Paranoid Android

From Free net encyclopedia

"Paranoid Android" is a song by Radiohead, from their highly acclaimed third album, OK Computer. Despite its unusual length of over six minutes, it was the first single from that album in 1997. The song's release marks Radiohead's ascent as innovators in the art rock genre, and is still considered by many to be the band's best work.

Bassist Colin Greenwood said "On 'Paranoid Android' what we were into was the idea of a DJ Shadow meets The Beatles thing." Thom Yorke also compared the song to The Beatles' work, saying "it really started out as three separate songs and we didn't know what to do with them. Then we thought of 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' — which was obviously three different bits that John Lennon put together — and said 'Why don't we try that?'"

"Paranoid Android" has been covered by several artists, including jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and the alternative jazz group the pulsar triyo.[1]

1 The Title
2 The Music
3 Track listings
4 External links

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The Title

The title is a reference to a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy named "Marvin the Paranoid Android", but the song is not about the specific character.

Some fansTemplate:Citationneeded have claimed the lyrics reference the short section of the Hitchhiker's guide when Marvin "The Paranoid Android" is introduced. Computer-generated voices dubbed into the background of the song are reminicent of the electronically-altered voices in the BBC radio series of Hitchhiker's Guide.

References include:

"Paranoid Android" was the first track written for the album OK Computer. The words "OK, Computer" are spoken just before Marvin is introduced.
The opening line "Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest" refers to Arthur being woken by the sounds of arguing at the start of the scene.
"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly" refers to the book version of H2G2, in which Ford is irritated by Zaphod's desire to plunder Magrathea.
"When I am king you will be first against the wall" alludes to an entry in the guide that refers to Marvin's designers as "a bunch of jerks who'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes"
"Why don't you remember my name" refers to Zaphod calling Arthur variations on 'Earthman'
"Off with his head" (sung twice) alludes to Zaphod's two heads
"The panic" refers to the guide's cover inscription, 'Don't Panic';
"Rain down on me / from a great height" refers to a sperm whale falling to its doom at the end of the scene.
The closing lyrics "God loves his children, yeah!" may reference Marvin's death, whereupon he reads "God's Final Message to His Creation".

However, lead singer Thom Yorke explained the lyrics as being inspired by intrusive fans, who harassed him in a New York bar: "Everyone was trying to get something out of me. I felt like my own self was collapsing in the presence of it, but I also felt completely, utterly part of it, like it was all going to come crashing down any minute.

"It's about being exposed to God, I dunno. It was that one night, really. We'd been rehearsing the song for months, but the lyrics came to me at five o'clock that morning. I was trying to sleep when I literally heard these voices that wouldn't leave me alone. They were the voices of the people I'd heard in the bar. It turned out to be a notorious, coke-fiend place, but I didn't know that. Basically it's just about chaos, chaos, utter fucking chaos."

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The Music

In addition to unconventional lyrics and length, the song also draws upon various different insturments in order to create a complex sonic landscape. The song beings with 4 short beeps, not unlike the Greenwich Time Signal. These appear on the single version of the track, but on OK Computer they are at the end of the preceding track, Airbag.

In the first movement traditional rock instruments, steel-string acoustic guitar played by Thom and the electric guitar played by Jonny are made unique thorugh a complex picking pattern, and a variety of effects on Jonny's guitar. Upon reaching the chorus, a third guitar is added, played by Ed O'Brien 2 octaves up, giving it a distinct computer-like quality that adds to the atmosphere of the song. Throughout this first movement, there are also several atypical instruments being played. A cabasa, an African percussion instrument, a clave, maracas, and a syncopated bass drum are all in the mix.

The second movement returns to more traditional rock - but with several Radiohead twists. The complexity is great in this part of the song, with three guitars, bass guitar, drums, as well as a keyboard. Also, the meter of the song switches between 7/8 and 4/4 at several points. Jonny's solo in this section also sounds completely original and uninfluenced by the "shredding metal-gods" of the 80's while still retaining a very aggressive feel. This movement ends in a crash leading into the much softer 3rd movement.

While the acoustic guitar keeps playing, several elements are added. In this section, several monk chanters, apparently created from reversing a recording of Thom saying "monk" and adding pitch, can be heard. As the movement progresses, a keyboard and more and more layers of Thom's voice are added, building up to the end. The movement goes out as suddenly as it came in, with a refrain of the screeching guitars from the second movement. This time, Jonny's guitar is fed twice through a Mutronics Mutator to achieve a unique sound. After several seconds of thrashing, the song ends in a fast decrescendo of descending chords.

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