OK Computer

OK Computer is Radiohead's third studio album. It was first released on 21 May 1997 in Japan, on 16 June 1997 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone, and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Capitol Records. Produced by Nigel Godrich, it was recorded between July 1996 and March 1997, mostly in the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court.

With OK Computer, the band made a deliberate attempt to distance themselves from the guitar-oriented, lyrically introspective style of their previous album The Bends (1995). Critics have noted its lyrics depicting a world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation, and political malaise; in this capacity, OK Computer is often interpreted as having prescient insight into the mood of 21st century life. Stylistically, the album initiated a shift in British rock music away from the then-ubiquitous genre of Britpop toward melancholic, atmospheric rock that became more prevalent within the next decade. Its abstract lyrics, densely layered sound, and eclectic range of influences laid the groundwork for the band's later, more experimental work.

Despite lowered sales estimates by the band's record company EMI, who deemed it "uncommercial" and difficult to market, OK Computer debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number 21 on the US Billboard 200. It expanded Radiohead's international popularity and received widespread critical acclaim, and has often been cited as one of the greatest albums of all time. At the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, ultimately winning the award for Best Alternative Music Album. A remastered and expanded version titled OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 was released on 22 June 2017, commemorating the album's twentieth anniversary. Four singles were released from the album: Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Lucky, and No Surprises.

Track listing[]

OKNOTOK 1997 2017

I Promise
Man of War
Lift
Lull
Meeting in the Aisle
Melatonin
A Reminder
Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)
Pearly*
Palo Alto
How I Made My Millions

Outtakes[]

True Love Waits
Vacancies
$alty
Dogwander
Lifesaver
Ride A Pony
Annoying Neighbors
My New Clothes
Maybe
Soft Pain
Oranges
$ Island
Leave Me Alone
Walls
Felix The Cat
Hollow Tugboat
Our Guarantee To You
Julia Got Married
I Need A Job
The Cupboard Monster
I Can’t Control It
Dying Of Boredom
Human Error
Nervous
Ground
Theme Tune / My Everyday Life
You’re The One
Get Together
For Sale
Mute Button
Risk Of Suffocation
Service
The State Disco
Touchies + Feelies
Umbilical

White Cassette[]

The White Cassette is a cassette tape of bonus content released with the special edition of OKNOTOK 1997 2017, the 2017 OK Computer reissue. It contains audio experiments, session recordings, demos (including demos for previously unheard songs), and early versions of three songs released on later albums: The National Anthem, Motion Picture Soundtrack and Nude.

The White Cassette marked the first time Radiohead ever released a large amount of behind-the-scenes content.

In 2020, Radiohead added the White Cassette for streaming on the Radiohead Public Library.

Side A[]

ZX Spectrum Symphony	Arpeggiated synthesiser tones created on a ZX Spectrum computer. The same computer was used to create the synth arpeggios at the end of Let Down.
AMS Hello	Various noises run through an AMS Digital Delay unit. This was probably an early experiment using the AMS, which repeats sound and pitches it up and down as you screw around with the delay speed. The device was used heavily on OK Computer - mostly by Nigel, going by the track titles on the cassette - and is a defining part of the album’s haunted, futuristic mood.
True Love Tape Loop	Part of the band’s early attempts to record True Love Waits. A tape loop composed of improvised noodling on piano and Rhodes, which gradually grows in complexity and density as more is added to the loop. According to Colin, this was done by disabling the erase heads on the tape machine, so the tape repeatedly recorded over itself. At around 5:20, a three-note melody emerges similar to the guitar part Thomadded after the first chorus in his acoustic guitar performances. This version of True Love Waits was discarded, but a piece of the loop was used in Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors on Amnesiac. The band ended up using a similar technique of overdubbing piano loops on the final version of True Love Waits.
Let Down (Thom 4Track)	Thom’s demo for Let Down, recorded on a four-track recorder. Acoustic guitar, tambourine, guitar and vocal overdubs.
I May Be Paranoid But Not an Android…	A synthetic voice reciting the phrase “I may be paranoid but not an android”, used in the choruses of Paranoid Android. Created using Fred, text-to-speech software for Macintosh, which was more famously used to create the robot speech in Fitter Happier.
Attention (Thom 4Track)	A demo of Attention by Thom on acoustic guitar.
Noise sketch by Nigel	Droning ambient mechanical noise. Possibly created with the AMS; certainly some kind of delay effect is involved.
Climbing Up the Walls (Abbey Road Strings)	The string section from the end of Climbing Up the Walls, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in January 1997 after the rest of the album had been recorded.
Someone Help This Guy…	Thom mumbling (including the line “ambition makes you look pretty ugly”), screaming, and humming along to the Paranoid Android riff. It’s distorted somehow, possibly with an effect, or by recording through a telephone, guitar pickup, or other non-standard microphone. Used in the final sequence of Paranoid Android, adding to the general sense of chaos.
Motion Picture Soundtrack Solo Piano	A performance of Motion Picture Soundtrack by Thom on piano. Includes an extra verse, removed from the final version of the song. Probably recorded as a demo or exercise rather than seriously considered for release.
Was That Recording?	Thom, having just performed Motion Picture Soundtrack on piano, asks “Was that recording?” Someone (Nigel?) responds “I dunno. Soon found out, eh.”
The Jumbled Words of Climbing Up the Walls Read by Little Dan Clements	An early version of the Climbing Up the Wallslyrics, read by a kid, Dan Clements. Although some sources identified this as a little girl’s voice when it was used in the OKNOTOKteaser video, Dan’s voice just sounds female because the tape is sped up. It’s possible the band considered using the recording somewhere in the song as part of the collage of various spooky noises.
Lull (Ed Guitar Infinite Reverb)	Ed’s guitar part from Lullplayed through a very long reverb effect. This is mixed into the song at least once, such as around 1:05 before the drums enter.
Airbag Drums Through Moog	The drum loop from Airbag. The center channel is probably processed with the band’s Moog Rogue synthesiser, creating the squashing, distorted effect. The stereo channels are much cleaner but also processed, probably via guitar pedals, going by interviews.
Karma Police in Space Echo	Thom’s performance from the end of Karma Police(guitar and vocals, probably recorded simultaneously). It was processed through a Space Echo delay unit, creating the reverberating, stuttering effect heard in the song.
Karma Police Voice Through Telephone	Thom’s Karma Policebacking vocal, recorded through a telephone to distort it. Used in the verses.
(Talking)	Ed and Colin shouting from another room at the end of the recording.
Piano sketch by Jonny	A piano sketch by Jonny. Enough said. The piece hasn’t appeared in any form since.
Big Bird Story by Stanley Donwood	A short story by Stanley, read by Fred (aka the Fitter Happier computer voice). This probably comes from when Thom and Stanley were experimenting with the Mac and getting Fred to say stuff. Stanley contributed similar weird short stories to later Radiohead projects such as the In Rainbows webcasts and the Universal Sigh newspaper.
No Surprises (First Idea From Soundcheck Somewhere)	An early version of No Surprises recorded at the soundcheck for 1996-04-17, Le Transbordeur, Lyon, France. Features completely different lyrics and an extra chord modulation at the end. Despite the “first idea” title, unless Thom is extraordinarily good at improvising lengthy, coherent lyrics, Thom had probably worked on the song already by this point - the title might just mean it was the first version presented to the band.
Radio Chaser Noise	Random radio sounds.
Fridge Buzz	A recording of electrical buzzing from a fridge. As "buzzing like a fridge" is one of the central metaphors of the album, the band possibly considered using the recording in the album somewhere. (Or perhaps it’s in there already, buried in the mix.)
True Love Space Loop	An unrecognisable fragment of the scrapped version of True Love Waits- possibly the tape loop. Going by the title, probably processed with the Space Echo delay unit.
(Talking)	Studio chatter before the recording of Polythelene Part 2. Someone suggests “putting a quick version on multitrack”.
Are you Someone?	A demo of Are You Someone? by Thom on acoustic guitar.

Side B[]

Track	Notes
Nigel AMS Delay	More noises created by feeding noises into the AMS unit, including piano and strings. A section of this recording was used in Climbing Up the Walls.
Jonny’s Radio from Climbing Up the Walls	Seemingly a continuation of the previous track, with Jonny running random radio broadcasts through the AMS unit. Used in Climbing Up the Walls.
Climbing Up the Walls (Thom 4track)	An alternative version of Climbing Up the Walls by Thom, probably recorded as a demo. Features different lyrics, electronic percussion, and synth bass. It features many of the elements of the final version, including the bassline and guitar riffs.
A Piano Lies Down in the Middle of the Road	The piano part used in the Fitter Happier collage, played by Thom in the rehearsal room while very drunk, according to Ed.
Transposing Noise Sketch by Nigel	Nigel samples a droning sound, then plays it back at different pitches. Possibly made by playing tape loops at different speeds and splicing the results together.
Early Paranoid Android Version by Jonny and Thom	An early sketch of the Paranoid Android verse, with guitar, clapped rhythm, and gibberish lyrics. Thom and Jonny often write together, so this is probably a window into their process.
Alternative Paranoid Android ending live in Pittsburg	The end of an early version of Paranoid Android performed at 1996-08-27, Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA, USA, while Radiohead was touring with Alanis Morissette. Instead of ending with a guitar solo as in the final version, the song repeats the chorus progression, with piano and an extended organ solo from Jonny. Thom sings “the worms, the worms” repeatedly; worms also feature in Man of War, written around the same time (“the worms will come for you”), and turned up in Weird Fishes/Arpeggi a decade later (“I get eaten by the worms”). The entire section was discarded as the band decided it was over the top.
Airbag early acoustic version	Thom’s demo of Airbag on acoustic guitar, featuring slightly different lyrics.
(Talking)	Thom cues the band before a take. Thom says “we’ll go from the jolt first” or possibly “the job”. If “jolt”, it might refer to the distorted guitar slides and crash in Paranoid Android (which is the next thing on the cassette). However, he then counts in 4/4 before playing a Dm chord, which doesn’t appear in Paranoid Android; he corrects himself, and counts again in 6/8, but 6/8 isn’t used anywhere in Paranoid Android. As Subterranean Homesick Alien is in 6/8 and begins on a Dm, it’s possible that’s what they were working on, not Paranoid Android. Additionally, there’s a phaser and delay effect on the guitar, both effects used in Subterranean Homesick Alien. A mystery for the ages.
Paranoid Android Loud Room at St Catherines	The first “you don’t remember!” rock-out moment from Paranoid Android. This reveals that the different sections of the song were recorded separately, probably in different rooms in St Catherine's Court, and then edited together. Note that Phil begins by playing a crash, choking it, and then stopping for a bar; this was simply superimposed over the previous section’s drum part, joining the sections. The only instruments are Phil’s drums and Ed and Jonny’s guitars - other elements, such as Colin’s bass and Thom’s acoustic guitar, are missing, likely recorded in a different room.
Nigel AMS Paranoid Guitar Sample	A sample of Ed’s guitar part from the Paranoid Android chorus, processed through the AMS. This was used as part of the Fitter Happier sound collage.
Nude Early Band Version	An early version of Nude, with very different lyrics and arrangement, inspired by Al Green. It includes the chorus lyric “What do you look like when you’re nude?”, explaining how the song got its title. The organ melody in the chorus became the vocal line Thom sings in the outro of the final version. It contains a few differences from the version performed on the OK Computer tour, such as a minor-to-major chord shift after the choruses and the lack of glockenspiel. According to Nigel, Radiohead recorded a version of Nude in the early OK Computer sessions, but “for some reason everyone went off it”; this might be that version, but the production quality suggests it was recorded at a soundcheck or as a studio demo and not seriously considered for release.
The National Anthem (Thom 4 Track)	Thom’s demo for The National Anthem. A trashy rock arrangement, with drums and distorted guitar. Several elements that ended up in the final version are here, including the ondes Martenot line and the sax riff, both played on guitar. As Thom wrote the bassline as a teenager, it’s possible this demo was recorded some time before the OK Computer era.
Ambient Loops	Probably built mostly from field recordings of public spaces. Includes some drum machine and synth sounds. Something similar was used to add texture to the second verse of Exit Music.
Man of War live in Montpellier	A performance of Man of War at 1995-11-20, Le Rockstore, Montpellier, France.
Nigel AMS Delay Again	A segment of Paranoid Android reversed and run through the AMS.
Thom’s Acoustic as Microphone in Climbing up the Walls	Thom’s vocal and acoustic guitar part from the latter half of Climbing Up the Walls. At Nigel’s suggestion, Thom sang into the soundhole of his acoustic guitar; the guitar pickup recorded his singing. He stops singing to strum the guitar part, then stops strumming to scream into the soundhole for the outro. Phil’s drumming, probably recorded at the same time, is audible too. The entire signal is distorted.
OK Computer Program	Two minutes of avant-garde computer beeps that, filtered through a low-pass filter and run on a ZX Spectrum, loads a computer program that lists the band members and the date 19 December 1996. This may have been when the program was made; it also probably coincides with recording at St Catherine’s Court ending before mixing and final overdubs next year. The program then plays several minutes of electronic tones and displays a secret message in black text on a black background: "Congratulations…you’ve found the secret message syd lives hmmmm. We should get out more.", which has all the hallmarks of a Thom message. "syd lives" is interpreted by some as a reference to Pink Floyd songwriter Syd Barrett, but it's likely a corruption of “sad lives”.

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