885 GAAT - Radiohead, OK Computer
From the sound of their MTV video release of “Creep”, Radiohead was bound to be a one-hit-wonder. Give Pablo Honey a listen; there is nothing that would distinguish this band from a horde of 90’s guitar rock sound a likes. I can’t even bring myself to listen to this album in its entirety, as it sounds way too generic. “Anyone Can Play Guitar in Heaven” is by far the best track, and received no airplay or recognition. They were destined to fade back into the obscurity from where they came. Who could have guessed what their future would hold?
Who would have predicted that they could radically reinvent themselves on each of their next three albums, altering the face of alternative music in the process? The Bends was their lifeline, a solid comeback. This album demonstrates the bands ability at songwriting modern alternative songs. O.K. Computer was another major step forward in terms of the songwriting and lyrics. This is a well-produced studio effort, laying tracks of guitar, voices, and synth. Where The Bends sounds warm, this album disassociates the human elements of music from the electronic. Call it the ghost in the machine. Kid A is a major leap, fusing elements of electronic music with alternative. This album feels much colder and unfriendly from their previous two efforts, but is a masterpiece nonetheless. Give all four albums a back-to-back preview on Amazon.com. Hard to believe that all these songs were created by the same band within the span of a few years.
Any one of these three albums post Pablo Honey could easily make the 885 Greatest Albums of All Times list. The Bends is a great album, but lags behind the power and innovation of the other two. Although Kid A broke new ground, it was an extreme of sorts that pushed the limits of music a little farther. You can hear Radiohead retreat from this extreme standpoint in subsequent albums, returning to a safer position between Kid A and OK Computer. It is O.K. Computer that pushes ahead on my list. Interestingly, I am not the only one that believes so. I read a quote that Spin magazine rates this album as one of the best in the past 20 years. Rikky Rooksby’s book, How to Write Songs on Guitar recommends this album for songwriters next to the likes of The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, Motown, Simon and Garfunkel, and Madonna.
Simply said, O.K. Computer is a masterpiece from start to finish. This is by far one of my favorite albums of all times. I’m not even sure how to describe this recording as a whole, other than hauntingly beautiful. Listen to the album through headphones to pick out the intricate layers of music that were spliced together through studio production. Learning to play these songs on guitar reveal interesting chord progressions, and a wide chord vocabulary, and time signature changes- a far cry from power chord pop songs and predictable hooks. Although far from comparison, I think Radiohead's vocal qualities and sound texturing are better compared to Nick Drake’s ability to shape a song around his voice and textured alternative acoustic guitar tunings than to Pink Floyd (to which they are often compared for lack of a better . . .). After all is said and done, the power of O.K. Computer shows that rock music isn’t dead, and all new songs don’t have to be rehashed or sound borrowed.
A review of my top 10 albums to date:
Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
The Beatles, Abbey Road
The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow
Radiohead, OK Computer
Who would have predicted that they could radically reinvent themselves on each of their next three albums, altering the face of alternative music in the process? The Bends was their lifeline, a solid comeback. This album demonstrates the bands ability at songwriting modern alternative songs. O.K. Computer was another major step forward in terms of the songwriting and lyrics. This is a well-produced studio effort, laying tracks of guitar, voices, and synth. Where The Bends sounds warm, this album disassociates the human elements of music from the electronic. Call it the ghost in the machine. Kid A is a major leap, fusing elements of electronic music with alternative. This album feels much colder and unfriendly from their previous two efforts, but is a masterpiece nonetheless. Give all four albums a back-to-back preview on Amazon.com. Hard to believe that all these songs were created by the same band within the span of a few years.
Any one of these three albums post Pablo Honey could easily make the 885 Greatest Albums of All Times list. The Bends is a great album, but lags behind the power and innovation of the other two. Although Kid A broke new ground, it was an extreme of sorts that pushed the limits of music a little farther. You can hear Radiohead retreat from this extreme standpoint in subsequent albums, returning to a safer position between Kid A and OK Computer. It is O.K. Computer that pushes ahead on my list. Interestingly, I am not the only one that believes so. I read a quote that Spin magazine rates this album as one of the best in the past 20 years. Rikky Rooksby’s book, How to Write Songs on Guitar recommends this album for songwriters next to the likes of The Beatles, Jeff Buckley, Motown, Simon and Garfunkel, and Madonna.
Simply said, O.K. Computer is a masterpiece from start to finish. This is by far one of my favorite albums of all times. I’m not even sure how to describe this recording as a whole, other than hauntingly beautiful. Listen to the album through headphones to pick out the intricate layers of music that were spliced together through studio production. Learning to play these songs on guitar reveal interesting chord progressions, and a wide chord vocabulary, and time signature changes- a far cry from power chord pop songs and predictable hooks. Although far from comparison, I think Radiohead's vocal qualities and sound texturing are better compared to Nick Drake’s ability to shape a song around his voice and textured alternative acoustic guitar tunings than to Pink Floyd (to which they are often compared for lack of a better . . .). After all is said and done, the power of O.K. Computer shows that rock music isn’t dead, and all new songs don’t have to be rehashed or sound borrowed.
A review of my top 10 albums to date:
Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
The Beatles, Abbey Road
The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow
Radiohead, OK Computer
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