Thom Yorke Pens a Politically Charged Letter to Father Christmas

Thom Yorke has been particularly vocal lately. Whether it is regarding the state of the music industry, large corporations, the environment, globalization, or something else, Yorke seems to have a heated position. Accordingly, for Christmas, the vocalist for Radiohead had quite a few lofty demands. In a recent letter to Father Christmas, Yorke details these wishes in predictably fiery political rhetoric.

According to Pitchfork, as a part of the "Letters to Noel" campaign, Yorke penned a fiery, facetious, quixotic, and at times quite depressing letter to Father Christmas regarding his wishes for the upcoming year.


"Since I wrote to you last when I was nine, I have tried to be good, but sometimes failed spectacularly," Yorke writes. "I have also tried to do what I'm told but often have delighted in doing the exact opposite. But always I have tried to give love and try not to cause hurt."

He continues, "I won't ask you to solve the problems of the human race. Those are our problems alone. But perhaps this year you would consider not giving any presents to oil company executives and the politicians whose influence they buy?"

The letter was written in honor of National Letter Writing, an event meant to promote the writing of letters, which many consider a lost art form (or at the least, means of communication.) The organization behind this campaign, Letters Live, has recruited a number of high-profile celebrities to write their own letters to Father Christmas. Letters live is an offshoot of Shaun Usher's book Letters of Note.

Yorke ends the note,

"I won't ask you to solve the problems of the human race. those are our problems alone.

but perhaps this year you would consider not giving any presents to oil company executives and the politicians whose influence they buy?

and for me? just some reading glasses.. : / the blue ones.

yours completely sincerely

Thom

p.s. thanks for the zx81 computer when i was 11. that was really wicked.

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