The story behind the record cover - OK Computer (1997) - RADIOHEAD
"There once was a diehard Radiohead fan who figured out where the highway on this "OK computer" album cover is situated. Through some internet program, a kind of Google Street View, he found out that it is a highway in the American city of Hartford, Connecticut. After all, if you are a true fan, you want to know everything about the group and the record sleeves. For me, it was all about the band Yes back in the 1970s. More than twenty years later, this applies to my 22-year-old son regarding Radiohead. There is a difference. My father hated Yes, I have embraced Radiohead. My son and I have now seen Radiohead perform live four times. The concert in Berlin at the Lolapalooza festival in 2016 is on top of my list of best live concerts ever. Even better than the Yes shows. Radiohead's "OK Computer" is considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time. Rightly so. A top class album. I had never really looked into Radiohead's artwork. But my son owns a book "Welcome to the Machine" (where have I heard this before?) in which the album is fully analyzed in 250 pages, including cover and inner sleeves. There is much speculation about the vagueness of these works of art. Together we started sorting it out. Fantastic. What corona doesn't do for you.
The list of speculations is endless and there will no doubt be some Radiohead fans who have additions (or say it's bullshit), but I still want to get started. I have already mentioned the highway. The second discovery is the link to two Pink Floyd album covers; "Wish you were here" and "Animals". One of the inner sleeves shows a silhouette of two males. This is seen as a link to the two businessmen on the cover of "Wish you were here". And on the other inner sleeve you see a drawing of a pig. This is clearly seen as a link to the pig 'Algie' that I talked about in the blog about "Animals". Following this hint, my son and I argue. Does Radiohead fall into the Progrock category or not? Comparisons with Pink Floyd are regularly made. Five childhood friends from a college town (Pink Floyd-Cambridge; Radiohead-Oxford). The designer of the covers Stanley Donwood is a childhood friend. That was also the case with Pink Floyd; in their case Storm Thorgerson. And it goes on and on.
But my son thinks Progrock is 'hobbit music'. Given my height and preference for the genre, he regularly calls me 'Frodo'. "Nowadays it's called Indie" he explains. "That stands for independent music. The lyrics are much more about the raw reality and the unpredictability of life and the music is more experimental with all kinds of influences from jazz, post-punk and electronic music." "Well, okay", I hear myself say, "but what about those two guys and the pig?" He delves further into the book and a little later he discovers that Radiohead is indeed influenced by Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Suddenly it hits me that the title of the book "Welcome to the Machine" is a song from "Wish you were here". My son sees the humor in this. The cover of "OK Computer" reminds me of a shopping list that I forgot to take out of my pocket and eventually gets caught in the laundry. Crumpled images, letters that are blurred, ink that has smeared. "That's exactly the idea, Dad". "It symbolizes the unpredictability and vagueness of life. Fate and death are always lurking." "I associate that with darkness and black", I comment. "While this cover is generally quite white". "Yes, but Stanley Donwood and frontman Thom Yorke want to make a link to Eastern cultures where white is the color of death. There is even speculation that the two tried to mimic the color of bleached bones," my son reads from the book. I admit, that's a bit over my head.
I have to admit that frontman Thom Yorke's lyrics are often about the unpredictability of life. According to him, life is one big thick fog. Literally and figuratively. Fate regularly strikes. Already starting back in his childhood. He had seven operations on his right eye, resulting in a drooping eyelid and poor vision. He also had a serious car accident around the age of twenty. The airbag saved his life. Hence the title of the first song on this album. And his wife and childhood friend died of cancer at the age of 48. The reissue "OK computer" with bonus songs is dedicated to her. That shut me up for a moment while my son read all this out loud. We proceeded to analyze the cover. About the pictures 'Lost Child', the black X, about the numbers 18576397 on the back of the cover. But it goes too far to describe all that in this blog. Radiohead and individual band members Thom Yorke, Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ted O'Brain and Phil Selway will undoubtedly produce many more such wonderful albums. Their music is top notch and more than 25 million copies of their music have already been sold worldwide. "Will you accompany me next time after the pandemic when Radiohead returns?" my son asks. "But of course," I respond. "And can I drive your VW bus?" "Of course". He's just got his driver's license. Like me, he also misses live concerts and festivals enormously."
By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translation: Alex Driessen
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