Thom Yorke Visits Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

A bearded Thom Yorke is spending some time in Copenhagen, but it's not a holiday or studio time. Instead, the Radiohead frontman is there as a member of the media, along with the scores of others attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently underway in the Denmark's capital city. In an interview with Grist, Yorke discusses how he was essentially fed up with media coverage and just decided to get a firsthand account.

"I think negotiations like this are a big thick cloud," he told reporters about the conference. "No normal person can see through it. That, to me, makes me angry because the basic principles are the basic principles. There's a lot of uptight, middle-aged men doing the negotiations."

For years, Yorke has been an outspoken activist, supporting many fair trade principles, Amnesty International and has been an advocate in ensuring that Radiohead's touring practices create are as harmless as possible to the environment. Last month, Yorke blasted the British government for their desire to expand in the nuclear power arenas. As system-buckers themselves, Radiohead made worldwide headlines when they self-released 2007's 'In Rainbows' in a pay-what-you want download. The debate rages on whether that was a slight towards capitalist systems, the music industry they support or just a lofty experiment.

Still, Yorke wasn't shy about his opinions about what's currently underway. "What bothers me is they'll get to the end of negotiations, pretend that something's happened and it hasn't," he said. "It did frustrate me the way the American administration was trying to talk down what they were going to bring to the table."

Radiohead and Yorke are currently working on new material, but it's anyone's guess as to what will come of it. Rumor has it that another Yorke solo record will be coming soon and there's some legs behind that, as he recently unveiled a group that included Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, tackling songs from 2006's 'The Eraser.' Until something materializes, we'll just have to make do with the collaborative release with the USC marching band.