A special one-off concert, Pathway To Paris, is underway, coinciding with the UN climate change talks happening this week, bringing together activists, politicians and musicians. Thom Yorke took the opportunity to debut two new possible Radiohead songs -- "Silent Spring" and "Desert Island Disk."
Radiohead took to the studio for a short month-long stint earlier this year to crank out its latest album, which is still awaiting a release date or a surprise one at that. Speculation began early that the band might drop it before the end of the year, and with January fast approaching, that seemed like a tall order -- until now.
Both new tunes were performed solo with an acoustic guitar and with "Silent Spring" in particular having a strong environmental message. Half-way through the tune he said, "this is Johnny's part," all but confirming this is in fact a Radiohead tune and not just a Yorke solo effort. But, it seemed like Yorke was still just testing these tunes out to see which ones will actually make it onto the album, as he said, "the third verse is better," after completing "Silent Spring."
"Desert Island Disk" strikes a similar mood with a looping guitar part that, even played acoustic, instantly sounds like it could fit into the bizarre electronics of the band. It's a little more self reflective and personal than "Silent Spring" as Yorke sings about "different types of love" and staring into the mirror. Check out the performance of both below.
Before launching into his new soft songs, Yorke talked a bit about why this issue of climate change is so important to him, saying his son was very interested in nature from the young age of three and by the age of five, they started having conversations about global warming. It was then, Yorke said, that he decided to open up and become more of an advocate for his son. As Pitchfork notes, he's been very active for the cause recently having conversations with writer George Monbiot about the issue for a French Magazine, DJing a set for London's People March for Climate as well as an appearance on French TV to speak out on Climate Change.
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