Rawk Or Not: Red Hot Chili Peppers

[Karlifornia]

Michael Jackson 50.00%
Guns 'N' Roses 71.59%

A sock-wearing rock band that started in the late 80's which incorporated hip-hop, funk, and arena ballads. An interesting tidbit is that they were slated to be managed by Sex Pistols svengali Malcom McLaren at one point. Legend has it that the band, upon seeing McLaren approach the recording studio in a limousine while wearing a fur coat, immediately discarded his services. The band has seemed to produce a chart smashing record every half-decade or so: Blood Sugar Sex Magik, One Hot Minute, Californication, By The Way, and the new Stadium Arcadium. Some feel that this band has outlived it's time, and they are simply a younger version of the Rolling Stones.

Do RHCP rawk, or do they suffer from hangontolong-itis?

EDIT: Cosmetic adjustments.

[Groundhog]

Straight rawk, son.

[Anthony]

they started in the early 80's, buck. 1983, self-titled album The Red Hot Chili Peppers. only had Anthony Kiedis and Flea on it but it was RHCP all the same.

"Anton the Swan
from the pretty fish pond
was a bad mutherjumper
you could tell he was strong
he wore a cold paisley jacket and a hellified hat
and in between his legs was a cock-sucking lass"

[Joe]

their new song does a good job ripping off tom petty

[Lathum]

their new song does a good job ripping off tom petty
there is a big difference between "ripping off" and being influnced by. I think once you have had the success and longevity of the chili peppers it's not really fair to say they are ripping off anyone.

[Grammaticus]

One of the best back in their day and pretty much still kickin. I loved the Jimi Hendrix cover "Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire".

[Joe]

there is a big difference between "ripping off" and being influnced by. I think once you have had the success and longevity of the chili peppers it's not really fair to say they are ripping off anyone.

Well if its not ripping off I don't know what it is, they are eerily similar. But both songs were produced by the same guy, Rick Rubin. There is a good comparison here: http://www.wgmd.com/SOUNDS/FEATURES/051706-petty.mp3

But its really a moot point since Petty pretty much copied Waiting For The Sun by the Jayhawks :D

[sabotai]

Never was a fan of the Chili Peppers. I vote Not.

[sovereignstar]

The peppers are d-bags. Have thought that since crybaby anthony had fits with both Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Too bad a couple of them work with The Mars Volta.

[sovereignstar]

LOL

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MTCliDUJQ90&search=mr.%20bungle

Go Mike Patton

[Joker]

The guitar riff in Dani sounds alot like Jimi Hendrix ...It Rawks

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm pretty neutral on their music, but I think they deserve some props for the way they treated the kid from the Victory Junction Gang Camp (http://www.victoryjunction.org/) when they presented him with the autographed guitar at last week's NASCAR race. Really went out of their way to focus their attention on him (both on camera & off) instead of treating it like a photo op.

That may not be enough to qualify as "rawk", but it definitely earned them some major "cool" points with me.

[Desnudo]

I'm going to say not because I think their trademark sound is repetitive and annoying.

[Lorena]

Meh... I like a few songs, but I can't say they totally rawk.

[AlexB]

Undeniably rawk - my favourite band with The Stone Roses: although admittedly the last two albums have been much more MOR.

But IMHO the series of Uplift Mofo through to One Hot Minute should give them eternal rawk status

[AlexB]

Dola,

Don't get me wrong - still like the last two albums, but to me it's almost as if they're from a different band than the previous releases.

[Joker]

Dola,

Don't get me wrong - still like the last two albums, but to me it's almost as if they're from a different band than the previous releases.

"Say no to heroin"
May be what changed the Bands sound.

[Dekanth]

They put on one of the all time best performances to close out Woodstock. If for no other reason, they deserve rock for that one day.

[AlexB]

"Say no to heroin"
May be what changed the Bands sound.

Maybe I should have used a smiley there somewhere ;)

[Schmidty]

Not anymore. Post-Blood Sugar Sex Magic, they've generally stunk. Keidis getting touchy-feeling killed it for me.

[Raven Hawk]

Not anymore. Post-Blood Sugar Sex Magic, they've generally stunk. Keidis getting touchy-feeling killed it for me.

I disagree. Although I don't consider myself a big fan by any means. This is one of the bands that continually impresses me with their ability to put out good music.

Rawk.

[Grammaticus]

Come on now, "Give It Away" is still a strip club anthem. That has to count for something.

[Mountain]

I've been listening to the Peppers since Mother's Milk. This new album is as good if not better then anything they have ever put out. There is not one bad song on the entire 28 song album. They sound like a much more complete band now since they have taken the reins off of John Frusciante (sp?) and Keidis seems to have more range to his vocals then he has had before.

[Schmidty]

I've been listening to the Peppers since Mother's Milk. This new album is as good if not better then anything they have ever put out. There is not one bad song on the entire 28 song album. They sound like a much more complete band now since they have taken the reins off of John Frusciante (sp?) and Keidis seems to have more range to his vocals then he has had before.

That could very well be. I stopped listening to them closely after I bought that crappy album with "Aroplane" or whatever.

[Anthony]

The peppers are d-bags. Have thought that since crybaby anthony had fits with both Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Too bad a couple of them work with The Mars Volta.

you and i could never be friends. never. and i don't even use the word "never" cuz i say once you use never it usually winds up happening. but i can say with all sincerity there is no chance i would accept you. actually, we're closer to a brawl if anything. do not come to NYC. you've lost those priveleges. Minnesota is where dreams go to die of pnuemonia.

i'm looking California
but feeling Minnestoa
oh yeaaaaah

[Anthony]

Meh... I like a few songs, but I can't say they totally rawk.

you should be kicked in your ovaries. you know nothing of music. keep listening to Nick Lachey.

[Anthony]

That could very well be. I stopped listening to them closely after I bought that crappy album with "Aroplane" or whatever.

that was not the RHCP. that was 3 guys who played together being negatively influenced by Dave Navarro. Navarro, as the rumors go, has ample amounts of odor coming from his genitalia, thus, not making him fit to make rock music. when people ask me to rank RHCP albums i don't even put One Hot Minute on the list. that wasn't RHCP. the first album, with only Kiedis and Flea, was more RCHP than One Hot Minute.

[Anthony]

I've been listening to the Peppers since Mother's Milk. This new album is as good if not better then anything they have ever put out. There is not one bad song on the entire 28 song album. They sound like a much more complete band now since they have taken the reins off of John Frusciante (sp?) and Keidis seems to have more range to his vocals then he has had before.

calm down. i'm one of the hugest RHCP fans out there, and even i will admit there's a few clunkers on that cd. such is the risk when you put out a double album, which should never happen.

there are 6 good songs, about 4 decent ones, and the rest should have been B-sides one euro releases of singles.

[Axxon]

calm down. i'm one of the hugest RHCP fans out there, and even i will admit there's a few clunkers on that cd. such is the risk when you put out a double album, which should never happen.

there are 6 good songs, about 4 decent ones, and the rest should have been B-sides one euro releases of singles.

Double Albums should never happen? I can think of a few that I'm glad happened.

[Anthony]

Double Albums should never happen? I can think of a few that I'm glad happened.

there's more that can go wrong on a double cd than can go right. i think most artists get to a certain number of songs and rather than use just the cream of the crop and make the ultimate album they decide to put in the entire kit and kaboodle and make a double album. it's like they get up to track #22 and say "hey, ya know, if we add in about 6 more songs we can actually put out a double album".

live double albums (the "Alive" Kiss records, to name a few) are different cuz they're essentially greatest hits. i think Physical Graffiti from Led Zep was a double album, i don't know, as my 2nd favorite band that's one of my lesser listened-to albums. i think Dark Side of the Moon was a double album, i don't own it. most good double albums came from the 70's. there has been no double album worthy of an entry into the history of music in the past 2 decades. no "must-have" double albums to be part of a definitive collection.

on any "great album" (LP) you'll have 2 all-time classic songs, about 4 solid songs and the rest will be clunkers. on a 28 song double album such as Stadium Arcadium that means 4 classic songs (and it doesn't even have that much to be honest), 8 "ok" songs and 16 bad songs.

16 bad songs, out of 28. i have yet to break down the album like that, but i would agree that the number of forgettable, or songs not even worthy of being background music, songs on that album is about that much. i skip a lot of songs on this album, which is uncharacteristic of me since i normally play RHCP cds straight through and will only rarely skip like one song. here, it's like only 6 songs i'll listen to on the Mars cd. the Jupiter cd is only marginally better.

[Joe]

actually, they recorded 38 songs and intended to do a 3 album trilogy spaced 6 months apart. so there are some songs out there that couldnt make the cut on this.

[sabotai]

i think Dark Side of the Moon was a double album, i don't own it.

The Wall was the double album that Pink Floyd did.

[Axxon]

there's more that can go wrong on a double cd than can go right. i think most artists get to a certain number of songs and rather than use just the cream of the crop and make the ultimate album they decide to put in the entire kit and kaboodle and make a double album. it's like they get up to track #22 and say "hey, ya know, if we add in about 6 more songs we can actually put out a double album".

live double albums (the "Alive" Kiss records, to name a few) are different cuz they're essentially greatest hits. i think Physical Graffiti from Led Zep was a double album, i don't know, as my 2nd favorite band that's one of my lesser listened-to albums. i think Dark Side of the Moon was a double album, i don't own it. most good double albums came from the 70's. there has been no double album worthy of an entry into the history of music in the past 2 decades. no "must-have" double albums to be part of a definitive collection.

on any "great album" (LP) you'll have 2 all-time classic songs, about 4 solid songs and the rest will be clunkers. on a 28 song double album such as Stadium Arcadium that means 4 classic songs (and it doesn't even have that much to be honest), 8 "ok" songs and 16 bad songs.

16 bad songs, out of 28. i have yet to break down the album like that, but i would agree that the number of forgettable, or songs not even worthy of being background music, songs on that album is about that much. i skip a lot of songs on this album, which is uncharacteristic of me since i normally play RHCP cds straight through and will only rarely skip like one song. here, it's like only 6 songs i'll listen to on the Mars cd. the Jupiter cd is only marginally better.

I'll admit that there's a pretty good risk that a double album is goint to have too much filler. I'll also admit that all my favorite double albums were from the 70's.

Still, I don't think that this means that bands shouldn't attempt them. They should just work harder and if they run out of inspiration before they can fill it, then break it in half.

Oh, and Dark Side of the Moon is only a single album but Umma Gumma and The Wall are both double albums and both make my list of double albums I'm glad they made. :)

[Axxon]

The Wall was the double album that Pink Floyd did.

One of them, yes. ;)

[Grammaticus]

I'll admit that there's a pretty good risk that a double album is goint to have too much filler. I'll also admit that all my favorite double albums were from the 70's.

Still, I don't think that this means that bands shouldn't attempt them. They should just work harder and if they run out of inspiration before they can fill it, then break it in half.

Oh, and Dark Side of the Moon is only a single album but Umma Gumma and The Wall are both double albums and both make my list of double albums I'm glad they made. :)
Do you count Use Your Illusion 1 and 2 (GnR) a double album?

[Dutch]

I say rawk because of the lifetime achievement. I used to love their music back in the late 80's and early 90's. Nowadays? Not so much, but I don't blame them for still wanting to be muscicians.

[Axxon]

Do you count Use Your Illusion 1 and 2 (GnR) a double album?

Not really. I don't count the four LP's that Frank Zappa envisioned for Lather to be a quadruple album either but Lather itself is a 3 CD one.

If I can't buy it as a single work, it doesn't count as a single work to me though I appreciate what the artist is intending. :)

Here's a fun bit about Zappa and Lather. I wonder how he'd feel about music sharing today?

Recorded at various times with a revolving cast of characters, the huge mass of material known as LATHER was to be released in the late '70s when Zappa's record company refused to put it out. Instead, they insisted that he owed them four individual records. So, the unflappable Zappa chopped LATHER into four sections (released as LIVE IN NEW YORK, STUDIO TAN, SLEEP DIRT and ORCHESTRAL FAVORITES). He then went on a southern California radio station and played the whole project while encouraging listeners to illegally tape it.

Great piece of work if you like Zappa but then again, if you like Zappa you surely already know this. :)

[Joe]

Oh, and Dark Side of the Moon is only a single album but Umma Gumma and The Wall are both double albums and both make my list of double albums I'm glad they made. :)

I wouldn't count UmmaGumma as a real double album. The first disc was a live set of previously released songs.

[Axxon]

I wouldn't count UmmaGumma as a real double album. The first disc was a live set of previously released songs.

But you buy them together so it fits my definition above. :)

I knew one disc was live and the other was studio but never thought this made it not a double album. You do have a point as we're discussing it above but then again, that would make the GNR albums a double album if we're just talking about concepts.

I'll go with the simple answer though and say UmmaGumma is and Use Your Illusion 1 and 2 aren't.

[Joe]

I think of a double album as a single piece artistically. So I guess Use Your Illusion would fit for me.

[oliegirl]

Mother's Milk is one of my top 5 albums of all time, nothing they've done since then has lived up to that for me, but they are still great. Definitely rawk.

[Axxon]

I think of a double album as a single piece artistically. So I guess Use Your Illusion would fit for me.

I think it's a valid view but I don't fully hold it. I think that if you go there you really need to know why a piece was split in the first place. If it was split by the label then it makes sense to think of it as a single piece, ala Lather. If the artist split it, for whatever reason, it doesn't make sense to second guess them.

Since I don't get that involved in behind the scenes stuff for most of what I listen too, I tend to go the simpler route and just use conventional labels and thus Use Your Illusion doesn't qualify as a double album.

[AENeuman]

on any "great album" (LP) you'll have 2 all-time classic songs, about 4 solid songs and the rest will be clunkers.

sounds like you just like pop songs. of which the peppers are a 2-4 good songs per album band. good (double) albums are much more than great pop songs, the wall has only a few good pop songs but loads of great fitting songs. radiohead would be the extreme of this.

btw, janes addiction kicks the peppers ass.

[Groundhog]

It's not even just about the quality of the songs themselves. Maybe I just lack the concentration, but I find it difficult to sit down and listen to a double album. My mind starts to waver, and these tend to be the albums where I never remember the track names.

I find the perfect length of an album is about 40mins for me. I don't mind it being longer than that, but I think there is a lot to be said for "short and sweet".

And once again, I can't believe I'm saying this when I have Yes' Tales from Topographic Oceans and listen to it semi-regularily... though never all of it at once.

[Schmidty]

It's not even just about the quality of the songs themselves. Maybe I just lack the concentration, but I find it difficult to sit down and listen to a double album. My mind starts to waver, and these tend to be the albums where I never remember the track names.

I haven't listened to an album straight through in like 10 years. Everything's either on my harddrive, or burned onto a CD, and either way, I have "random" on each time.

[Grammaticus]

Not really. I don't count the four LP's that Frank Zappa envisioned for Lather to be a quadruple album either but Lather itself is a 3 CD one.

If I can't buy it as a single work, it doesn't count as a single work to me though I appreciate what the artist is intending. :)

Here's a fun bit about Zappa and Lather. I wonder how he'd feel about music sharing today?



Great piece of work if you like Zappa but then again, if you like Zappa you surely already know this. :)
I can see that point. I look at Use Your Illusion as a double album that was marketed poorly or marketed in a certain way.

On Frank Zappa, Joe's Garage is one of my favorite double albums. Catholic Girls and Crew Slut are awesome offerings. Plus I like the way the entire album is a story. Classic Zappa.

[Axxon]

I can see that point. I look at Use Your Illusion as a double album that was marketed poorly or marketed in a certain way.

On Frank Zappa, Joe's Garage is one of my favorite double albums. Catholic Girls and Crew Slut are awesome offerings. Plus I like the way the entire album is a story. Classic Zappa.

My favorite Zappa album and favorite double album as well. :)

[Suburban Rhythm]

A large part, in voting in any of the RorN polls, I think is having seen the group live. Seen RHCP a handful of times live, and they RAWK.