Radiohead Strike Gold

NME called it "age-defining...one of the most startling albums ever made," and this week Radiohead's critically acclaimed OK Computer posted record sales to match its superlative reviews.

OK Computer, which was certified gold this week, is the most commercially successful release for the gloom-rock quintet from Oxford, England. The album sold a half million copies in just under four months thanks in large part to the popularity of the single "Karma Police," which is in its fifth week on MTV's "Buzz Clip" rotation.

The band recently completed a successful tour of the United States, with celebrity fans such as U2, R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins and Madonna on the guest lists at their sold-out shows. Radiohead is currently in the middle of the European leg of their world tour and will hit Japan in early 1998.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter