achtung baby vs. ok computer

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fair enough. a (very, very, very) small part of me dies whenever someone writes something like that, but each to their own.

it's like 3 weeks til the first Melbourne gig, and i'm thrilled :)
 
i don't know if this is a joke at the way i've been mentioning it a lot lately (or feel like i have anyway), but i'm going to answer honestly i don't hate them now, but there are very few songs of theirs i really want to hear anymore. bono irritates the crap out of me, i still haven't gotten over the incredible boring pile of crap that was the atomic bomb album and wasn't too impressed with the horizon one either (to the extent that i never even bought a copy). any of the "greatest hits" songs from JT make me want to vomit, and the bulk of the other well-known and singles are so overplayed due to being overplayed on the radio plus my own doing when i was a really big fan that i could happily never hear them again (would prefer to never hear most of them again). that being said, they still have some great stuff that i do recognize liked at one point/would probably still like if i felt compelled to listen to it. but lately, no, i wouldn't consider them even remotely to be one of my favorite bands anymore.

you know i really see your point on all fronts. i certainly understand your feelings since i've pretty much developed the same for another favorite band off mine. as long as you got other music too listen too then your ears will be alright.:wink:
 
Alright.

First off, I think the strongest aspect of OK Computer, the element that makes it the very special album so many purport it to be, is that it, an album that strove to capture the mood and pace of the era it was released, has held up so well. You often hear OKC referred to as "pretentious," "soulless," or "dull," but no one would ever refer to the record as dated. This is because its individual parts are of such high quality.

The production is one of the first things that people point to in a dated record, so let's start there. I will always, always refer to the album as among the warmest and most inviting records I've ever heard, which is an amazing feat when you take the narrative into consideration. Instead of alienating listeners, OKC ingratiates itself, enveloping you in warm haze you could cut with a knife (Subterranean Homesick Alien, Let Down, Climbing Up The Walls), while giving a human touch to the icy cold Fitter Happier through the use of field recordings. Even in the case of the latter, the record never stops feeling human. Again, that narrative is one of paranoia and isolation, but the characters always drive the action.

Which brings us to the lyrics. Another of OKC's greatest assets is the ambiguity of its narrative; you can read it as a tale of mankind's struggle with technology, you could read it as a series of character sketches, or you could just not bother (which works because the songwriting itself holds up to scrutiny outside the context of the record's narrative). No matter what, Thom paints a vivid picture of our society. He uses slogans, non-sequitur, physical observations...it's a kitchen sink approach that is effective because it reflects the sensory overload of its subject. And the best part is that it doesn't shy away from human emotion; because of their stark contrast to the steely tracks surrounding them, the sentiments of Let Down, No Surprises and Lucky feel all the more tender.

And then there's the music. Radiohead have indulged the avant garde and melodic sides of their sound at length throughout their career, but this record strikes a perfect balance. This does not cause the record to feel conservative the way In Rainbows often does either; Paranoid Android is everything that makes Radiohead great in under 7 minutes, and songs like Exit Music and Karma Police are positively cinematic. If you've ever doubted the strength of the Radiohead rhythm section, Electioneering tears away all doubt with the help of an inspired Selway performance that blows away much of his recorded output before or since.

:up: Fair summary.

I'd say in some ways however, the listener themselves needs understand and empathise with Yorke's cynicism in the narrative, and I don't think many people do. Only then might they feel warmed, and not alienated, by some of the the lyrics on the album. That said, any listener can grasp a one liner like "no alarms and no surprises, please" and attach their own meaning and experience to it. All depends on the inidividual listener.

I personally feel that two albums that align the lyrical narrative more perfectly with the music to create a most poignant mood are Achtung Baby and the downright chilling Unknown Pleasures. These narratives can provide warmth for those who might be embattled by similar experiences in their own lives. Both albums do it brilliantly. It's mindblowing.
 
fair enough. a (very, very, very) small part of me dies whenever someone writes something like that, but each to their own.

it's like 3 weeks til the first Melbourne gig, and i'm thrilled :)


a part of me died when that happened. :lol: as it does whenever that happens with any band i previously loved. but shit does happen, and more often than not i've found that i do come back to most of those bands a few years down the road. not to the same degree of obsession, but i grow to tolerate them again once i've un-tired myself of their music.

yes. every little thing's gonna be alright.
 
AB is my favorite album of all time. I love "Karma Poilce" but I like but I don't love the other tracks on OKC. The Bends is by far superior to OKC, in my opinion. "Fake Plastic Trees" ALL THE WAY!! But AB is my favorite album, so OKC or even The Bends can't outsmart it. Just my opinion. :shrug:
 
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