Radiohead
Ok Computer

Strange story, that of Radiohead. In a couple of years, they went from being ‘the band from Creep‘ to the new R.E.M., only to become themselves. "Ok Computer" is a record filled with suggestions and references, but reworked in such a personal way that it can only be classified as a Radiohead album.

They exploded in 1993 with "Creep." MTV aired a video where Thom Yorke and co. sing at the edge of a pool. It was reminiscent of ‘The Grind‘, the notorious show where groups of people dance and swim to the rhythm of the latest dance hit. Only the music circulating here is rock: sharp guitars, Yorke’s whining voice singing ‘I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here, I don’t belong here‘. Yet someone takes it seriously. Radiohead become the new ‘one-hit wonder‘. They become identified as the voices of Generation X, although they have nothing to do with grunge. "Creep" becomes sort of an anthem for slackers. Already, the lyrics of the next single, ‘Anyone Can Play Guitar‘, should indicate there’s something off about all this: ‘Anyone can play the guitar and they won’t be a nothing anymore‘. Exactly.

Two years go by and "The Bends" is released. After the EP ‘My Iron Lung‘, the single is ‘High And Dry‘. Which recalls U2’s Stay and edges closer to the R.E.M. sound. And then: one definition after another. Certainly, Radiohead is not a one-single band. They are no longer (or perhaps never were) the spokespersons for the disillusioned, the losers. Now they’re the new R.E.M. Those seeking to affirm this theorem have an infinite number of leads in the guitar rock, sometimes tight, sometimes epic, of ‘The Bends‘. Small detail: Yorke is not Stipe, for better or worse. His lyrics are as visionary as the R.E.M.’s are emphatic. But some time will still have to pass before anyone seriously notices it.

"Ok Computer" is released in 1997. First, the amazing and dramatic ‘'Lucky' comes out on a pro-Bosnia compilation. That is one of the paths the band will follow. ‘Alienation‘. If there’s a word that can encapsulate everything in "Ok Computer", it’s this. Radiohead alienate themselves from everything and everyone, creating an ingenious record, totally out of the box in the music, as well as in the way of conceiving and managing it after its release. Starting from the title. "Ok Computer" risks portraying them as defenders of new technologies. But Radiohead are neither apocalyptic nor integrated into the global village. ‘This is a way to accept something I had fought against‘, Yorke explained at the time of the album’s release. ‘Moreover, it also sounds like a slogan. I have a tape with 300 Japanese kids saying ‘Ok Computer‘ and it sounds incredible, like a universal statement‘. What distinguishes Radiohead is precisely this ability to see things from a totally alienated point of view, far from common perception. And what this alienation entails is demonstrated by ‘<'em>Fitter Happier‘', the strangest track on the album: ‘Healthier, happier, more productive, comfortable, not drinking too much,‘ and on listing the contemporary man’s paranoias: work, family, car, friends. ‘A pig in a cage on antibiotics‘, as the words conclude. All recited by a computerized voice, utterly devoid of tone and emotions. Yorke didn’t want to utter those words, didn’t want to be identified with that perspective; thus he realized the ultimate alienation from his role, replaced by a computer.

But the alienation is also evident from other things. From ‘Paranoid Android‘,‘ for example. A track lasting over six minutes, marked by changes in tempo and tone. Yorke utters seemingly nonsensical sentences. The track is perhaps the best example of all the ideas that Radiohead had in mind at that time. It took them a month to record, combining three originally separate tracks. But then, to alienate themselves from the music business, they chose it as a single. Imagine how much radio could air a track like this. And how much TV would broadcast the corresponding clip: an even more nonsensical cartoon, totally detached from the images, featuring a character dressing in sado-maso and sawing off arms and legs. Besides these two ‘alienated’ tracks, "Ok Computer" lines up a series of gems, even more immediate. Like the tearing "Exit Music (For A Film)": a very sad lullaby, starting with voice and guitar and opening at the end with a strange background choir. A track born from repeatedly watching the end of Romeo + Juliet, Baz Lhurman’s film. The song indeed appears in the movie’s end credits, but not on the soundtrack, where another track was present. Another standout from the album is ‘Karma Police‘, perhaps the one that had the most impact on the media. Another exemplary track in its simplicity, yet unique. Another track born in a particular way.

During the tour, following "The Bends", the phrase 'karma police is going to get you' was constantly directed at group members who behaved badly. All tracks on the album are alienated: in the sense that at certain moments, Radiohead sound as if they were the first band to play rock. Or, at least, like a band playing rock having forgotten hearing it from someone else before. In short, as if the band had stepped away from everything and everyone to become only themselves. And this, in an era of continuous citationism, is no small feat. ‘‘Let Down‘, ‘No Surprises‘ and ‘Airbag‘‘ are marked by perfect and linear melodies, rendered with equally simple yet at the same time complex use of sounds. The sound of "Ok Computer" is a layering of different elements. Some of these are recognizable: psychedelia, a certain R.E.M.-like guitar rock; others are deliberately left undefined. But it's precisely for this reason that "Ok Computer" is a masterpiece.

A postscript: to this idea of alienation emerging from the album, the videos directed by the band certainly contributed. ‘Karma Police‘‘ is a sort of nightmare: a car whose driver is never seen, with Yorke sitting in the back seat, pursuing a strange character along a road. In the end, it’s this character who reverses the situation and sets fire to the car trying to escape in reverse. ‘No Surprises‘ displays only the distorted image of the singer. While the song’s words scroll on reverse projection, Yorke sings, in the foreground. Soon after, water begins to rise behind the glass. Yorke, whose face becomes increasingly distorted as the water rises due to refraction, immerses in apnea. Then the water suddenly descends, and Yorke resumes singing. Two different ways of visualizing the anxiety of Radiohead's music.