The Red Hot Chilli Peppers thread (not much love to be found here)

[tate]

i bought the uplift mofo party plan the day it came out and i had a rhcp stencil i painted on the back of my jacket. so i used to like them.

i know reynolds thinks kleidis voice is the worst thing ever in rock, but blood sugar sex magick was an awesome lp (their first awesome lp)

Woebot's alternative view is interesting.

The typical rock crit view/cliche, however, is that the first two or three records were respectable, and the rest derivative (the release of mother's milk was my first exposure to them). blood sugar sex magic had a certain (temporary) appeal when it came out, i will admit, but primarily because of rubin's production and the centrality of the rhythm section. however, the music has not aged well, in my humble opinion; and though it puts me in the minority, I've never found frusciante's playing with the peppers to be terribly exciting.

and yeah, if you lived stateside and were exposed to their schlock, lyrics, and fans, i think one might indeed grow to dislike them very, very much.

And haha to Henry, but were Living Colour really that bad?

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

My intense dislike for them grew out of working in an office for all of 2003, with that shitty chilli peppers record on the radio1 playlist all year. I could take or leave them before that, but the way radio 1 was and still is all up their arse is inexplicable.

 

[Grievous Angel]

I seem to recall that Love Rears Its Ugly Head by Living Colour was quite good.

I like the chillis. BSSM is a good LP, flawed but strong. I quite like the new songwriterly ones. Any band that gets produced by George Clinton gets a thumbs up from me. Oh, and I saw them at Nottingham Rock City (very small venue) a very long time ago and they were good - fab version of cross town traffic. Drummer got tired.

So, not much hate here I'm afraid!

 

[henry s]

And haha to Henry, but were Living Colour really that bad?

well, maybe that was a bit of a cheap shot...Living Colour were not so much bad as bland, which is really a sin for a funk/metal band...and Corey Glover and that way he mimicked Kiedis' making-perpendicular-air-slashes-with-his-karate-chop-hand (if that makes any sense)...one of the main reasons I dread the inevitable recycling of the 90's...

 

[daren]

Ha! A RHCP thread! I was reading about them on Wikipedia a couple weeks ago. Their material is stuff for the frat boys, although I did enjoy their single "Aeroplane" when I was first exposed to mainstream alternative radio in middle school. It was probably the only thing enjoyable I was exposed at the time.

 

[Buick6]

i saw that song on mtv and buick is right on that count, its utter shit (terrible video by tony kaye) but that the lp is produced by rick rubin, well so was BSSM so actually i'm curious to hear it.

rhcp have some serious hipster credentials. flea was in fear and the drummer played on captain beefheart's ice cream for crow (hows that for avant-funk cred?!?) also i've always been intrigued by the tortured frusciante.

so there!

If Rubin can't save them then nothing will. But then Rubin is over-the-hill as well, producing the most moronically hysterical band in existence SYSTEM OF A CLOWN - but thats another haters thread...

Frusciante is an interesting case. I hated his guitar playing, in fact it seems like Kiedis and THE LOUSE basically hire some of the most talented axe-gods around and force them to play their brand of shit their way. For a pack of hippie-lovey-dovey's they make great Nazis. But I reconsidered Frusciante's worth after hearing some of his great acid-metal folk tracks on the BROWN BUNNY soundtrack.

Don't knock LIVING COLOUR. Sure they became lazy, but they are a seriously under-rated , and dare I say it, seminal modern hard-rock band. Some of Vernon's Reid's playing and soloing is some of the best hard-rock guitar playing in the last 15 years, espesh in context of the Chilli Peppers, Janes addiction and nu-rock/metal years since.

 

[petergunn]

although I did enjoy their single "Aeroplane" when I was first exposed to mainstream alternative radio in middle school.

you=young

 

[Ned]

Appalled to see they're on the front of Dazed and Confused this month.

Also amusing to remember how angry a lot of my friends were when All Saints covered 'Under The Bridge' - great art defiled!

 

[droid]

hmmm. i was going to write something on the blog about this.

i saw them aaaaages ago in camden with world dom supporting and went backstage and said hello to flea and kleidis. i bought the uplift mofo party plan the day it came out and i had a rhcp stencil i painted on the back of my jacket. so i used to like them.

so there!

I have to also confess to being a fan in my youth, they were an acceptable offshoot of trash metal for me (for some strange reason). Saw them in the early 90s in the SFX in Dublin, in one of the first 'proper gigs' Id ever been to. They were a bit 'meh', but Rollins' band in support blew my mind... I also took my little brother to see them about 4 years ago in Landsdowne road (they play Dublin every summer - and it sells out!! ), and they were pretty limp... the venue tells it all - from dark sweaty metal shoebox intensity to empty open air stadium squalor.

They're not so bad - they just ran out of ideas... shouldve broken up about 9 years ago.

 

[Slothrop]

They're not so bad - they just ran out of ideas... shouldve broken up about 9 years ago.

It's the mature songwriters / marketable rock thing, though, innit. Tunes the postman can whistle, enough loud guitars for the indie kids to admit to liking it, not enough to scare the pop kids and the playlisters, adequately well known band that people with better things to do than scanning the internet for the latest underground micro-scenes have heard of them... they do it pretty well, too. Although it'd be nice if Wiley or Pinch were dominating daytime radio 1, realistically, I'd take RHCP over Coldplay or U-bloody-2.

 

[throughsilver]

if they do one more song with the word "California" in it...

How many have they done so far? They seem like they must have done loads, but I can't think of any.

I don't think the song is particularly bad. It's just not approaching good. I'm amused at the album getting full marks and plaudits of 'one of the greatest rock double albums ever' etc. Guess the reviewer never heard Lift To Experience.

But anyway, Kiedis dresses like Jerry Only in the video, so that's about as much achievement as I can expect from them in this day and age. I did like the vocals at the end of 'Otherside', it has to be said. They were great.

 

[Ness Rowlah]

I'd take RHCP over Coldplay or U-bloody-2.

Yeah. It's the only stadium band that got something going for them.
Sure they are a bit samey, just like the weather over there
- maybe they need to move from California?

They haven't gone totally stale though.
That Iberian/Latin/breezy "Cabron" from their last album
was cheerful in a good way. And different (although it
might be rooted in tradition?)

Read quite a few interviews and the drummer seems to come from
classic Led Zep/heavy, whereas the other guys on paper seem to
be more into alternative stuff.

It would be good if all that supposed leftfield stuff/influences
came through in their music and
why do the Peppers not challenge themselves some more? And condense it to a good
45 minutes instead of 72 minute long albums (or even worse double-CDs - that's
a trippel-LP - that used to be the preserve of bands like Yes and ELP).

Haven't heard much of the latest album yet though - but that title is really stupid,
"Stadium Arcadium".

 

[shellshock]

I was a big fan of blood sugar when it came out (and their earlier stuff) but after frusciante left, and returned minus any style whatsoever, they went the way of so many great bands and did a U2/manic street porters and chose bland stadium retard rock and big ol' bucks. 'by the way' is barely music and their new one is such a shameless rip-off of 'sweet home alabama' that i want to cry lazers. They have become another utterly irrelevant cash-cow, cursed to play corporate-endorsed festivals for eternity. i'm sure they're all great guys though, and fucking loaded.

 

[michael]

I was pretty sour when I saw Robert Owens DJ and he dropped some "pumping" dance mix of RHCP's 'By The Way'. Part of that's about expectations, though, I was expecting Owens to do more vocals over the records and ... well, to play some good music.

 

[Freakaholic]

First, i want to second the opinion that i liked BSSM when it came out, and think once frusciante left, they went to crap, and when he came back, they didnt get much better. thats my 2 cents.

Just saw this though:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002462811

Flea Speaks Out On Chili Peppers Album Leak
May 04, 2006, 10:30 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has taken to the band's Web site to plead with fans not to download the group's upcoming album from file-sharing sites. Due May 9 via Warner Bros., "Stadium Arcadium" was leaked online in recent days, much to the chagrin of the band.

"If you download it now ... you will be getting a pale imitation of the record," Flea writes. "If will be of the poor sound quality of the technique they used to get it on there and that will break my heart. We worked for a year and a half to make the epic record of our lives."

Promotional copies of the double-CD "Stadium Arcadium" were mailed to journalists with the made-up band name Ryan's Song to deter potential theft. "We spent day and night for a year making sure every little sound was just right -- that they were all put together in the most beautiful way we could," Flea says. "We did not leave a stone unturned in doing that work. I can not put in words how much this record, 'Stadium Arcadium,' means to us."

"Yes, it is stealing from us, and that is lame," he continues. "Everyone has to live with their own conscience on that one. Let it be your guide."

 

[Octopus?]

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002462811

Flea Speaks Out On Chili Peppers Album Leak
May 04, 2006, 10:30 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has taken to the band's Web site to plead with fans not to download the group's upcoming album from file-sharing sites. Due May 9 via Warner Bros., "Stadium Arcadium" was leaked online in recent days, much to the chagrin of the band.

This doesn't convey the pure hilarity of Flea's missive, definitely worth checking out...

Date: Tues, May 2
Subject:
From: "Michael Balzary"
To: members@redhotchilipeppers.com

when i woke up this morning
i was was confronted with the news that our record has been leaked to
the internet
it does not come out til may 9 but now it has leaked
and not that i know alot about this kind of thing
but i guess now it is possible to down load it for free if you want
well
that's not very nice
if you down load it now off one of these file sharing sites
you will be getting a pale imitation of the record
it will be of the poor sound quality of the technique they used to
get it on there
and that will break my heart
it will break john frusciante's heart
it will break anthony kiedis's heart
and it will break the heart of chad smith
yes, we worked for a year and a half to make the epic record of our
lives
and it is sad to me for the business reasons of course
i think we are selling something really cool and we put all we had
into it, 28 songs, 2 hours of the best that we can offer
and i think it is a fair deal for everyone
and for people to just steal a poor sound quality version of it for free
because some asshole stole it and put it on the internet
is sad to me
but, equitable business reasons aside
the thing that really bums me out is
we worked so hard, and so thoughtfully, all of us, for so long
to make this record sound as warm and full from top to bottom
as was possible
we spent day and night for a year making sure every little sound was
just right
that they were all put together in the most beautiful way we could
we did not leave a stone unturned in doing that work
i can not put in words how much this record, stadium arcadium, means
to us
how sacred the sound of it is to us
and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had
thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could
and now, for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor
sound quality
it is a painful pill for us to swallow
let me tell you
this bums all of us out
and i know that, as sensitive as john frusciante is about sound
the idea of anyone getting and hearing this thing that way
will devastate him
for people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be
will really hurt him deep inside
and all of us will hurt

yes, it is stealing from us, and that is lame
everyone has to live with their own conscience on that one
let it be your guide
but to take a version that has been defiled sound wise
a version in which some idiot has taken our year and a half of soul
baring work and pissed all over it
that will break our hearts

sincerely,

flea

 

[bassnation]

for people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be
will really hurt him deep inside
and all of us will hurt

i'm tempted to download it after reading that even though i don't really like them. the thought of all of them being individually hurt by such an action is almost irresistable.

 

[BrokenFist]

That's it. Flea is absolutely hilarious.

 

[Buick6]

They worked so many sleepless nights..My goodness, what suffering, what horror, to live a life most of their fans dream about, screwing models, taking the best drugs, living in mansions in LA, not having to wake up to an alarm clock every morning!! OH WOE! WHAT PAIN WHAT SUFFERING!

And for a band as big as the Chilli Poopers.

WHAT FANTASTIC FREE ADVERTISING!

THE LOUSE HAS NOW BECOME A TIC!

And if John Frusciante who is so sensitive about the 'sound quality' care, why don't they just release a harder-to-bootleg 5.1 version? (actually DVDShrink rips the DVD-audio quite easily!)

 

[DavidD]

By The Way is pretty, and maybe my favorite record of theirs because it didn't recieve the somewhat endless overplay of Californication or Bloodsugarsexmagik (I'm not going to listen to the new one even tho i like the single bcuz 2x disc RHCP sounds overwhelming in a bad way). They've written basically 2 songs (and sometimes they combine those two to create a THIRD one!) but the ballad-song is a very pretty one, especially with references to California and pretty guitar melodies and subpar lyrics that manage to capture some nice images from time to time ('beneath the marquee' etc.)

The only real bad songs on BTW are "Throw Away Your Television" and "Cabron."

I also like some Everclear.