FITTER. HAPPIER. MORE PRODUCTIVE.

***

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 AUTOR: ZELJIĆ PAVLE, III godina - Gimnazija “Vuk Karadžić” Loznica

MENTOR: KOVAČEVIĆ MIRJANA, profesor engleskog jezika

Regionalni Centar za Talente - Loznica

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 SUMMARY

P erhaps I’ve been wrong to downplay and underrate Radiohead’s body of work for such
a long time. Though they are quite mainstream[1], their music, I believe, has an
experimental, even eclectic side to it, that is unmatched in modern rock and could be
compared to The Beatles’ more influential records.[2] Their third effort - OK Computer - got
its title from “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” quote[3], though the problems it attempts
to present are based in the here and now rather than the distant future: economic (and
existential) crises; alienation; unjustified, imperialist wars.
Simply put, it is a chronicle of late 20th and early 21st century life, viewed through a very
distorted, blurred lens; the album is, furthermore, a concept album, but only vaguely so.[4] The
simultaneously rich and scant artwork compliments this idea well, by showing everyday
situations very awkwardly, mysteriously. The people shown are either mere silhouettes, or
drawings from brochures, instruction manuals and such. It is as if a person had learned about
humans only through commercials, ads and the occasional television show. We are thrust into
this strange world filled with advice, orders and little, so very little fun. And Thom Yorke and
co. had certainly matured since their sophomore album, The Bends, which had been
genre-bending and touching on its own.[5] When a young Thom exlcaims “I wanna live,
breathe / I wanna be part of the human race” on the title track from The Bends, it is not hard
to tell (at least in retrospect) that they, even then, had been onto something good. But OK
Computer truly is one of the most - if not the most - important albums of the 90s, right next to
Nirvana’s Nevermind, and the emergence of new, never before heard waves in punk and metal
music. It is encyclopedic in its scope, though it is under an hour long.
One could say that this also suits the general mindset of the new millennium, where all
the people are but a click apart, yet are ever so lonely. The album’s intricate musicianship and
abstract lyrics paved the way for their later albums - which were stylistically more developed,
but not as vaguely prescient as OK Computer - and some other bands who borrowed from
their artsy sound.

ABSTRACT

F rom the very first note on the album - the disorienting intro to the track Airbag - the
listener is quite literally sucked into a new kind of era. The instruments swirl and dance
in a spiral manner, and we are not sure whether to be in awe or terrified. The remainder
of the album is a modern Odyssey; the narrators’ moods meandering between utterly
devastated and ecstatic, occasionally in one song. Electronic sounds, tape loops, versatile
instrumentation and soaring vocals - or screams - portray many aspects of modern life.
The main idea, apparently, would be that modern life is overwhelming. But it can, at the
same time, be tiresome and samely. In either case, it is hard to deal with, and there is often
nothing we can do about it. Our screens flash and preachers tell us how amazingly everything
is going, how the economy is booming and further progress is imminent. This mirrors
Orwell’s classic 1984, a novel that they referenced in their later albums.[6]

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 In the same manner the sound and moods shift often, so do the themes of the songs, but
what gives this album coherence is a mature, well-developed style and unique, abstract
lyricism which seldom fails to reference loneliness or desperation, from various viewpoints.
There is, as in every great work of art, a certain sense of universality that all can identify
with, and it goes without saying that this is what has made OK Computer such an
unforgettable, gripping musical experience.

KEY WORDS: OK Computer; album; modern life; universality

APSTRAKT

O d prve note albuma - i dezorjentišućeg početka pesme “Airbag” - slušalac u pravom

smislu reči biva usisan u jedno potpuno novo doba. Zbog poigravanja i uvijanja
zvukova instrumenata, prosto nismo sigurni da li da budemo zapanjeni ili preplašeni. I
ostatak albuma je jedna savremena Odiseja; osećanja naratora meandriraju između
rastrojenosti i iznevernosti, ponekad u jednoj pesmi. Električni zvuci, luping kaseta,
raznovrsni instrmenti i nadmoćni vokali, ili uzvici, pokazuju mnoge aspekte modernog života.
Glavna je ideja, čini se, da taj život nadvladava svakog. Ali u isto vreme, ume biti
zamoran i monoton. U svakom slučaju, teško ga je ponekad podnositi, a ništa ne možemo
učiniti zbog toga. Na ekranima blješte propovednici koji govore kako stvari idu fantastično,
kako ekonomija cveta, a dalji napredak je neizbežan. Ovo je blisko Orvelovom klasiku
“1984”, na koji su se pozivali i u kasnijim albumima.[6]
Na isti način na koji zvuk i raspoloženja često umeju, menjaju se i teme pesama, ali ono
što daje koherentnost albumu je zreo, dobro razvijen stil i jedinstvena, apstraktna poetika
tekstova.
Postoji, kao u svakom velikom umetničkom delu, izvesna univerzalnost sa kojom se svi
mogu poistovetiti, i samim tim se razume da je to ono što čini OK Computer tako
nezaboravnim muzičkim iskustvom koje iziskuje pažnju.

KLJUČNE REČI: OK Computer; album; savremeni život; univerzalnost

INTRODUCTION

T he direction Radiohead were taking with

their art follows a decades-long tradition[7]
started off by the avant-garde artists of the
late 19th and the early 20th century, who were, in
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turn, inspired by a materialistic, existentialist outlook of the world. Science and technology
boomed during this period, especially in the 20th century, and this spurred an entirely new and
different kind of reaction to the state and consciousness of society - existentialism,which, with
the help of science, essentially proved that we are no more than matter and fluctuating energy,
or that existence precedes essence.
The horrors of the Great War and the Second World War, institutionalised racism in
many of the greatest countries of the world, all of this, combined with the Great Depression,
gave rise to the creation of highly pessimistic art, at first collectively called “modernist”. [8]
This modernism did not show incentive to part with moral absolutism entirely (a rivalry of
sorts is still present between relativists and absolutists[9]), and some thinkers, such a Jacques
Derrida or Michel Foucault founded a new movement, post-modernism. Post-modernism
“Such a Nice House” - Stanley Donwood
could be said to be completely anarchistic in its tendencies.[10]
And this looming existential dread did not cease to be, but was merely coddled by the
consumerist way of life and mode of production of the late 20th century. Resources are limited,
especially “human resources”, and if everyday life cannot be fulfilling for any longer, then
everything turns meaningless and void. And, this is where Radiohead shines the brightest.
They captured the zeitgeist of their time, and our time, with much success. There is much
hope, but very little to hold onto.[11]

AIRBAG - AN ODE TO INSECURITY

Image 1 - Scan of the official lyrics booklet - Airbag

When one plays the record for the first time, they are most likely to be bedazzled by the
chaotic, even hypnotising, distorted dual-guitar riff at its very beginning. The lyrics of the
song are bare, but very potent, with a manic sort of feeling to them, which makes sense
because they tell a story from the viewpoint of a person who survived a car accident. This
inanimate object proved to be a better friend in need than people.

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 And furthermore, after this crash, the narrator feels elated; he gains a new appreciation
for life[12], and he finds that whether he’ll retain his happiness is entirely up to him. After this
modern resurrection, the person is ready to take on anything the world throws at him. Even
the next world war. The drums and bass give the song an escalated feeling of excitement, and
a strange, claustrophobic ambience. Interestingly, the “innocent” are alternatively the ones
who are “completely terrified” - by the government, most likely, and by the world around
them; and the person, no matter how special he might feel after facing death, is forced to
rejoin society and become one of many again.
The main songwriter and frontman of Radiohead, Thom Yorke, has a fear of cars due to a
car accident he had with his girlfriend when he was young.[13] This phobia becomes a
universal symbol of insecurity and necessary evil. We cannot live without cars, we haven’t
been able to for decades now, but they are, nevertheless, still dangerous.
The last song on the album, The Tourist, is an ethereal, airy, and magnificent track, which
contrasts the first one in sound, and compliments it in meaning: it’s about traffic rushing
unnecessarily quickly, and the aftermath is actually the first song on the album, Airbag.

PARANOID ANDROID - THE IDIOSYNCRATIC NATIONAL ANTHEM

This song could be called the Bohemian Rhapsody of the 90s. It is to date their longest
song, at almost seven minutes long, and it features multiple different, stylistically diverse
sections. The over-arching theme seems to be revolt of the lower class, but this is only alluded
to, and the song covers some other subjects too. It is, nonetheless, harsh critique of
primarily capitalism, with lyrics such as “ambition makes you look pretty ugly”, which
obviously references the theory called social Darwinism. This theory states that Darwin’s
thesis that only the fittest can, and therefore should survive. It is natural selection applied to
society, and is for obvious reasons cruel. And, although it is considered that this sort of
overly-competitive behavior is human nature, that absolutely does not have to be true in many
cases.[14]
The songs on this album are often inspired by memories and such, further abstracted and
generalised to have a more universal meaning; such is the case with this song. At one point, a
semi-cryptic series of notes popped up on the band’s website. The one pertaining to Paranoid
Android said: “in a bar in hollywood* the centre of the western universe, standing at the bar
(social drinking) after doing the talk show bit. do you want to know this? this is what we
aspire to is it? it is dark, there is a woman opposite me
o is as sociably anorexic as her poodle, she looks
desolate in her make up and lost eyes, next to her her
husband boyfriend is persuading a younger fleshed half
his age stewardess to come back to the hills to their
mansion to sample his wine. she looks t him like he's a
character in a hammer house horror. one of our friends
spills a glass of wine over a vacuum packed gucci outfit

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complete with matching white hand bag. the witch goes crazy, we think it is fuunny. until we
see the evil in her eyes. m friend is asked to leave. the gucci creature is the closest thing i
have seen to the devil. the woman is possessed. i cannot sleep that night asking what we've got
our selves into. voices talking like fax machines, hissing and spitting like demons, this is the
master race. and now im part of it. anyway you didnt want to know that. [SIC]”
The following line - “kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggy” - is a common representation
of wealthy, especially corrupt, people, made famous by Vladimir Mayakovsky, a Soviet poet
and artist who drew the bourgeoisie (ie. the class enemies) as pigs in Soviet posters.
The narrator also asks for salvation near the end of the song. It is a prayer of sorts; he, the
oppressed android, begs for rain to come down and absolve him, but the world nevertheless
keeps on spinning, the yuppies [are] networking. The last line is a very cynical, bitter one,
albeit it gives us a hint about
whether things got better or not:
“god loves his children, yeah”. It
is followed by a ruthless,
gut-wrenching guitar solo, which
gives a loud, memorable closure to
this behemoth of a track.
It is the first single of the
album, and rightly so, because it is
challenging, massive and relentless.
The song started out as three short,
separate parts; then, they got the
idea to put them together - as John Lennon did with his song Happiness is a Warm Gun.[15]
Image 3 - Scan from the official lyrics booklet - Paranoid Android

LET DOWN - KAFKA-ESQUE AND GROTESQUE

The light, faint guitar intro which reminds of raindrops falling on a windscreen, is soon
enough boosted by powerful drums. Though not the most critically-praised track on the album,
it is, personally, one of my favorites of all time. Thom’s associative, abstract lyricism
especially shines here. The individual is crushed like a bug on the ground, but even so, the
(likely false) hope that, through some miracle, everything is going to be perfect some day is
also shown: one day, I am gonna grow wings/a chemical reaction. The pre-chorus (which
contains the aforementioned line) is sung by the backing vocals before the epic climax, with a
studio effect that seems to give it even more yearning that before.
Thom mentioned that one evening, at a bar, he imagined what it’d be like if all the
inebriated people who were holding their bottles, were hanging from the ceiling, with only the
bottle preventing them from falling, hence the line let down and hanging around. This is a
double entendre; it can be interpreted as both “disappointed and sulking” or, in the literal
7
sense, hanging from bottles, which is a genius idea on its own, because these people cannot
live without their alcohol intake, and it is what keeps them alive, which is tragic.
Loneliness is the main motif of this song, but the narrator also tells himself don’t get
sentimental/it always ends up drivel, which signifies self-hatred. In fact, we feel everything,
we’re bombarded by emotional stories all the time - even some commercials are supposed to
make us feel empathy. Pop music is teeming with pathetic love stories, with cliches that have
been worn out for decades - things everyone can relate to, or is forced to relate to.
This song is, nevertheless bittersweet. Aside from the very pessimistic side, there is still
some cheer, particularly in this part: floor collapsing, falling/bouncing back. All is well that
ends well.

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 SOURCES & LITERATURE

[1] “Radiohead's Digital Album Sales, Visualized”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdesantis/2016/05/10/radioheads-digital-album-sales-visualized/

[2] “The Cultural Enormity of The Beatles and Radiohead - A Video Essay”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NBZ_KO9tB4

[3] “Radiohead reveal origins of OK Computer title”

http://www.factmag.com/2017/06/02/radiohead-reveal-origins-ok-computer-album-title/

[4] Radiohead interview with The Guardian; 20th of December 1997

http://www.greenplastic.com/coldstorage/articles/guardian97.html

[5] “Radiohead’s The Bends - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine”

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bends-mw0000628195

[6] “2+2=5 song information - Green Plastic Radiohead”

http://www.greenplastic.com/radiohead-lyrics/hail-to-the-thief/225-2/

[7] “OK Computer and the Postmodern”

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 http://www.lemepris.com/ok-computer-postmodern/

[8] “Modernism - Art Term”

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism

[9] “Noam Chomsky on Moral Relativism and Michel Foucault”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i63_kAw3WmE

[10] Read, Herbert. Existentialism, Marxism, and Anarchism. London: Freedom

Press, 1952.

[11] “The 20-year-old black mirror that reflects the world today”

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170516-radiohead-ok-computer-a-black-mirror-to-the-world-
we-live-in

[12] Information on “Airbag” from Radiohead’s fan-site Citizen Insane

http://citizeninsane.eu/music/okc/airbag.html

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 [13] “Thom Yorke’s phobias / Radiohead”

http://alpreacher.co.uk/video/thom-yorkes-phobias-radiohead/

[14] “Survival of the Fittest: The Flaws and Dissemination of Social Darwinism”

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/evolit/s05/web1/mheeney.html

[15] Wenner, Jann S (2000). Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970
interview in Rolling Stone magazine). London: Verso. ISBN 1-85984-600-9

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