Your Favorite Side Project

Remember when Thom Yorke did The Eraser? For a minute there, everyone thought Radiohead was done for. There was no cause for panic, though -- Yorke's decision to go solo was part of a natural musical evolution, known as the fabled "side project."

You could probably call Yorke's latest venture with Nigel Godrich, Flea, Joey Waronker, and Mauro Refosco a side project, too. Or maybe that's more of a supergroup? Either way, the side project runs rampant in rock music, and, once in a while, the side dish is better than the entree.

One of the more noteworthy side projects of the past decade, The Postal Service, blew everyone away with the release of Give Up, in 2003. And you couldn't get very far in this discussion without giving a nod to the folks from Toronto. The musical amoeba that is Broken Social Scene has spawned countless worthy side projects, including Feist, Stars, and Metric.

We've seen side projects from Jack White in forms like the Raconteurs or The Dead Weather; Fever Ray displayed the talents of one half of The Knife; and how could I forget Department of Eagles, or did they come before Grizzly Bear? Sometimes the side project eclipses the original band itself.

Lately, there have been side projects-aplenty. Thom Yorke and his band (still unnamed) were just announced as part of the Coachella Festival lineup. Josiah Wolf of WHY? has a new solo project in the works, and who isn't excited about The Shins frontman James Mercer's venture with DJ Danger Mouse, Broken Bells?

Here at All Songs we are particularly excited about the forthcoming solo project from Jonsi Birgisson, frontman of Sigur Ros. The richly textured and unsurprisingly epic album, called Go, is due out in March.

Jonsi at work in the studio

What are your favorite side projects? Anybody who hasn't done one but should? Let us know in the comments section below.