RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Colin Larkin doesn’t work for Apple Music now, does he?
The Album Review Club - Week #128 - (page 1587) - Pretty Vicious - The Struts
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
I’m surprised that a few of the people who like “Paranoid Android” for its complexity don’t like Rush as well. Rush have far more sosphisticated movements and Thom Yorke must be one of the few vocalists that Geddy Lee is better than :)
BlueHammer85
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 13 Oct 2010
- Messages
- 34,602
Radiohead - OK Computer
Not sure I can add to what’s been said, enjoyed all the positive and negative reviews and this is what the threads all about- I do object to what is considered by most Music polls as one of the greatest albums of all time to getting scores of 1/10, that’s clearly a dig at the popularity of the Album rather than your own perspective- however those who really do dislike this Album have backed up their opinions in a honest and insightful way.
As for me, I bought this as a teen, it hit me differently to the pop/britpop albums that I was growing up with - a bit like the previous nomination Manchester Orchestra, I find beauty in ‘depressing’ whiny indie music and some of this even uplifting, if I could articulate into words like Fog can then I’d love to explain that in more depth - however back to the album - the layered Guitars, mellotron, drum sound, atmosphere and lyrics all blend together so well, it’s haunting in places, each song rolls into the next perfectly and never tires of energy or creativity. I could go on to be fair. It was a joy and bought back nostalgia to hear this all again.
Never cared much for Radiohead after Kid A, seen them twice and wouldn’t bother again. Yet The Bends and OK computer especially are one of my favourite Albums of all time.
Pick of the bunch : Karma Police
Bonus Point: Her Hitler hairdo. Is making me feel ill.
9/10
Not sure I can add to what’s been said, enjoyed all the positive and negative reviews and this is what the threads all about- I do object to what is considered by most Music polls as one of the greatest albums of all time to getting scores of 1/10, that’s clearly a dig at the popularity of the Album rather than your own perspective- however those who really do dislike this Album have backed up their opinions in a honest and insightful way.
As for me, I bought this as a teen, it hit me differently to the pop/britpop albums that I was growing up with - a bit like the previous nomination Manchester Orchestra, I find beauty in ‘depressing’ whiny indie music and some of this even uplifting, if I could articulate into words like Fog can then I’d love to explain that in more depth - however back to the album - the layered Guitars, mellotron, drum sound, atmosphere and lyrics all blend together so well, it’s haunting in places, each song rolls into the next perfectly and never tires of energy or creativity. I could go on to be fair. It was a joy and bought back nostalgia to hear this all again.
Never cared much for Radiohead after Kid A, seen them twice and wouldn’t bother again. Yet The Bends and OK computer especially are one of my favourite Albums of all time.
Pick of the bunch : Karma Police
Bonus Point: Her Hitler hairdo. Is making me feel ill.
9/10
Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2014
- Messages
- 20,851
God only knows is very beautiful and would be in my top half dozen. There is also something about Caroline no that matches it for a sad beauty.
Why do you think they are under appreciated in the US?
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
Ohhh, that's almost too good of an intro into my write-up, so hold that thought!
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
Radiohead – OK Computer
1997 – the backstory…
27 years ago to this day 21 of May, this album was released. I was oblivious to both the album and the band being in my early 30s with other US mainstream rock on my interest list, and new fatherhood occupying my time from the prior year. Foo Fighters, DMB (sorry Foggy), +Live+, Pearl Jam, Rush’s recent return to form in the mid-90’s, and wondering when U2 would do the same (it would take another 4 years) - those were foremost on my musical mind. As @threespires noted, it was a few years before Napster, so I was still buying CDs from the BMG monthly magazines and wondering what really the limit to aliases was that the US Postal service would allow. Each month I’d see that crazy album cover with the CPR mannequin on the front with song titles such as “My Iron Lung”, “Fake Plastic Trees”, and “Planet Telex” and say, “WTH is THAT album doing amongst all these other rock albums, and what is going on THERE??” You have to understand, except for college FM radio (I was well out of) which was extreme hit or miss in song selections, and before the advent of alternative radio (it was mostly all US grunge or “classic” rock back then), there was zero, zippo, nada Radiohead being heard on FM radio where I was. This The Bends album kept being pimped each and every month, and I simply just didn’t get it. By mid-year 1997, look – there was ANOTHER one? OK Computer? Are you kidding me? What is going on with these guys? I was perplexed, but Nevermind, I had other artists I was regularly hearing on US FM Rock radio and seeing in concert that I had to get first.
Fast forward to 2004…
By this time, mp3 filesharing was going on in full force, and I had moved on to new ways of sampling both new music and other albums I had missed out on during the years with a growing family and other priorities. Approaching my 40’s, according to my (OK) computer file date, back on Feb 2 I downloaded this album. I had heard a bit of them by now, but it was time for a proper listen to see what was going on, and I was immediately blown away.
“Airbag” – inspired by a car crash Thom was in years prior, this song is about the euphoria of surviving something as such where technology played a major part in that being possible. I actually think the drum loop and overall sound of this song was unique and the music has the type of gloomy sound that overshadows the theme that starts this off. The moment to me: when those guitars come in at 1:33, and even bigger at 2:24.
“Paranoid Android” – as @Bill Walker has said much better than I ever could – this is about the music and the tempo changes. I’m not a musician, but when I heard this for the first time, I could tell how unique musically it was. Then midway through, we first hear the android’s spoken word for the first time on the album (“I may be paranoid but not an android“), and you know this is track is different and not going to be “The Bends 2”. To this day, this song sets the tone on the album for me and musically was an accomplishment I had just not heard before. 4 songs in one, the moment to me is: 3:37 for the start of the “Rain Down” segment. Just a beautiful transition.
“Subterranean Homesick Alien” – the title a nod to Dylan’s similar titled song, this one attempts the atmosphere of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. The lyrics are more fantasy here, but again, it’s the electric keyboard sound on this track that really separates this from the guitar dominated The Bends. The moment for me: 2:39 in as that guitar comes in to overlay the existing song that was dreamingly progressing along prior.
"Exit Music (For a Film)" – the title is exactly what this is, an atmospheric song originally slated for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet movie. This song captures the mood of such exactly what it sets out to do. It’s nothing more, and it’s just a downright spooky and eerie song. The Mellotron choir and other electronic voices heard throughout the track just give it the atmosphere it was trying for. I’d peg this normally for the closer on an album, but it’s not even the end of the album side. The moment for me: 2:18 in as the electronic voices enter the backdrop right before the distorted bass run through a fuzz pedal enters at 2:50.
“Let Down” – about the feeling and fear of being confined on public transit. Another song where Jonny Greenwood’s guitars make this in being played in a different time signature from the other instruments. The moment for me: 3:47 with the harmonized vocals coming in on the main ones. I really enjoy that in the song.
“Karma Police – a song about revolting to those in middle management of a big company, this one has always impressed me musically, with a fantastic piano and acoustic guitar start. It’s haunting mood, I think it more than most captures the essence of this album. The moment for me: 3:36 into the song where the electric guitar overlays the acoustic guitar and piano to take the song out.
“Fitter Happier” – why IS this song on the album? The synthesised voice from the Mac in spoken word first appears on Paranoid Android, but are manifested here with the hum of a world buzzing with words and slogans. This song is just a function of the overall theme of the album itself. It was out there at the time, and a track that delivers on the overall mood in a short segment.
“Electioneering” – the song that has it all, including “More Cowbell!”, this was one of the first songs recorded, and to me is the most akin to The Bends as a straightforward sizzling distorted guitar song. The song inspired by Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent, it more deals with the life of touring in a band performing the constant meet and greets, or as the song title conveys. The moment for me: the whole song simply rocks, but I’ll take 2:51 after the pause.
“Climbing Up the Walls” – a bit maligned here, and sometimes described as the song to skip over, it's truly chaos and creepy as the title conveys. It was inspired by Yorke’s work in as an orderly in a mental hospital. In this song, it’s that sound with the multitude of noises, steady distorted and hollow drumbeat, and the layered strings and guitars that set it apart as something that always impressed me for its uniqueness and boldness to simply record. The moment to me: 3:08 into that blistering guitar solo.
“No Surprises” – more like a sound of a nursery rhyme gone melancholy, the glockenspiel is prominently featured in this song. One of the first songs initially recorded while on tour with R.E.M., this song is intentionally placed on the album as a soother to the prior track. The moment to me: 2:56 into the harmonized vocals that carry the song to the end.
“Lucky” – initially recorded and released in 1995 for The Help Album, which was a charity album to raise funds to aid war-stricken areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time. This track as one of the first ones recorded, set the tone for what OK Computer would become. It is really a stellar song and one of my favourites of theirs. I’d say this one also sounds more like the songs from The Bends than others given when it was recorded and put together. The song is about a man surviving an aeroplane crash, and again harken back to Yorke's overall anxiety about transportation. The three-piece guitar arrangement heard here from Ed O’Brien’s experimentation is amazing. The moment for me: really tough as there’s a few parts for me, but I’ll go with “a glorious day!” vocal delivery at 2:24 and guitar tempo change at 3:13 to build up into the climatic finale.
“The Tourist” – a fantastic closer and the slow bluesy pace to match the lyrics cannot be understated. It’s a song inspired by Yorke witnessing American tourists in France moving frantically just to see and experience everything. “Hey man, slow down” just says it all so well directed to title character of this song. The song is the antithesis of the album up to that point, of the layered music, sounds, and songs prior that have a totally separate mood from this. You have to nail the closer, and this to me does. The moment: both the guitars coming in at 3:49, and the final sound of the small bell, just a nice touch to end things, and for some here, their favourite moment letting them know the album has ended.
To summarize, this album has influenced me musically more than most other albums I have heard have. That wasn’t due to critics, music magazines, or massive media overload of this band. In fact, this album wasn’t something I even heard for years after it came out, but when I did, it was the same Genesis quote I had prepared for this that @GornikDaze noted on “I know what I like”.
The lyrics less so, but it’s the overall mood in this album that struck me unlike others I had heard prior that has stayed with me. The highest I have scored an album was last fall’s Ten from Pearl Jam at 9.1, an homage to the year it came out. I’m doing the same homage for this album from Radiohead, as I do like it a bit more than Ten, and I’ll deduct 0.5 for the lyrics, so it’s a 9.2/10 for me.
(We’re now 30 pages in on this album in 6 days and lots of new, former, and current posters discussion on it. That’s a good thing. Tbh, when I first found this thread last 30 September, I was not anticipating the various… um, *strong* opinions I’ve seen on this particular “R” band. That did take me back a bit, but I have played along. Maybe it is Yorke’s EPL team (and I know…)? Good thing I liked and found Doves first, eh?
“With (our) opinion which is of no consequence at all.” I do owe a thanks to @RobMCFC for the Editor’s Choice assist, though I have every confidence @BlueHammer85 was ready and willing to give it a go. This way, we all get to vote, and there's nothing wrong with that.)
1997 – the backstory…
27 years ago to this day 21 of May, this album was released. I was oblivious to both the album and the band being in my early 30s with other US mainstream rock on my interest list, and new fatherhood occupying my time from the prior year. Foo Fighters, DMB (sorry Foggy), +Live+, Pearl Jam, Rush’s recent return to form in the mid-90’s, and wondering when U2 would do the same (it would take another 4 years) - those were foremost on my musical mind. As @threespires noted, it was a few years before Napster, so I was still buying CDs from the BMG monthly magazines and wondering what really the limit to aliases was that the US Postal service would allow. Each month I’d see that crazy album cover with the CPR mannequin on the front with song titles such as “My Iron Lung”, “Fake Plastic Trees”, and “Planet Telex” and say, “WTH is THAT album doing amongst all these other rock albums, and what is going on THERE??” You have to understand, except for college FM radio (I was well out of) which was extreme hit or miss in song selections, and before the advent of alternative radio (it was mostly all US grunge or “classic” rock back then), there was zero, zippo, nada Radiohead being heard on FM radio where I was. This The Bends album kept being pimped each and every month, and I simply just didn’t get it. By mid-year 1997, look – there was ANOTHER one? OK Computer? Are you kidding me? What is going on with these guys? I was perplexed, but Nevermind, I had other artists I was regularly hearing on US FM Rock radio and seeing in concert that I had to get first.
Fast forward to 2004…
By this time, mp3 filesharing was going on in full force, and I had moved on to new ways of sampling both new music and other albums I had missed out on during the years with a growing family and other priorities. Approaching my 40’s, according to my (OK) computer file date, back on Feb 2 I downloaded this album. I had heard a bit of them by now, but it was time for a proper listen to see what was going on, and I was immediately blown away.
“Airbag” – inspired by a car crash Thom was in years prior, this song is about the euphoria of surviving something as such where technology played a major part in that being possible. I actually think the drum loop and overall sound of this song was unique and the music has the type of gloomy sound that overshadows the theme that starts this off. The moment to me: when those guitars come in at 1:33, and even bigger at 2:24.
“Paranoid Android” – as @Bill Walker has said much better than I ever could – this is about the music and the tempo changes. I’m not a musician, but when I heard this for the first time, I could tell how unique musically it was. Then midway through, we first hear the android’s spoken word for the first time on the album (“I may be paranoid but not an android“), and you know this is track is different and not going to be “The Bends 2”. To this day, this song sets the tone on the album for me and musically was an accomplishment I had just not heard before. 4 songs in one, the moment to me is: 3:37 for the start of the “Rain Down” segment. Just a beautiful transition.
“Subterranean Homesick Alien” – the title a nod to Dylan’s similar titled song, this one attempts the atmosphere of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. The lyrics are more fantasy here, but again, it’s the electric keyboard sound on this track that really separates this from the guitar dominated The Bends. The moment for me: 2:39 in as that guitar comes in to overlay the existing song that was dreamingly progressing along prior.
"Exit Music (For a Film)" – the title is exactly what this is, an atmospheric song originally slated for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet movie. This song captures the mood of such exactly what it sets out to do. It’s nothing more, and it’s just a downright spooky and eerie song. The Mellotron choir and other electronic voices heard throughout the track just give it the atmosphere it was trying for. I’d peg this normally for the closer on an album, but it’s not even the end of the album side. The moment for me: 2:18 in as the electronic voices enter the backdrop right before the distorted bass run through a fuzz pedal enters at 2:50.
“Let Down” – about the feeling and fear of being confined on public transit. Another song where Jonny Greenwood’s guitars make this in being played in a different time signature from the other instruments. The moment for me: 3:47 with the harmonized vocals coming in on the main ones. I really enjoy that in the song.
“Karma Police – a song about revolting to those in middle management of a big company, this one has always impressed me musically, with a fantastic piano and acoustic guitar start. It’s haunting mood, I think it more than most captures the essence of this album. The moment for me: 3:36 into the song where the electric guitar overlays the acoustic guitar and piano to take the song out.
“Fitter Happier” – why IS this song on the album? The synthesised voice from the Mac in spoken word first appears on Paranoid Android, but are manifested here with the hum of a world buzzing with words and slogans. This song is just a function of the overall theme of the album itself. It was out there at the time, and a track that delivers on the overall mood in a short segment.
“Electioneering” – the song that has it all, including “More Cowbell!”, this was one of the first songs recorded, and to me is the most akin to The Bends as a straightforward sizzling distorted guitar song. The song inspired by Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent, it more deals with the life of touring in a band performing the constant meet and greets, or as the song title conveys. The moment for me: the whole song simply rocks, but I’ll take 2:51 after the pause.
“Climbing Up the Walls” – a bit maligned here, and sometimes described as the song to skip over, it's truly chaos and creepy as the title conveys. It was inspired by Yorke’s work in as an orderly in a mental hospital. In this song, it’s that sound with the multitude of noises, steady distorted and hollow drumbeat, and the layered strings and guitars that set it apart as something that always impressed me for its uniqueness and boldness to simply record. The moment to me: 3:08 into that blistering guitar solo.
“No Surprises” – more like a sound of a nursery rhyme gone melancholy, the glockenspiel is prominently featured in this song. One of the first songs initially recorded while on tour with R.E.M., this song is intentionally placed on the album as a soother to the prior track. The moment to me: 2:56 into the harmonized vocals that carry the song to the end.
“Lucky” – initially recorded and released in 1995 for The Help Album, which was a charity album to raise funds to aid war-stricken areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina at that time. This track as one of the first ones recorded, set the tone for what OK Computer would become. It is really a stellar song and one of my favourites of theirs. I’d say this one also sounds more like the songs from The Bends than others given when it was recorded and put together. The song is about a man surviving an aeroplane crash, and again harken back to Yorke's overall anxiety about transportation. The three-piece guitar arrangement heard here from Ed O’Brien’s experimentation is amazing. The moment for me: really tough as there’s a few parts for me, but I’ll go with “a glorious day!” vocal delivery at 2:24 and guitar tempo change at 3:13 to build up into the climatic finale.
“The Tourist” – a fantastic closer and the slow bluesy pace to match the lyrics cannot be understated. It’s a song inspired by Yorke witnessing American tourists in France moving frantically just to see and experience everything. “Hey man, slow down” just says it all so well directed to title character of this song. The song is the antithesis of the album up to that point, of the layered music, sounds, and songs prior that have a totally separate mood from this. You have to nail the closer, and this to me does. The moment: both the guitars coming in at 3:49, and the final sound of the small bell, just a nice touch to end things, and for some here, their favourite moment letting them know the album has ended.
To summarize, this album has influenced me musically more than most other albums I have heard have. That wasn’t due to critics, music magazines, or massive media overload of this band. In fact, this album wasn’t something I even heard for years after it came out, but when I did, it was the same Genesis quote I had prepared for this that @GornikDaze noted on “I know what I like”.
The lyrics less so, but it’s the overall mood in this album that struck me unlike others I had heard prior that has stayed with me. The highest I have scored an album was last fall’s Ten from Pearl Jam at 9.1, an homage to the year it came out. I’m doing the same homage for this album from Radiohead, as I do like it a bit more than Ten, and I’ll deduct 0.5 for the lyrics, so it’s a 9.2/10 for me.
(We’re now 30 pages in on this album in 6 days and lots of new, former, and current posters discussion on it. That’s a good thing. Tbh, when I first found this thread last 30 September, I was not anticipating the various… um, *strong* opinions I’ve seen on this particular “R” band. That did take me back a bit, but I have played along. Maybe it is Yorke’s EPL team (and I know…)? Good thing I liked and found Doves first, eh?
“With (our) opinion which is of no consequence at all.” I do owe a thanks to @RobMCFC for the Editor’s Choice assist, though I have every confidence @BlueHammer85 was ready and willing to give it a go. This way, we all get to vote, and there's nothing wrong with that.)
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FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
Think about NYC, or imagine, say, Atlanta or Nashville in the 60s. Not exactly fertile territory for surf music. Escapist but perceived as a fad I think — and then The Beatles came, took over the universe like the Roman legions, and nothing else mattered. Then psychedelia happened — and San Francisco was in vogue. By the time The Beatles broke up the damage was done and easy listening and British “hard rock” were in. By that time The Beach Boys were vestiges of a bygone era or perceived as such.
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southamptonblue
Well-Known Member
How very dare you mention Rush, and this pompous dirge in the same sentence! ;)
FogBlueInSanFran
Well-Known Member
They're both pompous but one is a dirge and the other is fucking fireworks, baby! :)
Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 27 Jan 2014
- Messages
- 20,851
I mentioned I had created a playlist of the best 20 albums from this thread to dazzle my fishing friends with my ultra cool musical sophistication. When Rush came on and Geddy Lee started singing, everyone fell about laughing. I had to put JJ Cale on to calm the buggers down.
Just saying.