Album of the month - Radiohead OK Computer - May 1997

Posted by Jon Harker on

Released in May 1997, OK Computer is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, marking an experimental departure from their guitar-driven 1995 album The Bends.

Interestingly, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke cites the complex nature of Bitches Brew by Miles Davis as a structural influence for this groundbreaking album by our local legends. 

Yorke's lyrics explore the melancholy effect of technology on humanity, highlighting the inevitable loneliness of the impending digital age - the perfect flipside to the late 90's "feelgood " internet driven economic explosion.

The album features dense, astonishingly well layered soundscapes and complex syncopations that blend rock with electronic experimentation, it is often descibed as being dystopian.

The timing of the record is also significant, by 1997 Britpop's socially positive but musically shallow star was waning and new directions were needed, hence OK Computer stands out as a landmark of intense creativity.

 

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