Monday, September 29, 2008

OK Computer


I was about to make a rather profligate and (probably) pretentious post about how "Climbing Up the Walls", from Radiohead's seminal album OK Computer, contained THE greatest moment in music from the 1990s. If you want to hear what I was talking about, I implore you to listen to the whole song, and pay close attention (frankly, it's hard not to pay attention...) to what's happening from the 3:00 marker to the end. It's a breathtaking maelstrom of emotion, maybe even the consummate sum of the album's existential crises. Or maybe not...

But then I remembered the other brilliant songs, and brilliant moments that pervade the record. Then i remembered (and how could I have forgotten?!) that OK Computer is the greatest album from the 1990s, and actually my favorite album of all time (yes, it's better, in my opinion, than the groundbreaking and spectacular Kid A).

Now, I didn't post such an incendiary statement (ok, it might not cause too much of a stir, as many will probably agree with me, and not a lot of people read this) just because I don't have better things to do. I do have better things to do, but this was on my mind, and it needed to be exorcised. Anyway, there it is, I'm writing rapturously about Radiohead [again], and I want to know your thoughts on it. 

And you better not say that Pavement is better than Radiohead; them's fightin' words around here. And that's an absolutely ludicrous statement.

And Finally, I wish to say that this is NOT the last post I will make about this album. I have barely begun to explain how I feel about it. So more on that later. Likely much later, but be patient if you're interested. 

And if, for some reason, you're without this album, please go buy it. They even sell this at target, and look how gorgeous that Stanley Donwood artwork is.

1 comment:

Mike said...

If it weren't for "Let Down", "Climbing up the Walls" would be my favorite song from OK Computer. It's phenomenally chilling.