OK Computer

OK Computer

OK Computer is the third studio album by English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 21 May 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. The members of Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich. The band distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer’s abstract lyrics laid the groundwork for Radiohead’s later, more experimental work.

About OK Computer in brief

Summary OK ComputerOK Computer is the third studio album by English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 21 May 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. The members of Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich. The band distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer’s abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead’s later, more experimental work. The album depicts a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer has been said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. It received critical acclaim and has been cited by listeners, critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums of all time. A remastered version with additional tracks, OKNOTOK 1997 2017, was released in 2017, marking the album’s twentieth anniversary. In 2019, in response to an internet leak, Radiohead released MiniDiscs, comprising over 16 hours of demos, rehearsals, live performances and other material related to OK Computer. In 2014, it was included by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry as \”culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant\”. It was nominated for the Album of the Year and won Best Alternative Music Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards. The songs \”Paranoid Android\”, \”Karma Police\”, \”Lucky\”, and \”No Surprises\” were released as singles.

It has sold at least 7. 8 million units worldwide. It initiated a stylistic shift in British rock away from Britpop toward melancholic, atmospheric alternative rock that became more prevalent in the next decade. Despite lowered sales estimates by EMI, the record reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and soon earned a 5× platinum and double platinum certification by the BPI and RIAA, respectively. It is considered to be Radiohead’s most successful album to date, with sales of more than 7 million units in the UK and the U.S. alone. The group have sold more than 10 million copies of the album worldwide, making it one of their most successful albums ever. They have also been nominated for several Grammys, including Best British Album and Best Alternative Album for OK Computer, and Best British Artist at the Brit Awards. Radiohead have also won two Grammys for the song ‘Lucky’, which was recorded on 4 September 1995, during a charity compilation organised by War Child. The song was recorded in Oxfordshire and Bath between 1996 and early 1997, mostly in the historic mansion St Catherine’s Court. Strings were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, and the band’s guitarist Ed O’Brien estimated that 80 per cent of the record was recorded live. They sought to distance their new material from the introspection style of The Bending.