# OK Computer Kicks. ASS. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692 "2004-07-31T02:50:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/1 "2004-07-31T02:50:45Z")
That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/2 "2004-07-31T02:56:38Z")
The Radiohead album, that is; lest there be any confusion. This thread is intended to foster discussion on said album. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/3 "2004-07-31T13:22:35Z")
It’s my favorite of all the Radiohead albums. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/4 "2004-07-31T16:54:32Z")
I’d have to say it’s my favorite, too. As soon as I hear those opening notes I melt inside. Do you all skip over _Fitter Happier_, too? ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/5 "2004-07-31T17:03:32Z")
Fitter Happier was neat the first time around. I had to find the lyrics online. Now I just skip it. It’s a great CD, but each Radiohead album is so different that it’s hard to compare them really…OK Computer is a classic, but so is Kid A. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/6 "2004-07-31T21:44:47Z")
Yeah, I usually skip that too. _Karma Police_ and _Electioneering_ are both so excellent that almost any track between them would suffer by comparison,and _Fitter Happier_ isn’t even really a song, so it’s a bit jarring. There aren’t any songs on there that suck, but those two are my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/7 "2004-08-01T01:03:25Z")
I love Fitter Happier. I have it at the end of my MP3 playlist when I go running. FYI, National Anthem and Idioteque (Live version) are great running songs. It serves as a bit of reminder that I can be better person by just doing some of the little things in life. I’m not saying that I follow the words line for line and pray to Thom Yorke but you get the drift. Calm, fitter, happier and more productive Not drinking too much…and I do enjoy a drink (or four) now and then Regular excercise at the gym…three days a week I try to be kind to all animals although I have washed spiders down the drain from time to time a patient better driver (not easy in NYC) I also think that it serves as a great breaking point in the Album. IMO skipping over it defeats the way they intend you to listen to the album. Many albums are better played through from begining to end and OK Computer is definately one of them. Hell, most of Radiohead’s albums are better listend to that way. Except for maybe Pablo Honey. BTW I am sure there are numerous threads on this album around here already and I may have posted a similar response months or years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/8 "2004-08-01T07:51:29Z")
Let Down may be, IMHO, the greatest song of all time. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/9 "2004-08-01T08:00:49Z")
Well, I’ll be the dissenting voice here. The Bends is one of my all-time favourite albums, but I’m really beginning to find most of OK Computer unlistenable. It’s just so _whiney_. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/10 "2004-08-01T08:15:08Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > Well, I’ll be the dissenting voice here. The Bends is one of my all-time favourite albums, but I’m really beginning to find most of OK Computer unlistenable. It’s just so _whiney_. OK Computer is one of the most overrated albums ever made; there isn’t a single track that I can even listen to, let alone like. It’s the pretentious musical masturbations of a whining middle-class twat, yet for some unknown reason people idolise it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/11 "2004-08-01T08:21:23Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > OK Computer is one of the most overrated albums ever made; there isn’t a single track that I can even listen to, let alone like. It’s the pretentious musical masturbations of a whining middle-class twat, yet for some unknown reason people idolise it. Well, it MUST be pretentious whining if you don’t like it. :rolleyes: Maybe it’s a well-made album, or maybe the fact that you aren’t into says something about you instead of the album. Funny thing about Let Down: for a long time it was the one song on the album I didn’t like, but it won me over eventually. It’s very catchy and very well-arranged. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/12 "2004-08-01T14:43:15Z")
It’s nice to hear you kids still refer to them as albums. [sniff] makes me proud [wipes away tear] ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/13 "2004-08-01T15:00:58Z")
There are a few albums that nip at the heels of _OK Computer_ for best album of the 1990s\*, but there is no question that “Paranoid Android” is the best track laid down in the 1990s. - _Odelay_ by Beck, _Flood_ by TMBG, _In the Aeroplane Over the Sea_ by Neutral Milk Hotel, just to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/14 "2004-08-01T19:25:09Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > OK Computer is one of the most overrated albums ever made; there isn’t a single track that I can even listen to, let alone like. It’s the pretentious musical masturbations of a whining middle-class twat, yet for some unknown reason people idolise it. Then have fun listening to your simplistic Yellowcard, Blink 182, etc. Sorry, I like music that clearly shows that the people making it have a little thing called talent. Oh, and if you want to talk about pretentious, you’ve got the wrong band pegged my friend. Radiohead’s music doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult to play. The greatness comes from the way the music is structured, the way the melodies are interwoven and layered. Bands like Dream Theater on the other hand, who’s drummer has about 30,000 drums that are just unnecessary, and every song is about showing off how amazing they are at their instruments, even if that means sacrificing the quality of the song as a whole, are an example of what could be called pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/15 "2004-08-01T19:37:50Z")
I absolutely love OK Computer. Every single track, including “Fitter, Happier”. One of my favorites is “No Surprises”. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/16 "2004-08-01T20:06:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Well, it MUST be pretentious whining if you don’t like it. :rolleyes: Maybe it’s a well-made album, or maybe the fact that you aren’t into says something about you instead of the album. Thank you for proving my point. Suggesting that the audience are at fault if they do not appreciate the art is the very soul of pretentiousness. > [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > Then have fun listening to your simplistic Yellowcard, Blink 182, etc. So because I don’t like Radiohead you automatically assume that I must like chart pap? That’s asinine, Monkey. In truth I have very little in the way of “popular” music. I have a goodly collection of music from all other genres, though, and I know talent when I hear it. Oh, and by implying that “simplistic” and “good” are separate, you too have helped prove that Radiohead fans are pretentious tossers. I’m sure the other, more sensible fans in this thread will be proud to be associated with you. (And before either of you two fine specimens dare to reply, consider that all you could muster in your album’s defence was an ad hominem attack on me for criticising it. Actual refutation was evidently beyond you.) DoctorJ: Best track of the 90s, without question? _I_ have a question - specifically, what the hell are you comparing it to and on what basis? Paranoid Android isn’t even the best _Radiohead_ track of the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/17 "2004-08-01T21:35:13Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > Thank you for proving my point. Suggesting that the audience are at fault if they do not appreciate the art is the very soul of pretentiousness. I had a feeling you’d misinterpret that. What I meant was this: if you don’t like a piece of music, it doesn’t mean it sucks, it means it’s not to your taste. It was not a comment specific to you, Radiohead, OK Computer, or anything else. > [@](#): > > (And before either of you two fine specimens dare to reply, consider that all you could muster in your album’s defence was an ad hominem attack on me for criticising it. Actual refutation was evidently beyond you.) Pal, as I said, that’s not what I did. And if you don’t like the insults, why would you come into a thread where people are talking about an album they like and go off about how much it sucks? (Also, I think Oxford is a working-class town.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/18 "2004-08-01T21:39:45Z")
So in summary, I’m sorry I didn’t oblige you and say “it is SOOO good!” :rolleyes: Nobody’s going to convince you anyway, so there’s no point in arguing. Are you enjoying your hijack? ---
**Author:** ![dry\_gear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@dry\_gear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dry_gear)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/19 "2004-08-01T21:53:04Z")
I think I should give it another listen. I love Let Down. The “I go backwards/you go forwards” song reminds me of The Smiths for some reason. I think I’m one of the few people who like Pablo Honey though. I love the song Stop Whispering. ---
**Author:** ![tomfrim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@tomfrim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomfrim)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/20 "2004-08-01T21:56:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > (Also, I think Oxford is a working-class town.) Hardly. It is the home of a very fine university which is well-known for its predominantly upper-class population. Thom Yorke (like the rest of Radiohead, I believe) was privately educated, and is indeed middle-class. However, this doesn’t invalidate the brilliance of Radiohead’s music; their social status is too often brought up in ‘criticism’ of the band, which is very feeble indeed. This comes from a working-class English girl, by the way… 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692.md?page=2)