# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/41 "2004-08-04T06:06:35Z")
I suppose that just says something about Thom Yorke- that he can write a sequence of songs that fit together to the point people will say they’re a concept album even when he insists it isn’t. Good for him that he manages to make good songs out of his anxieties. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/42 "2004-08-05T04:27:30Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > One thing I don’t understand: why was “Karma Police” chosen as the first single rather than “Electioneering”? It seems like the latter would generate a lot more sales. I like **Karma Police** a lot better than **Electioneering**. It’s one of the few Radiohead songs I love. I’ve listened & listened to _OK Computer_…it didn’t click for me. So I let it rest for half a year or so and came back to it (sometimes I click with music after taking a break from it)…it still didn’t connect with me. I like it (and other Radiohead) OK, but it’s definitely not the anywhere near the besot of the '90s for me (the first album that comes to mind for that “award” is Moby’s _Play_. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/43 "2004-08-05T13:50:11Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > It’s nice to hear you kids still refer to them as albums. What else would you call them? I didn’t love “OK Computer,” but it has some great tracks. My top album of the 1990s would have to be “Automatic for the People,” by REM. I guess. Just a fantastic, brilliantly writtena nd produced album with one terrific track after another. Honorable mentions: “Achtung Baby,” U2 “No Code,” Pearl Jam - Some would pick “Vs.” but I preferred this one. “Day for Night,” The Tragically Hip “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” Lauryn Hill “Fear of a Black Planet,” Public Enemy. Give rap a chance, guys. It can rock hard. “Check Your Head,” Beastie Boys ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/44 "2004-08-05T15:40:18Z")
Personally I am largely indifferent to _Radiohead_ but a few months ago my current favourite music critic, Brendan Shanahan, explained why he didn’t even bother going to see them live. [Here](http://www.sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,9353,9443952-28783,00.html) is his column which provided me with a few chuckles. ---
**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 5, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/45 "2004-08-05T21:13:29Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > Personally I am largely indifferent to _Radiohead_ but a few months ago my current favourite music critic, Brendan Shanahan, explained why he didn’t even bother going to see them live. [Here](http://www.sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,9353,9443952-28783,00.html) is his column which provided me with a few chuckles. Answering Brendan’s question: yes, yes he has. ---
**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 6, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/46 "2004-08-06T07:01:47Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > Answering Brendan’s question: yes, yes he has. No, he really hasn’t. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that Radiohead are music’s answer to modern art because they do bear _some_ resemblance to music and have actually produced things worth recognising as songs, but at least as far as OK Computer is concerned he’s pretty much dead on the money. The only thing I’d take issue with is the quote, “they have mistaken […] perplexity for intellectual sophistication”. It’s not perplexity, it’s _com_plexity. Paranoid Android is a bad track mostly because in an attempt to seem clever and sophisticated, it’s been overcomplicated to the point where it no longer works. I simply cannot see how anyone with a vaguely musical brain can compare it to the elegance of tracks like Street Spirit or the focus of Creep and find it superior. It’s like saying The White Album is better than Sergeant Pepper’s - and specifically, that Revolution 9 is better than A Day in the Life. One is a confused, muddled mess masquerading as art; the other is sublime. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/47 "2004-08-06T07:48:37Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > Paranoid Android is a bad track mostly because in an attempt to seem clever and sophisticated, it’s been overcomplicated to the point where it no longer works. I simply cannot see how anyone with a vaguely musical brain can compare it to the elegance of tracks like Street Spirit or the focus of Creep and find it superior. It’s like saying The White Album is better than Sergeant Pepper’s - and specifically, that Revolution 9 is better than A Day in the Life. One is a confused, muddled mess masquerading as art; the other is sublime. The Beatles comparison is apt also because like at least a few Beatles songs, Paranoid Android is a couple of different song parts stitched together - and it sounds like it. I like songs that take me on a bit of a journey, and I like Paranoid Android, but I’m surprised that so many people seem to pick it as their favorite song or Radiohead’s best. It’s a little like picking _Richard III_ as Shakespeare’s best play because it’s the longest. 😉 It can be quite a show-stopper in concert, though. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/48 "2004-08-06T14:25:37Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Erm… I think you may have missed the point of the song… > > [sub]a pig > > in a cage > > on antibiotics[/sub] Jeez, thanks **Ilsa**. I thought I was going to have to be the one to point that out. _Fitter Happier_ a “reminder that I can be better person by just doing some of the little things in life”?? Snort. It does rather make me wonder what he/she thinks the rest of the songs on the album are about. And hey, **NoClueBoy** - what else do people call them if not “albums”? Also, where did the idea that _OK Computer_ was “pretentious” come from? To my mind it fits as a natural progression from _The Bends_ (which I rate just as highly) - still predominantly guitar-based rock, which is what they do best. _Kid A_ is where they started to disappear up their own backsides. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/49 "2004-08-06T16:06:16Z")
> [@NYR407](#): > > I’m not saying that I follow the words line for line. What part of that don’t [b[you\*\* understand? All I was saying is how I take some of the lines from Fitter Happier. I was not taking the whole concept of the words into consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/50 "2004-08-06T19:02:50Z")
> [@NYR407](#): > > All I was saying is how I take some of the lines from Fitter Happier. I was not taking the whole concept of the words into consideration. And all _I_ was saying was I find it ironic that you find inspiration for, say, running and living healthily from a song that is satirising the whole “be a happy, healthy consumer” ethos. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/51 "2004-08-06T23:18:31Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > No, he really hasn’t. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say that Radiohead are music’s answer to modern art because they do bear _some_ resemblance to music and have actually produced things worth recognising as songs, but at least as far as OK Computer is concerned he’s pretty much dead on the money. > > The only thing I’d take issue with is the quote, “they have mistaken […] perplexity for intellectual sophistication”. It’s not perplexity, it’s _com_plexity. Paranoid Android is a bad track mostly because in an attempt to seem clever and sophisticated, it’s been overcomplicated to the point where it no longer works. I simply cannot see how anyone with a vaguely musical brain can compare it to the elegance of tracks like Street Spirit or the focus of Creep and find it superior. It’s like saying The White Album is better than Sergeant Pepper’s - and specifically, that Revolution 9 is better than A Day in the Life. One is a confused, muddled mess masquerading as art; the other is sublime. That’s just like, your opinion, man. _Paranoid Android_ is a great track. _Revolution 9_ is a great track. I like _The Beatles_ more than _Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band_. Different strokes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/52 "2004-08-06T23:52:54Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Also, where did the idea that _OK Computer_ was “pretentious” come from? To my mind it fits as a natural progression from _The Bends_ (which I rate just as highly) - still predominantly guitar-based rock, which is what they do best. _Kid A_ is where they started to disappear up their own backsides. That’s a really good point. _OK Computer_ is more layered and it does have some themes (hence the ‘concept album’ debate), but it’s not THAT different from The Bends in a lot of ways. There’s a progression from _Computer_ to _Kid A_ as well, for that matter, even though it’s a lot less musical. And heck, they’ve been getting comparatively more normal since then. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/53 "2004-08-07T01:49:37Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > Paranoid Android is a bad track mostly because in an attempt to seem clever and sophisticated, it’s been overcomplicated to the point where it no longer works. I simply cannot see how anyone with a vaguely musical brain can compare it to the elegance of tracks like Street Spirit or the focus of Creep and find it superior. I absolutely disagree. “Paranoid Android” is one of my favorite tracks on the album and, to me, is cohesive. It’s a song with various parts, but works together as a whole. I don’t find it at all overcomplicated, or terribly sophisticated. And I do consider myself as having a musical brain as well as decent pop sensibility. The song has great hooks, feeling, and movement. I like “Creep” as well. I think that’s a wonderful pop song, too, but you can’t compare the two to each other. They’re different types of songs. Personally, I prefer “Paranoid Android.” It’s not because it’s more complex, or more difficult, or more arty or any crap like that. Simply put, I find it much more moving. I find _OK Computer_ more moving than _The Bends_. (Although it’s a close race.) It’s a more interesting album, devling into experimentation while still _rocking_. There’s no pretension here. It’s absolutely heartfelt. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/54 "2004-08-07T01:54:55Z")
> [@Evil Death](#): > > I simply cannot see how anyone with a vaguely musical brain can compare it to the elegance of tracks like Street Spirit or the focus of Creep and find it superior. Just cause you can’t see how doesn’t mean it’s not possible, y’know? If you prefer minimalism/simplicity in music, then yeah, you wouldn’t like a track like this. But that doesn’t mean it’s bad–for complexity overdone, see any of the various Dream Theater clones out there, or anything by Spiral Architect. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692/55 "2004-08-07T06:30:44Z")
Ditto. You want pretense and needless technical wizardry and complexity? Dream Theater, not Radiohead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-computer-kicks-ass/257692.md?page=2)