Fake Plastic Fleas

As the Red Hot Chili Peppers dive into the recording process, Flea and Chad Smith have jumped headfirst into side projects. The award for most awesome, well, everything goes to Chad Smith's new band, the Bombastic Meatbats. I mean, c'mon; doesn't it make you feel good just saying that? Here's the tracklisting for their debut album, Meet the Meatbats:

1. Need Strange
2. Battle for Ventura Blvd.
3. Oh! I Spilled My Beer
4. Tops Off
5. Death Match
6. Night Sweats
7. Pig Feet
8. Lola
9. Bread Balls
10. Into the Floyd

The instrumental funk jam sessions are nothing to write home about. The actual music plays second fiddle to the gut-busting song titles. The audaciously-titled 'Oh! I Spilled My Beer' is no masterpiece, just a firm reminder that Chad Smith's striking resemblance to Will Ferrell may be more than just skin deep. I might just download this album to brag to my friends when I'm listening to 'Bread Balls' or 'Night Sweats.'

Now, one would usually try to change the mood to something more somber and emotional to introduce this next bit of news on the Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke, but not today, my good readers. These days, Yorke's funky bone has been hot-wired by the freak from down under, Michael 'Flea' Balzary. Yorke recruited an all-star band to bring the sounds of his solo album from the studio to the stage. The duo were accompanied by the skilled and styled Beck/R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker (need some evidence? He plays drums on Modern Guilt's 'Chemtrails'), Mauro Refosco on percussion, and Nigel Godrich, acclaimed producer of many Radiohead and Beck albums. This eclectic clash of musical forces makes for some unusual, but often intriguing results. It's very much like Thom Yorke's music has been injected with a maximum dose of grooviness, but no one can tell what the side effects will be. In their first live performance, he shook about on stage like an epileptic in what seemed to be an attempt to look funky. If the band sparks together and outlasts their first few performances, they will be a musical force to watch out for.