Album Of The Week/Primer Part 4: Radiohead- OK Computer

Kurt Vonnegut wrote five novels before Slaughterhouse-Five and eight after, yet it's the work he will be remembered for always. You may personally prefer other books of his (for me, Breakfast Of Champions is his best), critics may claim that other of his books are underrated and/or that Slaughterhouse-Five is overrated, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a novel that belongs to dictionary entries, short biographies, and lists of "best books ever" or some such thing. It belongs to eternity; it has been and will be taught in schools. Moreover, it was the book that made Kurt Vonnegut a household name, gaining him fame and, if not fortune, then a comfortable life.

Radiohead made two albums before OK Computer and four after, yet it's the work they will be remembered for always. You may personally prefer other albums of their's (for me, Kid A is their best), critics may claim that other of their albums are underrated and/or that OK Computer is overrated, but it doesn't change the fact that it's an album that belongs to dictionary entries, short biographies, and lists of "best albums ever" or some such thing. It belongs to eternity; it has been and will be enjoyed and studied extensively by music listeners and critics. Moreover, it was the album that made Radiohead a household name, giving them fame, semi-fortune, and an uncomfortable life (as evidence by the documentary Meeting People Is Easy and the direction of Kid A and Amnesiac).

I really don't think there's an original angle to approach OK Computer from, review-wise, unless you're just including healthy doses of your history with the album. Like other "best albums ever", such as those by The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Bob Dylan, it has been praised, torn down, re-appraised, overrated, underrated, and absorbed into the human psyche. Just as you can hear disparate influences in the music of OK Computer (the band have acknowledged Miles Davis's late 60s to mid 70s electronic phase, Can, The White Album, and Ennio Morricone), it would be difficult to imagine the development of popular and 'underground' music without this album. Arguably Kid A had more to do with inspiring artists to do whatever they felt like during this decade, to follow their inspiration even if it meant alienating fans and critics, but almost everyone has heard OK Computer and understands what it did and still does.

There is everything in the world to say about this album and yet nothing to say. I mean, I still use 'GregRadiohead' as a username online and I've probably listened to OK Computer more than anything else in my life; it'll always be with me, physically, mentally, and spiritually. So, while I could write thousands of words about this album--about its sounds, themes, ideas, what it makes me feel and imagine--I am paralyzed by the possibilities. Even to start with surface things like its perfect pacing and sequencing would carry me off into the verbose night. Anyway, that misses the point. Like I said, this album has been built up and knocked down time and again: rated, overrated, and underrated by all manner of people. It feels futile to pretend there's anything interesting, critically, to say about it.

Yet this, too, misses the point. I don't need an interesting critical thing to say, and you don't need to read it. The only thing you need to do with OK Computer in 2009 is listen to it. Forget all the debates and discourse. Try to hear this album with the freshest ears possible. Remember what makes it so good. Remember the incredible songs, sounds, ideas, and emotions, as powerful and lasting as any "committed to tape" (as the liner notes say) in the history of rock music. Remember that, yes, bands can keep getting artier and more experimental and yet get better at the same time.

If, as I suggested in another review, The Bends can be seen as Radiohead accepting their fate to be one of the best bands of all time, then OK Computer is them not only trying to live up to this but going all the way. To quote Charles Bukowski: "If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods. And the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is..."