upcoming record:[4] "'Lucky' was indicative of what we wanted to do. It was like the first mark on the wall."[7]
Radiohead found touring stressful and took a break in January 1996.[8] They sought to distance their new material from the introspective style of The Bends. Drummer Phil Selway said: "There was an awful lot of soul-searching [on The Bends]. To do that again on another album would be excruciatingly boring."[1] Yorke, Radiohead's primary lyricist, said at the time, "we could really fall back on just doing another miserable, morbid and negative record lyrically, but I don't really want to, at all. And I'm deliberately just writing down all the positive things that I hear or see. I'm not able to put them into music yet and I don't want to just force it."[2]
The critical and commercial success of The Bends gave Radiohead the confidence to self-produce their third album.[4] Their label Parlophone gave them a £100,000 budget for recording equipment.[9][10] Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said "the only concept that we had for this album was that we wanted to record it away from the city and that we wanted to record it ourselves."[11] According to guitarist Ed O'Brien: "Everyone said, You'll sell six or seven million if you bring out The Bends Pt 2, and we're like, 'We'll kick against that and do the opposite'."[12] A number of producers, including major figures such as Scott Litt, were suggested,[13] but the band were encouraged by their sessions with Godrich.[14] They consulted him for advice on what equipment to use,[15] and prepared for the sessions by buying their own equipment, including a plate reverberator purchased from Jona Lewie.[4] Although Godrich had sought to focus his work on electronic dance music,[16] he outgrew his role as advisor and became the album's co-producer.[15]
Recording[edit]
In July 1996, Radiohead started rehearsing and recording OK Computer in their Canned Applause studio, a converted shed near Didcot, Oxfordshire.[17] Even without the deadline that contributed to the stress of The Bends,[18] the band still had difficulties, which Selway blamed on their choice to self-produce: "We're jumping from song to song, and when we started to run out of ideas, we'd move on to a new song ... The stupid thing was that we were nearly finished when we'd move on, because so much work had gone into them."[19] The members worked with nearly equal roles in the production and formation of the music, though Yorke was still firmly "the loudest voice" according to O'Brien.[20] Selway said "we give each other an awful lot of space to develop our parts, but at the same time we are all very critical about what the other person is doing."[19] Godrich's role as co-producer was part collaborator, part managerial outsider. He said that Radiohead "need to have another person outside their unit, especially when they're all playing together, to say when the take goes well ... I take up slack when people aren't taking responsibility—the term producing a record means taking responsibility for the record ... It's my job to ensure that they get the ideas across."[21] Godrich has produced every Radiohead album since, and has been characterised as Radiohead's "sixth member", an allusion to George Martin's nickname as the "fifth Beatle".[22][23][24]
Radiohead decided that Canned Applause was an unsatisfactory recording location, which Yorke attributed to its proximity to the band members' homes, and Jonny Greenwood attributed to its lack of dining and bathroom facilities.[20] The group had nearly completed four songs: "Electioneering", "No Surprises", "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and "The Tourist".[25] At their label's request, they took a break from recording to embark on a 13-date American tour in 1996, opening for Alanis Morissette, and performed early versions of several new songs. One song, "Paranoid Android", evolved from a fourteen-minute version with long organ solos into something closer to the six-minute version on the album.[26]
During the tour, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann commissioned Radiohead to write a song for his upcoming film Romeo + Juliet and gave them the final 30 minutes of the film. Yorke said: "When we saw the scene in which Claire Danes holds the Colt .45 against her head, we started working on the song immediately."[27] Soon afterwards, the band wrote and recorded "Exit Music (For a Film)"; the track plays over the film's end credits but was excluded from the soundtrack album at the band's request.[28] The song helped shape the direction of the rest of the album; Yorke said it "was the first performance we'd ever recorded where every note of it made my head spin—something I was proud of, something I could turn up really, really loud and not wince at any moment."[4]
Most of OK Computer was recorded between September and October 1996 at St Catherine's Court, a rural mansion near Bath, Somerset.
Radiohead resumed recording in September 1996 at St Catherine's Court, a historic mansion near Bath owned by actress Jane Seymour.[29] The mansion was unoccupied but sometimes used for corporate functions.[30] The change of setting marked an important transition in the recording process. Greenwood, comparing the mansion to previous studio settings, said it "was less like a laboratory experiment, which is what being in a studio is usually like, and more about a group of people making their first record together."[30]
The band made extensive use of the different rooms and acoustics in the house. The vocals on "Exit Music (For a Film)" feature natural reverberation achieved by recording on a stone staircase, and "Let Down" was recorded in a ballroom at 3 a.m.[31] Isolation allowed the band to work at a different pace, with more flexible and spontaneous working hours. O'Brien said that "the biggest pressure was actually completing [the recording]. We weren't given any deadlines and we had complete freedom to do what we wanted. We were delaying it because we were a bit frightened of actually finishing stuff."[32] Yorke was satisfied with the quality of the recordings made at the location, and enjoyed working without audio separation, meaning that instruments were not overdubbed separately.[33] O'Brien was similarly pleased with the recordings, estimating that 80 per cent of the album was recorded live,[30][33] and said: "I hate doing overdubs, because it just doesn't feel natural. ... Something special happens when you're playing live; a lot of it is just looking at one another and knowing there are four other people making it happen."[33][34] Many of Yorke's vocals were first takes; he felt that if he made other attempts he would "start to think about it and it would sound really lame."[35]
Radiohead returned to Canned Applause in October for rehearsals,[36] and completed most of OK Computer in further sessions at St. Catherine's Court. By Christmas, they had narrowed the track listing to 14 songs.[37] The string parts were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in January 1997. The album was mastered at the same location, and mixed over the next two months at various studios around the city.[38] Godrich preferred a quick and "hands-off" approach to mixing, and said: "I feel like I get too into it. I start fiddling with things and I fuck it up ... I generally take about half a day to do a mix. If it's any longer than that, you lose it. The hardest thing is trying to stay fresh, to stay objective."[5]
Music and lyrics[edit]
Style and influences[edit]
The jazz fusion of Miles Davis (left, in 1986) and political writings of Noam Chomsky (right, in 2005) influenced OK Computer.
Yorke said that the starting point for the record was the "incredibly dense and terrifying sound" of Bitches Brew, the 1970 avant-garde jazz fusion album by Miles Davis.[39] He described the sound of Bitches Brew to Q: "It was building something up and watching it fall apart, that's the beauty of it. It was at the core of what we were trying to do with OK Computer."[35] Yorke identified "I'll Wear It Proudly" by Elvis Costello, "Fall on Me" by R.E.M., "Dress" by PJ Harvey and "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles as particularly influential on his songwriting.[4] Radiohead drew further inspiration from the recording style of film soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone and the krautrock band Can, musicians Yorke described as "abusing the recording process".[4] Jonny Greenwood described OK Computer as a product of being "in love with all these brilliant records ... trying to recreate them, and missing."[40]
According to Yorke, Radiohead hoped to achieve an "atmosphere that's perhaps a bit shocking when you first hear it, but only as shocking as the atmosphere on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds."[39] They expanded their instrumentation to include electric piano, Mellotron, cello and other strings, glockenspiel and electronic effects. The exploratory approach was summarised by Jonny Greenwood as "when we've got what we suspect to be an amazing song, but nobody knows what they're gonna play on it."[41] One reviewer characterised OK Computer as sounding like "a DIY electronica album made with guitars".[42]
Critics suggested a stylistic debt to 1970s progressive rock, an influence that Radiohead have disavowed.[43][44] According to Andy Greene in Rolling Stone, Radiohead "were collectively hostile to Seventies progressive rock ... but that didn't stop them from reinventing prog from scratch on OK Computer, particularly on the six-and-a-half-minute 'Paranoid Android'."[45] Writing in 2017, The New Yorker's Kelefa Sanneh said OK Computer "was profoundly prog: grand and dystopian, with a lead single that was more than six minutes long."[43]
Lyrics[edit]
The album's lyrics, written by Yorke, are more abstract compared to his personal, emotional lyrics for The Bends. Critic Alex Ross said the lyrics "seemed a mixture of overheard conversations, techno-speak, and fragments of a harsh diary" with "images of riot police at political rallies, anguished lives in tidy suburbs, yuppies freaking out, sympathetic aliens gliding overhead."[46] Recurring themes include transport, technology, insanity, death, modern British life, globalisation and anti-capitalism.[47] Yorke said: "On this album, the outside world became all there was ... I'm just taking Polaroids of things around me moving too fast."[48] He told Q: "It was like there's a secret camera in a room and it's watching the character who walks in—a different character for each song. The camera's not quite me. It's neutral, emotionless. But not emotionless at all. In fact, the very opposite."[49]
Yorke was inspired by books including Noam Chomsky's writings,[50] Eric Hobsbawm's The Age of Extremes, Will Hutton's The State We're In, Jonathan Coe's What a Carve Up! and Philip K. Dick's VALIS.[51] Although the songs share common themes, Radiohead did not consider OK Computer a concept album and said they had no intention to link the songs with an underlying narrative;[30][52] Jonny Greenwood said "I think one album title and one computer voice do not make a concept album. That's a bit of a red herring."[53] However, the band intended the album to be heard as a whole, and spent two weeks creating the track list. O'Brien said: "The context of each song is really important ... It's not a concept album but there is a continuity there."[52]
Composition[edit]
Tracks 1–6[edit]
"Airbag"
"Airbag" features sparse bass and a programmed drum beat influenced by the music of DJ Shadow. This audio sample contains a portion of the song's first verse.
"Paranoid Android"
"Paranoid Android", Radiohead's second-longest song, has a multi-section structure and has been called one of the most ambitious tracks on OK Computer. This audio sample is from the middle of the second section to the beginning of the first guitar solo.
Problems playing these files? See media help.
The album's opening track "Airbag" was inspired by the music of DJ Shadow and is underpinned by an electronic drum beat programmed from a seconds-long recording of Selway's drumming. The band sampled the drum track with a digital sampler and edited it with a Macintosh computer, but admitted to making approximations in emulating Shadow's style due to their programming inexperience.[54][55] The bassline in "Airbag" stops and starts unexpectedly, achieving an effect similar to 1970s dub.[56] The song's references to automobile accidents and reincarnation were inspired by a magazine article titled "An Airbag Saved My Life" and The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Yorke wrote "Airbag" about the illusion of safety offered by modern transit, and "the idea that whenever you go out on the road you could be killed."[49] The BBC wrote of the influence of J. G. Ballard, especially his 1973 novel Crash on the song's lyrical content.[57] Music journalist Tim Footman notes the song's technical innovations and lyrical concerns demonstrate the "key paradox" of the album: "the musicians and producer are delighting in the sonic possibilities of modern technology; the singer, meanwhile, is railing against its social, moral, and psychological impact. ... It's a contradiction mirrored in the culture clash of the music, with the 'real' guitars negotiating an uneasy stand-off with the hacked-up, processed drums."[58]
"Paranoid Android", split into four sections, is among the band's longest recorded studio tracks at 6:23. The unconventional structure was inspired by the Beatles' "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which also eschew a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure.[59] Its musical style was also inspired by the music of the Pixies.[60] The song was written by Yorke after an unpleasant night at a Los Angeles bar, where he saw a woman react violently after someone spilled a drink on her.[49] Its title and lyrics are a reference to Marvin the Paranoid Android from Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.[60]
The use of electric keyboards in "Subterranean Homesick Alien" is an example of the band's attempts to emulate the atmosphere of Bitches Brew.[61][62] Its title references the Bob Dylan song "Subterranean Homesick Blues", and the lyrics describe an isolated narrator who fantasises about being abducted by extraterrestrials. The narrator speculates that, upon returning to Earth, his friends would not believe his story and he would remain a misfit.[63] The lyrics were inspired by an assignment from Yorke's time at Abingdon School to write a piece of "Martian poetry", a British literary movement that humorously recontextualises mundane aspects of human life from an alien perspective.[64]
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet inspired the lyrics for "Exit Music (For a Film)".[60] Initially Yorke wanted to work lines from the play into the song, but the final draft of the lyrics became a broad summary of the narrative.[28] He said: "I saw the Zeffirelli version when I was 13 and I cried my eyes out, because I couldn't understand why, the morning after they shagged, they didn't just run away. It's a song for two people who should run away before all the bad stuff starts."[65] Yorke compared the opening of the song, which mostly features his singing paired with acoustic guitar, to Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison.[66] Mellotron choir and other electronic voices are used throughout the track.[67] The song climaxes with the entrance of drums[67] and distorted bass run through a fuzz pedal.[23] The climactic portion of the song is an attempt to emulate the sound of trip hop group Portishead, but in a style that bass player Colin Greenwood called more "stilted and leaden and mechanical".[68] The song concludes by fading back to Yorke's voice, acoustic guitar and Mellotron.[28]
"Let Down" contains multilayered arpeggiated guitars and electric piano. Jonny Greenwood plays his guitar part in a different time signature to the other instruments.[69] O'Brien said the song was influenced by Phil Spector, a producer and songwriter best known for his reverberating "Wall of Sound" recording techniques.[54] The song's lyrics are, Yorke said, "about that feeling that you get when you're in transit but you're not in control of it—you just go past thousands of places and thousands of people and you're completely removed from it."[60]
"I was pissed in a club and I suddenly had the funniest thought I'd had for ages: what if all the people who were drinking were hanging from the bottles? If the bottles were hung from the ceiling with string, and the floor caved in, and the only thing that kept everyone up was the bottles? It's also about an enormous fear of being trapped." – Thom Yorke[65]
Of the line "Don't get sentimental / It always ends up drivel", Yorke said: "Sentimentality is being emotional for the sake of it. We're bombarded with sentiment, people emoting. That's the Let Down. Feeling every emotion is fake. Or rather every emotion is on the same plane whether it's a car advert or a pop song."[35] Yorke felt that scepticism of emotion was characteristic of Generation X and said that it informed not just "Let Down" but the band's approach to the whole album.[70]
"Karma Police" has two main verses that alternates with a subdued break, followed by a different ending section.[71] The verses centre around acoustic guitar and piano,[71] with a chord progression indebted to the Beatles' "Sexy Sadie".[6][72][73] Starting at 2:34, the song transitions into an orchestrated section with the repeated line "For a minute there, I lost myself".[71] It ends with guitarist Ed O'Brien generating feedback using a delay effect.[54][72] The title and lyrics to "Karma Police" originate from an in-joke during The Bends tour; Jonny Greenwood said "whenever someone was behaving in a particularly shitty way, we'd say 'The karma police will catch up with him sooner or later.'"[60]
Tracks 7–12[edit]
A 1990s-era Macintosh LC II system. Radiohead used the synthesised voice of "Fred," included with older Macintosh software, to recite the lyrics of "Fitter Happier".[74]
"Fitter Happier" is a short musique concrète track that consists of sampled musical and background sound and spoken-word lyrics recited by a synthesised voice from the Macintosh SimpleText application.[75] The voice belongs to "Fred", a synthesised voice included with Macintosh computers.[74] Yorke wrote the lyrics "in ten minutes" after a period of writer's block while the rest of the band were playing.[65] He described the words as a checklist of slogans for the 1990s, and he considered the lyrics "the most upsetting thing I've ever written",[60] and said it was "liberating" to give the words to a neutral-sounding computer voice.[65] Among the samples in the background is an audio loop from the 1975 film Three Days of the Condor.[75] The band considered using "Fitter Happier" as the album's opening track, but decided the effect was off-putting.[32]
Steve Lowe called the song "penetrating surgery on pseudo-meaningful corporations' lifestyles" with "a repugnance for prevailing yuppified social values".[6] Among the loosely connected imagery of the lyrics, Footman identified the song's subject as "the materially comfortable, morally empty embodiment of modern, Western humanity, half-salaryman, half-Stepford Wife, destined for the metaphorical farrowing crate, propped up on Prozac, Viagra and anything else his insurance plan can cover."[76] Sam Steele called the lyrics "a stream of received imagery: scraps of media information, interspersed with lifestyle ad slogans and private prayers for a healthier existence. It is the hum of a world buzzing with words, one of the messages seeming to be that we live in such a synthetic universe we have grown unable to detect reality from artifice."[77]
"Electioneering", featuring a cowbell and a distorted guitar solo, is the album's most rock-oriented track and one of the heaviest songs Radiohead has recorded.[78] It has been compared to Radiohead's earlier style on Pablo Honey.[75][79] The cynical "Electioneering" is the album's most directly political song,[80][81] with lyrics inspired by the Poll Tax Riots.[65] The song was also inspired by Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent, a book analysing contemporary mass media under the propaganda model.[50] Yorke likened its lyrics, which focus on political and artistic compromise, to "a preacher ranting in front of a bank of microphones."[52][82] Regarding its oblique political references, Yorke said, "What can you say about the IMF, or politicians? Or people selling arms to African countries, employing slave labour or whatever. What can you say? You just write down 'Cattle prods and the IMF' and people who know, know."[4] O'Brien said the song was about the promotional cycle of touring: "After a while you feel like a politician who has to kiss babies and shake hands all day long."[27]
"Climbing Up the Walls"
"Climbing Up the Walls" contains sampled ambient sounds, distorted drums and Jonny Greenwood's Krzysztof Penderecki-influenced string section. This audio sample is from the beginning of the second chorus to the guitar solo.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki (pictured) inspired the string arrangement on "Climbing Up the Walls".
"Climbing Up the Walls" – described by Melody Maker as "monumental chaos"[83] – is layered with a string section, ambient noise and repetitive, metallic percussion. The string section, composed by Jonny Greenwood and written for 16 instruments, was inspired by modern classical composer Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima. Greenwood said, "I got very excited at the prospect of doing string parts that didn't sound like 'Eleanor Rigby', which is what all string parts have sounded like for the past 30 years."[52] Select described Yorke's distraught vocals and the atonal strings as "Thom's voice dissolving into a fearful, blood-clotted scream as Jonny whips the sound of a million dying elephants into a crescendo."[61] For the lyrics, Yorke drew from his time as an orderly in a mental hospital during the Care in the Community policy of deinstitutionalizing mental health patients, and a New York Times article about serial killers.[27]
"This is about the unspeakable. Literally skull-crushing. I used to work in a mental hospital around the time that Care in the Community started, and we all just knew what was going to happen. And it's one of the scariest things to happen in this country, because a lot of them weren't just harmless ... It was hailing violently when we recorded this. It seemed to add to the mood." – Thom Yorke[65]
"No Surprises", recorded in a single take,[84] is arranged with electric guitar (inspired by the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice"),[85] acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and vocal harmonies.[86] The band strove to replicate the mood of Louis Armstrong's 1968 recording of "What a Wonderful World" and the soul music of Marvin Gaye.[27] Hoping to achieve a slower tempo than could be played well on their instruments, Godrich had the band record the song at a faster tempo, then slowed the playback for Yorke to overdub his vocals onto, creating an "ethereal" effect.[87] Yorke identified the subject of the song as "someone who's trying hard to keep it together but can't".[4] The lyrics seem to portray a suicide[77] or an unfulfilling life, and dissatisfaction with contemporary social and political order.[88] Some lines refer to rural[89] or suburban imagery.[51] One of the key metaphors in the song is the opening line, "a heart that's full up like a landfill"; according to Yorke, the song is a "fucked-up nursery rhyme" that "stems from my unhealthy obsession of what to do with plastic boxes and plastic bottles ... All this stuff is getting buried, the debris of our lives. It doesn't rot, it just stays there. That's how we deal, that's how I deal with stuff, I bury it."[90] The song's gentle mood contrasts sharply with its harsh lyrics;[91][92] Steele said, "even when the subject is suicide ... O'Brien's guitar is as soothing as balm on a red-raw psyche, the song rendered like a bittersweet child's prayer."[77]
"Lucky" was inspired by the Bosnian War. Sam Taylor said it was "the one track on [The Help Album] to capture the sombre terror of the conflict", and that its serious subject matter and dark tone made the band "too 'real' to be allowed on the Britpop gravy train".[93] The lyrics were pared down from many pages of notes, and were originally more politically explicit.[32] The lyrics depict a man surviving an aeroplane crash[80] and are drawn from Yorke's anxiety about transportation.[81] The musical centerpiece of "Lucky" is its three-piece guitar arrangement,[9] which grew out of the high-pitched chiming sound played by O'Brien in the song's introduction,[49] achieved by strumming above the guitar nut.[94] Critics have compared its lead guitar to Pink Floyd and, more broadly, arena rock.[95][7][96][97]
The album ends with "The Tourist", which Jonny Greenwood wrote as an unusually staid piece where something "doesn't have to happen ... every three seconds." He said, "'The Tourist' doesn't sound like Radiohead at all. It has become a song with space."[27] The lyrics, written by Yorke, were inspired by his experience of watching American tourists in France frantically trying to see as many tourist attractions as possible.[65] He said it was chosen as the closing track because "a lot of the album was about background noise and everything moving too fast and not being able to keep up. It was really obvious to have 'Tourist' as the last song. That song was written to me from me, saying, 'Idiot, slow down.' Because at that point, I needed to. So that was the only resolution there could be: to slow down."[39] The "unexpectedly bluesy waltz" draws to a close as the guitars drop out, leaving only drums and bass, and concludes with the sound of a small bell.[9]
Title and artwork[edit]
A page of the OK Computer booklet with logos, white scribbles and text in Esperanto and English. The motif of two stick figures shaking hands, repeated on the compact disc, was described by Yorke as symbolising exploitation.[32]
The title OK Computer is taken from the 1978 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series, in which the character Zaphod Beeblebrox speaks the phrase "Okay, computer, I want full manual control now." The members of Radiohead listened to the series on the bus during their 1996 tour and Yorke made a note of the phrase.[45] "OK Computer" was a working title for the song "Palo Alto", which had been considered for inclusion on the album.[98] The title stuck with the band; according to Jonny Greenwood, "[it] started attaching itself and creating all these weird resonances with what we were trying to do."[50] Yorke said it "refers to embracing the future, it refers to being terrified of the future, of our future, of everyone else's. It's to do with standing in a room where all these appliances are going off and all these machines and computers and so on ... and the sound it makes."[53] Yorke described the title as "a really resigned, terrified phrase", to him similar to the Coca-Cola advertisement "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing".[50] Wired writer Leander Kahney suggests that it is an homage to Macintosh computers, as the Mac's speech recognition software responds to the command "OK computer" as an alternative to clicking the "OK" button.[99] Other titles considered were Ones and Zeroes—a reference to the binary numeral system—and Your Home May Be at Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Payments.[98]
The album's artwork is a computer-generated collage of images and text created by Stanley Donwood and Yorke, the latter credited under the pseudonym "The White Chocolate Farm".[100] Yorke commissioned Donwood to work on a visual diary alongside the recording sessions. Yorke explained, "If I'm shown some kind of visual representation of the music, only then do I feel confident. Up until that point, I'm a bit of a whirlwind."[51] The blue-and-white palette was,[101] according to Donwood, the result of "trying to make something the color of bleached bone."[102] The image of two stick figures shaking hands appears in the booklet and on the compact disc itself. Yorke explained the image as emblematic of exploitation: "Someone's being sold something they don't really want, and someone's being friendly because they're trying to sell something. That's what it means to me."[32] Explaining the artwork's themes, Yorke said, "It's quite sad, and quite funny as well. All the artwork and so on ... It was all the things that I hadn't said in the songs."[32]
Visual motifs in the artwork include motorways, aeroplanes, families with children, corporate logos and cityscapes.[103] The photograph of a motorway on the cover was likely taken in Hartford, Connecticut, where Radiohead performed in 1996.[104] The words "Lost Child" feature prominently on the cover, and the booklet artwork contains phrases in the constructed language Esperanto and health-related instructions in both English and Greek. Uncut critic David Cavanagh said the use of non-sequiturs created an effect "akin to being lifestyle-coached by a lunatic."[9] White scribbles, Donwood's method of correcting mistakes rather than using the computer function undo,[102] are present everywhere in the collages.[105] The liner notes contain the full lyrics, rendered with atypical syntax, alternate spelling[81] and small annotations.[note 1] The lyrics are also arranged and spaced in shapes that resemble hidden images.[106] In keeping with the band's then-emerging anti-corporate stance, the production credits contain the ironic copyright notice "Lyrics reproduced by kind permission even though we wrote them."[107]
Release and promotion[edit]
According to Selway, Radiohead's American label Capitol saw the album as "more or less, 'commercial suicide'. They weren't really into it. At that point, we got the fear. How is this going to be received?"[1] According to Yorke, "When we first gave it to Capitol, they were taken aback. I don't really know why it's so important now, but I'm excited about it."[108] Capitol lowered its sales forecast from two million to half a million.[109] In O'Brien's view only Parlophone, the band's British label, remained optimistic while global distributors dramatically reduced their sales estimates.[110] Label representatives were reportedly disappointed with the lack of marketable singles, especially the absence of anything resembling Radiohead's hit "Creep".[111]
The lyrics to "Fitter Happier" and images adapted from the album artwork were used on advertisements in music magazines, signs in the London Underground and shirts (shirt design pictured).
"OK Computer isn't the album we're going to rule the world with," Colin Greenwood predicted at the time. "It's not as hitting-everything-loudly-whilst-waggling-the-tongue-in-and-out, like The Bends. There's less of the Van Halen factor."[112]
Parlophone's advertising campaign was unorthodox. The label took full-page advertisements in high-profile British newspapers and tube stations with lyrics for "Fitter Happier" pitched in large black letters against white backgrounds.[1] The same lyrics, and artwork adapted from the album, were repurposed for shirt designs.[32] Yorke said, "We actively chose to pursue the 'Fitter Happier' thing" to link what a critic called "a coherent set of concerns" between the album artwork and its promotional material.[32]
More unconventional merchandise included a floppy disk with Radiohead screensavers and an FM radio in the shape of a desktop computer.[113] In America, Capitol sent 1,000 cassette players to prominent members of the press and music industry, each with a copy of the album permanently glued inside.[114] When asked about the campaign after the album's release, Capitol president Gary Gersh said, "Our job is just to take them as a left-of-center band and bring the center to them. That's our focus, and we won't let up until they're the biggest band in the world."[115]
Radiohead chose "Paranoid Android" as the lead single, despite its unusually long running time and lack of a catchy chorus.[73][83] Colin Greenwood admitted the song was "hardly the radio-friendly, breakthrough, buzz bin unit shifter [radio stations] can have been expecting," but said that Capitol was supportive of the choice.[83] The song premiered on the Radio 1 programme The Evening Session in April 1997[116] and was released as a single in May 1997.[117] On the strength of frequent radio play on Radio 1[83] and rotation of the song's music video on MTV,[118] "Paranoid Android" reached number three in the UK, giving Radiohead their highest chart position.[119]
OK Computer was released in Japan on 21 May, in the UK on 16 June, in Canada on 17 June and in the US on 1 July.[120] In addition to CD, the album was released as a double-LP vinyl record, cassette and MiniDisc.[121] The album debuted at number one in the UK, where it held for two weeks. It stayed in the top ten for weeks and became the country's eighth-best selling record of the year.[122] Radiohead embarked on a world tour in promotion of OK Computer, the "Against Demons" tour, commencing at the album launch in Barcelona on 22 May 1997.[123] The tour took the band across the UK and Ireland, continental Europe, North America, Japan and Australasia,[124] concluding on 29 August 1998 in New York.[122] It also saw Radiohead's first headline Glastonbury Festival performance; despite technical problems that almost caused Yorke to abandon the stage, the performance was acclaimed and cemented Radiohead as a major live act. The tour was mentally taxing for the band, particularly Yorke, who said "That tour was a year too long. I was the first person to tire of it, then six months later everyone in the band was saying it. Then six months after that, nobody was talking any more."
"Karma Police" was released in August 1997 and "No Surprises" in January 1998.[125] Both singles charted in the UK top ten, and "Karma Police" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[126][127] "Lucky" was released as a single in France, but did not chart.[128] "Let Down", considered for release as the lead single,[129] charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart at number 29.[127] The band planned to produce a video for every song on the album to be released as a whole, but the project was abandoned due to financial and time constraints.[130] Also considered, but scrapped, were plans for trip hop group Massive Attack to remix the entire album.[131] Meeting People Is Easy, Grant Gee's rockumentary following the band on its OK Computer world tour, premiered in November 1998.[132]
By February 1998, OK Computer had sold at least half a million copies in the UK and 2 million worldwide.[80] At least 1.4 million copies have since been sold in the US,[133] 3 million across Europe[134] and 4.5 million worldwide.[135] It has been certified triple platinum in the UK[136] and double platinum in the US,[137] in addition to certifications in other markets.
Critical reception[edit]
Professional ratings
Contemporaneous reviews
(published in 1997)
Review scores
Source
Rating
Chicago Tribune [138]
Entertainment Weekly B+[139]
The Guardian [78]
Los Angeles Times [140]
NME 10/10[95]
Pitchfork 10/10[141]
Q [91]
Rolling Stone [142]
Spin 8/10[42]
The Village Voice B−[143]
OK Computer received widespread critical acclaim. Critics in the British and American press generally agreed that the album was a landmark and would have far-reaching impact and importance,[144][145] and that its experimentalism made it a challenging listen. According to Tim Footman, "Not since 1967, with the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, had so many major critics agreed immediately, not only on an album's merits, but on its long-term significance, and its ability to encapsulate a particular point in history."[146] In the English press, the album garnered favourable reviews in NME,[95] Melody Maker,[147] The Guardian,[78] and Q.[91] Nick Kent wrote in Mojo that "Others may end up selling more, but in 20 years time I'm betting OK Computer will be seen as the key record of 1997, the one to take rock forward instead of artfully revamping images and song-structures from an earlier era."[73] John Harris in Select wrote: "Every word sounds achingly sincere, every note spewed from the heart, and yet it roots itself firmly in a world of steel, glass, random-access memory and prickly-skinned paranoia."[148]
The album was well received by critics in North America. Rolling Stone,[142] Spin,[42] Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[149] Pitchfork[141] and the Daily Herald[150] published positive reviews. In The New Yorker, Alex Ross praised its progressiveness, and contrasted Radiohead's risk-taking with the musically conservative "dadrock" of their contemporaries Oasis. Ross wrote that "Throughout the album, contrasts of mood and style are extreme ... This band has pulled off one of the great art-pop balancing acts in the history of rock."[151]
Reviews for Entertainment Weekly,[139] the Chicago Tribune,[138] and Time[152] were mixed or contained qualified praise. Robert Christgau from The Village Voice said Radiohead immersed Yorke's vocals in "enough electronic marginal distinction to feed a coal town for a month" and to compensate for how soulless the songs are, resulting in "arid" art rock.[143] In an otherwise positive review, Andy Gill wrote for The Independent, "For all its ambition and determination to break new ground, OK Computer is not, finally, as impressive as The Bends, which covered much the same sort of emotional knots, but with better tunes. It is easy to be impressed by, but ultimately hard to love, an album that luxuriates so readily in its own despondency."[153]
Accolades[edit]
OK Computer was nominated for Grammy Awards as Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998,[154] winning the latter.[155] It was also nominated for Best British Album at the 1998 Brit Awards.[156] The album was shortlisted for the 1997 Mercury Prize, a prestigious award recognising the best British or Irish album of the year. The day before the winner was announced, oddsmakers had given OK Computer the best chance to win among ten nominees, but it lost to New Forms by Roni Size/Reprazent.[157]
The album appeared in many 1997 critics' lists and listener polls for best album of the year. It topped the year-end polls of Mojo, Vox, Entertainment Weekly, Hot Press, Muziekkrant OOR, HUMO, Eye Weekly and Inpress, and tied for first place with Daft Punk's Homework in The Face. The album came second in NME, Melody Maker, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, Spin and Uncut. Q and Les Inrockuptibles both listed the album in their unranked year-end polls.[158]
Praise for the album overwhelmed the band; Greenwood felt the praise had been exaggerated because The Bends had been "under-reviewed possibly and under-received."[39] They rejected links to progressive rock and art rock, despite frequent comparisons made to Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon.[159] Yorke responded: "We write pop songs ... there was no intention of it being 'art'. It's a reflection of all the disparate things we were listening to when we recorded it."[53] He was nevertheless pleased that listeners identified the album's influences: "What really blew my head off was the fact that people got all the things, all the textures and the sounds and the atmospheres we were trying to create."[160]
"Thom Yorke's mentioned my name a few times [as an influence]," noted Elvis Costello in late 1997. "Of the people who are around at the moment, you couldn't have anyone more talented than him paying you a compliment. OK Computer was one of the great records of the year."[161]
Legacy[edit]
Retrospective acclaim[edit]
Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
(published after 1997)
Review scores
Source
Rating
AllMusic [162]
The A.V. Club (2002) A[163]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music [164]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) [165]
Slant Magazine (2007) [166]
Tiny Mix Tapes (2006) [167]
OK Computer has appeared frequently in professional lists of greatest albums. A number of publications, including NME, Melody Maker, Alternative Press,[168] Spin,[169] Pitchfork,[170] Time,[171] Metro Weekly[172] and Slant[173] placed OK Computer prominently in lists of best albums of the 1990s or of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 162 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[174] Retrospective reviews from BBC Music,[175] The A.V. Club[163] and Slant[166] have received the album favourably; likewise, Rolling Stone gave the album five stars in the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, with critic Rob Sheffield saying "Radiohead was claiming the high ground abandoned by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, U2, R.E.M., everybody; and fans around the world loved them for trying too hard at a time when nobody else was even bothering."[165] According to Acclaimed Music, a site which uses statistics to numerically represent reception among critics, OK Computer is the 10th most celebrated album of all time.[176] It is also considered the best album of all time by Rateyourmusic.com.[177] In 2015, the United States National Recording Preservation Board selected the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, which designates it as a sound recording that has had significant cultural, historical, or aesthetic impact in American life.[178]
The album has been cited by some as undeserving of its acclaim, while others assert that Radiohead's career was negatively impacted by the album's critical success. In a poll surveying thousands conducted by BBC Radio 6 Music, OK Computer was named the sixth most overrated album "in the world".[179] David H. Green of The Daily Telegraph called the album "self-indulgent whingeing" and maintains that the positive critical consensus toward OK Computer is an indication of "a 20th-century delusion that rock is the bastion of serious commentary on popular music" to the detriment of electronic and dance music.[180] The album was selected as an entry in "Sacred Cows", an NME column questioning the critical status of "revered albums", in which Henry Yates said "there's no defiance, gallows humour or chink of light beneath the curtain, just a sense of meek, resigned despondency," and criticised the record as "the moment when Radiohead stopped being 'good' [compared to The Bends] and started being 'important'."[181] In a Spin article on the "myth" that "Radiohead Can Do No Wrong", Chris Norris argues that the acclaim for OK Computer created an inflated set of expectations for each successive Radiohead release.[182]
Commentary and interpretation[edit]
In interviews at the time, Thom Yorke criticised Tony Blair (pictured in 1998) and his New Labour government.
OK Computer was recorded in the lead up to the 1997 general election and released a month after the victory of Tony Blair's New Labour government. The album was perceived by critics as an expression of dissent and scepticism toward the new government and a reaction against the national mood of optimism. Dorian Lynskey wrote, "On May 1, 1997, Labour supporters toasted their landslide victory to the sound of 'Things Can Only Get Better.' A few weeks later, OK Computer appeared like Banquo's ghost to warn: No, things can only get worse."[183] According to Amy Britton, the album "showed not everyone was ready to join the party, instead tapping into another feeling felt throughout the UK—pre-millennial angst. ... huge corporations were impossible to fight against—this was the world OK Computer soundtracked, not the wave of British optimism."[184]
In an interview, Yorke doubted that Blair's policies would differ from the preceding two decades of Conservative government. He said the public reaction to the death of Princess Diana was more significant, as a moment when the British public realised "the royals had had us by the balls for the last hundred years, as had the media and the state."[32] The band's distaste with the commercialised promotion of OK Computer reinforced their anti-capitalist politics, which would be further explored on their subsequent releases.[185]
Critics have compared Radiohead's statements of political dissatisfaction to those of earlier rock bands. David Stubbs said that, where punk rock had been a rebellion against a time of deficit and poverty, OK Computer protested the "mechanistic convenience" of contemporary surplus and excess.[186] Alex Ross said the album "pictured the onslaught of the Information Age and a young person's panicky embrace of it" and made the band into "the poster boys for a certain kind of knowing alienation—as Talking Heads and R.E.M. had been before."[46] Jon Pareles of The New York Times found precedents in the work of Pink Floyd and Madness for Radiohead's concerns "about a culture of numbness, building docile workers and enforced by self-help regimes and anti-depressants."[187]
Many felt the tone of the album was millennial[30][188] or futuristic,[189] anticipating cultural and political trends. According to The A.V. Club writer Steven Hyden in the feature "Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation", "Radiohead appeared to be ahead of the curve, forecasting the paranoia, media-driven insanity, and omnipresent sense of impending doom that's subsequently come to characterise everyday life in the 21st century."[190] In 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Tom Moon described OK Computer as a "prescient ... dystopian essay on the darker implications of technology ... oozing [with] a vague sense of dread, and a touch of Big Brother foreboding that bears strong resemblance to the constant disquiet of life on Security Level Orange, post-9/11."[191] Chris Martin of Coldplay remarked that, "It would be interesting to see how the world would be different if Dick Cheney really listened to Radiohead's OK Computer. I think the world would probably improve. That album is fucking brilliant. It changed my life, so why wouldn't it change his?"[192]
The album inspired a radio play, also titled OK Computer, which was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007. The play, written by Joel Horwood, Chris Perkins, Al Smith and Chris Thorpe, interprets the album's 12 tracks into a story about a man who awakens in a Berlin hospital with memory loss and returns to England with doubts that the life he's returned to is his own.[193]
Influence[edit]
"A lot of people have taken OK Computer and said, 'This is the yardstick. If I can attain something half as good, I'm doing pretty well.' But I've never heard anything really derivative of OK Computer—which is interesting, as it shows that what Radiohead were doing was probably even more complicated than it seemed."
—Josh Davis (DJ Shadow)[194]
"The whole sound of it and the emotional experience crossed a lot of boundaries. It tapped into a lot of buried emotions that people hadn't wanted to explore or talk about.
—James Lavelle[169]
The release of OK Computer coincided with the decline of Britpop.[note 2] Through OK Computer's influence, the dominant UK guitar pop shifted toward an approximation of "Radiohead's paranoid but confessional, slurry but catchy" approach.[195] Many newer British acts adopted similarly complex, atmospheric arrangements; for example, the post-Britpop band Travis worked with Godrich to create the languid pop texture of The Man Who, which became the fourth best-selling album of 1999 in the UK.[196] Some in the British press accused Travis of appropriating Radiohead's sound.[197] Steven Hyden of AV Club said that by 1998, starting with The Man Who, "what Radiohead had created in OK Computer had already grown much bigger than the band," and that the album went on to influence "a wave of British-rock balladeers that reached its zenith in the '00s".[190]
Critics have said OK Computer's popularity paved the way for the next generation of British alternative rock bands,[note 3] and established musicians in a variety of genres have praised the album.[note 4] Bloc Party[198] and TV on the Radio[199] said they were formatively influenced by OK Computer. TV on the Radio's debut album was even titled OK Calculator as a lighthearted tribute.[200] Radiohead described the pervasiveness of bands that "sound like us" as one reason to break with the style of OK Computer for their next album, Kid A.[201]
Although OK Computer's influence on rock musicians is widely acknowledged, several critics believe that its experimental inclination was not authentically embraced on a wide scale. Footman said the "Radiohead Lite" bands that followed were "missing [OK Computer's] sonic inventiveness, not to mention the lyrical substance."[202] David Cavanagh said that most of OK Computer's purported mainstream influence more likely stemmed from the ballads on The Bends. According to Cavanagh, "The populist albums of the post-OK Computer era—the Verve's Urban Hymns, Travis's Good Feeling, Stereophonics' Word Gets Around, Robbie Williams' Life thru a Lens—effectively closed the door that OK Computer's boffin-esque inventiveness had opened."[9] John Harris believed that OK Computer was one of the "fleeting signs that British rock music might [have been] returning to its inventive traditions" in the wake of Britpop's demise.[203] While Harris concludes that British rock ultimately developed an "altogether more conservative tendency", he said that with OK Computer and their subsequent material, Radiohead provided a "clarion call" to fill the void left by Britpop.[203]
OK Computer triggered a minor revival of progressive rock and ambitious concept albums, with a new wave of prog-influenced bands crediting OK Computer for enabling their scene to thrive. Brandon Curtis of Secret Machines said, "Songs like Paranoid Android made it OK to write music differently, to be more experimental ... OK Computer was important because it reintroduced unconventional writing and song structures."[44] Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree added, "I don't think ambition is a dirty word any more. Radiohead were the Trojan Horse in that respect. Here's a band that came from the indie rock tradition that snuck in under the radar when the journalists weren't looking and started making these absurdly ambitious and pretentious—and all the better for it—records."[204] In 2005, Q named OK Computer the tenth best progressive rock album ever.[205]
Reissues[edit]
Radiohead left EMI, parent company of Parlophone, in 2007 after failed contract negotiations. EMI retained the copyright to Radiohead's back catalogue of material recorded while signed to the label.[206] After a period of being out of print on vinyl, EMI reissued a double LP of OK Computer on 19 August 2008, along with later albums Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief, as part of the "From the Capitol Vaults" series.[207] OK Computer became the year's tenth bestselling vinyl record, selling almost 10,000 units.[208] The reissue was connected in the press to a general upswing in vinyl sales and cultural appreciation of records as a format.[209][210]
2009 "Collector's Edition" reissue[edit]
EMI reissued OK Computer again on 24 March 2009, alongside Pablo Honey and The Bends, without Radiohead's involvement. The reissue came in two editions: a 2-CD "Collector's Edition" and a 2-CD 1-DVD "Special Collector's Edition". The first disc contains the original studio album, the second disc contains B-sides collected from OK Computer singles and live recording sessions, and the DVD contains a collection of music videos and a live television performance.[211] All the material on the reissue had been previously released.[212]
Professional ratings
"Collector's Edition"
(reviews of the 2009 reissue)
Review scores
Source
Rating
AllMusic [213]
The A.V. Club A[214]
Paste 100/100[215]
Pitchfork 10/10[216]
Rolling Stone [217]
Q [218]
Uncut [219]
O'Brien said that EMI had not notified Radiohead of the reissue and that it was "just a company who are trying to squeeze every bit of lost money, it's not about [an] artistic statement." He pointed out that fans already had access to the bonus material on YouTube.[220] Press reaction to the reissue expressed concern that EMI was exploiting Radiohead's back catalogue. Larry Fitzmaurice of Spin accused EMI of planning to "issue and reissue [Radiohead's] discography until the cash stops rolling in",[211] and Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal said it was "hard to look at these reissues as anything other than a cash-grab for EMI/Capitol—an old media company that got dumped by their most forward-thinking band."[212] Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone defended EMI, saying: "While it's easy to accuse Capitol of milking the cash cow once again, these sets are pretty comprehensive."[221]
The reissue was critically well received, although reception was mixed about the supplemental material. Reviews in AllMusic,[213] Uncut,[219] Q,[218] Rolling Stone,[217] Paste[215] and PopMatters[222] praised the supplemental material, but with reservations. A review written by Scott Plagenhoef for Pitchfork awarded the reissue a perfect score, arguing that it was worth buying for fans who did not already own the rare material. Plagenhoef said, "That the band had nothing to do with these is beside the point: this is the final word on these records, if for no other reason that the Beatles' September 9 remaster campaign is, arguably, the end of the CD era."[216] The A.V. Club writer Josh Modell praised both the bonus disc and the DVD, and said of the album, "It really is the perfect synthesis of Radiohead's seemingly conflicted impulses."[214]
XL acquisition and OKNOTOK 1997 2017[edit]
Main article: OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017
In April 2016, XL Recordings acquired Radiohead's back catalogue recorded under EMI. The "collector's editions" of Radiohead albums, issued without Radiohead's approval, were removed from streaming services.[223] In May 2016, XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl, including OK Computer.[224]
On 2 May 2017, Radiohead and XL announced a 20th-anniversary OK Computer reissue, OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017. The reissue includes a remastered version of the album, plus eight B-sides and three previously unreleased tracks: "I Promise," "Man of War", and "Lift". The boxed edition includes the album on vinyl, books of artwork and notes, and an audio cassette of OK Computer demos and session recordings, including previously unreleased songs.[225] OKNOTOK debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart, boosted by Radiohead's third headline performance at Glastonbury Festival.[226]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Ed O'Brien and Colin Greenwood.
No.
Title
Length
1. "Airbag" 4:44
2. "Paranoid Android" 6:23
3. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" 4:27
4. "Exit Music (For a Film)" 4:24
5. "Let Down" 4:59
6. "Karma Police" 4:21
7. "Fitter Happier" 1:57
8. "Electioneering" 3:50
9. "Climbing Up the Walls" 4:45
10. "No Surprises" 3:48
11. "Lucky" 4:19
12. "The Tourist" 5:24
Total length: 53:21
[show]"Collector's Edition"/"Special Collector's Edition" Disc 2
No.
Title
Length
1. "Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)" 4:24
2. "Pearly*" 3:37
3. "A Reminder" 3:54
4. "Melatonin" 2:10
5. "Meeting in the Aisle" 3:10
6. "Lull" 2:29
7. "Climbing Up the Walls" (Zero 7 Mix) 5:19
8. "Climbing Up the Walls" (Fila Brazillia Mix) 6:26
9. "Palo Alto" 3:44
10. "How I Made My Millions" 3:09
11. "Airbag" (Live in Berlin) 4:49
12. "Lucky" (Live in Florence) 4:37
13. "Climbing Up the Walls" (BBC Radio 1 session, 28 May 1997) 4:21
14. "Exit Music (For a Film)" (BBC Radio 1 session, 28 May 1997) 4:35
15. "No Surprises" (BBC Radio 1 session, 28 May 1997) 3:58
[show]"Special Collector's Edition" DVD
No.
Title
Length
1. "Paranoid Android"
2. "Karma Police"
3. "No Surprises"
4. "Paranoid Android" (Later... with Jools Holland, 31 May 1997)
5. "No Surprises" (Later ... with Jools Holland, 31 May 1997)
6. "Airbag" (Later ... with Jools Holland, 31 May 1997)
Personnel[edit]
Radiohead[edit]
Colin Greenwood – bass guitar, bass synthesiser, percussion
Jonny Greenwood – guitar, keyboards, piano, Mellotron, organ, glockenspiel, string arrangements
Ed O'Brien – guitar, FX, percussion, backing vocals
Phil Selway – drums, percussion
Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar, piano, laptop, programming, illustrations
Additional personnel[edit]
Rachel Owen – washing up on "How I Made My Millions"
Chris Blair – mastering
Stanley Donwood – illustrations
Nigel Godrich – production, engineering
Nick Ingman – conducting
Jim Warren – production, engineering
Charts and certifications[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1997-2017)
Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[227] 7
Austrian Albums Chart[228] 13
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[229] 1
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[229] 3
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[230] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[231] 2
French Albums Chart[232] 3
German Albums Chart[233] 27
Irish Albums Chart[234] 2
New Zealand Albums Chart[235] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[236] 42
Swedish Albums Chart[237] 3
Swiss Albums Chart[238] 40
UK Albums Chart[126] 1
US Billboard 200[239] 21
Singles[edit]
Year
Song
Peak positions
UK
[126]
US Mod
[127]
NZ
[240]
AUS
[241]
SWE
[242]
NL
[243]
1997 "Paranoid Android" 3 – – 29 53 61
"Let Down" – 29 – – – –
"Karma Police" 8 14 32 – – 50
1998 "No Surprises" 4 – 23 47 – 58
"–" denotes releases that did not chart.
Certifications[edit]
Region
Certification
Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[244]
Platinum 60,000^
Australia (ARIA)[245]
Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[246]
Platinum 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[247]
3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[248]
2× Gold 321,500[249]
Italy (FIMI)[250]
Platinum 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[251]
Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[252]
Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[253]
Gold 25,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[254]
Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[255]
Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[256]
Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[257]
5× Platinum 1,579,415[258]
United States (RIAA)[259]
2× Platinum 2,560,000[260]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[261]
3× Platinum 3,000,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
Notes[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
Jump up ^ For example, the line "in a deep deep sleep of the innocent" from "Airbag" is rendered as ">in a deep deep sssleep of tHe inno$ent/completely terrified". See Footman 2007, p. 45
Jump up ^ Britpop, which reached its peak popularity in the mid-1990s and was led by bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp, was typified by nostalgic homage to British rock of the 1960s and 1970s. The genre was a key element of the broader cultural movement Cool Britannia. Starting in 1997, a number of events marked the end of the genre's heyday; these included Blur spurning the conventional Britpop sound on Blur and Oasis' Be Here Now failing to live up to the expectations of critics and the public. See Footman 2007, pp. 177–178
Jump up ^ Specifically, critics have cited the album's influence on Muse, Snow Patrol, Keane, Travis, Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, Editors and Elbow. See:
Aza, Bharat (15 June 2007), "Ten years of OK Computer and what have we got?", The Guardian, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Eisenbeis, Hans (July 2001), "The Empire Strikes Back", Spin
Richards, Sam (8 April 2009), "Album review: Radiohead Reissues – Collectors Editions", Uncut, archived from the original on 29 August 2011
Jump up ^ Musicians who have praised the album include R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, DJ Shadow, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, Manic Street Preachers member Nicky Wire, The Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon, Mo' Wax label owner James Lavelle, Sonic Youth and Gastr del Sol member and experimental musician Jim O'Rourke, former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder and contemporary composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. See:
Bidwell, Chad (25 February 1999), "Jim O'Rourke", Ink 19
Cavanagh, David (February 2007), "Communication Breakdown", Uncut
Smith, RJ (September 1999), "09: Radiohead: OK Computer", Spin
Tapper, James (17 April 2005), "Radiohead's album best of all time – OK?", Daily Mail, archived from the original on 10 August 2011, retrieved 10 August 2011
Timberg, Scott (28 January 2003), "The maestro rocks", Los Angeles Times, archived from the original on 6 August 2011, retrieved 5 August 2011
Turner, Luke (9 May 2011), "Alan Wilder of Recoil & Depeche Mode's 13 Favourite LPs – Page 8", The Quietus, archived from the original on 6 September 2011, retrieved 6 September 2011
Citations[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d Cantin, Paul (19 October 1997), "Radiohead's OK Computer confounds expectations", Ottawa Sun
^ Jump up to: a b Richardson, Andy (9 December 1995), "Boom! Shake the Gloom!", NME
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 113.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Irvin, Jim (July 1997), "Thom Yorke tells Jim Irvin how OK Computer was done", Mojo
^ Jump up to: a b Robinson, Andrea (August 1997), "Nigel Godrich", The Mix
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lowe, Steve (December 1999), "Back to Save the Universe", Select
^ Jump up to: a b Randall 2000, p. 161.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 33.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Cavanagh, David (February 2007), "Communication Breakdown", Uncut
Jump up ^ Dalton, Stephen (August 2001), "How to Disappear Completely", Uncut
Jump up ^ Glover, Arian (1 August 1998), "Radiohead—Getting More Respect.", Circus
Jump up ^ Q, January 2003
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 34.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 189.
^ Jump up to: a b Randall 2000, pp. 190–191.
Jump up ^ Beauvallet, JD (25 January 2000), "Nigel the Nihilist", Les Inrockuptibles
Jump up ^ Doyle, Tom (April 2008), "The Complete Radiohead", Q
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 194.
^ Jump up to: a b Folkerth, Bruce (13 August 1997), "Radiohead: Ignore the Hype", Flagpole
^ Jump up to: a b Randall 2000, p. 195.
Jump up ^ Walsh, Nick Paton (November 1997), "Karma Policeman", London Student, University of London Union
Jump up ^ McKinnon, Matthew (24 July 2006). "Everything in Its Right Place". CBC. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
^ Jump up to: a b Wylie, Harry (November 1997), "Radiohead", Total Guitar
Jump up ^ Pettigrew, Jason (September 2001), "How to Reinvent Completely", Alternative Press
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 25.
Jump up ^ "Thom Yorke loves to skank", Q, 12 August 2002
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Radiohead: The Album, Song by Song, of the Year", HUMO, 22 July 1997
^ Jump up to: a b c Footman 2007, p. 67.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 196.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Masuo, Sandy (September 1997), "Subterranean Aliens", Request
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 35.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Harris, John (January 1998), "Renaissance Men", Select
^ Jump up to: a b c Vaziri, Aidin (October 1997), "British Pop Aesthetes", Guitar Player
Jump up ^ Diehl, Matt (June 2004), "The 50th Anniversary of Rock: The Moments - 1996/1997: Radio Radiohead Get Paranoid", Rolling Stone
^ Jump up to: a b c Sutcliffe, Phil (October 1999), "Radiohead: An Interview with Thom Yorke", Q
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 198.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 199.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 200.
^ Jump up to: a b c d DiMartino, Dave (2 May 1997). "Give Radiohead Your Computer". Yahoo! Launch. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007.
Jump up ^ Moran, Caitlin (July 1997). "Everything was just fear". Select: 83.
Jump up ^ Bailie, Stuart (21 June 1997), "Viva la Megabytes!", NME
^ Jump up to: a b c Walters, Barry (August 1997), "Radiohead: OK Computer: Capitol", Spin
^ Jump up to: a b Sanneh, Kelefa (19 June 2017), "The Persistence of Prog Rock", The New Yorker, archived from the original on 12 June 2017
^ Jump up to: a b Allen, Matt (14 June 2007), "Prog's progeny", The Guardian, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
^ Jump up to: a b Greene, Andy (31 May 2017), "Radiohead's Rhapsody in Gloom: 'OK Computer' 20 Years Later", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 31 May 2017
^ Jump up to: a b Ross 2010, p. 88.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 142–150.
Jump up ^ Sutherland, Mark (24 May 1997), "Rounding the Bends", Melody Maker
^ Jump up to: a b c d Sutcliffe, Phil (1 October 1997), "Death is all around", Q
^ Jump up to: a b c d Sakamoto, John (2 June 1997), "Radiohead talk about their new video", Jam!
^ Jump up to: a b c Lynskey, Dorian (February 2011), "Welcome to the Machine", Q
^ Jump up to: a b c d Wadsworth, Tony (20 December 1997), "The Making of OK Computer", The Guardian
^ Jump up to: a b c Clarke 2010, p. 124.
^ Jump up to: a b c Randall, Mac (1 April 1998). "Radiohead interview: The Golden Age of Radiohead". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 42.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 43.
Jump up ^ Dowling, Stephen (20 April 2009). "What pop music tells us about JG Ballard". BBC. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 46.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, pp. 214–215.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Sutherland, Mark (31 May 1997), "Return of the Mac!", Melody Maker
^ Jump up to: a b Moran, Caitlin (July 1997), "Everything was just fear", Select
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 62.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 60–61.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 59–60.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Moran, Caitlin (July 1997). "I was feeling incredible hysteria and panic ...". Select: 92.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 154.
^ Jump up to: a b Footman 2007, p. 66.
Jump up ^ Dalton, Stephen (September 1997), "The Dour & The Glory", Vox
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 73.
Jump up ^ Gaitskill, Mary (April 1998), "Radiohead: Alarms and Surprises", Alternative Press
^ Jump up to: a b c Huey, Steve. "Karma Police". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010.
^ Jump up to: a b Footman 2007, p. 79.
^ Jump up to: a b c Kent, Nick (July 1997), "Press your space next to mine, love", Mojo
^ Jump up to: a b Doyle, Tom (April 2008), "The Complete Radiohead", Q
^ Jump up to: a b c Randall 2000, pp. 158–159.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 86.
^ Jump up to: a b c Steele, Sam (July 1997), "Grand Control to Major Thom", Vox
^ Jump up to: a b c Sullivan, Caroline (13 June 1997), "Aching Heads", The Guardian
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 93–94.
^ Jump up to: a b c "The 100 Greatest Albums in the Universe", Q, February 1998
^ Jump up to: a b c Kuipers, Dean (March 1998), "Fridge Buzz Now", Ray Gun
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 226.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Sutherland, Mark (4 March 1998), "Rounding the Bends", Melody Maker
Jump up ^ Harris, John; Simonart, Serge (August 2001), "Everything in Its Right Place", Q
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 110.
Jump up ^ Janovitz, Bill, "No Surprises", AllMusic, archived from the original on 10 December 2010
Jump up ^ McKinnon, Matthew. "Everything In Its Right Place". CBC News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 108–109.
Jump up ^ Berman, Stuart (July 1997), "Outsiders", Chart
Jump up ^ Micallef, Ken (17 August 1997). "I'm OK, You're OK". Yahoo! Launch. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b c Cavanagh, David (July 1997), "Moonstruck", Q
Jump up ^ Kara, Scott (September 2000), "Experimental Creeps", Rip It Up
Jump up ^ Taylor, Sam (5 November 1995), "Gives You the Creeps", The Observer
Jump up ^ "Ed O'Brien – 100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Retrieved 24 August 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c Oldham, James (14 June 1997), "The Rise and Rise of the ROM Empire", NME
Jump up ^ Taylor, Sam (5 November 1995), "Mother, Should I Build a Wall?", The Observer
Jump up ^ Shelley, Jim (13 July 1996), "Nice Dream?", The Guardian
^ Jump up to: a b Footman 2007, pp. 36–37.
Jump up ^ Kahney, Leander (1 February 2002), "He Writes the Songs: Mac Songs", Wired, archived from the original on 27 August 2011
Jump up ^ Krüger, Sascha (July 2008), "Exit Music", Visions (in German)
Jump up ^ Griffiths 2004, p. 79.
^ Jump up to: a b Dombal, Ryan (15 September 2010). "Take Cover: Radiohead Artist Stanley Donwood". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 127–130.
Jump up ^ Bowe, Miles (9 May 2017). "Is this the highway Radiohead's OK Computer cover is based on?". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 2004, p. 81.
Jump up ^ Arminio, Mark (26 June 2009), "Between the Liner Notes: 6 Things You Can Learn By Obsessing Over Album Artwork", Mental floss, archived from the original on 26 August 2011
Jump up ^ Odell, Michael (September 2003), "Inside the Mind of Radiohead's Mad Genius!", Blender
Jump up ^ Strauss, Neil (July 1997), "The Pop Life: The Insane Clown Posse, recalled by Disney and now in demand Promoting Radiohead", The New York Times
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 202.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 242.
Jump up ^ Blashill, Pat (January 1998), "Band of the Year: Radiohead", Spin
Jump up ^ Moran, Caitlin (July 1997). "Everything was just fear". Select: 87.
Jump up ^ Martins, Chris (29 March 2011). "Radiohead Gives Out Free Newspaper in LA: Here's a Top Eight List of the Band's Most Peculiar Swag". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 243.
Jump up ^ Hoskyns, Barney (October 2000), "Exit Music: Can Radiohead save rock music as we (don't) know it?", GQ
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, p. 201.
Jump up ^ Broc, David (June 2001), "Remembering the Future – Interview with Jonny Greenwood", MondoSonoro
Jump up ^ Gulla, Bob (October 1997), "Radiohead: At Long Last, a Future for Rock Guitar", Guitar World
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, pp. 242–243.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 38.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 126.
^ Jump up to: a b Randall 2000, p. 247.
Jump up ^ Randall 2000, pp. 202–203.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 203.
Jump up ^ Clarke 2010, pp. 117–119.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Radiohead – The Official Charts Company". The Official BPI Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Artist Chart History – Radiohead". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 116.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 74.
Jump up ^ Clarke 2010, p. 113.
Jump up ^ "Massive Attack Drops Plans To Remix Radiohead, Teams With Cocteau Twins". MTV. 4 March 1998. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
Jump up ^ Clarke 2010, p. 134.
Jump up ^ Hilburn, Robert (3 June 2001), "Operating on His Own Frequency", Los Angeles Times, archived from the original on 13 August 2012
Jump up ^ "James Blunt album sales pass 5m". BBC News. 8 April 2006. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Sexton, Paul (16 September 2000), "Radiohead won't play by rules", Billboard
Jump up ^ "British album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Enter OK Computer in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
Jump up ^ "American album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
^ Jump up to: a b Kot, Greg (4 July 1997), "Radiohead OK Computer (Capitol)", Chicago Tribune, archived from the original on 30 September 2011
^ Jump up to: a b Browne, David (11 July 1997), "OK Computer Review", Entertainment Weekly, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Scribner, Sara (29 June 1997). "Radiohead: 'OK Computer' (Capitol)". Los Angeles Times.
^ Jump up to: a b Schreiber, Ryan (31 December 1997), "Radiohead: OK Computer: Pitchfork Review", Pitchfork, archived from the original on 3 March 2001, retrieved 16 May 2009
^ Jump up to: a b Kemp, Mark (10 July 1997), "OK Computer : Radiohead : Review", Rolling Stone, retrieved 29 September 2008
^ Jump up to: a b Christgau, Robert (23 September 1997), "Consumer Guide Sept. 1997", The Village Voice, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 181–182.
Jump up ^ Clarke 2010, p. 121.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 182.
Jump up ^ Parkes, Taylor (14 June 1997), "Review of OK Computer", Melody Maker
Jump up ^ Harris, John (July 1997). "Ground control to Major Thom". Select: 92.
Jump up ^ Masley, Ed (8 August 1997). "Turn up your Radiohead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
Jump up ^ "File This One: 'Computer' Complex, but Worthwhile". Daily Herald. 15 August 1997. Retrieved 7 June 2017 – via Highbeam. (Subscription required (help)).
Jump up ^ Ross, Alex (29 September 1997), "Dadrock", The New Yorker, retrieved 29 September 2008
Jump up ^ Farley, Christopher John (25 August 1997), "Lost in Space", Time, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Gill, Andy (13 June 1997), "Andy Gill on albums: Radiohead OK Computer Parlophone", The Independent, retrieved 27 July 2013
Jump up ^ "Brits vie for Grammys". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "The 1998 Grammy Award Winners". The New York Times. 26 February 1998. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Sinclair, David (7 February 1998), "Brits Around the World '98: Four to Watch For", Billboard, p. 48
Jump up ^ Williams, Alexandra (29 August 1998). "It is Size that counts as Roni wins Mercury prize". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 September 2016.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, pp. 183–184.
Jump up ^ Varga, George (November 2001), "Radiohead's Jazz Frequencies", JazzTimes
Jump up ^ Gill, Andy (5 October 2007), "Ok computer: Why the record industry is terrified of Radiohead's new album", The Independent, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Du Noyer, Paul (February 1998). "Cash for questions". Q #137. p. 15.
Jump up ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "OK Computer – Radiohead". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Thompson, Stephen (29 March 2002), "Radiohead: OK Computer", The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
^ Jump up to: a b Brackett & Hoard 2004, p. 671.
^ Jump up to: a b Cinquemani, Sal (27 March 2007), "Radiohead: OK Computer", Slant, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Lin, Marvin. "Radiohead – OK Computer". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 185.
^ Jump up to: a b Smith, RJ (September 1999), "09: Radiohead: OK Computer", Spin
Jump up ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent (17 November 2003). "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009.
Jump up ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (2 November 2006), "OK Computer – The ALL-TIME 100 Albums", Time, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Gerard, Chris (4 April 2014). "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s". Metro Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016.
Jump up ^ "Best Albums of the '90s". Slant. 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "162 OK Computer – Radiohead". Rolling Stone. 2004. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Lusk, Jon (5 August 2011). "Radiohead: OK Computer". BBC Music. BBC. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Custom chart". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
Jump up ^ "National Recording Registry To "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"". Library of Congress. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Most Overrated Album in the World". BBC Radio 6 Music. October 2005. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Green, David H. (18 March 2009). "OK Computer Box Set: Not OK Computer". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Yates, Henry (3 April 2011). "Sacred Cows – Is Radiohead's 'OK Computer' Overrated?". NME. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Norris, Chris (9 November 2009). "Myth No. 1: Radiohead Can Do No Wrong". Spin. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
Jump up ^ Lynskey 2011, pp. 496.
Jump up ^ Britton 2011, pp. 259–261.
Jump up ^ Clarke 2010, p. 142.
Jump up ^ Radiohead: OK Computer – A Classic Album Under Review (DVD). Sexy Intellectual. 10 October 2006.
Jump up ^ Pareles, Jon (28 August 1997). "Miserable and Loving It: It's Just So Very Good to Feel So Very, Very Bad". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009.
Jump up ^ "Is OK Computer the Greatest Album of the 1990s?", Uncut, 1 January 2007, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Dwyer, Michael (14 March 1998), "OK Kangaroo", Melody Maker
^ Jump up to: a b Hyden, Steven (25 January 2011), "Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation? Part 8: 1997: The ballad of Oasis and Radiohead", The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 7 August 2011
Jump up ^ Moon 2008, pp. 627–628.
Jump up ^ McLean, Craig (27 May 2005), "The importance of being earnest", The Guardian, archived from the original on 30 September 2011
Jump up ^ Kharas, Kev (16 October 2007). "Radiohead: OK Computer play live on BBC this Friday". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Tapper, James (17 April 2005), "Radiohead's album best of all time – OK?", Daily Mail, archived from the original on 10 August 2011
Jump up ^ "The 50 Greatest Bands: 15", Spin, February 2002
Jump up ^ Gulla, Bob (April 2000), "A Marriage Made in Song", CMJ New Music Monthly
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Kate (May 2000), "Travis", Spin
Jump up ^ Nunn, Adie (4 December 2003), "Introducing Bloc Party", Drowned in Sound
Jump up ^ Harrington, Richard (13 April 2007), "TV on the Radio: Coming in Loud and Clear", The Washington Post, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Sellers, John (11 April 2011), "Tough Questions for TVOTR's Tunde Adebimpe", Spin, archived from the original on 21 November 2011
Jump up ^ Murphy, Peter (11 October 2001), "How I learned to stop worrying and loathe the bomb", Hot Press, archived from the original on 6 August 2011
Jump up ^ Footman 2007, p. 219.
^ Jump up to: a b Harris 2004, p. 369.
Jump up ^ "It's back ... Prog rock assaults album charts". BBC News. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
Jump up ^ Brown, Jonathan (27 July 2010). "A-Z of progressive rock". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
Jump up ^ Sherwin, Adam (28 December 2007), "EMI accuses Radiohead after group's demands for more fell on deaf ears", The Times
Jump up ^ "Coldplay, Radiohead to be reissued on vinyl", NME, 10 July 2008, archived from the original on 2 November 2011
Jump up ^ V, Petey (9 January 2009), "Animal Collective Rides Vinyl Wave into '09, Massive 2008 Vinyl Sales Figures Confuse Everyone but B-52s Fans", Tiny Mix Tapes, archived from the original on 2 November 2011
Jump up ^ Kreps, Daniel (8 January 2009), "Radiohead, Neutral Milk Hotel Help Vinyl Sales Almost Double in 2008", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 2 November 2011
Jump up ^ "The 7in. revival – fans get back in the groove", The Independent, 18 July 2008, archived from the original on 1 November 2010
^ Jump up to: a b Fitzmaurice, Larry (15 January 2009), "Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued with Extras", Spin, archived from the original on 22 January 2009
^ Jump up to: a b Dombal, Ryan (14 January 2009), "Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued and Expanded", Pitchfork, archived from the original on 17 March 2009
^ Jump up to: a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, "OK Computer [Collector's Edition] [2CD/1DVD]", AllMusic, archived from the original on 29 August 2011
^ Jump up to: a b Modell, Josh (3 April 2009), "Pablo Honey / The Bends / OK Computer", The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 3 October 2011
^ Jump up to: a b Kemp, Mark (27 March 2009), "Radiohead: Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer (reissues)", Paste, archived from the original on 30 March 2009
^ Jump up to: a b Plagenhoef, Scott (16 April 2009). "Radiohead: Pablo Honey: Collector's Edition / The Bends: Collector's Edition / OK Computer: Collector's Edition". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009.
^ Jump up to: a b Hermes, Will (30 April 2009), "OK Computer (Collector's Edition)", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 22 January 2013
^ Jump up to: a b Segal, Victoria (May 2009), "Reissues: Radiohead", Q
^ Jump up to: a b Richards, Sam (8 April 2009), "Album review: Radiohead Reissues – Collectors Editions", Uncut, archived from the original on 6 December 2010
Jump up ^ Rossi, Italo (19 March 2009). "Breakfast with Ed O'Brien". Radioheadperu.org. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009.
Jump up ^ Kreps, Daniel (15 January 2009), "Radiohead's First Three Albums Reissued with Extras", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 3 August 2011
Jump up ^ McCarthy, Sean (18 December 2009), "The Best Re-Issues of 2009: 18: Radiohead: Pablo Honey / The Bends / OK Computer / Kid A / Amnesiac / Hail to the Thief", PopMatters, archived from the original on 20 December 2009
Jump up ^ Christman, Ed (4 April 2016). "Radiohead's Early Catalog Moves From Warner Bros. to XL". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
Jump up ^ Spice, Anton (6 May 2016). "Radiohead to reissue entire catalogue on vinyl". www.thevinylfactory.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
Jump up ^ Atkins, Jamie (22 June 2017). "OK Computer – OKNOTOK 1997-2017 - Record Collector Magazine". recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
Jump up ^ Beech, Mark. "The Glastonbury Effect: Radiohead Back At Top Of U.K. Chart, Foo Fighters Follow". Forbes. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b "Radiohead – OK Computer". Ultratop.be. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Top Albums/CDs", RPM, vol. 65 no. 17, 30 June 1997, archived from the original on 4 January 2012
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Lescharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Chartverfolgung / Radiohead / Longplay". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ http://www.irma.ie/#chartTab2
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Spanishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Radiohead – OK Computer". Hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Artist Chart History – Radiohead". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
Jump up ^ "Search: Radiohead". Charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Search: Radiohead". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Search: Radiohead". Swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Eenvoudige zoekopdracht: Radiohead". Dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Jump up ^ "Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). CAPIF. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
Jump up ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
Jump up ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 1997". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
Jump up ^ "Canadian album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
Jump up ^ "French album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
Jump up ^ http://www.infodisc.fr/Ventes_Albums_Tout_Temps.php?debut=1162
Jump up ^ "Italian album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
Jump up ^ "RIAJ > The Record > June 1998 > Certified Awards (April 1998)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 January 2014.
Jump up ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
Jump up ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
Jump up ^ "Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados > 1995–1999". Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
Jump up ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
Jump up ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Radiohead; 'OK Computer')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
Jump up ^ "British album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 September 2013. Enter OK Computer in the search field and then press Enter.
Jump up ^ Jones, Alan (30 June 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: Ed Sheeran's ÷ returns to No.1 following Glastonbury appearance". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 30 June 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
Jump up ^ "American album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 September 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
Jump up ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdesantis/2016/05/10/radioheads-digital-album-sales-visualized/#40b286fd3a87
Jump up ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2006". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
Bibliography[edit]
Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (2004). Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
Britton, Amy (2011). Revolution Rock: The Albums Which Defined Two Ages. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1-4678-8710-2.
Clarke, Martin (2010). Radiohead: Hysterical and Useless. London: Plexus. ISBN 0-85965-439-7.
Footman, Tim (2007). Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album. New Malden: Chrome Dreams. ISBN 1-84240-388-5.
Griffiths, Dai (2004). Radiohead's OK Computer. 33⅓ series. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1663-2.
Harris, John (2004). Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81367-X.
Lynskey, Dorian (2011). 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-167015-4.
Moon, Tom (2008). "OK Computer". 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. New York: Workman. pp. 627–628. ISBN 0-85965-439-7. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
Randall, Mac (2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.
Ross, Alex (2010). Listen to This. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-18774-6.
[show]
v
t
e
Radiohead
Colin Greenwood
Jonny Greenwood
Ed O'Brien
Philip Selway
Thom Yorke
Studio albums
Pablo Honey
The Bends
OK Computer
Kid A
Amnesiac
Hail to the Thief
In Rainbows
The King of Limbs
A Moon Shaped Pool
EPs
Drill
Itch
My Iron Lung
No Surprises / Running from Demons
Airbag / How Am I Driving?
Com Lag (2plus2isfive)
Other albums
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
Radiohead Box Set
Radiohead: The Best Of
TKOL RMX 1234567
OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017
Singles
"Creep"
"Anyone Can Play Guitar"
"Pop Is Dead"
"Stop Whispering"
"High and Dry" / "Planet Telex"
"Fake Plastic Trees"
"Just"
"Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
"Paranoid Android"
"Karma Police"
"Lucky"
"Airbag"
"No Surprises"
"Pyramid Song"
"I Might Be Wrong"
"Knives Out"
"There There"
"Go to Sleep"
"2 + 2 = 5"
"Jigsaw Falling into Place"
"Nude"
"House of Cards" / "Bodysnatchers"
"Reckoner"
"All I Need"
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
"These Are My Twisted Words"
"Supercollider" / "The Butcher"
"The Daily Mail" / "Staircase"
"Spectre"
"Burn the Witch"
"Daydreaming"
"I Promise"
"Man of War"
Other songs
"Everything in Its Right Place"
"The National Anthem"
"Idioteque"
"True Love Waits"
"Lotus Flower"
"Lift"
Videos
Live at the Astoria
7 Television Commercials
Meeting People Is Easy
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
Radiohead: The Best Of
In Rainbows – From the Basement
Live in Praha
Radiohead for Haiti
The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement
Related
Albums
EPs
True Love Waits
Bodysong
The Eraser
Hold Me to This
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller
Help!: A Day in the Life
Radiodread
There Will Be Blood
Jaydiohead
Familial
Running Blind
Amok
Weatherhouse
Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
Junun
Personnel
Stanley Donwood
Nigel Godrich
Clive Deamer
Other
Discography
Songs recorded by Radiohead
Unreleased songs by Radiohead
Live performances
Awards and nominations
Ticker Tape Ltd.
Atoms for Peace
Headless Chickens
"Scott Tenorman Must Die"
Dead Children Playing
Radio and Juliet
Radio Rewrite
Sericomyrmex radioheadi
The Music and Art of Radiohead
7 Worlds Collide
Band Aid 20
2012 stage collapse
Book
Category
Template:Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 313239759
LCCN: n2004070950
GND: 4840376-3
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=OK_Computer&oldid=827531755"
Categories:
1997 albums
Radiohead albums
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Albums produced by Nigel Godrich
Albums recorded at Abbey Road Studios
Capitol Records albums
Parlophone albums
Albums recorded in a home studio
Hidden categories:
CS1 German-language sources (de)
Pages containing links to subscription-only content
CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
CS1 French-language sources (fr)
CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
CS1 Norwegian-language sources (no)
CS1 Swedish-language sources (sv)
EngvarB from March 2015
Use dmy dates from June 2017
Articles with hAudio microformats
Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
Certification Table Entry usages for Argentina
Certification Table Entry usages for Australia
Certification Table Entry usages for Belgium
Certification Table Entry usages for Canada
Certification Table Entry usages for France
Certification Table Entry usages for Italy
Certification Table Entry usages for Japan
Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand
Certification Table Entry usages for Norway
Certification Table Entry usages for Spain
Certification Table Entry usages for Sweden
Certification Table Entry usages for Switzerland
Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom
Certification Table Entry usages for United States
Certification Table Entry usages for Europe
Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers
Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers
Featured articles
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
Languages
Български
Català
Čeština
Dansk
Deutsch
Ελληνικά
Español
فارسی
Français
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
Hrvatski
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
Nederlands
日本語
Norsk
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Simple English
Slovenščina
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
Vèneto
Tiếng Việt
中文
30 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 25 February 2018, at 07:30.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

values: This is a featured article. Click here for more information.

value: i

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

attrs: colspan class style

values: text-align:center;font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;font-style: italic; background-color: lightsteelblue

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

attrs: href class

values: width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em .1em .2em 0

values: width: 33%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding: .2em 0 .2em .1em

values: background: transparent; width: 100%; min-width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse

values:
/wiki/Best_Alternative_Music_Album
mw-redirect
Best Alternative Music Album

values:
/wiki/Phil_Selway
mw-redirect
Phil Selway

attrs: alt src width height data-file-width data-file-height

values:
/wiki/Film_soundtrack
mw-redirect
Film soundtrack

values: position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 110px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 0px; width: 0px;

values: left: 50%; top: 50%; margin-left: -35px; margin-top: -27.5px;

values: width:220px width: 220px; position: relative;

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help
mw-redirect
Wikipedia:Media help

values:
/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_the_Dead
mw-redirect
The Tibetan Book of the Dead

values:
/wiki/Abduction_phenomenon
mw-redirect
Abduction phenomenon

values:
/wiki/Poll_Tax_Riots
mw-redirect
Poll Tax Riots

values: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

values: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)

values:
/wiki/Binary_numeral_system
mw-redirect
Binary numeral system

values: float:right;clear:right;width:24.2em;font-size:80%;text-align:center;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;padding:0;border-spacing:0

values: Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album

values:
/wiki/Muziekkrant_OOR
mw-redirect
Muziekkrant OOR

values:
/wiki/Village_Voice
mw-redirect
Village Voice

values: Edit section: Commentary and interpretation

values: Things Can Only Get Better (D:Ream song)

values:
/wiki/British_Royal_Family
mw-redirect
British Royal Family

values: float: right; clear: right; margin: 0.5em 0 0.8em 1.4em; width:30%; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #aaa; font-size: 88%; background-color: #F9F9F9;

values: Edit section: 2009 "Collector's Edition" reissue

values:
/wiki/The_Beatles_Stereo_Box_Set
mw-redirect
The Beatles Stereo Box Set

values: Edit section: XL acquisition and OKNOTOK 1997 2017

values: padding:0 10px 0 0;text-align:right;background-color:#eee

values:
tlheader mbox-text
3
text-align:left;background-color:#fff

values: display: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);

values: display: none; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);

values:
/wiki/Sound_effects
mw-redirect
Sound effects

values:
/wiki/Audio_engineering
mw-redirect
Audio engineering

values:
headerSort
0
columnheader button
Sort ascending

values:
/wiki/Ultratop_50
mw-redirect
Ultratop 50

values: Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique

values:
/wiki/Media_Control_Charts
mw-redirect
Media Control Charts

values: Recording Industry Association of New Zealand

values:
/wiki/Swiss_Music_Charts
mw-redirect
Swiss Music Charts

values:
col
headerSort
0
columnheader button
Sort ascending

attrs: scope data-sort-type class tabindex role title

values:
col
number
headerSort
0
columnheader button
Sort ascending

values: Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers

values: Australian Recording Industry Association

values: Federation of the Italian Music Industry

values: International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

values: Recording Industry Association of America

values: wikitable sortable plainrowheaders jquery-tablesorter

values: border-collapse: collapse; padding: 0; border: 0; background:transparent; width:100%;

values:
/wiki/British_rock
mw-redirect
British rock

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.webcitation.org/61JJm67dr

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.webcitation.org/61VQGlUlk

values: -moz-column-width: 35em; -webkit-column-width: 35em; column-width: 35em; list-style-type: decimal;

values:
/wiki/Mental_floss
mw-redirect
Mental floss

values:
/wiki/Highbeam_Research
mw-redirect
Highbeam Research

values: The site requires a paid subscription to access this page.

values:
nofollow
external text
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/45225.stm

values:
nofollow
external text
https://rateyourmusic.com/customchart

values:
nofollow
external text
http://drownedinsound.com/news/2494978

values:
/wiki/Hot_Press_(magazine)
mw-redirect
Hot Press (magazine)

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/37969

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.webcitation.org/61JQ5iWDw

values:
nofollow
external free
http://www.irma.ie/#chartTab2

values:
nofollow
https://www.bpi.co.uk/bpi-awards/
external text

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values:
Radiohead
fn org
font-size:114%;margin:0 4em

values:
navbox-abovebelow
2
background: #EEEEEE;

values:
row
navbox-group
width:1%;background: #EEEEEE;

values: The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time

values:
/wiki/Live_in_Praha_(Radiohead_album)
mw-redirect
Live in Praha (Radiohead album)

values: The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement

values:
/wiki/Clive_Deamer
mw-redirect
Clive Deamer

values: List of awards and nominations received by Radiohead

values: nowraplinks vcard hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Template:Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album (page does not exist)

values:
nofollow
external text
https://viaf.org/viaf/313239759

values:
nofollow
external text
https://d-nb.info/gnd/4840376-3

values: Category:Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album

values: Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings

values: Category:Albums produced by Nigel Godrich

values: Category:Albums recorded at Abbey Road Studios

values: Category:Albums recorded in a home studio

values: Category:CS1 German-language sources (de)

values: Category:Pages containing links to subscription-only content

values: Category:CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)

values: Category:CS1 French-language sources (fr)

values: Category:CS1 Italian-language sources (it)

values: Category:CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)

values: Category:CS1 Norwegian-language sources (no)

values: Category:CS1 Swedish-language sources (sv)

values: Category:Articles with hAudio microformats

values: Category:Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Argentina

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Australia

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Belgium

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Canada

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for France

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Italy

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Japan

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Norway

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Spain

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Sweden

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Switzerland

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for United States

values: Category:Certification Table Entry usages for Europe

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/OK_Computer
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bg
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ca
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-cs
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-da
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-el
display: none;

values: اوکی کامپیوتر – Persian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fa
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-gl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ko
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hy
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-it
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-he
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ka
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lv
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lt
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-nl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ro
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-ru badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-simple
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sh
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-fi badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

values: โอเคคอมพิวเตอร์ – Thai

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-vec
display: none;

values: All languages (initial selection from common choices by you and others)

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-OK_Computer rootpage-OK_Computer skin-vector action-view