Karma Police
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"Karma Police" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997 as the second single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997). It features acoustic guitar and piano, and lyrical themes of insanity and dissatisfaction with capitalism.
The music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, has the singer, Thom Yorke, in the back of a car pursuing a man. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Karma Police" reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK singles chart. In the US, it reached number 14 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was included on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008). Rolling Stone placed "Karma Police" at number 279 in its rankings of the 500 greatest songs of all time in both 2021 and 2024.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
CompositionEdit
"Karma Police" is in a Template:Music time signature and played in standard tuning. The song's key is ambiguous and changes throughout. The verse section can be interpreted as either moving between A natural minor and A dorian, or between E natural minor and E phrygian. The chorus section is in G major and the coda section can be interpreted in either B minor or D major.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Acoustic guitar and piano are the most prominent instruments.<ref>Footman, 2007. p. 79</ref> The piano riff resembles part of "Sexy Sadie" by the Beatles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The song progresses from the intro into a mid-tempo section which alternates between a verse and a chorus. The verse begins with the line "Karma police", and the chorus begins with the line "This is what you'll get". After this section cycles through twice, the song switches into a second section which is based around the line "For a minute there, I lost myself". Thom Yorke's voice is put through a reverb effect and a sliding melodic figure serves as a counterpoint to his vocals.<ref name="allmusic1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the final minute, Ed O'Brien distorts his guitar by driving a delay effect to self-oscillation, then lowering the delay rate, creating a "melting" effect.<ref>Randall 2000, p. 224</ref>
After Yorke told the producer, Nigel Godrich, that he was not happy with the ending, the pair reconstructed it with loops and samples, a technique they developed on later Radiohead albums. Godrich said: "It was the first time we did anything like that. Just us in the studio, and a forerunner of a lot of things to come, good and bad."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
LyricsEdit
The title lyric originates from an inside joke; the members of Radiohead would threaten to call the "karma police" if someone did something bad.<ref>Sutherland, Mark (31 May 1997). "Return of the Mac!". Melody Maker.</ref> Yorke said the song was about stress and "having people looking at you in that certain [malicious] way".<ref name="Randall223">Randall 2000, p. 223</ref> He said: "It's for someone who has to work for a large company. This is a song against bosses. Fuck the middle management!"<ref name="Independent">Webb, Robert (15 September 2006). "Story Of The Song: 'Karma Police' Radiohead (1997)". The Independent. Accessed on 15 October 2008.</ref>
Yorke and Jonny Greenwood emphasised that "Karma Police" was humorous and "not entirely serious".<ref name="Randall223" /> The lines "He buzzes like a fridge / He's like a detuned radio" refer to distracting, metaphorical background noise that Yorke called "fridge buzz", one of the themes of their 1997 album OK Computer.<ref>Footman 2007, p. 140</ref> "Karma Police" also shares themes of insanity and dissatisfaction with capitalism.<ref>Footman 2007, pp. 144–147</ref>
Yorke cited the closing refrain, "Phew, for a minute there I lost myself", as an example of his practice of using everyday phrases in his lyrics; he said he probably heard it on television.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> According to the Financial Times, "When sung in his trembling high voice, this unexceptional phrase becomes charged with power."<ref name=":0" /> Yorke said: "It's so ironic that for years people would write about the way I wrote lyrics as if it's like some deep heartfelt thing. It's fucking not at all. It's like collage. It's just walking down the street and experiencing something and thinking, 'What would that be like if I stuck that in your face?'"<ref name=":0" />
ReleaseEdit
In the United Kingdom, "Karma Police" was issued as the second single from OK Computer on 25 August 1997.<ref name="ukrel">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was released on two CD singles and a 12-inch vinyl single and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="ukrel" /><ref>Randall 2000, p. 248</ref> In the United States, the single was serviced to modern rock radio on 13 October 1997.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Five months later, in March 1998, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.<ref name="usas"/> In March 2010, almost 13 years later, "Karma Police" reached number 15 on the Danish Singles Chart.<ref name="den"/> Early versions of "Karma Police" were released on the 2019 compilation MiniDiscs [Hacked].<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, the American hardcore band Pierce the Veil covered "Karma Police" on Triple J while touring Australia.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Critical receptionEdit
Template:Expand section Steve Huey from AllMusic described "Karma Police" as "haunting, mystifying, and exquisite", labelling it "one of the cornerstones of one of the greatest albums of the '90s".<ref name="allmusic1" /> The Daily Record declared it a "superb song".<ref>"Chart Slot". Daily Record. 5 September 1997. Retrieved 1 December 2020.</ref> A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, picking it as one of the "standout tracks" from OK Computer.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rolling Stone placed "Karma Police" at position 279 on its ranking of the 500 greatest songs of all time in both 2021 and 2024.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The song possesses a near perfect rating of 95 on Album of the Year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Music videoEdit
The "Karma Police" music video was directed by Jonathan Glazer, who previously directed the video for Radiohead's 1996 single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)".<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The video is shot from the perspective of the driver of a car pursuing a man along a dark road, with Yorke in the back seat. The man falls to his knees and the car reverses, revealing that it is leaking fuel. The man produces matches from his pocket and ignites the trail of fuel. Yorke vanishes and the car is engulfed in flames.
Glazer initially pitched the concept to the American musician Marilyn Manson for his 1997 single "Long Hard Road Out of Hell". Manson wanted a video similar to David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway, which opens with a shot of a road rushing beneath the camera.<ref name=":3" /> After Manson rejected the concept, the video commissioner Dilly Gent recommended it to Radiohead for "Karma Police".<ref name=":3" /> According to Manson's collaborator Randy Sosin, after Manson saw the video, "Manson was like, 'Fuck that.' But, you know, a good idea is a good idea."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Glazer said he wanted to "shoot something very simple ... Where the whole narrative could be contained within a single sentence."<ref name=":3" /> The running man was played by the Hungarian actor Lajos Kovács. Kovács developed cramp during the running shots, and had to have injections in his leg to keep running. He also badly burnt his thumb during repeated takes lighting the book of matches behind his back.<ref name=":3" />
The video premiered in August 1997. Glazer won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards for his work on "Karma Police" and Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2001, Glazer said he regarded the video as a failure, "because I decided to do a very minimalist, subjective use of camera, and tried to do something hypnotic and dramatic from one perspective, and it was very hard to achieve and I feel that I didn't achieve it".<ref name=":4" /> He described his video for the 1998 Unkle single "Rabbit in Your Headlights", featuring Yorke on vocals, as a more successful "partner" to the "Karma Police" video.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Track listingsEdit
All songs written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood and Philip Selway. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
- UK CD1 Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- "Karma Police" – 4:23
- "Meeting in the Aisle" – 3:08
- "Lull" – 2:28
- UK CD2 Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- "Karma Police" – 4:23
- "Climbing Up the Walls" (Zero 7 Mix) – 5:19
- "Climbing Up the Walls" (Fila Brazillia Mix) – 6:24
- UK 12-inch vinyl Template:Small<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- A1. "Karma Police" – 4:23
- B1. "Meeting in the Aisle" – 3:08
- B2. "Climbing Up the Walls" (Zero 7 Mix) – 5:19
ChartsEdit
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Weekly chartsEdit
Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart| Chart (1997–2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite Ryan</ref> | 71 |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 59 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 14 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 1 |
| Italy Airplay (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 2 |
Year-end chartsEdit
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 2 |
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 41 |
CertificationsEdit
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ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
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- Osborn, Brad (2013). "Subverting the Verse–Chorus Paradigm: Terminally Climactic Form in Recent Rock Music." Music Theory Spectrum 35, no. 1, pp. 23–47.
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