OK Computer Analysis: An Audio Corpus Study of Radiohead

TL;DR

This study applies music information retrieval techniques to analyze Radiohead's extensive discography from 1992 to 2017, revealing chronological changes in musical features and discussing the potential of audio-based career analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive automated audio analysis of Radiohead's songs, highlighting temporal musical evolution and methodological challenges in audio file career studies.

Findings

Slowing tempi over the band's career.

Reduced brightness in later albums.

Expansion of instrumental resources in the Kid A and Amnesiac era.

Abstract

The application of music information retrieval techniques in popular music studies has great promise. In the present work, a corpus of Radiohead songs across their career from 1992 to 2017 are subjected to automated audio analysis. We examine findings from a number of granularities and perspectives, including within song and between song examination of both timbral-rhythmic and harmonic features. Chronological changes include possible career spanning effects for a band's releases such as slowing tempi and reduced brightness, and the timbral markers of Radiohead's expanding approach to instrumental resources most identified with the Kid A and Amnesiac era. We conclude with a discussion highlighting some challenges for this approach, and the potential for a field of audio file based career analysis.