Radiohead's OK Computer: 15 (33 1/3)

This is an awesome book about an awesome album by an awesome band.33 1/3 is a terrific series of pocket sized publications. If they have a book on any of your favorite albums, oh my goodness get it.

This was the first 33 1/3 book I've purchased or read and unfortunately I was sorely disappointed. I'm not sure what I was expecting, I guess more insights or stories about how the record was made? Instead I got what felt like a grad school thesis by an academic. No joke, the first third of this book is dedicated to a history of recording media used for music. Many of the musical comparisons the author makes are to boomer-era bands that I'm not very interested in. There was also some more analytical music theory that just went over my head. I didn't come away with a deeper understanding of the work, or even any interesting stories about its creation.

the 33 1/3 books, for the most part are very well written - this is one of the best

present for sis-in-law. sure it's great. arrived in good condition.

Phew! He really lost me here.This might be the biggest disappointment I've ever had reading any book in the history of my entire life. I sincerely wish I'd read the Amazon reviews prior to purchasing, but I've read other 33+1/3 titles that I enjoyed & had hoped for a good insightful read about my favorite rock record of all time. No such luck. Seriously, just read the Wikipedia page on OK Computer... it's far more interesting & informative, guaranteed!From what I can tell, the author's approach to writing about this album is to dissect it from a music theory standpoint - no surprises there (forgive all the cheesy song references... or don't... what do I care?) - he's the Head of a Music Dept. @ a University... so a very dry, very academic, less than interesting, term-papery read is what you can expect from this one (why am I trying to be pleasant, the book effing sucks!). Listen, I'm not knocking music theory or writing about it, but if you're not a musician or trained in what chords are significant to a composition & why, it's going to make for a dull read. He also spends a significant portion (as other reviews have stated) rambling on about the genesis of CD production & differences between LPs, etc. - is he trying to prove that OK Computer is in fact an album? Dude, we know it's an album, duh!Here's a list of reasons why this book sucks and you should just save your money & read the Wikipedia page: it NEVER talks about the recording process for OK Computer-one which is very fascinating in my opinion. It NEVER addressed any of the significant influences in the lyric writing (futurism, anti-capatalism, distrust of the government, influences from the writings of Noam Chomsky, etc). I can't recall any quotes or interviews with the band members being cited, or really any tidbits of knowledge that I would be interested to go back & read again. Discussion about the album's artwork-nope. Mention of the album's influence on rock & pop music of years to come-nada.Frank Zappa's quote, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" is precisely what comes to mind with this book - though I think some writers have effectively tackled other albums - Griffiths falls WAY, WAY, WAY short.Hey 33+1/3 - you really need to maybe try reading the work you're publishing before sending it to press... here's the test, if you fall asleep reading it, or at any point think the book might be better served to balance a wobbly table... probably needs to be re-written! I'm not going to even ask you guys to try to re-do this book because you've failed miserably by letting this one get published... so it's someone else's turn to do a book on OK Computer for real.