Editing Paranoid Android (section)

==Release==
{{Quote box
| quote = Each time I'd hear it, I'd keep thinking about people doing intricate jobs in factories&nbsp;– working on industrial lathes&nbsp;– getting injured from the shock of being exposed to it.
| source = — [[Thom Yorke]], on potential responses to "Paranoid Android" being played on [[BBC Radio 1]]<ref name="Mojo" />
| quoted = 1
| width = 35%
}}

While Colin Greenwood said the song was "hardly the radio-friendly, breakthrough, buzz bin unit shifter [radio stations] have been expecting",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paranoid Android |url=https://citizeninsane.eu/discog/03/paranoidandroid.html |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=citizeninsane.eu}}</ref> Capitol supported Radiohead's choice for "Paranoid Android" as the lead single from ''OK Computer''.<ref name="SUTHERLAND">{{cite magazine |last=Sutherland |first=Mark |date=24 May 1997 |title=Rounding the Bends |magazine=[[Melody Maker]]}}</ref> Radiohead chose it to prepare listeners for the musical direction of the album.<ref name=":1" /> 

"Paranoid Android" was premiered on the [[BBC Radio 1]] programme ''The Evening Session'' in April 1997, nearly a month before its release as a single.<ref>Randall, 2000. p. 201.</ref> It was released on 26 May 1997.<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine |last=Broc |first=David |date=June 2001 |title=Remembering the Future&nbsp;– Interview with Jonny Greenwood |magazine=Mondo Sonoro}}</ref>{{fcn|reason=Mondo Sonoro is written in Spanish. This appears to be a translation. Please cite the original title|date=July 2024}} Despite an initial lack of radio play, "Paranoid Android" charted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, giving Radiohead their highest singles chart position.<ref name="Randallcharts">Randall, 2000. pp. 242–43.</ref> As the song's popularity grew, Radio 1 played it up to 12 times a day.<ref name="Select">{{cite magazine |title=Renaissance Man |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |date=December 1997 <!--|url=http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=1997&cutting=48-->}}</ref> Yorke described its appearance on Radio 1 as one of his proudest moments of the ''OK Computer'' era.<ref name="Mojo">{{cite magazine |author-link=Nick Kent |last=Kent |first=Nick |date=June 2001 |title=Happy Now? |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] <!--|url=http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2001&cutting=121-->}}</ref> It also spent two weeks on [[Australia]]'s [[ARIA Singles Chart]], where it reached number 29.<ref name="australiancharts">{{cite web |url=http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Radiohead&titel=Paranoid+Android&cat=s |title=Radiohead&nbsp;– Paranoid Android |website=australian-charts.com |access-date=4 October 2008}}</ref>

Each release of "Paranoid Android" included one or more [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]]. "Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)", included on the CD1, 7-inch vinyl, and Japanese releases of the single, were a multi-section piece formatted much like "Paranoid Android" itself. The first part of the song consists of Yorke's vocals over acoustic guitar; the second part contains distorted guitar and [[Organ (music)|organ]] and uses complex time signature changes. "Pearly*", featured on the CD1 and Japanese releases of the single, was described by Yorke as a "dirty song for people who use sex for dirty things".<ref>Footman, 2007. pp. 173–174.</ref> "A Reminder", which appears on the CD2 release, features fuzzed guitar, thumping drums, and [[electric piano]]. According to Yorke, this song was inspired by "this idea of someone writing a song, sending it to someone, and saying: 'If I ever lose it, you just pick up the phone and play this song back to remind me.{{'"}}<ref>Footman, 2007. p. 168.</ref> "Melatonin", also on the CD2 release, is a synthesiser-based song with lyrics similar to that of a [[lullaby]], but with an undercurrent of menace in lines like "Death to all who stand in your way".<ref>Footman, 2007. pp. 171–172.</ref> The ''OK Computer'' track "Let Down" is also included on the Japanese single.

The anime ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'' uses "Paranoid Android" as the main theme. The song is featured in the credits.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ergo Proxy (TV Series 2006) |website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0791205/soundtrack/ |access-date=2022-07-30 |language=en}}</ref>{{bsn|reason=IMDb is an [[WP:RS/P|unreliable source]]|date=July 2024}} When Radiohead were asked about it being featured as the theme, they originally declined, but after being shown a preview of the anime they obliged and allowed it to be used. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ergo Proxy Music by Radiohead |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-02-15/ergo-proxy-music-by-radiohead |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=Anime News Network |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The List – 7 Times Western Music Invaded Anime |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-list/2018-09-22/.136812 |access-date=2022-07-30 |website=Anime News Network |language=en}}</ref>