Architecture, Music, Etc.

None of the pictures are mine, unless otherwise indicated. Enjoy

[evocativesynthesis-blog]

[burning-stmandard-deactivated20]

Cambridge—King’s College Chapel (by Lawrence OP)

[spotlightin-blog]

EYO MAH B JAI PAUL MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT DROPPED HIS ALBUM

YALL CANT PICK UP DAT SHIT HERE CUZ ITS FAKE YALL. SORRY B.

[spotlightin-blog]

7. "Fitter Happier" and 8. "Electioneering"

Ugh.

[oneinchlunch-deactivated2023062]

[fuckyeahbrutalism]

Creative Arts Center, New York (Project), 1967

(Paul Rudolph)

[jurassiclemon]

[burning-stmandard-deactivated20]

Prism (by Arni J.M.)

[architectureofdoom]

Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY, Wallace Harrison/Max Abramovitz, 1957-76

[infinitehallucination]

Geometry + Geology: Hayward Gallery by Daniel Hewitt

[spotlightin-blog]

6. "Karma Police"

"Sexy Sadie." Yes, the chord progression to "Karma Police" is very nearly identical to that of the singular Beatles song; the band has acknowledged this. The fact that they took Lennon's clever slam against Maharishi Yogi, the man whose religious standing was supposedly a façade to get women, and turned it into a screed against the British government, is, uh, audacious of them. 

And yes, it is specifically directed against the government. Yorke orders the karma police to arrest those that make him feel uncomfortable, whether they be a man that "buzzes like a fridge" (he is out of place in the public sphere) or a girl with a "Hitler hairdo" (she challenges societal norms in an almost innocuous way; who gives a shit if she happens to have a hairdo that resembles Hitler's? It's a clear overreaction). He uses the song satirically, to lambast the government for going after those it deems unsuitable in pursuit of a false utopia.

The song depends, musically, on interplay between guitar and piano. The drums are slow and plodding, but lighter percussion snakes along higher up in the mix to produce a sense of unease. Much like Interpol's "Untitled," the song employs a sliding guitar line to simulate the sound of a car rushing by. This is used to show the singer's placement in society; he cannot move forward. He remains situated in one place.

Interestingly, this lends the song to be sympathetic to the man. After all, much of OK Computer beholds the conceit that those who resist change are simply beaten down by society out of horror or desperation. Therefore, we can conclude that the man is not "evil," but has simply been transformed by modern society into a complete misanthrope. His ability to call the police on those he hates cements this idea: the government encourages his behavior.

Lyrics

Karma police, arrest this man  He talks in maths  He buzzes like a fridge  He's like a detuned radio  Karma police, arrest this girl  Her Hitler hairdo is  Making me feel ill  And we have crashed her party  This is what you get  This is what you get  This is what you get when you mess with us  Karma Police  I've given all I can  It's not enough  I've given all I can  But we're still on the payroll  This is what you get  This is what you get  This is what you get when you mess with us  And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself  And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself  For for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself  For for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself  Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself

[n-architektur]

[burning-stmandard-deactivated20]

Añaza, Tenerife

Photographed by ylenia arca

[spotlightin-blog]

5. "Let Down"

As the title suggests, "Let Down" is a bit of a downer. Well, okay, much of the album is, but this song holds a special place for being specifically about the total alienation experienced by the narrator towards modern life. Well, okay, much of the album is about that too. But instead of sidestepping the issue, or cloaking it in metaphor, Radiohead tackles the idea here head-on. 

The melody stumbles forward, as if in a daze. Yorke mumbles off different facets of modern life: highways, starting and stopping, motorways and tramlines. He says that people are crushed into the ground like bugs, or clinging onto their own alcoholism to escape from the encroaching dread of modern existence. That's not the sad part, though. The sad part is when he says with ironic hope that one day he will fly away from it all, because he will be bathed in chemicals that give him wings. It's all "hysterical and useless" to him. There is a real pathos in the way he gives up any hope for a truly fulfilling life.

Of course, if the song were just Thom Yorke being melodramatic, there wouldn't be much separating it from most of the other songs in the Radiohead canon. The fact that he wasn't actually depressed when he recorded the album only matters insofar that we shouldn't be calling up his house to check on him; he's okay guys, really!

No, what truly makes the song special is the production. The guitar is the key player here, and what could it sound like but raindrops falling down towards the earth, as our protagonist falls from his perch of sanity. The whole "gentle patter" that guitar songs employ nowadays is so monstrously overused that I rolled my eyes when I heard this chucklefuck use it as if he came up with the idea himself. But when Radiohead did it it was legitimately interesting; keep in mind that this was one of the first rock albums to fully embrace ambiance. 

The rest of the instruments pull their weight here, too, lest we forget. There is another guitar strumming at either ear, creating the image of a cage around our skulls. The big dramatic moment comes about 1:45 in, when the light drums become more powerful and begin to truly propel the song forward, forward in its sad, despondent haze. And of course, 3:20 into the song, a synthesizer brings in robotic bips that further solidify the album's thesis. If you don't know what that is by now, then I'm not sure what to tell you, really.

Lyrics:

Transport

Motorways and tramlines

Starting and then stopping

Taking off and landing

The emptiest of feelings

Disappointed people

Clinging onto bottles

And when it comes it's so so disappointing

Let down and hanging around

Crushed like a bug in the ground

Let down and hanging around Shell smashed, juices flowing

Wings twitch legs are going

Don't get sentimental

It always ends up drivel

One day I am gonna to grow wings

A chemical reaction

Hysterical and useless

Hysterical and Let down and hanging around

Crushed like a bug in the ground

Let down and hanging around Let down and hanging

Let down

Let down

You know, you know where you are with

You know where you are with

Floor collapsing, floating

Bouncing back and One day I am gonna grow wings

A chemical reaction

(You know where you are)

Hysterical and useless

(You know where you are)

Hysterical and

(You know where you are)

Let down and hanging around

Crushed like a bug in the ground

Let down and hanging around

[bazaardotco]

[burning-stmandard-deactivated20]

Wheatfield – A Confrontation: Battery Park Landfill, Downtown Manhattan, 1982 — Agnes Denes

[deactivated-blog]

[burning-stmandard-deactivated20]

the tower │ x │ flickr set

[spotlightin-blog]

4. "Exit Music (For a Film)"

Well, that was a long-ass break.

The important thing to note about "Exit Music (For a Film)" is that it was written about Romeo & Juliet; specifically, it was written for the 1996 Baz Lurhmann adaptation, one which kept all of the original Shakespearean dialogue and set the events in a hyperreal modern world. I love the film, though that may be a minority opinion, but its contents actually play into OK Computer's themes. After all, is OK Computer not a reinterpretation of rock music based in electronica? AKA, a transcription of the old into the new? 

The song was written for the film, but Yorke specifically forbade Luhrmann from placing it on the soundtrack. Luhrmann agreed, and the song's only connection with the film now is its presence during the credits.

There's not much to talk about in the way of lyrics, since they're a summation of the events of the tail end of Romeo + Juliet. However, there are a few specific choices of phrase that I find interesting. For example, even in death, all of Romeo's words are commands to Juliet, until the finale, in which he simply says that "we hope that you choke." He has given up on all hope, and simply wants others to suffer as he does now. Ouch.

An eerie choir intrudes when the word "Breathe" is uttered; obviously, they're not going to be breathing for much longer. The choir serves as a sort of chorus of angels, ushering Romeo and Juliet into heaven. Found noises punctuate the atmosphere now. They're vaguely unsettling, and give the idea that the world has slowed down around the couple, or perhaps sped up. Whichever it is, time is changing for the two at a supernatural rate.

The big drum break occurs just before Yorke says that "You can laugh a spineless laugh..." He mocks authority even on his deathbed, and wishes them the same fate. And his voice rises up, along with a reappearing choir, once he says that he and Juliet are finally at peace. Notably, the song ends in falsetto. He is much more damaged and frail-sounding at the end than he was at the beginning.

More generally, the idea of rebellion in Romeo + Juliet plays into OK Computer, but as a tragedy as well, it serves as a decidedly pessimistic note. In fact, this is probably the saddest song on the whole album. Many would label "No Surprises" as that song, but I am inclined to disagree, the reasons for which I will expound upon once I get there which, at the current rate, will be in a few years.

Lyrics:

Wake.. from your sleep The drying of your tears Today we escape, we escape Pack.. and get dressed Before your father hears us Before all hell breaks loose Breathe, keep breathing Don't lose your nerve Breathe, keep breathing I can't do this alone Sing.. us a song A song to keep us warm There's such a chill, such a chill You can laugh A spineless laugh We hope your rules and wisdom choke you Now we are one in everlasting peace We hope that you choke, that you choke We hope that you choke, that you choke We hope that you choke, that you choke

[thekhooll-deactivated20210705]

Mountains

By Bernd Wichmann

[fuckyeahbrutalism]

Hotel Ashkhabad, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1969

(A. Akhmedov, F. Aliyev, V. Vysotin, V. Kutomov)

[spotlightin-blog]

Apologies!

I have just not been able to post here for a while; I'll try as best I can to write up my critique of "Exit Music (For a Film)" and post it here by Friday. I'm sure you're all deeply worried.

In the meantime, I command you to recognize how bizarre the Billboard Hot 100 is right now, because really, what the fuck.