My most recent idea was to venture through the Rate Your Music Top 100 albums, writing a review and reassessing my old opinions of the works listed on there.
There probably isn't too much appeal for readers to engross themself in these reviews but I personally find it to be an interesting enough, and also challenging enough task to accomplish without letting it take years to finish (despite actually having heard more than 80% of the albums on the list previously).
First of is of course the number one album of all time, according to the ratings and reviews of the user on the site: OK Computer, by brittish alt-rock band Radiohead which I'm sure most are atleast somewhat familiar with.
My first encounter with Radiohead was sometime when I was taking my first baby steps into the world of music, new to the exciting Spotify program and constantly browsing around for new good songs to listen to. I came across Creep which seems to be their most well-known song for some incredibly odd reason and I also came across Karma Police which I enjoyed a bit more. However at the time I wasn't a huge fan of Radiohead and for years to come I'd still find their music to be incredibly overhyped by the general population. I still to this day don't find much interesting about the band. Maybe this is from my days as a hardcore Muse-fan, maybe it's from having outgrown brittish alt-rock by the time I actually started listening to their records, or maybe their music just isn't for me.
OK Computer exists as the bridging gap between the more accessible, mainstream Radiohead, the one behind the more popular singles (Creep, High And Dry) and despite being seen as quite ordinary, it still adventures a bit beyond the more straightforward rock music of the late 90's with electronic elements peeking in and out, hinting of the direction to come on Kid A, three years into the future, something especially notable during the ending segment of Airbag or the choir that comes in right in the middle of Exit Music (For A Film).
However despite all these attempts I find it hard to find something to hold onto that isn't prevalent in most alt-rock bands from the same time and place. There's something about Radiohead's music from before Kid A that sounds so dumbed down and simplistic, where the only thing that really seperates Radiohead from your run of the mill late 90's rock band is Thom Yorke's poetic lyrics (a handshake of carbon monoxide), the unnecessary experimentation with tracks like Fitter Happier and the raw emotion that seeps through on a couple of tracks here and there (namely Let Down and No Surprises on this record).
It took me years to go from not being a fan at all to being able to atleast somewhat appreciate OK Computer on a personal level and I doubt I'll ever be able to love it or Radiohead as much as some people think they deserve. For me, Radiohead is the band that will be our generation's Pink Floyd, the modern kind of dad-rock; albums that kids will come across through parents who never ventured outside of the swamps of NME's favorite bands.
But honestly, don't mind my ridiculously grumpy opinions. If you haven't already heard this album, there's a great chance that you might love every second of it and it's honestly worth the fifty minutes it takes to go from Airbag to The Tourist so if you find yourself on a long commute to work or traveling somewhere far this summer, then bring this one and a pair of earbuds for the journey.
Ok Computer
Radiohead
5/10
Anton Öberg Sysojev
No comments:
Post a Comment