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For decades, music fans have been torn over the narrative of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the perennial choice for The Greatest Album Of All Time, in observance of its 50th anniversary. Earlier this month, there was a round of fresh takes about the Beatles’ Sgt. I don’t agree with you, but I understand your gag reflex. If you belong in category two or three - I get it. (You are now suspended from all music conversations for the next month.)ģ) Intense disagreement, because you dislike OK Computer, in part, because music critics keep insisting that it’s the best album of the 20 years. Or you might stump for The Bends, because you forgot that it came out more than 20 years ago. You might even believe that OK Computer isn’t even the best Radiohead album maybe you like Kid A or In Rainbows more. A statement like “ OK Computer is the best album of the last 20 years” is bound to elicit at least three types of responses:ġ) Agreement, because you believe that OK Computer truly is the best album of the last 20 years.Ģ) Mild disagreement, because you like OK Computer but you think some other album is better. I’m guessing that most people will judge this story based solely on the headline. These are highly polarized times, after all, in which our minds are already made up on a variety of issues, including the legacy of a prog-rock album released in 1997 by a British band named after an obscure song by the Talking Heads. However, I know that success or failure in this arena depends a lot on you, the reader. I am going to mount an argument that OK Computer by Radiohead is the best album of the last 20 years.
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