The Unintentional, Accurate Predictions of "OK Computer" by Radiohead

Radiohead released their third LP, OK Computer, in 1997. But they never knew that the album’s predictions of the inevitable, dooming future caused by technology would come true years later. 

Radiohead, comprised of Thom Yorke, Ed O’Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, and Phillip Selway, wanted to move in a different direction for their third album. The scare caused by the rise of smarter technology in the late 1990s influenced themes expressed on OK Computer. The album grapples with many themes such as the changes in behavior and isolation due to technology, political corruption, and the false promises of hope––which all still resonate today.

On this album, Radiohead foresees a bleak, inevitable future in which humans have lost themselves to technology. An example of a song that deals with this is “Paranoid Android.” The song tells the story of a man reborn in a world with disgusting humans who behave with no moral compass. Plus, in this world, communication is only via social media, which allows for a more brutal world. Today, we see this exact thing occur through cyber bully and online hate. This theme is continued on “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” in which aliens watch humans on a movie screen. The line “People drill holes in themselves and live through their secrets” directly connects to social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram, where people make fake versions of themselves to hide their true secrets, and others watch from above. 

The middle track of the album, “Fitter Happier,” deals with an unsettling monologue by a monotone robotic voice, backed with eerie piano effects. The computer voice promises a better life of “not drinking too much, regular exercise at the gym,” but contrasts it with describing humans as “Pigs, in a cage, on antibiotics.” This resonates well with society today as social media apps rot our brains and keep us “in a cage,” coming back every day. Radiohead analyzed this even before there was a smart phone to purchase. 

Tracks “Karma Police” and “No Surprises” continue the unsettling narrative of a ‘perfect’ world where no one is allowed to be different. They hint at the government taking advantage of technology to spy on its citizen, which is relevant today. “Let Down” explains how technology will grow faster than the speed at which individuals can understanding it, leaving people behind to fall apart. This connects to ageism in work places and many professions, as older employees lose their jobs to younger employees because of technology. 

Additionally, Yorke mocks lying politicians on “Electioneering” when he sings “I will stop at nothing, say the right things when electioneering, I trust I can rely on your vote.” He encapsulates the politics when he sings, “I go forwards, you go backwards, and somewhere we will meet,” explaining that citizens compromise somewhere in the middle of arguments instead of combatting them. 

Radiohead effectively foreshadows the dystopian society that we live in today on OK Computer, where people heavily rely on technology. The album warns people against the dangers of letting humanity erode through technology, but also recognizes it as the inevitable––which is kind of a depressing thought. What I find most interesting with this record is that everything Radiohead predicted came true. That idea is unsettling and frightening as well.