Online Encyclopedia
OK Computer
OK Computer | ||
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Album by Radiohead | ||
Released |
June 16 1997 (UK) July 1 1997 (US) |
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Recorded | 1996 & 1997 | |
Genre | Rock | |
Length | 53 min 30 sec | |
Label |
Parlophone (UK) Capitol (US) CDP 7243 8 55229 2 5 |
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Producer | Nigel Godrich, Radiohead | |
Professional reviews | ||
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Radiohead Chronology | ||
2nd The Bends (1995) |
3rd OK Computer (1997) |
4th Kid A (2000) |
OK Computer is a rock album by the band Radiohead. It was released on June 16, 1997 in the United Kingdom and on July 1 in the United States. The album met with wide critical acclaim and commercial success, putting the British group at the forefront of modern rock. Arguably Radiohead's most significant breakthrough work, OK Computer was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998 in the category of Best Alternative Music Performance which it won later that year. OK Computer is consistently featured on many critics' "best albums" lists. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 94th greatest album of all time.
The album's design is a collage of images and text by Stanley Donwood, who is credited with design on several Radiohead covers. Some of the text is hidden, including several phrases in Esperanto. Translations into English can be found in the unofficial Radiohead FAQ (see External links).
It has been argued that the songs can be linked to characters and events in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (see External links). The band themselves maintain that although the songs have a common theme centred around modern living, they do not deem OK Computer to be a concept album. Yet since each song appears to be from the viewpoint of a different person in the modern world, it is a thematic concept album.
Track listing
- "Airbag" - 4:44
- "Paranoid Android" - 6:23
- "Subterranean Homesick Alien" - 4:27
- "Exit Music (For a Film)" - 4:25
- "Let Down" - 4:59
- "Karma Police" - 4:22
- "Fitter Happier" - 1:57
- "Electioneering" - 3:51
- "Climbing Up the Walls" - 4:45
- "No Surprises" - 3:49
- "Lucky" - 4:20
- "The Tourist" - 5:25
"Paranoid Android", "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" were released as singles; "Airbag" was released as part of the Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP in 1998.
"Let Down", "Lucky", and "Climbing up the Walls" were released either as limited edition singles or promos.
External links
- Radiohead Unpackt http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~adrivera/ - an in-depth interpretation of OK Computer, Kid A and Amnesiac.
- Archive of OK Computer and 1984 Comparison Thesis http://web.archive.org/web/20031211123551/http%3A//www.followmearound.com/press/
1984.html , from defunct fan site "followmearound.com" - unofficial Radiohead FAQ http://www.radioheadfaq.co.uk/rhfaq.txt