Tom was right to note that the subject matter and vague reachings towards 'concept' are red herrings. Do you get off on the sonic fun of _OK Computer_ or not? On that level I do, and it's great. I can't agree completely on the late eighties Simple Minds comparison, though -- that bunch were perfectly sculpted (listen to _Street Fighting Years_ -- I DARE YOU), whereas Radiohead were trying to sound perfectly unsculpted, intentionally rough around the edges. Perhaps the same approach via different means, I'll grant.
What I think is interesting about the claim regarding 'pointless distrust of human interaction' -- and that *is* a great line -- is that clearly the lyricist and the person are two different things. An obvious point, but still -- after all, would the figure outlined in the lyrics actually have had a girlfriend for a decade, plus one baby? ;-) One more reason why I don't look for depths where they are overdetermined by others...
As for the Replacements, they're dead. Well, one is.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― matthew james, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
*goes back and look at that Replacements thread*
Pfft. Hey, Mr. Baier, it's called decaf, try it sometime.
I think its about time we just put up the question to end all questions: "Taking Sides: Loveless vs OK Computer vs The Stone Roses vs Nevermind".
*shudder*
― Tim Baier, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The question you are perhaps thinking of is The Plan vs Telekon vs vs I, Assassin vs The Berserker
― mark s, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― james e l, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― bnw, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Otis Wheeler, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Kevin Enas, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Melissa W, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― ethan, Tuesday, 8 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 9 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― joshua l. clements, Friday, 11 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― achilles_last_stand, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Sunday, 13 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― justin case, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I love "OK Computer". It is the favourite album I own. It may not be the best in the world ever ever ever, but I wouldn't know. Done by someone else, better? Not that I've heard but that may be because my knowledge is limited. So I wouldn't know.
I can understand why its not everyone's cup of tea, I do agree with some of the common criticism of the band, their records and their politics.
But I object to people making radical comments that they've convinced themselves into believing just to rebel against the. Lots of people have written that stuff here. Examples? No, sorry, I can't remember them, so you'll have to look for 'em. You'll know them when you see them.
I think I need a lie down...
― Colin Cooper, Thursday, 30 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Julio Desouza, Thursday, 30 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Nate Patrin, Thursday, 30 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
NOOOOO!!!!! Don't listen to Nate!!!
Its Fushitsusha's 'I Saw It! That of which I could only sense...'
Go for that!
― sundar subramanian, Thursday, 30 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Manny Parsons, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
I didn't know that everyone thought this alb was great. If by everyone= media, then they are not 'everyone' are they?
― Julio Desouza, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Dare, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Really? I thought everyone raved about this album. I've only ever found one other person who thought it was so-so. Everyone else I know thinks it's one of the best albums every. I can't, for the life of me, figure out what the hell they're talking about.
― Daniel_Rf, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
The next two keep me more satisfied. I think they are the true classic albums. OKC sounds very passengers to me, and also early floyd. And that last roger waters lp, last march, stand final cut thats it. I think radiohead were lucky that people were looking for an album to be the saviour of rock....
― John, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Why are you being so nice to it?
''Ten to twenty years from now we'll have learned to just appreciate it for the pretty melodies (just like ppl did with "The Wall").''
Not after the avant-garde REVOLUTION is over and done with. We will not be needing 'melodies' any longer hurrah.
― JUlio Desouza, Monday, 1 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Dear God, it may be one of the best albums ever!
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAH!!!!
oops. I need to change my underwear.
― Philip Gomez, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
To the people who badmouthed "OK Computer": Ordinarily, there are reasons why some people like some albums, while not liking other albums; we have different tastes, for whatever underlying reasons. However, "OK Computer" transcends this. This leads me to believe that you are:a) A fool running his/her mouth without having given the album a proper listening.b) A fool trying to be different by slagging off a universally recognized masterpiece.c) A waste of fucking space who shouldn't be posting on any sort of list where people will have to hear your shit ramblings.d) All of the above.
― doesn't matter, Friday, 17 January 2003 22:34 (twenty-one years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 17 January 2003 23:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 17 January 2003 23:29 (twenty-one years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Friday, 17 January 2003 23:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 17 January 2003 23:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 17 January 2003 23:42 (twenty-one years ago) link
― nabisco (nabisco), Saturday, 18 January 2003 00:04 (twenty-one years ago) link
Don't even get me STARTED on how great the Replacements were. Let's just say you had to be there.
― Evan (Evan), Saturday, 18 January 2003 01:09 (twenty-one years ago) link
― nabisco (nabisco), Saturday, 18 January 2003 03:36 (twenty-one years ago) link
― cotton poos, Thursday, 3 June 2004 13:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― Unknown User, Thursday, 3 June 2004 13:33 (nineteen years ago) link
― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 3 June 2004 14:05 (nineteen years ago) link
― HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 3 June 2004 14:06 (nineteen years ago) link
― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 3 June 2004 14:10 (nineteen years ago) link
there are also bass lines that might be the result of nigel/thom cutting things up after the fact - 'airbag' comes to mind as a possibility there. the drums, at least, are heavily edited, and the start/stop bass line sounds like i might have been created using a similar process. however it was made, it's one of my favorite radiohead bass parts
― i will never make a typo ever again (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 18 June 2019 01:51 (four years ago) link
airbag wasn't cut up, it was just Colin left gaps where he hadn't come up with parts yet and intended to finish it later but they ended up happy with it like that
― ufo, Tuesday, 18 June 2019 02:01 (four years ago) link
Ah, that’s cool. On some of the early rehearsals of ‘Airbag’ on the recently leaked minidiscs, it sounds like he was playing his True Love Waits part over the top
― i will never make a typo ever again (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 18 June 2019 02:23 (four years ago) link
excellent: https://thequietus.com/articles/26675-radiohead-minidiscs-hacked-review
― i will never make a typo ever again (Karl Malone), Saturday, 22 June 2019 02:23 (four years ago) link
the kind of brash confidence a band exhibits when it isn’t really confident about the materialthis will stick with me
― but everybody calls me, (lukas), Saturday, 22 June 2019 04:32 (four years ago) link
I liked reading that Quietus piece, but to be honest, what little of this Radiohead content drop I've dug into has revealed that, at least to my ears, it hasn't revealed much. That is to say, it's so all over the place it doesn't give away the secrets to the universe or anything. It reminded me of the U2 sessions that leaked right before Achtung Baby. They're full of all sorts of stuff, from blues jams on up, and one of the few things that paves the way to Achtung Baby, a song or riff they keep coming back to, doesn't even end up on the album. Just an interesting snapshot of a band working things out.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 22 June 2019 12:34 (four years ago) link
yep pretty much. I agree with the reviewer that mostly you're hearing an easier road not taken. A lot of earlier 90s style castaways. I thought the hype about Lift around the "OKNOTOK" reissue was overblown (and I heard and loved Lift from bootlegs in the 90s), all this stuff about not wanting the radio hit. But when you hear the sort of material that would've gone along with an album led by Lift (Attention, Funky Clothes, I Promise too), you know that wasn't just marketing talk.
― maffew12, Saturday, 22 June 2019 15:18 (four years ago) link
xp Yeah the U2 sessions they play bits of in the Achtung Baby documentary.. it's exactly what these sessions remind me of; random bits that you recognise amid the mess, or in the 'wrong place'.
― piscesx, Sunday, 23 June 2019 13:00 (four years ago) link
I wonder how much of this process — "Just an interesting snapshot of a band working things out" — is even that typical any more, given the decentralisation of recording/writing process enabled by laptops.
― in twelve parts (lamonti), Wednesday, 26 June 2019 11:35 (four years ago) link