Radiohead release a new 7-inch single on May 16th – Burn The Witch with its Camberwick Green/Trumpton/Chigley, Wicker Man themed video auspiciously timed with the release of The Fair Isles’ Willow’s Song. The B-side is their rejected submission for the Bond theme from the film, Spectre.

So as a reference point for the video, I have included a clip from children’s TV series Camberwick Green. This is how it looked before someone’s idea of turning innocence into a setting for the macabre came to the fore. The animator is Virpi Kettu.

I have included the rejected and accepted Spectre theme songs. One might find similarities between Radiohead’s artiness and Sam Smith’s more overt commercialism in the use of falsetto and drama. When you consider that initial jump that Radiohead made from their earlier sound to their dabbling with electronics, it’s interesting that they have found themselves in unlikely company here.

It shows how an early experiment can quickly become the commercial norm leaving Radiohead with some tough artistic decisions in relation to whether they continue to blaze forward or rather settle where they have found themselves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Smith_(singer)

The Fair Isles – Willow’s Song link

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=the%20fair%20isles%20willow’s%20songd