“Paranoid Android” is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album, ‘OK Computer’ (1997) in May. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar. The song is over six minutes long and contains four sections. The name is taken from Marvin the Paranoid Android from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
The first version was over 14 minutes long and included a long Hammond organ outro performed by Jonny Greenwood. Influenced by the editing of the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, Radiohead shortened the song to six and a half minutes, with the organ solo replaced with a shorter guitar outro. It received acclaim, with critics comparing it to the songs “Happiness is a Warm Gun” by the Beatles and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. “Paranoid Android” charted at number three in the UK, Radiohead’s highest-charting position in the UK to date.
Radiohead commissioned the Swedish animator Magnus Carlsson to make the music video. Radiohead were fans of his animated series Robin. Jonny Greenwood described Robin as “affectionate” and “vulnerable”, while Yorke said he found Robin “quite the vulnerable character, but he’s also violently cynical and quite tough and would always get up again”. At first, Carlsson sought to work on a video for “No Surprises” and was uncertain as to how to approach “Paranoid Android”. To conceive the video, he locked himself in his office for over 12 hours to stare out of the window, listen to the song on repeat and jot down visual ideas. According to Yorke, the band did not send Magnus the lyrics as they did not want the video to be too literal. The concept for the video was based entirely on the song’s sound.
While the single did not receive significant radio play in the US, MTV placed its video on high rotation. The version most often shown was edited to remove the mermaids’ bare breasts. Greenwood said, “We would’ve understood if they had a problem with some guy chopping his arms and legs off, but I mean, a woman’s breasts! And mermaids as well! MTV Europe played the video uncut for two weeks because the channel’s official censor was ill and unable to work. After that time the channel ran the cut version of the video. A later US version of the video has the mermaids wearing bathing suits.
Paranoid Android has appeared regularly on lists of the best songs of all time, including NME’s and Rolling Stone’s respective 500 Greatest Songs of All Time lists. At the 1998 Brit Awards, the song was nominated for Best British Single. The track has been covered by artists in a variety of genres. It was included in the 2008 ‘Radiohead: The Best Of‘.
