Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute Song by Song Thread *

Apparently, he’s the dude that says, “look at that turtle, go, bro!”.

Didn’t know that.

The more you know!

 

Been out of town, so I'm playing catch-up. My thoughts below are closer to free thoughts as I'm listening to these songs again for the first time in quite awhile.

5. "Coffee Shop". This one starts with a lot of promise, I like the guitar effects and the main riff once things kick off. But that layered vocal thing in the verses just turns me off so much. I wouldn't mind it if there were intelligible lyrics and not just "nyah-nyah-nyah". The chorus improves things again, this is an example of where Kiedis' lyrics fit the vibe of the song and don't bother me too much. The best thing about this song, without a doubt, is the instrumental break after the second chorus with the funk feel and the build before the chorus kicks in again. A pretty nice effort from Flea as the song ends. So yeah, really just the verses that fall flat - but that's a big chunk of a song to not want to hear! Rating: 6/10

6. "Pea". I mean, this is fine and silly. Would have been much better placed as one of those ubiquitous '90s hidden track things (think Green Day's "All By Myself" on Dookie). Kills the momentum dead. Rating: 3/10

7. "One Big Mob". This one is pretty cool, love how they tear through two choruses and verses in like the first minute. The percussion is so cool and I love the shift into a swirling psych thing that it melds into during the second minute. Who knew that these guys could do something more subtle? Again, as I'll say a few times over the course of this record, this track shows off paths not taken for this line-up. It's really just a bog-standard RHCP song at the start and end, with a killer psych interlude in-between. But I like it, even with some of Kiedis' more regrettable lyrics so far. 8/10

8. "Walkabout". I don't hate this one, nor do I particularly love it. They get a nice groove going and I like the guitar solo, though it probably goes on about two minutes longer than it really needs to. 5/10

 

Tearjerker:

Now we reach Track Nine with Tearjerker, written in memory of then recently deceased Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who had previously toured with the group when Nirvana was on the rise. In addition to the band members, band friend and roadie Keith "Tree" Berry plays violin on the track, and once again Lenny Castro performs percussion. This song is also one of three off this album to never be played live.
The song starts with Dave on guitar with Anthony asking to turn up the track before the song begins proper at :29, with Chad and Flea laying a soft but firm beat and rhythm, Dave playing some really pretty leads on this track. Anthony is pretty good, not great, but pretty good on this song, even though lyrically he gets somewhat syrupy and, dare I say it, trite at times. However, musically and melodically this is a much stronger tune than My Friends, with Dave performing a solid solo at 2:48, and throwing some cool Eastern flourishes near the end of the track.
Overall, a good but not great song.

 

Coffee Shop

Yes, Dave can play funk. Flea and Chad are rockin' it big time too.

But I sum the song up this way:

Parts where Anthony isn't trying to sound like a cat singing for his Meow Mix: 8.6 out of 10.
Parts where Anthony is trying to sound like a cat singing for his Meow Mix: 2.3 out of 10.
Total: 6.7 out of 10 - that's how bad the meow meow is.

 

Pea

If he was 12 when he wrote the lyrics, that would make sense. I'm not even a lyric guy, and these are stupid. Would have been better as an instrumental.
3.4 out of 10.

 

One Big Mob

Picaboo street in Timbuktu
Do I need repeat
That a boy named Sue
Rockin' to the beat of the kangaroo
Let me kiss your feet and your forehead too

How does Anthony keep getting away with this s***, seriously?

I like the hard funky part, I like the atmospheric part and I really like the climb out of the atmospheric part. But that's instrumentally.

Anthony's vocals and lyrics are getting on my nerves though. I prefer Gabriel's vocals to Anthony's.

6.8 out of 10.

 

Walkabout
Decent, funky, nice groove, talkbox solo is good, everything is subtle and serving the song, so it's a success. 7.8 out of 10.

 

9. "Tearjerker". I like this one pretty much right away, it's nice and mellow and absolutely should have been a single. It's also got some of the better lyrics on the album with a pretty sweet sentiment - something this band is rarely known for. It's not fancy and flashy, but that might be why I find it so charming. 8/10

 

Tearjerker

Not a fan. This sounds like a rehashed version of "My Friends". Just boring to my ears. There is some pretty guitar work, though.

 

Again not a bad effort, but just a bit of a pedestrian tune.
The album really loses momentum for me with this coming on the heels of Walkabout; I would rather they not have been sequenced together.

 

I know it's a super-minor thing, but man, I hate that they included the whole "Could you turn up the track a little bit please?" part. From the first time I listened to it, it just sounded so unbelievably pretentious to me when they were going for the exact opposite. Boring song overall--it gains some power in the chorus but it's hard to believe a mainstream band allowed this lead vocal to be released. This song-by-song thread is making me realize how much I hate Anthony Kiedis both as a vocalist and a lyricist, haha.

This also sort of reminds me of Alice in Chains' "Heaven Beside You," in that while I have no problem with cursing in general, I find the use of the f-word in these two songs kind of blunt and ill-fitting and off-putting.

 

I think “Tearjerker” is RHCP version of “The Rain Song”. I like it. It’s mellow and has some interesting elements to it. Again, Kiedis is the weak link here but he doesn’t sink the song.

Agree with @anthontherun that the beginning deal is really a face palm. There was no need to include that other than showing Kiedis was in serious “artiste” mode on this one. Also agree using the f-word wasn’t a good choice for several reasons.

 

I like Tearjerker and it’s successful in attaining the mood it’s aspiring to. Nice guitar work by Dave. By this point in their career the slower, atmospheric songs work better. I love the funk of their younger days, but I welcome the change in style.

 

I'm far from the first to complain about an f bomb being dropped, but yes, it is really out of place when in this song or melody line.

 

Walkabout:

I like the funky vibe, though the song feels very simple. It has Sesame Street song quality in the lyrics to me. I could just see Big Bird going on walkabout.

Tearjerker:

I like the into guitar. The lyrics are not pulling at me even though I know what they are about. I like the song overall.

 

Tearjerker

I like this - Dave is great on it. Not that I'd like an entire album of songs like this and My Friends, but they are both good songs. Not a fan of the "turn up the track" and agree with y'all that it sounds pretentious. And Anthony's vocals aren't great, but at least the lyrics aren't yabba dabba dooo like usual.

8.2 out of 10

 

As far as lyrics go, I don't think about the Wierd ones much. I mean, between word salad or "I'm an artist", which do you think I'll go with?

 

One Hot Minute:

Since I missed yesterday, I'll post two songs today, the first being the title track. The song ended up shortened from its original version, and additional lyrics are present in the booklet. In addition to Aimee Echo and Lenny Castro, John Lurie from the Lounge Lizards plays harmonica on the track. It's also the second of three songs to never be played live.
The song begins with this off kilter bass lick before the song kicks in at :17, describing a relationship culminating in one hot minute, and the pleasure short lived and the narrator chasing the next fix. The song is kind of a Wierd one, definitely took some time to sink in, but it definitely grew on me, with its dense, suffocating atmosphere, the kind of trippiness that runs throughout it as with much of the album, although I admit it really should have been trimmed some, but otherwise, a very strong track on the album.

 

this.


Me thinks the "muscal differences/we didn't click/music was too dark/Dave can't jam on funk" was some BS to cover up the fact that at the end of the Navarro era, both Anthony and Dave were trying to pretend that they weren't using hard drugs...but everyone knew they were.

Plus, much like situation with Anthony and John (twice), by the end of the Navarro stint, Dave and Anthony just couldn't stand each other to the point where neither wanted anything to do with the other person.

I think Anthony didn't like Jack Sherman, neither.

Seems like Anthony doesn't like ANY guitarist not named Hillel...

 

And they don't like him.

 

Damn, there's a longer version?

OHM Deluxe? Lots of B-sides...I'd dig the extended version.

Stretch should've made the album

 

One Hot Minute

Okay, we've got the Peppers channeling early Sabbath, with a funk edge. Cool. Problem is, Anthony's vocals can't make it quite work.

I like the Beatlesque breaks that start at the 1:47 mark ("I Am the Walrus", I think?).

This is a departure for RHCP, but I'll give them credit for trying something different. Thumbs up.

 

Don’t rush the thread. If you miss a day, big deal. It just gives people a chance to catch up. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself (unless you like it). I dig a semi relaxed pace (excluding how I do it ). You’re doing a good here despite having a lot of oars in the water. Relax. Breathe.

 

Anthony Kiedis would not be the first vocalist to get cross ways with Dave Navarro ** cough cough ** Perry Farrell cough cough **

That said, I have no doubt Anthony is a difficult person to work with which makes him a very common individual in terms of the world of music.

 

But Perry and Dave still have to make out/up enough to keep Janes on the road.

My bet is that Anthony and Dave haven't been in the same room since around May of 1998...