The song 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' is about transport in that it is about alien abduction. In that respect, the near-death experience with transport saves and enlightens the speaker. The line 'In an interstellar burst / I am born again' is imbued with both the sense of being reborn inside an 'interstellar burst' and being reborn through an 'interstellar burst,' the burst of the airbag. In a song that's mostly about reincarnation, the insertion of the verse, 'In a fast German car / I'm amazed that I survived-/ An airbag saved my life' in 'Airbag' connects the spiritual awe of reincarnation with the less metaphysical joys of auto transport. Both 'Airbag' and 'Subterranean Homesick Alien'-which sandwich 'Paranoid Android' on the playlist-use the theme of transport as a sublime form of salvation and escape. Introspective lyrics like 'the emptiest of feelings' in 'Let Down' do make occasional appearances, but more to help convey impressions of the alienation of the endlessly repetitive modern transportation system, not to establish a character narrative.īut things are less simple: transport, as well as other themes in the album like alienation and disgust with consumerism, have positives as well as negatives.

But not emotionless at all.' So the personal figures, where they exist, and when they hear the 'unborn chicken voices in' their heads, are there to expose views of the outside world, rather than to develop any deep look into Yorke's psyche. I'm just taking Polaroids of things around me moving too fast.' In songs such as 'Paranoid Android' you do see an extremely personal figure in reaction to 'the outside world,' but as Yorke continues, 'The camera's not quite me. In fact, for singer and lyricist Thom Yorke, 'the outside world became all there was. Where 1995's The Bends was introspective and personal, Radiohead felt that-in drummer Phil Selway's words-'To do again on another album would be excruciatingly boring.' So in that vein, OK Computer attempts to look outside. You'll especially want some understanding of the background of the album some more knowledge about its themes and sound, and familiarity with the songs that immediately surround 'Paranoid Android' on the record. With that in mind, any discussion of 'Paranoid Android,' the album's lead single, also requires an exploration of the rest of OK Computer. It's not a concept album but there is a continuity there.' The context of each song is really important. According to guitarist Ed O'Brien: 'We spent two weeks track-listing the album.

But this is something that Radiohead has denied.

today-think Coldplay, Keane, Snow Patrol-is more inspired by Radiohead and OK Computer… Which makes OK Computer one of the most influential and important albums of contemporary alternative rock.Ĭritics have sometimes called OK Computer a concept album because its lyrics and sounds all play on common themes. While earlier Britpop bands found their influences in The Beatles, The Smiths, and British punk, the dominant strands of pop of the U.K. Not only does OK Computer mark the beginning of Radiohead's superstardom, but it also marks the end of the 'Britpop era' dominated by the likes of Oasis, Suede, and Supergrass. OK Computer has been widely hailed as a (the?) decade-defining record of the '90s, a record that marked the turning point of both the career of Radiohead and the evolution of British pop over the past two decades.

Paranoid meaning