THE RECORD CABINET

The Review

I bought OK Computer the week it appeared because The Bends had made that decision automatic. The first listen was not love. “Airbag” felt dislocated, “Fitter Happier” irritated me, and “Paranoid Android” seemed to contain several songs arguing over one title. By the third listen, the argument had become the point. “Paranoid Android” is now my favourite because its sections move from sarcasm to panic to exhausted beauty without smoothing the joins. “Let Down” is the song that surprises me each time, especially when the layered voices rise near the end. “No Surprises” is lovely enough to make its despair more disturbing. People already speak about this record as if it predicted everything, which risks turning songs into newspaper diagrams. I prefer its human details: bad transport, bad communication, sleeplessness, and the wish to disappear quietly. Six years later, I still find new corners inside it.