Listen to Thom Yorke – ‘The Present Tense’

by on July 19, 2009 with 52 Comments in Radiohead News

Today, Thom Yorke performed a solo set at the Latitude Festival. Read all about it here. At the crowded Obelisk Arena, the Radiohead frontman, played a new song.

The song ‘The Present Tense’ was part of a twelve song set. ‘The Present Tense’ was introduced by Thom as ‘A New song, so you know, go for a piss’. The song was previously soundchecked at Radiohead shows in Toronto and Mexico. We’re hoping that more audio and video will surface soon. The BBC promised the broadcast of Thom Yorke’s full set on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show, but only played two tracks; Harrowdown Hill and True Love Waits. Both of those soundboard recordings are up at Fine Fine Music as well as an audience recording of The Present Tense.


Radiohead news on this day..


930 days ago by in Radiohead News | You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Related Posts

  • Pingback: Thom Yorke live at Latitude Festival | Radiohead At Ease

  • melampyge

    a new “in rainbows” is on the way =)

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music BBC Latitude

    Listen to more Thom Yorke Latitude tracks in proper quality on BBC 6 Music from 8pm

  • mike

    i think the band naked eye image is the new radiohead, radiohead is kinda fading :)

  • http://Twitter ged

    He can sing the alphabet and i would buy it.

  • Pingback: Thom Yorke debuts new song at Latitude Festival

  • Inspirial Carpets

    i need a hairy shite

  • pantrus

    this is beauty .most of the things beautiful people do are beauty. they carry beauty on them and this is not an exeption [ right spell ? ] .present tense is an incredible delicious song.

    now . . . i am always more exited about him pulling loops and experimenting with stuff. that brings me again an incredible hope of LP8 going in that direction . because i didn t say that but beautiful people and beautiful musicians going in that direction is my hope for LP8 plus the beauty on simple songs as well that i know will be there.

    so however we look at this there s beauty and hope and positivism

    thank you eternally for the beauty Thom

    pantrus

  • http://johngalantini.co.uk john galantini

    “Thom Yorke’s full set can be heard on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show from 2000 BST Tonight.”

    They’re broadcasting 2 songs and 2 songs only!!! Check your sources next time for fucks sake.

  • http://www.ateaseweb.com adriaan

    @ john. the source was the bbc for fucks sake…

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8158033.stm (bottom of page)

  • Rene_matheus

    OMG … amazing music !

  • http://myspace.com/moonlight_0 Kemoushi

    “Was not so bad” (pat-pat)
    (j/k)
    :-)
    Hey, the lyrics are improving greatly.

  • Doc Freud
  • Peter Schafer

    ‘Present Tense’ has opened me up into a new dimension of being.
    No, I’m not drunk or on drugs, I just L-O-V-E this song with every capillary of my heart.
    “I won’t get heavy”
    “keep it light keep it moving”
    “In you, I’m lost”

  • ourhands

    they also soundchecked it in Mansfield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V5xtvgWhR8

  • Peter Schafer

    Lyrics?
    Distance/ Distance/ It’s like a weapon/ like a weapon/ self-defense/ self-defence/ against the present/ against the(?)/ present tense/ I won’t get heavy/ don’t get heavy/ keep it light/ keep it moving/ I am doing no more/ and my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out/ (?)/ In you I’m lost/ In you I’m lost/ I won’t turn around when the penny drops/ I won’t stop now/ I won’t slack off/ I always go (?)/ oooo/ stop from falling into my (?)/ it always goes (?)/ oooo/ In you I’m lost/

  • Thocky

    Very good song!

  • Pingback: Pulk-Pull* : an on-going investigation of the music and art of Radiohead » Blog Archive » Message 316: The Present Tense

  • Eggy13

    Thom, about Follow Me Around:

    ”One that’s on the shelf and never made it off. Did you like that? Good! It’s on YouTube now”

    RELEASE IT!!!

  • Eggy13

    PLEASE!

  • pantrus

    against the present

    don’t get heavy

    keep it light

    and my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out

    fuck it. i admire truly admire thom.

  • http://www.MusicByDay.com Johnny Beatle

    Sounds pretty interesting. I always have a hard time judging new Radiohead/Yorke songs until I hear them on the recording though.

  • Andy

    @Peter Schafer

    Your lyrics sound close, but it’s definitely “This dance” rather than “Distance”, a few other changes in the version below;

    This dance/ This dance/ It’s like a weapon/ like a weapon/of self-defense/ self-defence/ against the present/ against the present/ present tense/ I won’t get heavy/ don’t get heavy/ keep it light/ keep it moving/ I am doing no more/ as my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out/ deaf, dumb and blind/ In you I’m lost/ In you I’m lost/ I won’t turn around when the penny drops/ I won’t stop now/ I won’t slack off/ I always go (?)/ oooo/ stop from falling into my (?)/ it always goes (?)/ oooo/ In you I’m lost/

  • PEDRO

    Good, but i think that needs the other members of radiohead to give the final touch

  • http://www.youtube.com/skysaw73 SubSickAlien

    Thom, you never cease to amaze me.

  • Pingback: THIS, etc. » Thom Yorke performs new song at Latitude Festival

  • Luke

    I fancy the lyrics.

    The next Arpeggi?

  • http://www.radioheadchile.com Marco Valdivia

    I think that the lyrics says Distance, no this dance, it makes more sense

  • http://www.myspace.com/phonofield Warren

    if you want to learn this on guitar just go to my youtube channel (i do radiohead covers and tutorials):

    http://www.youtube.com/user/warrenmusic

  • last7

    Warren is back!

  • miss_wrong

    Great vid, thanks.

    Sorry for overanalysing, but ‘This dance’ makes much more sense than distance. He even refers to dancing later on. You’ve seen him during idioteque, right? ‘Freaking out – deaf, dumb and blind’. Maybe this dance is part of the way he fights off the kind of depression revealed in ‘How to Disappear Completely’ when he became self-aware on stage in Dublin. Now he reminds himself to keep his mood light. Which is great for us fans!

  • http://phoenixsparrow.deviantart.com Xanthe

    I was in the 2nd row for this, it was gorgeous.

    I agree with Andy re. the lyrics. It’s definately ‘This dance’. Never been so sure of a Radiohead lyrics in my life.

  • Matt

    Soooo good I’m happy that this went down! Just a taste of what is to come.

  • Fred

    “I am doing no more”

    I think this part is wrong and from what I heard…

    I think it’s :

    ” I am doing no harm “

  • Fred

    And “I always go (?)” is :

    “Or all this love will be in vain”

  • miss_wrong

    yeah, definately ‘or all this love will be in vain’.

    but for that final verse after the first ‘ooohooh ooohoahoo’ all i can make out is:

    ‘i stop from falling down on my axe
    no-one’s bed is next but mine
    then all this love will be in vain
    oooh ooh ooh

    in you i’m lost
    in you i’m lost (repeat)

  • Mariana

    Is he always that blonde?

    How silly.

    At least he’s not 90s-Thom blonde anymore, yeekers.

    This song has amazing potential.

  • Todd

    to whoever thinks that radiohead is fading just because thom yorke did a solo show is fucking retarded. thats ridiculous. radiohead has always handled their problems well and have probably become quite close especially in more recent years. i don’t think radiohead will end anytime soon. and i frankly don’t expect them to just end because of differences.

  • Max

    thank god for this…

    I’ve been waiting for him to write this song for a while. it literally made me frozen and feel something I don’t feel with anyone elses music.

    I love him.

  • sophie

    i think the song begin by: This Tense

  • Angie

    get a haircut, thom!

  • Renematheus

    Thom Yorke’s FODA !!!

  • Priscilla

    It was beautiful. I wonder what the final cut will sound like.

  • http://none Maslia

    hail to mr yorke!

  • Pingback: Du nouveau Radiohead : “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” – L oreille du tigre

  • ericthebananaman

    I have a feeling, that he wrote this song right there, on a stage, 5 mins before performing..

  • _john_

    I noticed something interesting from the setlist for this show–The printout has 10 songs listed, down to ‘Videotape’. Songs 11 & 12 are then penned in by hand, and list ‘Give Up Ghost’ and ‘Reckoner’ as the final two songs…but Thom actually played ‘There There’ and ‘True Love Waits’.
    Just an observation…
    And what is ‘Give Up Ghost’?

  • Charim

    i’m going to have to agree with Sophie; the first words are “This tense,” you know, it only makes sense because of the name of the song and the way he holds his mouth when he says it and what it sounds like.

  • Charim

    actually, no… it feels wrong now

  • finalmattasy

    This dance, is like a weapon, of self defence, against the present tense, I won’t get heavy, keep it light and moving, I am doing no harm.
    As my world comes crashing down, I am dancing, freaking out, lift on and fly?.
    In you I’m lost, I won’t turn round till the penny drops, won’t stop now, won’t slack off; or all this love will be in vain.
    To stop from falling down a mine, is no one’s business but mine; that all this love could be in vain.
    In you i’m lost.

  • http://www.cheapboots-outlet.org asasdad

    You do not need to fill them fully. Just slightly which can hold them up and leave space. Get a plastic bag outside the
    UGG Australia Sale UK, don’t set it seal and keep it in dry shading place.

  • http://FuckThisAsshole! fuck this asshole

    OMG it’s important to see this shit, click my name.