The Mind Eraser

So I have made a hobby of making hypothetical supergroups of my favorite musicians. My interest in these sort of things was revitalized when the band Chickenfoot emerged, a collaboration between Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith (who was a constantly considered for the drummer in my theoretical bands) and Michael Anthony.

Anyway, when I make bands I usually like to pick musicians with similar styles or personalities so that they fit together. Now, Thom Yorke is one of my favorite singers/songwriters, so he is often a candidate for one of these imaginary supergroups. Flea, Red Hot Chili Peppers' over-the-top bassist, is another candidate. However, I would never think to put these two seeming poplar-opposites together.

But that is exactly what has happened. Today, Thom Yorke announced that he will be performing material from The Eraser with Flea, Nigel Godrich (Radiohead's producer), Joey Waronker (drummer for Beck), and Mauro Refosco (percussionist for David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto). They have two performances coming up in Los Angeles and, though they don't have a name yet, they will be playing some new material.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm sure that the music should be pretty good, but I'm worried how this will affect Radiohead and I wonder if this might be another nail in Red Hot Chili Peppers' coffin. If so, maybe Jonny Greenwood and John Frusciante could work together.