| "Paranoid Android" | ||||
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| Single by Radiohead | ||||
| from the album OK Computer | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 26 May 1997 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 6:27 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Radiohead | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Paranoid Android" on YouTube | ||||
"Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), on 26 May 1997. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar. The song is over six minutes long and contains four sections. The name is taken from Marvin the Paranoid Android from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
"Paranoid Android" charted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, Radiohead's highest-charting position in the UK to date. It received acclaim, with critics claiming it to be the band's magnum opus, comparing it to the songs "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" by the Beatles and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. It has appeared regularly on lists of the best songs of all time, including NME's and Rolling Stone's respective 500 Greatest Songs of All Time lists. Its animated music video, directed by Magnus Carlsson, was placed on heavy rotation on MTV, although the network censored portions containing nudity in the US. At the 1998 Brit Awards, the song was nominated for Best British Single. The track has been covered by artists in a variety of genres. It was included in the 2008 Radiohead: The Best Of.