Review:

on 2011-06-28 CharlesMartel Said:

I have never understood the appeal of Radiohead. I don't buy into this Oxford University equals superior intelligence and therefore better music concept that sends critics into squeals of pleasure at every release. As musicians they are adequate, but no better. As a vocalist, I find Thom Yorke's nasal whine to be intensely irritating, perhaps even more so than the pretentious and totally unnecessary addition of the "h" to the shortened version of his name. The music itself is trying too hard to be deep and meaningful, complete with a weak attempt at generating a haunting ambience and creating the impression that this might, or might not be a concept album, and therein lies the true secret of the album's greatness.

Mention "OK Computer" to a lot of people and the response is pretty much the same. An album which is hailed as a classic by a lot, the best album of the nineties by many and the best album ever by a significant enough number to make it so in a recent TV poll. Some people go so completely over the top that it is plain ridiculous. To listen to the way some go on, you would think that "OK Computer" is a religious experience, and that the album is to be handled with ritual care and listened to with reverence for the deep, spiritual message about to unfold before you. To others, this is the musical equivalent of the Higgs Boson - the God Particle - the missing piece which makes sense of everything  the universe, life, truth, time and matter. I suppose this makes Radiohead some sort of mortal Deep Thought except that, instead of taking 7 1/2 million years to come up with 42, they have taken a mere twelve years since their foundation to come up with the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything that is "OK Computer".

Guess what - Hail to the Thief!

Yes, welcome to the weird and wonderful world of "OK Computer". An album so incredible that it has super powers - it must have been bitten by a radioactive spider or travelled light years from Krypton to get here. If Pele were an album he would be "OK Computer". If Obama were an album he would be "OK Computer". If the Mona Lisa were an album she would be "OK Computer". If Michaelangelo's David were an album he would be "OK Computer". If Hamlet were an album it would be "OK Computer". If Mozart had lived long enough, and there had been 100,000 of him, he would eventually have produced "OK Computer".

If I may, can I ask that we put aside the hype and give it a closer, more objective listen. Take off your fanboy hat - it makes you look like Miley Cyrus. Start no more Radiohead paeans. Pretend for a minute this isn't Radiohead and listen to it again. Then ask yourself this: among all the albums which are over-hyped, over-rated, lauded and subject to hagiographic fits of rapture, is "OK Computer" an exception which is truly deserving of our respect and admiration? Or instead, is it ready to join its place alongside "Loveless", "Grace", and "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"?

The British music press raved over this and people went out and hyped it to high heaven, but listen to it will you! I have said it before, but it is worth repeating: Thom Yorke has an irritating whiny voice which really gets on my tits. Sorry, but it does. This is probably just as well because there are occasions when the lyrics are just unutterably vapid. "Karma Police" is a classic example. Much touted (and it is my favourite song on the album by the way, the only track I can listen to all the way through). But let's face it, the words are just stupid.

The remainder of the album is just plain boring. Music has three absolute necessities to distinguish it from noise - rhythm, tempo and melody. Yes this has rhythm. Frequently the rhythms are not that great but this would not be music if it were not there at all. Tempo, well yes, but often the tempo is unbearably slow and changeable: pedestrian at best; plodding at worst. I'm not asking for the steadiness of dance music here but poor rhythms and a dull, plodding tempo does not make for great listening. And then, to cap it all, music needs melody. If there is one thing which is lacking is that too many of the tracks on here have no decent melody. A strong melody is needed to take the mind off Thom Yorke's all-too-often whiny voice. Yet without melody, the album and the sound of Radiohead begin to fall apart. In the end what you are left with a sound which combines the worst elements of prog rock without any of its redeeming qualities. This not just art rock, this is art for arts sake rock. I know the types who make this stuff for I have met many in my time. They are too cool to mix with the likes of you because you are not cool enough. They are a cut above you because their own inflated sense of ego tells them they are. They used to walk around in little packs at university in faux bohemian clothes, smoking impossibly thin cigarettes and wondering when the next midnight-Proust readings would be. When we were being polite we used to call them pseuds. I won't tell you what we used to call them most of the time.

I feel as if I have probably offended enough people today, so I'll sign off. But let's be honest with ourselves. This album was recently voted the best album ever by viewers of Channel Four in the UK. I like being in a tiny minority, but surely this album is not that good. It doesn't stand beside the true greats. What it is, is empty mediocrity, made by people who are too clever by half for people who are not half as clever as they think they are.
Rating: 4/10

on 2009-08-18 radiox Said:

Ok cool! Thanks man! Oh and this song is different than the one dedicated to Harry Patch song. That's like a slow orchestral type one. It's not offered for free, I think the proceeds go to some benefit or something!
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-08-18 hstisgod Said:

You got it right for the most part.. with general artist news, we usually just make a comment on the artist profile.. nbd though...thanks for the headsup had no idea it was available
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-08-18 radiox Said:

Thanks hs! I don't know what the track was origianlly intended for (there were rumors of an EP release after the leak), but it's good stuff! I didn't know where else to post so people would see it, but I figured this has been a hot page recently!
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-08-18 hstisgod Said:

Yeah, Jessie at KDGE mentioned in her blog about the new song...I went and checked it out and Radiox is on the money again...eerie but growing
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-08-18 radiox Said:

Excellent point dscanland! If everyone liked the same thing, the world would be quite boring. You almost want some people to hate your music because it's like they don't understand it (like when your mom first disapproved of punk, metal, gangster rap, etc.). This album is just so great though! I am a huge fan of Radiohead and that may make me seem bias, but it was this album that made me a huge fan! I still think The Bends is a classic but it's almost too normal (for Radiohead) for me and usually don't listen to it all the way through anymore like their latter albums. Oh, and since everyone seems to be coming to this page, have you downloaded their new track "These are my twisted words"? They put it free on their site because it leaked. It's a real errie sounding song...and like most radiohead it gets better the more you listen!
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-08-17 dscanland Said:

WHAT? People don't agree on music? When did that happen? (severe sarcasm) That's why sites like this are so important, to allow people to voice THEIR opinion on albums. You find someone like MusicGuru that has a strong opinion and you find yourself loving most of their picks then you start following closer. Any reviews and good scores they give and you run out (or download) the albums to give a shot yourself. Be yourself, don't care what others like. If OK Computer sucks in your mind, then rest assured, there will be someone else out there who thinks it sucks. I still prefer the Bends myself. I like what OK Computer and subsequent albums did to "alternative music" though.
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-08-17 hstisgod Said:

Good stuff, Guru, I couldn't agree with you more about the day I found the 'unsigned'. The day I started to realize MTV, and Radio, and what my friends spoke about was only a fraction of music in the world, I nearly sh*t myself my friend.

Truth is, you do have a right to your own opinion, and those are always respected around here. I think what XNasty, and SiniPunk are saying is try to be more balanced, just cause an artist is overhyped around the globe, does not make their creations without taste or unenjoyable. Sometimes artists are popular for a reason. I'm sorry its a pain in the ass to add artists, trust me, it used to be a lot harder! BUT, believe it or not, its a great feeling to look at your artists added, then see how many fans and realize you're a helper of indie rather than bruiser.
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-08-16 MusicGuru Said:

Yeah, I'll take back that comment back about nobody should listen to it. I was in the heat of the moment, you know what I mean. But my musical choices are changing a lot too. If I found this site like a year ago I'd give this album almost a perfect score. But then I started looking beyond what's on the radio and I started to find what's really good. So, I'm glad we got this over with.
Rating: 3/10

on 2009-08-16 X_NaStY Said:

I may have come across a little harsher than I intended. I'm well aware that popularity does not equal talent, there are numerous bands out there, which for the life of me, I cannot understand how they sell so many records. In fact, there was a time when I didn't understand the appeal of a band like Radiohead either. Over the last few years my musical taste has changed pretty drastically. But that's enough about my history. I guess I'll just change my statement to, I respectfully disagree with you about this album.
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-08-16 MusicGuru Said:

Sinist3r Punk, please don't talk down to me. I don't appreciate it. Anyways, I actually do add as many of my bands as possible. I completed the discgraphies on Katatonia and Anathema plus added Demilich, Acid Witch and Lord Gore. I see no wrong in having an opposing opinion. But, it's not the only thing I'm doing on this site. I just want to voice my opinion and that's it, nothing more nothing less.
Rating: 3/10

on 2009-08-16 Sinist3r Punk Said:

Well Music Guru, if you truly loved music as much as u say u do, you would have no trouble adding your favorite bands and their discography just like the rest of us do. It seems as though you only want to challenge other peoples opinions and I have yet to see your opinion be the first on an album, or not contradicting someone elses. Stay Chill "Guru"
Not Rated

on 2009-08-16 radiox Said:

I really can't understand what the "overhype" of this album even is...is it the anticipation of the album coming out? If so, then I have to disagree because they really only had The Bends at the time which is a great basic rock album and Pablo Honey which sounds like well, a rookie effort (not all bad though). So I'm sure no one other than Radiohead had any clue what OK Computer was going to sound like because it sounds like nothing else. I can understand a bit of overhyping of KID A, because everyone was waiting for what direction the band was going to go in after the experimental and successful OK Computer. So as soon as the album comes out, its automatically great! But with OK Computer, the band had not yet cemented their place so if people thought it sucked, then it would have been labeled as shit and that would have ended a lot of the hype right there.But because that was their fist experimental record, any overhyping of the album comes only after everyone hears it...then it's "overhyped" for a reason! That's how I feel about it anyway!
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-08-16 MusicGuru Said:

X_NasTY, I'm actually a pretty chill guy, so no need to worry about starting an e-war with me, but really popularity=/= talent. I'm only really reviewing the bands I can actually find on here. It becomes a pain to add a band and then it's albums. I actually do have a wide range of music in my collection.
Rating: 3/10

on 2009-08-16 X_NaStY Said:

MusicGuru, you sure do hate a lot of music. It's ok to have an opinion on something but to say that it doesn't deserve one's attention is a little much. Radiohead is probably one of the most popular bands out there, so it seems that you are outnumbered on this one. I'm not intending to start a war of words here, but to say that someone shouldn't listen to this album, or any album for that matter, just because you don't like it seems kind of childish to me. There's a thing called personal taste for music, and there is no "right" one, and that includes yours.
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2009-08-16 MusicGuru Said:

Ugh, Radiohead. Such an overrated band. This album, for some reason, is hailed as a modern masterpiece of music. This album has no more than a couple listenable songs and the rest is just unbearable tripe. Thom Yorke has a voice that makes me want to go hang myself. It's that bad! The music is pretty much for hipsters that want to be deep or something like that. Sure this album is experimental, but not all experiments turn out to be good. This album is a classic example of experimentation gone wrong. Fans of this band say that this album evokes a wide range of emotions, but, the only emotions I feel are anger and depression for the human race. The band can't seem to stick to a chord progression. Now, I'm sure that has to do with their experimental music, but, this makes the album that much more unlistenable. Now if I had to pick a best song on this album I'd say it's Exit Music (For a Film). Hopefully people can realize that this album is totally overhyped and that it doesn't deserve your attention.
Rating: 3/10

Review:

on 2009-04-14 dscanland Said:

I'd have to somewhat agree with many of these comments. OK Computer was quite the shift in music for Radiohead but I think The Bends still holds that special place in my heart. The songs are more like traditional songs. OK Computer was Radiohead's trip down a more experimental road but I do believe that's what got them the legions of fans. They are different. They aren't afraid to move beyond the traditional song structure. They went very far down this path with Amnesiac and Kid A with a bit of return to the "song" on Hail To The Thief, another damn fine album. Hmm, any reviewer want to take on actually posting an official review of OK Computer?
Rating: 10/10

on 2009-04-14 tosnob Said:

The best album from an incredibly overrated band.
Rating: 8/10

on 2009-04-14 X_NaStY Said:

Like solitary said you can't really blame the album for that, or the band for that matter. That's more a product of the media hype machine. I feel like Radiohead are guys that just make music and say "Hey, here it is, like it or hate it..." At least that's how they come off to me. I think if you just take an open approach to the album that might help. If you don't like it that's ok.. If everyone liked the same things this world would be pretty boring.
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-04-14 SolitaryMan Said:

Can't blame the album for that, though. Few bands of our generation have been as hyped as Radiohead, and it's easy to fall into the idea that you're meant to be blown away by everything they've done or will do.
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 Sinist3r Punk Said:

I don't want to offend any Radiohead fans or anything but I felt this album was very pretentious. It's like I was already expected to like Radiohead or something. I don't know how to put it but I just never felt comfortable when I listened to the album. Hope that makes sense.
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 hstisgod Said:

wow... I feel the exact opposite, Kid A was their most blazay album. OK Computer was the album that stabilized their permanency in the history of music as far as Im concerned, but yes everyone has a right to their opinion. Certainly this isn't the first time I've seen this argument... most fans of Kid A, Amnesiac dont like Ok Computer, the Bends, Hail... It's all good as long as everyone agrees, this is the Pink Floyd of our generation without all the druggy drama.
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-04-13 SolitaryMan Said:

I was never too enamored with Ok Computer myself. Always considered Kid A their brightest achievement. In Rainbows had some memorable moments too. I consider myself a fan, and can see their influence on music has been monumental, but they've never had a similar impact on me personally. "Reckoner" is their best track IMO and I find myself singing it even when it's not playing.
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 Sinist3r Punk Said:

Yeah
I like some Radiohead (Creep is my favorite song) but this album I just can't listen to
Not Rated

on 2009-04-13 X_NaStY Said:

Wow, really? Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but man that is one that I cannot get on board with. Do you like any radiohead? Or is it just this album that you can't get into?
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-04-12 Sinist3r Punk Said:

I have tried for months to get into this album but I can't
It bores the crap out of me. I understand that it's supposed to be an artsy album like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon but there is nothing that captivates me. I don't know maybe I need some help on how to approach this album but I think this is one of the worst overblown albums of all time.
Not Rated

on 2009-04-12 Sinist3r Punk Said:

I have tried for months to get into this album but I can't
It bores the crap out of me. I understand that it's supposed to be an artsy album like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon but there is nothing that captivates me. I don't know maybe I need some help on how to approach this album but I think this is one of the worst overblown albums of all time.
Not Rated

Review:

on 2007-01-31 green_clash Said:

Critics and music fans alike have already whored the life out of Radiohead's third album, "Ok Computer". Well, I'm sorry but I'm going to continue whoring this sucker out. Moving away from the killer anthem rock of it's fantastic predecessor, "The Bends", "Ok Computer" is a joyous ride through textured musical landscapes, unprecedented guitar playing, and the heavenly singing of angst and fear. And that isn't even beginning to explain what is inside these masterful songs. My gripe with "The Bends" was that the songs were great, but they were radio hits that got tiresome after a while. The songs on "Ok Computer" are so rich with detail, that on consecutive listens, you will find something else to pay attention to and the end result is usually loving the song even more. The first single off the album, the intricate "Paranoid Android" shows this off perfectly. Also, none of the songs on the album sound alike. They all have a distinct and memorable sound. The word virtuoso comes to mind while listening to this album. It basically screams genius, whether through the unforgettable riffs and solos done by the three guitars, through Thom Yorke's voice, which is one of rock and roll's best, and let's not forget the small things. These small things, like a cello playing the main riff with the guitar on the album's opener "Airbag", are the things that make you come back for another listen. However, though this pains me, this album is not entirely perfect as I put it out to be. The robot spoken word (don't ask) "Fitter Happier", isn't bad, but compared to the addictive "Karma Police" and the fast, guitar slinging action of "Electioneering", it's basically filler. And also, one or two more songs don't deliver as much as the others on the album. But, all these songs are good, they just aren't incredible like the rest of the bunch. I could drone on and on about why "Ok Computer" is not only one of the best albums of the 90's, but also an album that will be engraved in rock history forever, but for your sake and mine, I'll quit by saying that this is a must have album. I will admit, it was tough for me to get into this the first time I had it, but after I listened to "The Bends" this one just clicked.
Rating: 9/10