The English are not effusive by nature, but they make exceptions for David Beckham, Cliff Richard and Radiohead. Given the choices, Radiohead seems by far the most rational, even if OK Computer is not, as voted by the readers of Q magazine, the greatest album in the history of the world. What it is is a spooky, atmospheric, intense and paranoid rumination on modern life—the kind of thing that would be insufferable if it didn’t float along on a procession of gorgeous melodies (“Karma Police,” “Lucky”) punctuated by Thom Yorke’s elastic tenor. It also marked these five Oxonians’ departure from mainstream rock and their assumption of the title The Only Band That Matters, which they still hold as of this writing. Whether any of this can be attributed to the fact that OK Computer was recorded in Jane Seymour’s mansion while she was filming episodes of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman is a matter of considerable debate.