Best Ever Albums

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

RoundTheBend — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 17:34:24 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 07/16/2017 21:34

Captain_Dude wrote:

I couldn't agree with you more. I am a HUGE music fan...and I like many different genres. However, I cannot wrap my head around why so many like this album. I have tried so many times to listen to it and I still have absolutely no interest in its contents. >sigh<

Out of curiosity, is this true of any Radiohead work? I feel this way about Bowie and Dylan... individual works are mind blowing, but many of their albums are a stretch for me.

Anyway, I think In Rainbows and Kid A are just as good of an album as OK Computer. Even the Bends is almost on par. If you haven't already, check those out? And if you have, I get it via Bowie and Dylan.

I mean this album is on my top 100 and perhaps I'm contridicting myself a little cause I suck at words... but basically I get it when some artists are lauded as the greatest ever and I go listen to all their albums expecting such and find a few gems, but really aren't as great across the board.

I do dig:

For the lyrics/songwriting and the fact that it's really just him instead of trying to "write" music.

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The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

Bowie: it's like he wanted to try rock but just had to do something different, well put together album:

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The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Captain_Dude — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 12:56:33 GMT

Author: Captain_Dude

Posted: 07/16/2017 16:56

BowieGhostsBub wrote:

I'm by no means a music guru or consider myself "well listened." I'm very new to it in general, but I just don't know why OK Computer is so revered and is the top album on this site. Maybe it was really ground breaking when it came out I'm guessing. I'm not knocking it one bit. It's simply that I don't understand it.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Temporary33 — Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:25:03 GMT

Author: Temporary33

Posted: 07/16/2017 14:25

I'll explain why I think OK Computer is one of the few entries in the catalog of Radiohead that possesses much "merit"(Not necessarily the word I'd like to use though). It's just genuine. I don't think it's as revolutionary as others, but it has a very genuine and human take to it that makes the music and lyricism come to life. It's a good example of expression, specifically expression of sadness.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Tha1ChiefRocka — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 15:40:07 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 07/15/2017 19:40

Something has to be the best, so it might as well be an album that most people enjoy on some level. Which is the same with pretty much any medium. Citizen Kane was a flop when it came out, but has now somehow become the "Best Movie Ever". Something has to be at the top, and this album is the one that, for whatever reason, seems to be the consensus. That being said I do genuinely like it quite a bit and believe it's Radiohead's best.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Graeme2 — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 15:06:38 GMT

Author: Graeme2

Posted: 07/15/2017 19:06

BowieGhostsBub wrote:

I'm by no means a music geru or consider myself "well listened." I'm very new to it in general, but I just don't know why OK Computer is so revered and is the top album on this site. Maybe it was really ground breaking when it came out I'm guessing. I'm not knocking it one bit. It's simply that I don't understand it.

Because people really like it. If you dont then that's fine. People on RYM really like it too. And on most other places in the world where people get on about what the best record ever is, you probably will hear it mentioned. If there was no Internet it would still be in my top 3 ever. Because its pretty good. And I really like it. It always seems to be this and dark side of the moon at the top. Why is that? Does anyone really care that much? It's just music and not as good as the first stone roses but still good yeah. I'm bored. if you don't like it, listen to some other acclaimed album from people who talk shit like me, you may discover a gem. People who know about music said radiohead are great, so I like them. I put radiohead live at Glastonbury on for my sons today, they said it was shit. I then put Liam Gallagher on and they said they didn't think it could get worse but it has. I enjoyed it though.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

RoundTheBend — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:52:54 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 07/15/2017 01:52

boyd94 wrote:

If this is all true, why didn't it go the way of Britpop and be forgotten as a mildly embarrassing phase?

The Bends hasn't aged very well in most peoples estimations, but the same can't be said of OK Computer. There's clearly something to it that sets it apart.

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Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

boyd94 — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 15:14:09 GMT

Author: boyd94

Posted: 07/14/2017 19:14

bobbyb5 wrote:

It wasnt even groundbreaking when it came out. So much mythology has been built up around OK computer that people who weren't quite old enough at the time probably believe this mythology. Here's the truth about what happened when it came out. Like me most people found it to be a very agreeable, rather amusing little album. I had it and listened to it occasionally over the course of one or two years. And then like everybody else at the time, I just considered it another pleasant little album. Not horrible by any means, but not great by any means. But people talk about it today like it was a gift of the Gods that changed the course of history, and that people still haven't gotten over to this very day. This is a lot of nonsense. It was just another alt-rock album that some people and a few critics decided they would call their album of the year. No different than say, Green Day a few years earlier or blur or Oasis or any one of a hundred other albums.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

carpents — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 08:14:55 GMT

Author: carpents

Posted: 07/14/2017 12:14

bobbyb5 wrote:

Wrong. That's all part of the mythology. (snip) I wouldnt care about any of this except for the fact that its always a bad thing to overpraise something, because then we only get more of it.

Well, we *did* get more of it, didn't we? All of a sudden it went (in the USA) from being obscure & strange to like Radiohead to being mainstream. It wasn't The Bends which did this, it was OK Computer, so obviously there was *something* about it which warrants myth-making.

Whether or not Radiohead was a direct influence on a particular band after this, they definitely influenced music in general.

[I was in my 20s in 1997, and loved The Bends before OK Computer came out. I also haven't liked anything that Radiohead has done in the last 10+ years.]

To the OP: Keep in mind that nostalgia plays a part in any individual's ranking of albums. I would guess that most people here are in their 30s or 40s, and this album hit at an influential point. That being said, I truly do think it's one of the best albums ever made, and I liked it from the day I bought the CD. I had already appreciated the band via Pablo Honey and The Bends, so those might have helped acclimate me to the sound.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Daydreamer — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 05:11:25 GMT

Author: Daydreamer

Posted: 07/14/2017 09:11

sethmadsen wrote:

I was 89 years old.

Me too.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

RoundTheBend — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 23:30:20 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 07/14/2017 03:30

I was 89 years old.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:02:18 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/13/2017 23:02

bobbyb5 wrote:

Yes, you must be correct. After all, you were 3 years old in 1999. You MUST know more.

it came out in 1997, so i was proudly two years old. i'm beginning to think you weren't actually there if you don't even know where there was in time...

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

bobbyb5 — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 18:59:16 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 07/13/2017 22:59

murmur wrote:

i think DSOTM is a better comparison than the Beatles in retrospect, but i want to emphasize i didn't mean Radiohead were the same level of cultural phenomenon or ever-present critical darling. i just meant that what OK Computer achieved was comparable to what Sgt. Pepper achieved - a coherent delivery of many of the anxieties and desires of that generation lyrically and a tidy incorporation of many disparate styles, some new, some old, some popular, some obscure. i don't think this is really an arguable point, even if you wanna pull the "Losing My Edge" card.

Yes, you must be correct. After all, you were 3 years old in 1999. You MUST know more.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 18:49:16 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/13/2017 22:49

i think DSOTM is a better comparison than the Beatles in retrospect, but i want to emphasize i didn't mean Radiohead were the same level of cultural phenomenon or ever-present critical darling. i just meant that what OK Computer achieved was comparable to what Sgt. Pepper achieved - a coherent delivery of many of the anxieties and desires of that generation lyrically and a tidy incorporation of many disparate styles, some new, some old, some popular, some obscure. i don't think this is really an arguable point, even if you wanna pull the "Losing My Edge" card.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 18:44:54 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/13/2017 22:44

I didn't say Radiohead pioneered anything production wise and even less as a "philosophical" (lmao) achievement. Neither TDSDOTM. Also I never said any of those did anything new (both are pop albums after all).
I don't know where you get that impression from.

All I was saying is that A_LOT_OF_YEARS_ON_THE_BILLBOARD_BREAKING_RECORDS thing about Dark Side has a parallel on the OKC_TOPS_EVERY_INTERNET_LIST_OF_BEST_ALBUM. And both for the same reasons. Anything else you made up yourself in your head mate.

And I was there in the 90s. I think you might have read my post fast and misunderstood it. Or I wrote it like shit. Ah well nevermind.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

bobbyb5 — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 01:55:44 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 07/13/2017 05:55

albumceleste wrote:

Someone said Radiohead was to the 90s what The Beatles were to the 60s. I disagree strongly and was there at the 90s. But I understand where that argument is pointing at.

I guess it should be more fair to say that OK Computer with it's great meticulous production, great epic/sad songwriting and themes of alienation and modern life existential issues is what The Dark Side Of The Moon was to the 70s. And TDSOTM was on the billboard chart for years and years and years, pretty much what OKC achieves today at the internet -you can't measure impact on sales anymore-.
So IMO OkC take over TDSOTM and updated it to XXIc digital era times.

I'm not saying any of this was intended. I'm just saying it took that place in the post golden rock era albums canon.

Just my opinion of course.

Wrong. That's all part of the mythology. There was plenty of meticulous production before Radiohead and the themes of alienation modern life has been one of the biggest cliches in rock ever since the 1960s. Radiohead had absolutely nothing new to say about it and they definitely weren't to the 90s what the Beatles were to the sixties. in fact they were just another alt-rock band. I guess u had to be there to understand this. and the people of the seventies liked Dark Side of the Moon because of the way it sounded. absolutely nobody was under the impression it was some kind of philosophical achievement. All the mythology about dark sideis a rather recent phenomenon. Much as i like it. I wouldnt care about any of this except for the fact that its always a bad thing to overpraise something, because then we only get more of it.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Luigii — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 22:20:15 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 07/13/2017 02:20

@sethmadsen LMAO

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

RoundTheBend — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 22:16:17 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 07/13/2017 02:16

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

RoundTheBend — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 22:12:11 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 07/13/2017 02:12

Tap wrote:

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Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 21:24:20 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/13/2017 01:24

Someone said Radiohead was to the 90s what The Beatles were to the 60s. I disagree strongly and was there at the 90s. But I understand where that argument is pointing at.

I guess it should be more fair to say that OK Computer with it's great meticulous production, great epic/sad songwriting and themes of alienation and modern life existential issues is what The Dark Side Of The Moon was to the 70s. And TDSOTM was on the billboard chart for years and years and years, pretty much what OKC achieves today at the internet -you can't measure impact on sales anymore-.
So IMO OkC take over TDSOTM and updated it to XXIc digital era times.

I'm not saying any of this was intended. I'm just saying it took that place in the post golden rock era albums canon.

Just my opinion of course.

Re: I don't understand OK Computer...

Luigii — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 21:20:03 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 07/13/2017 01:20

I can feel you on how your not crazy about this album. Honestly whenever I start listening to the first song, I'm always like "this is so cool" but after the intro stops I go to not really caring for the album at all. Meanwhile I do feel Radiohead does have some cool records. Records like Kid A and In Rainbows were my personal intro to the band, and I loved it because of there sound play and how those records put me in my own world. And even those records I can understand you not understanding them. We all have records that got critically acclaimed and just doesn't phase us or impress us at all.