Thom Yorke knows good music. The Radiohead frontman recently appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs” to talk about the releases he finds essential enough to accompany him in even the most dire circumstances.
News of the broadcast has been focused on Yorke opening up and discussing the painful subject of his late partner, Rachel Owen, who passed away in 2016 from cancer. Yorke and Owen, an Oxford University professor, had two children together—Noah and Agnes—over their twenty-three-year relationship.
Beyond the heartbreaking recollections, the artist has offered up a stellar list of albums that expectedly covers a vast territory of sound. Classical, jazz, electronic—he even drops in a couple of rock entries. There’s a few extras, too: a book recommendation, as well as his one luxury indulgence—a recording studio. Gotta get those Atoms for Peace albums somehow! See the list below.
You can listen to the full episode of Thom Yorke’s Desert Island Discs here.
DISC ONE: Ravel – Le jardin féerique – the Labèque sisters
DISC TWO: Scott Walker – It’s Raining Today
DISC THREE: Talking Heads – Born Under Punches
DISC FOUR: Squarepusher and Aphex Twin – Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid
DISC FIVE: Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
DISC SIX: R.E.M. – Talk about the Passion
DISC SEVEN: Sidney Bechet – Blue Horizon
DISC EIGHT: Nina Simone – Lilac Wine
BOOK CHOICE: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
LUXURY ITEM: A recording studio
CASTAWAY’S FAVOURITE: Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) by Talking Heads
