My kids (4 and 6) were in charge of music during our morning routine today, and happened upon Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’. Very picky listeners both, the song got a surprising full playthrough (no small feat at a length of 6:23, or ~24 attention spans!), resulting in one very proud parent.

It got me in a bit of a nostalgic mood, the memories of ‘OK Computer’ releasing in 1997 flooding back; for those of you who weren’t around at the time, or maybe weren’t at an age where you were hit by the full force of this groundbreaking album, it was a really, really special period.

I couldn’t help thinking that this particular experience was something my daughters would never be able to have, and it’s something I could never explain to them; I don’t remember the particulars of my life at the time, apart from basic stuff like where I must have lived, what school I must have been at, and there’s no putting into words the deeply personal feeling of being, well, me at that moment.

It’s more like a taste you can almost, but not quite, recall, a scent, an ambiance amalgamated from every single impression you got from being alive at a certain time. I don’t know how to convey that to others, and I’m not sure it’s possible.

Anyway, it prompted me to go check if there was a documentary or similar about the release of ‘OK Computer’, and I found this gem. For those of you who were at just the right time in your life in 1997 for this album to have made an impact, I hope this takes you back in the best of ways.

For me personally, ‘OK Computer’ was like having my brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick; an aural Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, if you will (1997 also happens to be the year that the leather-bound, guilt-edged omnibus edition of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy” was released, which I promptly purchased and subsequently swore to never lend to anyone, having lost all previous copies of the books to forgetful and/or careless friends; but that’s another story).

Watching this documentary certainly managed to scratch my nostalgic itch. Good times. I’m curious to know what the rest of you think of the video, should you manage to finish it 🙂