What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.
Paperback
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Summary
What binds this series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors - musicians, scholars, and writers - are deeply in love with the album they have chosen.
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.
Critic Reviews
“"Some will find it amusing that Griffiths, professor of music at Oxford Brookes University, compares the album's lead-off track to 'the cello part in a Brahms or Faure sonata.' But given that a) the guys in Radiohead probably listen to Brahms and b) the guys and gals in Radiohead's audience probably don't, he's actually performing a service….B+" -Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 17, 2004”
Griffiths portrays a thorough, academic deconstruction....no small feat for a book of only approximately 120 pages....[Griffiths] also brings his vast familiarity with records of all genres past and present, which lends undeniable credibility to his insight. -- Dan Weller Times Leader 10/06/04
Some will find it amusing that Griffiths, professor of music at Oxford Brookes University, compares the album's lead-off track to 'the cello part in a Brahms or Faure sonata.' But given that a) the guys in Radiohead probably listen to Brahms and b) the guys and gals in Radiohead's audience probably don't, he's actually performing a service....B+ Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 17, 2004
Griffiths gives an interesting take on a band whose legacy hasn't yet been chronicled into the canon. -- Zack Adcock The Hub Weekly, 1/13/05
About the Author
Dai Griffiths is Head of the Department of Music at Oxford Brookes University.
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.EXCERPTBut then 'Karma Police' changes. After the second chorus the track lifts, in various ways. Harmonically, there's a key change of sorts (the sheet music charmingly follows the convention of preparing the reader for the new key signature), from E minor to B minor, although in truth both sections use similar chords. Then vocally or melodically, the key change takes Thom Yorke to his angelic register. Texturally, there's a big shift, with all the instruments doing lighter things. Best to my mind though, there's the one word, phew. Phew's great: it's a cartoon word, like 'gulp' or 'zzzz' or 'bah'. Its precision matters, the fact that it's really there, properly pronounced, not just sort-of-breathed…>
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