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Radiohead — Karma Police
Album: OK Computer
Avg rating:
8.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 5676









Released: 1997
Length: 4:21
Plays (last 30 days): 4
Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge, he's like a detuned radio
Karma police, arrest this girl, her Hitler hairdo
Is making me feel ill and we have crashed her party

This is what you get, this is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us

Karma police, I've given all I can, it's not enough
I've given all I can but we're still on the payroll

This is what you get, this is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us

For a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew for a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself
Oh for a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself
Phew for a minute there I lost myself, I lost myself
Comments (498)add comment
 philinnz wrote:

probably not. You just get born again into a horrible existance. Like Trumpie is going to come back as a penniless Mexican and get shot trying to get across the wall he built


Boy this comment did not age well. In an age of Wrong speak, lawfare and overrun cities.  I guess someone lost themselves.
Very serios problems! I crashed my pot of coffee this morning! With coffee! That is a Problem!
 MattRudely wrote:

YouTube >> "reggie watts radiohead"




Hilarious and spot on. Thanks for that.
Everything except that ending!
 jam420888 wrote:

¡ ↳๏$τ m¥ $∉↳℉ ℉๏® ∂ m¡n 



Clearly a sign of mental deterioration caused by listening too much to Thom Yorke. 
¡ ↳๏$τ m¥ $∉↳℉ ℉๏® ∂ m¡n 
The outro could have been the soundtrack to yesterday's very short SpaceX Superheavy flight.
 eileenomurphy wrote:

Nyet! ...Radiohead is hit or miss for me. ...this is a miss.




Couldn't disagree more. This song is a masterpiece.

But hey, as my dad would say, "If everyone drove a Ford, there'd be no Chevys."
 philinnz wrote:

probably not. You just get born again into a horrible existance. Like Trumpie is going to come back as a penniless Mexican and get shot trying to get across the wall he built


And this has what to do with the music? I ask that question, as well, to the 43 ignoramuses who gave you a thumbs up.
Piano has a Sexy Sadie vibe

fucking amazing! 
Nice Segway
 bronorb wrote:
I rated this a 3 probably many years ago (I've been listening to RP for a long time). I just bumped up my rating. Some songs are like that. They rub you the wrong way on the first listen but the more you hear them, the more they settle in. 
 
I always know that I have to listen to Radiohead albums 6 times before I fall in love with them all. Its worth the effort try it everyone please or you won't know what you're missing.
 DrLex wrote:

There's nothing odd about it. Those who like a song will usually not be inclined to praise it over and over again every time it is played. Those few who hate the song though, will keep on trying to vent their frustration. This makes the negative comments come floating on top of the rest, like pieces of buoyant waste…


I've got a personal policy on RP of not posting negativity, and just moving the hell on if I've got nothing better to say than "this sucks" (for the most part). I really wish more people would do the same. There's nothing to gained by being a jerk.
 RoelantSiekman wrote:

Problem: if I rate this a 10, how can I rate the even better songs on OK computer (Homesick Subterranean Alien)(No Surprises)?


Easy.  They are all 10.
I never understood the appeal of Radiohead. Utterly mundane, monotonous songs, bordering on maudlin. Are they British? Must be a British thing. Is that it?
25th anniversary just 2 days ago, this album - hasn't aged one iota.
First song I've ever heard from them a few years ago, immediate 10. They do have much more interesting songs, but this is always a sing-along listen with touching emotions. I just can't seem to find any faults - from the flow, the lyrics, the singing, to stylistic choices and the record it's featured on, simply a great composition. 
for a minute there I lost myself  
Problem: if I rate this a 10, how can I rate the even better songs on OK computer (Homesick Subterranean Alien)(No Surprises)?
I haven't played the album in its entirety for quite a while, but still it feels wrong that this is not followed by “Fitter, Happier.”
I just upped my rating. I guess it is starting to grow on me.
 eileenomurphy wrote:

Nyet! ...Radiohead is hit or miss for me. ...this is a miss.




Not MY favorite RH tune, either, not bad, but not great!
i cannot bear to score this above 1, so i did not
 eileenomurphy wrote:

Nyet! ...Radiohead is hit or miss for me. ...this is a miss.



Love this comment... They're hit or miss for me too - but this is a hit... Goes to show that there's no right or wrong in music appreciation - we just like what we like!!

Thanks RP for just being here 
It's really weird, the older I get the more I appreciate Radiohead. I'm sixty four years young.
YouTube >> "reggie watts radiohead"
 DrLex wrote:

There's nothing odd about it. Those who like a song will usually not be inclined to praise it over and over again every time it is played. Those few who hate the song though, will keep on trying to vent their frustration. This makes the negative comments come floating on top of the rest, like pieces of buoyant waste…


I wouldn't mind praising it over and over, but that is probably just as annoying.
Radiohead (Thom York) is the modern Bach Beethoven and Mozert all rolled in one)

EDIT: note to myself: dont't forget John Greenwood
 cavemanleong wrote:
 What an amazing song!
 What an amazing album

 kenslvr wrote:
Thom Yorke is a whiney little bitch, but you could surmise that just from his name. 
 
Not sure how you get that from York?
The weirdly prophetic fact about this song is that when the GCHQ (the British NSA) started a covert surveillance programme they thought they were mightily cool guys when they named it after this song. The project was - if not counter-constitutional - at least without parliamentary oversight. Quite a double-edged wittiness, when this song is about folks just like them!
wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_Police_(surveillance_programme)

Anywayz Bill, thanks for reminding us.
 ThePoose wrote:
Sexy Sadieish
 
True.  I didn't notice it until I read your post.
Thom Yorke is a whiney little bitch, but you could surmise that just from his name. 
 coloradojohn wrote:
It still strikes me how TY can sound more unhinged than almost anyone else when he delivers searing lyrics, and their music is so wow
 
The last time I heard anyone this mad it was Johnny Rotten.
Nyet! ...Radiohead is hit or miss for me. ...this is a miss.
 bronorb wrote:

I rated this a 3 probably many years ago (I've been listening to RP for a long time). I just bumped up my rating. Some songs are like that. They rub you the wrong way on the first listen but the more you hear them, the more they settle in. 
 
Same here, in fact RH might be the band BillG has changed my opinion on the most.
+1 to 7 with room to grow.
Long Live RP!!

*2 years later, April 2022, +1 to 8, crazy good with the new planar magnetic HiFimans
The Song Police rate this a NINE!
Without a doubt one of Radiohead's most accesible and best songs. 
Sexy Sadieish
i LOVE that fade-out noise !!!!!!!!!!!
Tellement de souvenirs sur cette chanson. La première fois que j'ai entendu cette chanson,. j'ai pris une baffe. je donne un 10.
 DrLex wrote:

There's nothing odd about it. Those who like a song will usually not be inclined to praise it over and over again every time it is played. Those few who hate the song though, will keep on trying to vent their frustration. This makes the negative comments come floating on top of the rest, like pieces of buoyant waste…
 
I rated this a 3 probably many years ago (I've been listening to RP for a long time). I just bumped up my rating. Some songs are like that. They rub you the wrong way on the first listen but the more you hear them, the more they settle in. 
 kingart wrote:
OMG. Get this dude some happy pills for Jeez sake. One fookin RH song after another is a vehicle of angst and despair. 
 

"you know everyone has problems it doesn't mean you have to be a little crybaby about it"
Will the Karma Police be pulling up to the White House in the near future?  Please?!?   Asking for a friend.   
Radiohead has written some excellent lyrics over the years!
Waaaay too much Radiohead being played lately on the RP machine.  In a perfect world, there would be none played.  I can dream...
This is getting a ten! Unidentified Musical Object
Still one of my favorite songs off of one of my favorite albums of all time. When I first heard this album I identified with every song as though this was written for me.
 DrLex wrote:

There's nothing odd about it. Those who like a song will usually not be inclined to praise it over and over again every time it is played. Those few who hate the song though, will keep on trying to vent their frustration. This makes the negative comments come floating on top of the rest, like pieces of buoyant waste…
 
Well said.
Great song, btw!

 What an amazing song!
 Algis wrote:
What an awful ending!
 
For a minute there you lost me.
in general, radiohead are at best, weird. this is a really good example of how weird bleeds into really bad. 
What an awful ending!
This is what you get: {#Razz}
And a 2.
 Baby_M wrote:
Wouldn't the Karma Police be arresting you for crimes you committed in a past life?

 
probably not. You just get born again into a horrible existance. Like Trumpie is going to come back as a penniless Mexican and get shot trying to get across the wall he built
It still strikes me how TY can sound more unhinged than almost anyone else when he delivers searing lyrics, and their music is so wow
Sexy Sadie changes therein

 
Un peu surfait, surjoué. La moitié de la chanson me fait penser à du "Frank Black" (Frank Black 1993).

 Steely_D wrote:
Sexy Sadie

 
Oh yes!!! That's exactly what I thought
Still enjoying this song...
Wouldn't the Karma Police be arresting you for crimes you committed in a past life?
 bam23 wrote:
Isn't it odd that the rating at present is 8.2, suggesting that this piece is very favorably received by the listeners here, and yet all I find are dismissive rejections of the song? Anyway, I really like it and will not join in the Radiohead bashing exercise.
 
There's nothing odd about it. Those who like a song will usually not be inclined to praise it over and over again every time it is played. Those few who hate the song though, will keep on trying to vent their frustration. This makes the negative comments come floating on top of the rest, like pieces of buoyant waste…
Still just fucking awful.
{#Arrowd} what he said {#Arrowd}
Isn't it odd that the rating at present is 8.2, suggesting that this piece is very favorably received by the listeners here, and yet all I find are dismissive rejections of the song? Anyway, I really like it and will not join in the Radiohead bashing exercise.
 Steely_D wrote:
Sexy Sadie

 
Once a plagiarizer, always a plagiarizer?
It's not too bad, but I feel like RH started to slide right about here. The Bends had so much promise.
OMG. Get this dude some happy pills for Jeez sake. One fookin RH song after another is a vehicle of angst and despair. 
freakin' railroad spikes on a freakin' chalkboard....feel free to remove this from your circulation
i'm not knocking Yorke's vocals, plenty has been said about that
but wouldn't it be great to listen to this album without the lead vocals
maybe keep the background vocals 


            It's  my work, I am invisible
.Karma Police are part of peacekeping forces.
 Dutch police are training eagles to take out drones ,
For years I felt like I was the only one that didn't enjoy listening to Radiohead, then came In Rainbows,which blew me away. That album is just fantastic. 
Somebody please give Yorke something to eat. At least his mouth would be full and unable to whin...sing. ;)
See, I like the baseline at the end. Each to their own. It would be very boring if we all liked the same thing 
 Not sure what you mean, but it made me smile. Perhaps I'm a card carrying member of the thought police..meet me in room 101 {#Cool} rdo wrote:

Are you a commie 1wolfy?  Be honest.

 


He's still whining ...
Always seems to bring the festivities here to a GRINDING HALT (before the horrid ending).

I think I read somewhere that Thom Yorke NEVER listens to Radiohead albums, so he's got that going for him. 
I distinctly remember trying so hard to like this song because something sinister and entirely exterior to my will compelled me to love Radiohead. I knew, at the bottom of my soul, how this band would ultimately grind my teeth to the gums.
This is classic rock my friends.
Sexy Sadie
:-) Merci Beaucoup
 christoffel wrote:
 you're like a detuned radio



 
Nah...just old, I guess 
Phew for a minute there I Lost Myself...
 Emwolb wrote:
ALMOST liked this song....had it as a solid "6" right up til the extremely annoying ending which dropped it to a marginal...I really TRY to like this band but find them (for the most part) interminable
  you're like a detuned radio


 MusiqueMusique wrote:
Distinct Beatles influence when he sings "This is what you'll get". Wouldn't you say ?

 
Sexy Sadie. Made me dislike this cut for a long time - but did draw my attention to it.
This song seems to be on multiple playlists here at RP. 

I'd be much happier if it wasn't on multiple playlists.
Distinct Beatles influence when he sings "This is what you'll get". Wouldn't you say ?
 Proclivities wrote:

It may seem that way from many of the comments but there's a lot of "in-between" or "grey area" for most people.  Maybe among the people who fervently post in the comments for every Radiohead song there is a pronounced dichotomy, but the world is not actually binary, and neither are the aesthetics of most of its inhabitants.  
 
I bet you're a blast at parties!

{#Devil_pimp} 
 ckcotton wrote:
Clearly Radiohead is a LOVE or HATE thing....

Almost nothing in between. 

I'm on the Love side for anyone that cares 

 
It may seem that way from many of the comments but there's a lot of "in-between" or "grey area" for most people.  Maybe among the people who fervently post in the comments for every Radiohead song there is a pronounced dichotomy, but the world is not actually binary, and neither are the aesthetics of most of its inhabitants.  
ALMOST liked this song....had it as a solid "6" right up til the extremely annoying ending which dropped it to a marginal...I really TRY to like this band but find them (for the most part) interminable
Bumped from 9 to 10.  Great song,
 ckcotton wrote:
Clearly Radiohead is a LOVE or HATE thing....

Almost nothing in between. 

I'm on the Love side for anyone that cares 

 
Clearly Radiohead is a love thing as 82% of RP listeners rate Karma Police higher than a 7.


{#Hearteyes}
Bump 9 > 10. And with this simple gesture, I offer my homage to the sage wisdom of Karl Nehring, my editor at The $ensible Sound, for his recognition that Radiohead was one of the great rock bands of all time despite my insistence otherwise. You rock, old dude.
Clearly Radiohead is a LOVE or HATE thing....

Almost nothing in between. 

I'm on the Love side for anyone that cares 
He's whining again ....
 lemmoth wrote:


Hey Artie - if you don't quite understand listen more closely.  And over the course of 20 years of music making, Thom has expressed the whole range of emotions, not just anguish.

And from your info, you are a fellow Brooklyner who is my senior by a mere two years, but what speaks volumes is that the youngest artist you have given a 10 to is Dire Straits.

 
We have our first RP stalker!   {#Curtain}  

Do you know what brand of TP Kingart uses on his tush, lemmoth?  


kingart wrote:

Yeah, but my 10s are bigger than yours. 

   

Maybe you two should get a room... 
 1wolfy wrote:
you made a fool of everyone{#Arrowd}

 
Are you a commie 1wolfy?  Be honest.
...there are times when nothing will do except Radiohead.  This is one of those times.  Love those guys, you get me

thanks
{#Heartkiss}  ..... it's G O D L I K E
Piano is channelling Sexy Sadie.
BTW, FYI, A Day In the Life is the greatest song ever made.
Same artists for both of the above songs.

 
johnjconn wrote:

Possibly the greatest song ever made



 



Not OK, Computer.
 Biscobret wrote:
so good.  so, so very good.  long live RH!


(8.3?  Wow!  not too many songs that high!)

 

And yet, 44 Radio Paradise listeners think it's Sucko-Barfo.

I am not one of them, this gets a high 9 from me!
 Alexandra wrote:
Don't know what it is about this song...the chord progression, the cryptic words....the emotion....the buildup of the bridge.....and the eerieness of this is what you'll get when you mess with us........but I never tire of hearing it.

 
Well said, my friend.
What's wrong with you naysayers?  I've loved RH since my kiddo turned me on to them years ago.  Their music always touches something deep down.  I have to stop whenever I hear it to experience the full effect. Tom Yorke's vocals are part of the captivation.
so good.  so, so very good.  long live RH!


(8.3?  Wow!  not too many songs that high!)
Don't know what it is about this song...the chord progression, the cryptic words....the emotion....the buildup of the bridge.....and the eerieness of this is what you'll get when you mess with us........but I never tire of hearing it.
 kingart wrote:
Stop whining off-key, Thom. 
 

Permanently!!
 rdo wrote:



This song is approved by The Workers' Party of Korea. 

Yes, you DO like it (or it's off to the concentration camps). 

 
I'll go to labour camp anyday if it keeps me away from this song.
Game changing.
 kingart wrote:
Stop whining off-key, Thom. 

 

Amen to that.
 rdo wrote:



This song is approved by The Workers' Party of Korea. 

Yes, you DO like it (or it's off to the concentration camps). 

 
...or the firing squad.
you made a fool of everyone{#Arrowd}



This song is approved by The Workers' Party of Korea. 

Yes, you DO like it (or it's off to the concentration camps). 
 Proclivities wrote:

Pupish?

 
agreed...."pupish"?

May I suggest watching RH performing this song at Glastonbury 2003 on youtube; it may answer some of the points raised in the comments below.
 bendame wrote:
Really not their best work. Too pupish...
 
Pupish?
 MassivRuss wrote:

Stop playing Thom whining off-key Bill!

Thom Yorke: the vocal equivalent of painful rectal itch.

 
Stop complaining Russ
Really not their best work. Too pupish...
"The Chinese Communists dismissed the quest for individual expression and the exploration of alternative ideas as examples of "bourgeois mentality"."

Lawrence Wright, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
 lemmoth wrote:


Hey Artie - if you don't quite understand listen more closely.  And over the course of 20 years of music making, Thom has expressed the whole range of emotions, not just anguish.

And from your info, you are a fellow Brooklyner who is my senior by a mere two years, but what speaks volumes is that the youngest artist you have given a 10 to is Dire Straits.

 
Yeah, but my 10s are bigger than yours.