‘Karma Police’ is the sixth track on OK Computer, Radiohead’s third studio album, released in 1997. That is an album that immediately was praised by critics as one of the best albums of the 20th century. It’s regarded as one of the best albums of all time to this day. I think everyone knows this one. Crowds are able to drown out Thom Yorke when he sings the ‘For a minute there’ section. It’s definitely one of Radiohead’s most popular songs. ‘Creep’ probably takes the crown as the one that really everyone knows, even if they don’t know who the band are. But ‘Karma Police’ is more engaging by a large distance.

I think I saw its music video (above) first before anything else. That’s how it went with me and Radiohead – I saw their music videos before I actually sat down and listened to any of their albums. The band’s videos were always randomly shown on MTV2 in the mid-2000s. For good reason too because they were always worth watching. But I would have been about 10 around that time and not paying so much attention to the music. I don’t know how the track ended up on the family computer – I’ll say one of my sister’s school friends sent her the song through MSN because it wasn’t anything to do with me – but it was there. I listened to it here and there. Been a big fan ever since.

The track is probably seen as an ‘entry-level’ Radiohead track but I feel a lot of emotion when listening to it. A lot more now than when I was a kid because… I guess music moves me a lot easier as I get older. It’s just so gloomy and dark and atmospheric. It has those little moments that add so much to the track, like that ‘aaaaahhh’ vocal that appears on the left side during the verses (recorded on a telephone if you didn’t know), those choir-like ‘oohs’ during the ‘this is what you get’ parts which are actually a synthesizer played by Jonny Greenwood….. the piano that sneaks in and plays its fills. It’s a track that’s full of surprises. And if you don’t feel something when Thom Yorke belts out the last ‘I lost myself’ then you know… you’re just into other stuff I guess. But I like it. Never grown tired of it. Don’t think I will any time soon.