Have you seen the Coachella poster with the festival's full lineup on it, including ""Thom Yorke ????"" scheduled as a headliner? What does that mean? Well, remember how Yorke had been noted performing new songs and Eraser material with an above-average crew? It turns out those shows were the answer to that series of question marks. The band behind ""Thom Yorke ????"" performing at Coachella, as well as almost eight other shows across the U.S., will feature Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, frequent Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, auxiliary artist Mauro Refosco and Joey Waronker, Beck's drummer.
According to some people, this type of collection of artists—who are calling themselves Atoms for Peace—is known as a supergroup. Other times it's just a bunch of guys deciding to play together because someone needed a supporting cast to rock out withonstage, as seen in this situation with Yorke's own post on Radiohead's Dead Airspace blog.
Regardless of their collective future, they are going to join forces this summer for a limited number of sets to show off what they could be: a wrecking force of a supergroup.
Intriguing? Certainly. Convincing? No.
Too many of today's supergroups turn out to be passing interests, most recently Chickenfoot, Monsters of Folk and Them Crooked Vultures. History certainly has not provided us with too many gold standards to live up to. (Traveling Wilburys? I really wish those guys would have gotten together before they were all over the hill.)
The only place to look for successful collaborations of this magnitude is within a certain niche that doesn't exactly fit the narrow definition of the term ""supergroup"" as much as it does the term ""collaboration.""
One of the first supergroups is sometimes noted as Cream, Eric Clapton's third group to venture into the recording studio, which teamed him up with fellow former Bluesbreaker Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker—who had dabbled with both in the Graham Bond Organisation. The first problem here is that these faces were underground sensations in their own scene. They hadn't globalized or crossed the Atlantic, so American audiences tie it solely to Clapton, leaving it to be considered another one of his impulsive pet projects rather than a supergroup.
What's more, Clapton registers again as a part of multiple other groups blurring the line between success and supergroup, most notably as Blind Faith (with Steve Winwood) and The Dirty Mac (with John Lennon, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell). But this raises the question of nomadic careers, which Clapton certainly embodies, along with several other notable supergroup members, such as Neil Young, Greg Lake, Stephen Stills and even Chris Cornell.
On the other hand, there are legitimate supergroups that became artists' primary outlet after success was reached. Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Asia both overtook their patrons' careers, but does this redefine their careers and, along with that, the supergroup status of these groups?
This is a good question that asks for a strict line to be drawn between supergroups and collaborations, but what the end of this argument always brings me back to is nomadic artists. The best supergroups are the result of nomadic artists catching lightning in a bottle, and the worst find artists with solidified careers stepping out of their realm to dabble with peers. What this means is that supergroups should remain the pastime of nomads. Clapton grew to prominence in a scene revolving around nomadic figures playing with whomever struck their fancy for a little while. Young consistently looked to shake up his surrounding cast, whether it was playing with Crazy Horse or his own backup band. And nowadays, Jack White keeps himself busy with various groups that allow artists to step outside barriers set up by other projects. These are all productive examples of artists keeping their music and surroundings fresh to expand their perspectives.
So what will come of Atoms of Peace? Probably nothing, and that's probably for the better. None of these guys regularly steps out of his comfort zone, and even though they all have expansive careers that lend themselves to even more expansive talents, putting these minds together would likely result in some watered down, generic rock. So here's hoping Yorke and friends are just looking to have a good time this summer. Otherwise, they are set up for the same downfall as almost all supergroups involving non-nomadic artists: When so many writers who are used to being able to express themselves and put their personas into their craft come together, they usually end up compromising everything that gives their work integrity.
Are you confident Atoms of Peace will be the next Cream? Explain why to Justin at jstephani@wisc.edu.
