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Rating:
It's so clear that this twentieth anniversary definitively sanctions the classic status of an album that was already a classic shortly after its release, so evident is the band's intention, which is among the least self-celebratory ever, it's all so obvious that I won't dwell on these aspects. The magazines have already done it: Pitchfork, for example, has been praising this album for months with various specials, there's no need to add anything else.
Let's talk about details: it amuses me when people shout miracle over a remastering, as if the songs were indistinguishable jumbles before. Listening to these new versions, however, I couldn't help but notice Godrich's work, which was also excellent with A Moon Shaped Pool. It may be partly a suggestion, but the tracks seem more vivid, richer, more three-dimensional. The sound mix is clearer, even though the 1997 version was already very good. But here, the work is refined. The discourse is subtle and is a dialectic with the experienced listener, who knows the original versions very well. Nigel practically says to you: "Did you notice the strings in Airbag? Hear how beautiful they are, how well they blend with the distorted guitar." In short, I had the impression of discovering more of an entire sonic undergrowth that I hadn't appreciated as much before. The background sounds manage to earn their share of glory along with the main parts: Godrich makes use of the skills already shown in last year's album. An OK Computer with the richness of Moon Shaped's exquisite production. And even the first version was not exactly a crude album; it was also full of details. Yet here, it goes even deeper.
Subterranean is even more psychedelic, with reverberated sounds that trap the listener. Exit Music is even more alien in the first part and grandiloquent in the second: a build-up that smacks even more of opera. Let Down is better appreciated for its chimes and the entire play of echo responses suggesting the alienated frenzy of contemporary living. I even rediscovered Fitter Happier and Electioneering: the former for its somewhat krautrock backgrounds, the latter for the lushness of its distortions, and it's a track I've always found off the beaten path.
Godrich's work becomes impressive with tracks already magnificently produced and that make their richness of production a trump card: Climbing Up the Walls would seem impossible to improve. Yet further filigrees come to light, cries, and vocalizations that might have been lost before in the mix, very light sound veils that guarantee the pleasure of rediscovery. Even Lucky, with its reverberated guitars, would seem impossible to improve. In this case, the difference is not that wide, but there is something additional. The finale of The Tourist is also a delight, with better distinction of the various sounds.
The reflection is this: an album so loved and praised had more to offer. Such complexity of arrangements must further make one reflect on the meaning of the change in direction given by Kid A, which in my view works essentially by subtraction.
As for the three unreleased tracks, I think I Promise is a little masterpiece: the simplicity of the melodic line and rhythm, which are nevertheless highly effective and enduring, should not distract too much from the wise architecture of strings that form the background. But this reissue is precisely a celebration of detail, the importance of just lightly brushed backgrounds. Man of War seems to only confirm the more rock-inflected style that the band has decided to set aside: what was cut out only makes the chosen sound and mood of the 1997 album all the more important and consistent. And the pruned branches are anything but dry. First-rate pieces. Not to mention Lift: the band declared they didn't release it to avoid having too big a success. And so OK Computer shines further because it is the result of painful choices, severe cuts.
About the other b-sides, already present in the singles and known to the public, I must admit I never delved into them on my own over the years. Maybe I did well, as now I'll have an additional album to enjoy all together, and remastered too. The feeling is that the modes are consistent with the style of the OK cpu era but without the communicative urgency and effectiveness of the tracks that ended up on the actual album. Beatle-like traces in Polyethylene, which frankly no band in the world would have left off an album. Pearly is also amazing. Palo Alto would have carried entire albums of other bands on its shoulders.
This is one of the evidences of OKNOTOK: how much musical goodness was sacrificed in favor of a clearer, more concise vision without redundancies? Those who complain that, for instance, the latest work includes True Love Waits don't understand, as if our guys had creative fertility problems. No, that track made sense in that album, marking the end of a love. Just as these make sense today, after twenty years, to testify that aside from the concept, aside from those 12 perfect and perfectly cohesive songs, there was much else that was set aside.
(On a personal note. I listened to this album as a youngster: more than just appreciating it, it shaped my musical tastes. Then I didn't listen to it anymore. Now, between the concert in Monza and this reissue, I'm facing it again. And I can evaluate it after 13 years in which I've refined my tastes and ear. I hadn't realized how beautiful it was, in fact. I had made it my own uncritically. Now I understand the musical values and contents it conveys. To say, the alien perspective on human beings, the work that slowly kills you, the tourist's mania for speed but lack of direction, the end of luck that foreshadows a kind of ice age, the wings that sprout to escape a world devastated by overgrown transport lines.
Musically, this album is the golden ratio of rock. You can't do better. I fully understand it only now. And then the detour of Kid A etc. becomes clear. A push and pull between the obsession for perfection embodied here and the need to find a variation, a diversion, a new way. And the subsequent albums continue with this dialectic, more or less. In Rainbows and Moon Shaped are variations of this golden section, in between the mongoloid son King of Limbs. Hail to the Thief balances beauty and electronic regurgitations, in a moment of chaos dominated by politics and twilight. Without those outbursts, without Feral, there wouldn't have been Moon Shaped; it's the fire that burns and reduces everything to ash. The ash then fertilizes the ground, and from there sprouts daydreams like Daydreaming).
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 Airbag (00:00)
In the next world war
A jackknifed juggernaut
I am born again
In the neon sign
Scrolling up and down
I am born again
In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe
In a deep deep sleep
Of the innocent
I am born again
In a fast German car
I'm amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life
In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe
In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe
In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe
08 Paranoid Android (00:00)
Please could you stop that noise, I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but not an android)
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but not an android)
When I am king, you will be first against the wall
With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
Kicking, screaming Gucci little piggy
You don't remember
You don't remember
Why don't you remember my name?
Off with his head, man
Off with his head, man
Why don't you remember my name?
I guess he does
Rain down, rain down
Come on rain down on me
From a great height
From a great height
Height
Rain down, rain down
Come on rain down on me
From a great height
From a great height
Height
That's it sir, you're leaving (Rain down)
The crackle of pigskin (Rain down)
The dust and the screaming (Come on rain down)
The yuppies networking (On me)
The panic, the vomit (From a great height)
The panic, the vomit (From a great height)
God loves his children
God loves his children, yeah
09 Subterranean Homesick Alien (00:00)
The breath of the morning
I keep forgetting
The smell of the warm summer air
I live in a town
Where you can't smell a thing
You watch your feet
For cracks in the pavement
Up above
Aliens hover
Making home movies
For the folks back home
Of all these weird creatures
Who lock up their spirits
Drill holes in themselves
And live for their secrets
They're all uptight
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
I wish that they'd swoop down in a country lane
Late at night when I'm driving
Take me on board their beautiful ship
Show me the world as I'd love to see it
I'd tell all my friends
But they'd never believe me
They'd think that I'd finally lost it completely
I'd show them the stars
And the meaning of life
They'd shut me away
But I'd be all right
All right
I'm all right
I'm just uptight
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
Uptight ...
10 Exit Music (For A Film) (00:00)
Wake ... from your sleep
The drying of your tears
Today ... we escape
We escape
Pack and get dressed
Before your father hears us
Before ... all hell ... breaks loose
Breathe ... keep breathing
Don't lose ... your nerve
Breathe ... keep breathing
I can't do this ... alone
Sing us a song
A song to keep us warm
There's such a chill
Such a chill
You can laugh
A spineless laugh
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you
Now we are one
In everlasting peace
We hope that you choke ... that you choke
We hope that you choke ... that you choke
We hope that you choke ... that you choke
11 Let Down (00:00)
Sit down, stand up
Sit down, stand up
Walk into the jaws of hell (sit down, stand up)
Walk into the jaws of hell (sit down, stand up)
Anytime (sit down)
Anytime (stand up)
Sit down, stand up
Sit down, stand up
We can wipe you out anytime (sit down, stand up)
We can wipe you out (sit down, stand up)
Anytime (sit down)
Anytime
Stand up (the rain drops the rain drops)
Sit down (the rain drops the rain drops)
Oh
The rain drops x47
12 Karma Police (00:00)
Karma police, arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge
He's like a detuned radio
Karma police, arrest this girl
Her Hitler hairdo
Is making me feel ill
And we have crashed her party
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get when you mess with us
Karma police, I've given all I can
It's not enough
I've given all I can
But we're still on the payroll
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get when you mess with us
For a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself
Oh for a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself
Phew, for a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself
13 Fitter Happier (00:00)
Fitter happier
More productive
Comfortable
Not drinking too much
Regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week)
Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries
At ease
Eating well (no more microwave dinners and saturated fats)
A patient better driver
A safer car (baby smiling in back seat)
Sleeping well (no bad dreams)
No paranoia
Careful to all animals (never washing spiders down the plughole)
Keep in contact with old friends (enjoy a drink now and then)
Will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in the wall)
Favours for favours
Fond but not in love
Charity standing orders
On Sundays ring road supermarket
(No killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants)
Car wash (also on Sundays)
No longer afraid of the dark or midday shadows
Nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate
Nothing so childish
At a better pace
Slower and more calculated
No chance of escape
Now self-employed
Concerned (but powerless)
An empowered and informed member of society (pragmatism not idealism)
Will not cry in public
Less chance of illness
Tires that grip in the wet (shot of baby strapped in back seat)
A good memory
Still cries at a good film
Still kisses with saliva
No longer empty and frantic
Like a cat
Tied to a stick
That's driven into
Frozen winter shit (the ability to laugh at weakness)
Calm
Fitter, healthier and more productive
A pig
In a cage
On antibiotics
(This is the Panic Office, section nine-seventeen may have been hit. Activate the following procedure)
14 Electioneering (00:00)
I will stop, I will stop at nothing
Say the right things when electioneering
I trust I can rely on your vote
When I go forwards you go backwards
And somewhere we will meet
When I go forwards you go backwards
And somewhere we will meet
Ha ha ha
Riot shields, voodoo economics
It's just business, cattle prods and the I.M.F.
I trust I can rely on your vote
When I go forwards you go backwards
And somewhere we will meet
When I go forwards you go backwards
And somewhere we will meet
15 Climbing Up The Walls (00:00)
I am the key to the lock in your house
That keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside
You'll only see my reflection
It's always best when the colour is off
I am the pick in the ice
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
You know we're friends till we die
But either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there
Climbing up the walls
It's always best when the light is off
It's always better on the outside
Fifteen blows to the back of my head
Fifteen blows to your mind
So lock the kids in a safe tonight
Shut the eyes in the cupboard
I've got the smell of a local man
Who's got the loneliest feeling
But either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there
Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls
16 No Surprises (00:00)
A heart that's full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won't heal
You look so tired unhappy
Bring down the government
They don't, they don't speak for us
I'll take the quiet life
A handshake with carbon monoxide
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
Silent
Silent
This is my final fit
My final bellyache with
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises please
Such a pretty house
And such a pretty garden
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises please
17 Lucky (00:00)
I'm on a roll
I'm on a roll this time
I feel my luck could change
Kill me Sarah
Kill me again with love
It's gonna be a glorious day
Pull me out of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your superhero
We are standing on the edge
The head of state has called for me by name
But I don't have time for him
It's gonna be a glorious day!
I feel my luck could change
Pull me out of the air crash
Pull me out of the lake
'Cause I'm your superhero
We are standing on the edge
We are standing on the edge
18 The Tourist (00:00)
It barks at no one else but me
Like it's seen a ghost
I guess it seen the sparks a-flowing
No one else would know
Hey man slow down, slow down
Idiot, slow down, slow down
Sometimes I get overcharged
That's when you see sparks
You ask me where the hell I'm going
At a thousand feet per second
Hey man slow down, slow down
Idiot slow down, slow down
Hey man slow down, slow down
Idiot slow down, slow down
19 I Promise (00:00)
I won't run away no more, I promise
Even when I get bored, I promise
Even when you lock me out, I promise
I say my prayers every night, I promise
I don't wish that I'm strict, I promise
The tantrums and the chilling chats, I promise
Even when the ship is wrecked, I promise
Tie me to the rotten deck, I promise
I won't fool around no more, I promise
Even when I get bored, I promise
Even when you lock me out, I promise
I say my prayers every night, I promise
I won't fool around no more, I promise
21 Lift (00:00)
This is the place
Sit down, you're safe now
You've been stuck in a lift
We've been trying to reach you, Thom
This is the place
It won't hurt, it will not hurt
A smell of recognition
A face you barely loved
Empty all your pockets
'Cause it's time to go home
This is the place
Remembering all the things you always see
You've been stuck in a lift
In the belly of a whale
At the bottom of the ocean
A smell of recognition
A face you barely loved
Empty all your pockets
'Cause it's time to go home
Today is the first day of the rest of your days
So lighten up, squirt
22 Lull (00:00)
You stop the crowd
I cried out to break the spell
You wake and smile
I just snapped and lost control
Distracted by irrelevance
The stress and the tension
The stress and the tension
I'm in a lull
There's nothing so dull
As talking, talking 'bout yourself
But what I meant to say
I'm sorry that I lost control
Distracted by irrelevance
The stress and the tension
Crawling through the keyhole
I'm in a lull
24 Melatonin (00:00)
Don't forget, that you are our son.
Now go back to bed.
We just know that you'll do well
You won't come to harm.
Death to all who stand in your way,
Wake my dear.
25 A Reminder (00:00)
If I get old, I will not give in
But if I do, remind me of this
Remind me that
Once I was free
Once I was cool
Once I was me
And if I sit down and cross my arms
Hold me up to this song
Knock me out, smash out my brains
If I take a chair, start to talk shit...
If I get old, remind me of this:
That night we kissed, and I really meant it
Whatever happens, if we're still speaking
Pick up the phone, play me this song
27 Pearly* (00:00)
How’d you get your teeth so pearly?
Dewdrop dentures
White-washed faces
She runs from the third world, pearly
Vanilla (feel it closing in)
Milkshakes (calling back again)
From Hard Rock (whatever you say)
Cafes (make it go away)
That’s where (I feel it closing in)
She got her (climbing back again)
Sweet tooth (make it go away)
For white boys (whatever you say)
She runs from the third world, pearly
Use me
Darling, use me
Darling, use me
Darling, use me
28 Palo Alto (00:00)
In a city of the future,
it is hard to concentrate.
Meet the boss, meet the wife,
everybody's happy,
everyone is made for life.
In a city of the future,
it is difficult to find a space.
I'm too busy to see you,
you're too busy to wait.
Well I'm ok, how are you?
Thanks for asking
Thanks for asking.
Well I'm ok, how are you?
We hope that you are ok too.
Everyone of those days,
when the sky is californian blue.
A beautiful bombshell,
I throw myself into my world
Two day, I've been waiting for so long.
Well I'm ok, how are you?
Thanks for asking
Thanks for asking.
Well I'm ok, how are you?
We hope that you are ok too.
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