Last time music bloggers got excited about a Thom Yorke "collaboration", supposedly a video incorporating Banksy's urban art, it turned out to be a pointless and annoying hoax, perpetrated by the self-promoting clown who "directed" the video.

This time we're presumably dealing with the real thing, since it was announced via Radiohead's Dead Air Space blog, but it's still scarcely easier to believe: Thom Yorke has started a new band with Red Hot Chili Peppers bass-thwacker Flea. It's possibly the least likely hook-up since Snoop Dogg recorded a track with Buzz Aldrin.

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Is it really a good idea? It seems so incongruous. I've seen Radiohead live more times than any other band, and perhaps my memory fails me, but I'm fairly sure that at no point has any member of the band taken their top off and gurned like an over-eager yoga instructor.

The new super-group - also featuring long-time radiohead producer Nigel Godrich - are set to play solo Thom Yorke tracks at two LA shows. Can we expect to hear a new version of 'Harrowdown Hill', punctuated by an extended slap-bass breakdown? It's too horrible to contemplate.

And since when has Yorke been a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan? Does he relax of an evening by firing up iTunes and spazzing out to 'Sex Rap'? Does he air-bass to 'Freaky Styley'? It would seem unlikely.

Blog - Why Flea IS worthy to join Thom Yorke's band

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