Why ok computer

Of course, the story of popular music has always been partly about technology. Within 10 years, overall industry revenues more than doubled. The concept album emerged. But all this focus on respectability, craft, and European written traditions downplayed the populism, spontaneity, and American oral traditions that jostled for attention in the rowdy singles marketplace: Was it good if pop music wanted to be poetry?

Through the entire album era, music made by innovators like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Kate Bush, and Public Enemy had made its way into the rock-stuffed canon, but they were often the exception. The Beatles opened the floodgates with Sgt. But such dire predictions were unwarranted, and albums maintained their supremacy. They opened for R.

The spotlight was ready—but by then Radiohead had grown used to sidestepping it. The group bought their own recording equipment and got to work—first in a mobile studio called Canned Applause and then in a 15th-century mansion owned by actress Jane Seymour—with producer Nigel Godrich. Apparently, a Macintosh robot voice droning about frozen shit did not scream superstardom.

Capitol glued promo copies inside 1, cassette players and sent them to the press, radio stations, and retailers. Through presaging the anti-piracy measures that would follow the launch of Napster, the tactic above all indicated this was an album meant to be heard in full, in headphones.

Enter the critics. Many of the reviews, including a out-of exaltation from influential UK weekly NME , appeared to take the primacy of rock as a given.

By year-end list season, OK Computer ended up at No. By October , OK Computer had sold , copies in America, reaching one million as of early And we grant the same advice when listening to OK Computer. We also like to share breaking podcasts, behind-the-scenes looks, and all the music content that drives you.

Jump in today! Sign in. Log into your account. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Join the Community Shop About Contact. Forgot your password? Get help. Classic Album Sundays. My Classic Album. Behind the Counter US Roundup. Join The Album Club and more! Hip Hop. Load more. Sharleen lifts the lid on her favourite women in music and why they have influenced her work so much.

In England, during the Napoleonic Wars, roving bands of so-called Luddites—former textile workers and weavers—rode around setting mills on fire and trashing industrial equipment, believing that their livelihoods were being usurped by machines.

We now use the word Luddite to refer, lovingly, to someone who does not know how to effectively deploy emoji. In an essay for the Times written in , of all years!

It deserves our attention again, without shame. By Amanda Petrusich. By Nick Paumgarten.