The Bends (album) in the context of "Creep (Radiohead song)"

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, keyboards); the brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals); and Philip Selway (drums). They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

Radiohead signed to EMI in 1991 and released their debut album, Pablo Honey, in 1993. Their debut single, "Creep", was a worldwide hit, and their popularity and critical standing rose with The Bends in 1995. Their third album, OK Computer (1997), is acclaimed as a landmark record and one of the greatest albums in popular music, with complex production and themes of modern alienation. Their fourth album, Kid A (2000), marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating influences from electronic music, jazz, classical music and krautrock. Though Kid A divided listeners, it was later named the best album of the decade by multiple outlets. It was followed by Amnesiac (2001), recorded in the same sessions. Radiohead's final album for EMI, Hail to the Thief (2003), blended rock and electronic music, with lyrics addressing the war on terror.

Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and Idles.

Early in his career, Godrich worked as the house engineer at RAK Studios, London, under the producer John Leckie. He first worked with Radiohead while engineering their second album, The Bends (1995), at RAK. Radiohead hired him to produce OK Computer (1997), which was a major success and brought him attention from major artists. He has produced all of Radiohead's albums since, along with several other projects with the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Godrich won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Album for the 2003 Radiohead album Hail to the Thief.

OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of OK Computer in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court in Bath in 1996 and early 1997. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.

The lyrics depict a dystopian world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, technological anxiety and political corruption, while also exploring themes of transport, conformity, paranoia, death, modern British life and globalisation. In this capacity, OK Computer is said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. Radiohead used unconventional production techniques, including natural reverberation, and no audio separation. Strings were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Most of the album was recorded live.