if rock critics were to take
over the world - yikes! - surely the first order of business would be to
legally change the name of radiohead's ok computer to the dark side of
the moon of the 90's [though, judging by the continuing popularity of floyd
shirts among high schoolers, it would appear that dark side of the moon
is still very much the dark side of the moon of the 90s]. with the elder
dark side now celebrating 25 years of lunacy on the grass,
let's take a look at what
the next quarter-century holds in store for the computer kids.
1999 - thom yorke leaves radiohead during recording sessions for the followup to okc, reportedly disillusioned by the lack of interest expressed by the other four guys in radiohead toward the project, a two-cd rock opera chronicling yorke's increasing frustration with constantly being mistaken for homicide actor max perlich.
2001
- for his side project since the record-breaking success of titanic, james
cameron undertakes the cinematic adaptation of okc. leonardo dicaprio is
offered the lead role, but declines because he's still pissed about his
1997 oscar snub; max perlich is enlisted in his place. also appearing in
the film is stephen hawking, who turns in a cameo during the pivotal 'fitter
happier' interpretive dance sequence. despite sweeping the 2002 razzie
awards,
the film goes on to play
349 consecutive friday nights at the bloor cinema.
2003 - thom yorke forms a new band, the thom yorke project, with former stone roses guitarist john squire, former suede guitarist bernard butler, and veteran drummer kenny aronoff.
2004 - kenny aronoff breaks his finger in a bizarre net-surfing accident; replaced by jim keltner.
2005 - the mclaughlin planetarium reopens with the first-ever presentation of laser okc and though opening night tickets sell out in 10 minutes, it fails to break the previous fastest-sellout record set in 2002 by laser creed.
2007 - to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ok computer, yorke reunites with the other four guys in radiohead to perform okc in its entirety for the first-ever concert on the moon [an exclusive 102.1 the edge free-ticket-wicket presentation.] ensuing pay-per-view special hosted by latoya jackson.
2012 - to commemorate the 15th anniversary of okc, radiohead releases a deluxe 4cd boxset documenting the okc sessions. among the highlights is the original, unedited 67 minute version of paranoid android which takes up most of disc two.
2017 - to commemorate the 20th anniversary of okc, radiohead releases a special remastered deluxe 4cd boxset documenting the okc sessions.
2022 - to commemorate the 25th anniversary of okc, radiohead releases a special collectors' edition remastered deluxe 4cd boxset documenting the okc sessions. in keeping with the album's predominant themes of fear and chaos, the band insists that all available copies of this limited edition be locked up in indestructible black recorder boxes of 747s all over the world, thereby ensuring that the set can be obtained only by way of planecrash. after six fiery wrecks are brought on by dynamite-packing fans during the first week of release, radiohead states in a press release that the marketing ploy was just a joke and that 'everyone needs to develop a fucking sense of humor.' coincidentally, in the same year, some band somewhere records the okc of the 2020s.