Radiohead's OK Computer (Thirty Three and a Third series) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: karma police, fitter happier, Thom Yorke, Exit Music, The Bends (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Seemingly granted ‘classic album’ status within days of its release in 1997, OK Computer transformed Radiohead from a highly promising rock act into The Most Important Band in the World – a label the band has been burdened by (and has fooled around with) ever since. Through close musical analysis of each song, Dai Griffiths explores the themes and ideas that have made this album resonate so deeply with its audience, and argues that OK Computer is one of the most successfully realized CD albums so far created.

About the Author

Dai Griffiths is Head of the Department of Music at Oxford Brookes University.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 123 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826416632
• ISBN-13: 978-0826416636
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,369 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Thirty Three and a Third Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Terribly boring, woefully incomplete, October 26, 2004

By	P. Serilla "Gorilla" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The 33 1/3 series is a gift and when I saw they were writing a book on one of my all time favorite recordings, OK Computer, I couldn't have been happier.

The book in a word however, blows.

Much of the book is dedicated to some aimless theories about the place of LP records and cds in the broad landscape of musicology. Considering how painfully short this book is to begin with, it seems like a perfect waste of space - filler for an academic journal. When the author does get around to the actual work of Radiohead, he almost exclusively refers to the musical score and references much of their work as only "sound effects." While his analysis of the notes on the page is at times compelling, he fails miserably to describe "musical" and "technical" choices not accounted for in the score and their impact on the recording.

While other books in series may at times be criticized for being too journalistic, and speculating at the intent of the musicians, here the author goes to far in the other direction -- there isn't even a mention of the unique recording space this album was crafted in, not to mention any speculation as to the effect it might have had. Nigel Godrich the producer (along with the band) and engineer is reduced merely a mention, any notion of sculpting sound with studio tools is non-existent.

Considering the direction the band has pursued after this record, highly electronic and diffuse by western musical standards, this book serves little interesting purpose, but perhaps to serve as a footnote in a more comprehensive book by an author who can synthesize the roll of the composer with the concept of a recording as piece of art that is constructed with a different set of skills than the score it maybe also represented by.

In short, don't bother buying this book if you want to read anything about Radiohead the band or how they create music. This one will have little interest to anyone but musicology students and most of them will find it painfully incomplete as well.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pointless, October 31, 2005

By	Richard Page "indiesauce" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book knowing it would be academic. I knew it wouldn't be about the band, or what the album means to people. I wanted an academic dissertation about one of the most significant and influential modern rock albums.

Unfortunately, Griffiths belies his position as the Head of the Department of Music at a university by completely failing to either a) back up his conclusions with data or b) draw meaning from his data. This book is full of charts and breakdowns of the album and its songs that have no meaning. There are three pages listing the lyrics to "Fitter Happier" and catagorizing them as "nouned" or "verbed." What this means is not actually explained. There is an appendix listing all of the albums receiving the album of the year award from NME and Melody Maker since 1974. Perhaps Griffiths is, as he claims Radiohead does with their "sound effects," merely padding out the length of the book?

It is frustrating as well that the book fails so completely in what it set out to do, which is actually pretty interesting. OK Computer is unique in being the most recent album generally considered among the "Greatest of All Time," and the only CD album. Griffiths wants to investigate what is unique about CDs, but merely concludes that they are longer and have uninterrupted middles. (I do agree that tracks 6-8 of the album do pretty much sum up the 90s).

It is also rather telling that there is a section of the book about how much better music made by music critics would be than music made merely by "creators." Griffiths wishes he could explain the impact and significance of OK Computer, both in format and relevance to modern life with dry charts and pretentious, academic speculation, but in the end, he really has no idea what he's talking about.

Also, I don't think he actually likes the album.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars yeah this book sucks, December 31, 2005

By	B (houston, tx) - See all my reviews

a lot of reviews on amazon are misleading, but this one isnt. i dig the album ok computer as much as anyone else on here, and although i realized the book had the potential of being dry and academic (which is not always a horrible thing), i thought it would come up with some good insights or something. the first half of the book is about the history of recorded music in america, and (like another reveiewer mentions), it talks about the differences between cds and records and the changing concept of the "album" but mainly just points out that cds are one part instead of 2 complementary halves. this would be okay if the part that is actually about radiohead had more substance. he makes questionable lists regarding the songs' running time and tonal centers, and devotes a large amount of time classifying the lyrics to "fitter happier." somehow all this quantitative study gets us nowhere, he doesnt even seem to "get" the music at all, he keeps complaining about sound effects, and is unsuccessful in synthesizing meaning from elements that are insignificant to begin with.

do not buy this book, buy the album. buy kid a too, while youre at it