ok computer Radiohead is released in 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. The members of Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequent albums. Other than the song "Lucky", which was recorded in 1995, Radiohead recorded the album in Oxfordshire and Bath between 1996 and early 1997, mostly in the historic mansion St Catherine's Court. The band made a deliberate attempt to distance themselves from the guitar-oriented, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic range of influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.
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Studio album by Radiohead
Released :- 16 June 1997
Recorded :- 4 September 1995 ("Lucky")
July 1996, September 1996 – March 1997
Studio :- Applause
(Didcot, England)
St Catherine's Court
(Bath, England)
Genre :- Alternative rock art
rock
Length :- 53:21
Label :- Parlophone Capitol
Producer :- Nigel Godrich
Radiohead chronology
The Bends ok computer Kid A
(1995) ( 1997) (2000)
Singles from OK Computer
"Paranoid Android"
Released: 26 May 1997
"Karma Police"
Released: 25 August 1997
"Lucky"
Released: December 1997
"No Surprises"
Released: 12 January 1998
"Airbag"
Released: 24 March 1998
OK Computer received widespread critical acclaim and has been cited by listeners, critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums of all time. The album initiated a stylistic shift in British rock away from the then-ubiquitous genre of Britpop toward melancholic, atmospheric alternative rock that became more prevalent in the next decade. The album's lyrics and music depict a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer is often interpreted as having prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life.
Lyrics
The album's lyrics, written by Yorke, are more abstract compared to his personal, emotional lyrics for The Bends. Critic Alex Ross said the lyrics "seemed a mixture of overheard conversations, techno-speak, and fragments of a harsh diary" with "images of riot police at political rallies, anguished lives in tidy suburbs, yuppies freaking out, sympathetic aliens gliding overhead." Recurring themes include transport, technology, insanity, death, modern British life, globalisation and anti-capitalism.Yorke said: "On this album, the outside world became all there was ... I'm just taking Polaroids of things around me moving too fast."He told Q: "It was like there's a secret camera in a room and it's watching the character who walks in—a different character for each song. The camera's not quite me. It's neutral, emotionless. But not emotionless at all. In fact, the very opposite."
Release and promotion
According to Selway, Radiohead's American label Capitol saw the album as "more or less, 'commercial suicide'. They weren't really into it. At that point, we got the fear. How is this going to be received?" According to Yorke, "When we first gave [the album] to Capitol, they were taken aback. I don't really know why it's so important now, but I'm excited about it." Capitol lowered its sales forecast from two million units to a half a million.In O'Brien's view only Parlophone, the band's British label, remained optimistic while global distributors dramatically reduced their sales estimates.
Label representatives were reportedly disappointed with the lack of potential marketable singles, especially the absence of anything resembling Radiohead's early hit "Creep".
Parlophone's advertising campaign was unorthodox. The label took full-page advertisements in high-profile British newspapers and tube stations with lyrics for "Fitter Happier" pitched in large black letters against white backgrounds. The same lyrics, and artwork adapted from the album, were repurposed for shirt designs. Yorke said, "We actively chose to pursue the 'Fitter Happier' thing" to link what a critic called "a coherent set of concerns" between the album artwork and its promotional material. More unconventional merchandise included a floppy disk with Radiohead screensavers and an FM radio in the shape of a desktop computer. In America, Capitol sent 1,000 cassette players to prominent members of the press and music industry, each with a copy of the album permanently glued inside. When asked about the campaign after the album's release, Capitol president Gary Gersh said, "Our job is just to take them as a left-of-center band and bring the center to them. That's our focus, and we won't let up until they're the biggest band in the world."
CLICK HERE More History
Studio album by Radiohead
Released :- 16 June 1997
Recorded :- 4 September 1995 ("Lucky")
July 1996, September 1996 – March 1997
Studio :- Applause
(Didcot, England)
St Catherine's Court
(Bath, England)
Genre :- Alternative rock art
rock
Length :- 53:21
Label :- Parlophone Capitol
Producer :- Nigel Godrich
Radiohead chronology
The Bends ok computer Kid A
(1995) ( 1997) (2000)
Singles from OK Computer
"Paranoid Android"
Released: 26 May 1997
"Karma Police"
Released: 25 August 1997
"Lucky"
Released: December 1997
"No Surprises"
Released: 12 January 1998
"Airbag"
Released: 24 March 1998
OK Computer received widespread critical acclaim and has been cited by listeners, critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums of all time. The album initiated a stylistic shift in British rock away from the then-ubiquitous genre of Britpop toward melancholic, atmospheric alternative rock that became more prevalent in the next decade. The album's lyrics and music depict a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer is often interpreted as having prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life.
Lyrics
The album's lyrics, written by Yorke, are more abstract compared to his personal, emotional lyrics for The Bends. Critic Alex Ross said the lyrics "seemed a mixture of overheard conversations, techno-speak, and fragments of a harsh diary" with "images of riot police at political rallies, anguished lives in tidy suburbs, yuppies freaking out, sympathetic aliens gliding overhead." Recurring themes include transport, technology, insanity, death, modern British life, globalisation and anti-capitalism.Yorke said: "On this album, the outside world became all there was ... I'm just taking Polaroids of things around me moving too fast."He told Q: "It was like there's a secret camera in a room and it's watching the character who walks in—a different character for each song. The camera's not quite me. It's neutral, emotionless. But not emotionless at all. In fact, the very opposite."
Release and promotion
According to Selway, Radiohead's American label Capitol saw the album as "more or less, 'commercial suicide'. They weren't really into it. At that point, we got the fear. How is this going to be received?" According to Yorke, "When we first gave [the album] to Capitol, they were taken aback. I don't really know why it's so important now, but I'm excited about it." Capitol lowered its sales forecast from two million units to a half a million.In O'Brien's view only Parlophone, the band's British label, remained optimistic while global distributors dramatically reduced their sales estimates.
Label representatives were reportedly disappointed with the lack of potential marketable singles, especially the absence of anything resembling Radiohead's early hit "Creep".
Parlophone's advertising campaign was unorthodox. The label took full-page advertisements in high-profile British newspapers and tube stations with lyrics for "Fitter Happier" pitched in large black letters against white backgrounds. The same lyrics, and artwork adapted from the album, were repurposed for shirt designs. Yorke said, "We actively chose to pursue the 'Fitter Happier' thing" to link what a critic called "a coherent set of concerns" between the album artwork and its promotional material. More unconventional merchandise included a floppy disk with Radiohead screensavers and an FM radio in the shape of a desktop computer. In America, Capitol sent 1,000 cassette players to prominent members of the press and music industry, each with a copy of the album permanently glued inside. When asked about the campaign after the album's release, Capitol president Gary Gersh said, "Our job is just to take them as a left-of-center band and bring the center to them. That's our focus, and we won't let up until they're the biggest band in the world."
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