"Karma Police" is in a time signature and played in standard tuning. The first half is in the key of A minor and G major. The second half is in B minor. Acoustic guitar and piano are the most prominent instruments. The song progresses from the intro into a mid-tempo section which alternates between two verses. The first verse begins with the line "Karma police", and the other begins with the line "This is what you'll get". After this section cycles through twice, the song switches into a second section which is based around the line "For a minute there, I lost myself". During this section of the song, Yorke's voice is put through an echo effect and a sliding melodic figure serves as a counterpoint to his vocals. In the final minute, Ed O'Brien distorts his guitar by driving a delay effect to self-oscillation, then turning the delay rate to a low frequency, creating a "melting" effect.
Lyrics
The title lyric originates from an inside joke; the members of Radiohead would threaten to call the "karma police" if someone did something bad. Yorke explained that the song was about stress and "having people looking at you in that certain way". He said: "It's for someone who has to work for a large company. This is a song against bosses. Fuck the middle management!" Yorke and Jonny Greenwood emphasised in interviews that the song was humorous and "not entirely serious". The line "He buzzes like a fridge / He's like a detuned radio" refers to distracting, metaphorical background noise that Yorke calls "fridge buzz", one of the themes of OK Computer. "Karma Police" also shares themes of insanity and dissatisfaction with capitalism.
Release and reception
"Karma Police" was released as the second single from OK Computer on 25 August 1997. The single was released in two versions. The single peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In late March 2010, almost thirteen years after its initial single release, the song went to number fifteen on the Danish Singles Chart. AllMusic referred to Karma Police as "haunting, mystifying, and exquisite", labelling it "one of the cornerstones of one of the greatest albums of the '90s."
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Jonathan Glazer, previously responsible for Radiohead's "Street Spirit " clip. The video premiered in August 1997 and featured Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke as well as Hungarian actor Lajos Kovács. Glazer won MTV's Director of the Year award in 1997 for his work on this, as well as Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity". Despite this Glazer said he considers the video to be a failed attempt. According to MTV.com, Glazer had pitched the concept of the "Karma Police" video months earlier to Marilyn Manson, who disliked it. In an interview with The Culture Show, Yorke stated that the music video was his favorite, because he was drunk during the production. The video is shot from the perspective of the driver of a car pursuing a man along a dark road. Yorke sits in the back seat. The man falls to his knees and the car reverses, revealing that it is leaking fuel. The man produces matches from his pocket and ignites the trail of fuel. Yorke vanishes and the car is engulfed in flames.
