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Setting the scene
Radiohead had broken through with The Bends in 1995, but the band resisted repeating Britpop guitar anthems. Y2K anxiety, motorway culture, and technology alienation informed sessions with producer Nigel Godrich. They recorded partly in Jane Seymour's Tudor mansion St Catherine's Court, chasing unconventional acoustics.
What happened
OK Computer was released on June 16, 1997, in the U.K. and June 17 in the U.S., featuring Paranoid Android, Karma Police, and No Surprises. Thom Yorke's lyrics critiqued consumerism and transport dystopia while the band layered guitars with Ondes Martenot and experimental edits. The album avoided obvious singles structure for a cohesive mood piece.
Why it still matters
It won a Grammy and topped critics' decade lists, influencing Arcade Fire, Coldplay, and indie rock's ambition. Its themes feel prescient about surveillance and burnout. Memorable detail: the band considered the title Ones and Zeroes before settling OK Computer, a phrase Yorke heard on a BBC traffic report.
Background
The album topped polls as a defining late-90s art-rock statement.