Editing Paranoid Android (section)

== Reception ==
"Paranoid Android" received acclaim. ''[[NME]]'' chose it as its "Single of the Week", and the journalist Simon Williams described how the song "sprawls out like a plump man on a small sofa, featuring all manner of crypto-flamenco shufflings, medieval wailings, furiously wrenched guitars and ravishingly over-ambitious ideas. Possesses one of the most unorthodox 'axe' solos known to mankind."<ref name="NMErev">{{cite magazine |last=Williams |first=Simon |date=24 May 1997 |title=Paranoid Android |magazine=[[NME]] <!--|url=http://www.geocities.com/sulkygirl_23/rh_files/s/pa_nme.html-->}}</ref> Simon Williams of ''[[NME]]'' described the song as "not unlike 'Bohemian Rhapsody' being played backwards by a bunch of [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] vets high on Kings Cross-quality crack".<ref name="NMErev" /> Kemp praised the mix of acoustic and electronic instrumentation to produce "complex tempo changes, touches of dissonance, ancient [[choral music]] and a [[King Crimson]]-like melodic structure".<ref name="RSrev" /> Browne wrote of "celestial call-and-response vocal passages, dynamically varied sections, and Thom Yorke's high-voiced bleat".<ref name="EWrev" /> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' called the song unforgettable and an "amazing epic single".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thompson |first=Stephen |date=29 March 2002 |url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/11025 |title=OK Computer |magazine=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=4 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210025422/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/11025 |archive-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref>

Several reviewers noted the song's ambition. ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' described the song's lyrics as a "multipart anti-[[yuppie]] anthem whose ambition is anything but ugly",<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |date=27 May 2007 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1136 |title=Radiohead: OK Computer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813213756/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1136 |archive-date=13 August 2009 |magazine=[[Slant Magazine]] |access-date=4 October 2008}}</ref> and Andy Gill wrote in ''[[The Independent]]'' that "Paranoid Android" could be the most ambitious single since [[Jimmy Webb]]'s "[[MacArthur Park (song)|MacArthur Park]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Gill |first=Andy |date=29 April 2005 |title=First Impression: 'OK Computer' by Radiohead, 13 June 1997 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |page=5}}</ref> Craig McLean of ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' described "Paranoid Android" as "a titanic guitar [[opera]] in three movements and 6½ minutes".<ref>{{cite news |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=14 June 2003 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/13/1055220766407.html |title=Don't worry, be happy |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=4 October 2008}}</ref> ''[[PopMatters]]''{{'}} Evan Sawdey called the song ''OK Computer''{{'}}s "sweeping, multi-tiered centerpiece",<ref name="PopMatters">{{cite web |last=Sawdey |first=Evan |date=2 June 2008 |url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/59186/radiohead-the-best-of-dvd/ |title=Radiohead: The Best Of [DVD] |website=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=4 October 2008}}</ref> Peter and Jonathan Buckley wrote in ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' that it was the album's "breathtaking high point".<ref>Buckley, 2003. p. 83.</ref> ''[[AllMusic]]''{{'s}} [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] called "Paranoid Android" "complex, multi-segmented&nbsp;... tight, melodic, and muscular", and said it displayed Radiohead at their most adventurous.<ref>{{cite web |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=r278014|pure_url=yes}} |title=OK Computer > Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 October 2008}}</ref> Browne admitted that, partially because of "Paranoid Android", ''OK Computer'' was significantly more expansive than ''[[The Bends (album)|The Bends]]''.<ref name="EWrev" /> ''Rolling Stone'' placed the song at number 256 on its list of "[[500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]",<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625061023/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/3 |archive-date=2008-06-25 |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (201–300) |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=5 October 2008}}</ref> and ''[[Pitchfork (magazine)|Pitchfork]]'' included the song at number 4 on their ''Top 200 Tracks of the 90s''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7853-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-20-01/2/|title=Staff Lists|website=Pitchfork|date=3 September 2010 }}</ref> In 2019, ''[[American Songwriter]]'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Radiohead songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-20-best-radiohead-songs/4/|title=The 20 Best Radiohead Songs of All Time|first=Jim|last=Beviglia|website=[[American Songwriter]]|date=27 October 2019|access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> and in 2020, ''[[The Guardian]]'' ranked the song number one on their list of the 40 greatest Radiohead songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/23/radioheads-40-greatest-songs-ranked|title=Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked!|first=Jazz|last=Monroe|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=23 January 2020|access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref>