*This article contains vulgar lyricism and may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.* 

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an alternative rock band that emerged in the early 90s but have been on the radar since 1984 when they dropped their first album. They started in the early 80s as a group of four men: drummer Jack Irons, guitarist Hillel Slovak, lead singer Anthony Kiedis, and his best friend, bass player “Flea.” Slovak, who passed away in 1988, prompting founding drummer Irons to depart from the band. Replacing the founding guitarist was eighteen-year-old wunderkind John Frusciante, and right behind him, replacing the founding drummer would be funk pounder Chad Smith from the Midwest. The band rebounded quickly in 1989, even going as far as releasing their first album with the new lineup, Mothers Milk.

After their mainstream breakthrough with the new group’s first album, they produced another album only two years later in ‘91, which soared high on the Billboard 100. This album is Blood Sugar Sex Magik, a conceptual record never before seen by the Chili Peppers. The project jumps from political to sensitive and vulnerable to punk and funk rock, which is the band’s staple sound. This record was recorded by producer Rick Rubin in his Hollywood home dubbed “The Mansion.” Breaking down each track and what they stand for will help better understand the incentive the Chili Peppers had to create this project. 

“The Power of Equality” is the first track on this record, and it opens the listeners’ minds with a brunt force of funk-metal. If the group is good at one thing and one thing only, it’s making their own unique, syncopated sound. As the title hints, the song strongly accepts and embraces equality among races in the United States. There are key lyrics and lines found within the song in which Kiedis conveys extremely opinionated views: “I got a soul that cannot sleep at night

When something just ain’t right, ya

Blood red, but without sight

Exploding egos in the night

Mix like sticks of dynamite

Red, black, or white, this is my fight

Oh, come on, courage, let’s be heard

Turn feelings into word”

This passage above encapsulates the majority of the first verse we get from Kiedis, telling us just how bothered both he and the band are about racial inequality and discrimination in his own country. A country that is supposed to be oozing freedom and rights feels rather divided and dystopian in that regard. Kiedis encourages his listeners to “be heard” and “turn feelings into word.” He wants social justice to be valued higher than it is and to be taken more seriously, turning his and other like-minded people’s feelings into spoken words.

The chorus of this track summarizes just how Kiedis felt in the early 90s when vocalizing his opinion and concern on this politically driven topic: “Power of equality

Is not yet what it ought to be (Ought to be)

It fills me up like a hollow tree (Hollow tree)

The power of equality”

Kiedis explains that the power equality holds is robust, and it can be achieved easily by having a shared and open mindset and digging even deeper to forget about old taboos and stereotypes. He explains that the country is not where it should be on this topic quite yet, and we have a lot of group work to do to fix these issues.

Verse two of this sound slaps us in the face and comes on even stronger than the first verse, almost like it was designed in a wake-up call format: “Right or wrong, my song is strong

You don’t like it, get along

Say what I want, do what I can

Death to the message of the Ku-Klux-Klan”

“I don’t buy supremacy

A media chief, you menace me

The people you say cause all the crime

Wake up, motherfucker and smell the slime”

Although this is only the beginning half of the second verse, it speaks volumes already. Kiedis conveys that this viewpoint on equal rights and treatment is the only right way to look at it, and if you don’t agree, too bad, you’re wrong. He doesn’t buy into any other way of thinking and strongly believes white supremacist extremist groups should be exterminated. He goes even further to say that accusations against criminals are wrong, outdated, and based on what color the person is. He asks his listeners to wake up and stand against the media. 

The back of verse four is another bundle of great points and aggravated opinions on the main focus of this track: “I got a welt from the Bible belt

A-dealin’ with the hand that I’ve been dealt

I’m sittin’ in the grip of a killing fist

I’m givin’ up blood just to exist

Rub me wrong and I get pissed

I know I, I can not get to this

People in pain, I do not dig it

A change of brain for Mr. Bigot”

The “Bible belt” referenced by Kiedis includes the deep southern states as well as the upland south. The following lines after the aforementioned reference contribute to the acknowledgment of the pain and injustice experienced by minority groups living in this area. 

A bigot is someone intolerant toward those who hold differing opinions compared to their own. Kiedis wants them to reach peace and tolerance towards others, and hopefully bring sense to them; more so to explain how their thoughts put many people in pain.         

The second track included on the record was also the fifth and final single on the project. This song was released with the completed studio album in 1991 but was released as a single in ‘93. A guitar solo by Frusciante is heard at the end with applause from the other band members and production crew that was inadvertently kept in the track.

The song features funky, groove-heavy moments with nonsensical lyrics at times, but that’s just the signature style of the group. You’ll see that throughout the listening of this project, nonsense lyrics are quite common, and the band will switch from serious, heartfelt topics to playful self-expression. 

Some of the lyrics from the second verse are an example of cryptic wordplay and innuendos: “Don’t ask me why I’m flyin’ so high

Mr. Bubble meets superfly in my third eye

Searchin’ for a soul-bride, she’s my freakette

Soak it up inside, deeper than a secret

Much more than meets the eye

To the funk, I fall into my new ride”

The first half of this verse just encapsulates the verbal expression of what an elevated state of existence feels like. This could be from a multitude of things, from drugs, meditation, music, or just a free-spirited outlook on life. Kiedis ties this verse tight with the chorus and the main idea of the song: “(If you have to ask) You’ll never know

Funky motherfucker will not be told to go

(If you have to ask) You’ll never know

Funky motherf- will not be told to go”

He explains to the audience that if you have to ask what’s going on or what he is talking about in the verses, you just won’t ever know or grasp the concept of it. This could be a nod at inside banter and connection between the band members. Kiedis reinforces this mindset by also telling the listeners the funk will not be dismissed, it will rather live unapologetically.  

Being the fourth released single of this album, “Breaking the Girl” covers a relationship Kiedis had with a former girlfriend of his. The song starts with a heavy sense of care and invincibility between the two lovers in the first verse and pre-chorus: “I am a man cut from the know

Rarely do friends come and then go

She was a girl, soft but estranged

We were the two, our lives rearranged”

Kiedis makes a similar metaphor in the first line, as “cut from the same cloth,” making a reference to his father giving him a rather rough upbringing. Although both Kiedis and his father had a close relationship, his father was a struggling actor who lived in Hollywood. Kiedis was exposed to drugs and sex at a very young age because of this factor. He saw his father bring home practically a different woman every night; he did not want to fall into the same bad habit. 

The rest of this verse explains the relationship he shared with this special woman, first being friends, then turning into something more intimate. His life was rearranged ever since that day, as he said in the pre-chorus as follows: “Feeling so good that day,

A feeling of love that day”

The chorus brings us to an early conclusion that Kiedis is doing the same wrongs as his father was doing, not knowing any better due to his childhood exposure: “Twisting and turning, your feelings are burning

You’re breaking the girl

(She meant you no harm)

Think you’re so clever, but now you must sever

You’re breaking the girl

(He loves no one else)”

 These words by Kiedis are quite self-explanatory as he feels a sensation that he is harming this girl for one reason or another, and his feelings are every which place about it. He fears that he’s pushing her away and breaking the bond between the two, further concluding this idea by saying, “She meant you no harm.” Despite Kiedis’s thoughts, he recognizes he is not clever in hindsight, and now he has to sever this relationship due to his actions.

Verse two comes after the first chorus run-through and is the last new material in the song before another pre-chorus rerun and two chorus reruns. It is written as follows: “Raised by my dad, girl of the day

He was my man, that was the way”

“She was a girl left alone

Feeling the need to make me her home”

Kiedis throws another reference to his father’s disgraceful actions into his lyricism, explaining that his father brought home a “girl of the day” every day. He accepted this way of interacting with the opposite sex through his father, whom he idolized, claiming it was the way. 

Kiedis then puts into words that this girl was left in solitude for most of her life and that she felt comfortable with Kiedis being her forever. However, he did not feel the same way. At every chance he had, he caught himself admiring and wanting to be with other women while with this girl who was seemingly so special to him. 

In a June 2016 interview, Kiedis admitted to having over 100 sexual partners within a year at certain points in his life. A quote from this interview expands on that claim. 

In the fourth track of this album, it switches again from a serious and heartfelt topic to the playful structure we previously saw on track two. Kiedis vocalizes in the first verse that if there are no monks in his band, there are no saints in this land: “There are no monks in my band (There are no monks in my band)

There are no saints in this land (There are no saints in this land)

I’ll be doin’ all I can, yeah, yeah

Live, I’ll die an honest man (Live, I’ll die an honest man)

Confusion is my middle name (Confusion is my middle name)

Ask me again, I’ll tell ya the same (Ask me again, I’ll tell ya the same)”

He and his band do all they can to be honest and authentic. Kiedis saying that confusion is his middle name and the fact that he is so sure about that by saying in the next line, “ask me again, I’ll tell you the same,” is a sort of oxymoron that ensures he is sure of his uncertainty and spontaneity.

The lyrics in this song don’t tend to convey any hidden meaning like some other works throughout this project; rather, the song’s supporting lyrics are based on the band’s funky and raw approach to music as a whole. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are all about funk, discipline, and musical brotherhood without limits attached; it’s only in the fun, loose songs like this that you can feel that mission statement come to life.

The term “monks” in the song comes up in the title and throughout the track, which alludes to a sense of unity among the members and a higher purpose to spread the funky energy through music.   

This track is undeniably one of the grittiest songs on the album, being my personal favorite. It is a rather blunt song with a great deal of the lyrics alluding to sexual acts and vulgar exploitation, but the production by Rick Rubin is the highlight of this track. Whether it comes to the punching guitar or the meaty drums and bass, this song has got it all. We start with Kiedis making yet another reference to sailors, like he enjoys doing in the band’s songs for whatever reason: “And I’m sailin’, yeah

Yeah, oh yeah

Yeah… oh yeah

Hit me!”

As the intro passes, we jump into verse one quite quickly, carried by the deep, rumbling bass and guitar intertwined: “Shoulda been, coulda been, woulda been dead

If I didn’t get the message goin’ to my head

I am what I am

Most motherfuckers don’t give a damn

Oh, baby, think you can

Be my girl, I’ll be your man”

Kiedis, in the first verse, tells us that he should’ve, could’ve, and would’ve been dead if he kept his old lifestyle of hard drug use, party life, and speedballing. He is not ashamed of what he has done, he had fun doing it, and nobody should care what his personal choices. As this is only the first half of the first verse, it starts going in a sexual direction after talking about his pride within himself. 

The second verse is structured the same, but there are different lyrics involved in the first half: “Look at me, can’t you see, all I really want to be

Is free from a world that hurts me

I need relief

Do you want me, girl, to be your thief? 

Oh, baby just for you

I’d steal anything that you want me to

K-i-s-s-i-n-g

chicka chicka dee, do me like a banshee”

Kiedis informs us that he is from a bad upbringing and he wants to rid himself of that with whichever new girl he is aiming this song towards. He asks the girl if she wants him to be his thief, and by this, he means he’d do anything for this girl, even going as far as to steal things for her benefit. 

As the title suggests, this song is another example of Kiedis’s back-and-forth, bipolar-like mood swings throughout the project. The album is structured like this to give intel on Kiedis’ mind and what runs through his head on a day-to-day basis. He often cycles through extreme feelings, whether it be happiness, depression, loneliness, contentment, or vibrant, and this collection of songwriting shines that part of him through. 

Kiedis allegedly had a relationship with Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor, and this song is about how she abruptly broke things off with Kiedis and ghosted him forever after that moment. Kiedis recorded this track with Frusciante the night he was broken up with, and dropped it in her mailbox the next morning with no further response from O’Connor.

In the first verse, you can hear Kiedis pouring his feelings out about the situation he was put in that night: “There must be something in the way I feel

That she don’t want me to feel

The stare she bares cut me

I don’t care, you see, so what if I bleed?

I could never change just what I feel

My face will never show what is not real”

The feeling of someone leaving you for you to heal and become a better person is something very hard to grasp for the person being left. Kiedis is experiencing this, and her presence cuts him into pieces. He doesn’t care and will do whatever it takes to get this woman back into his life, or at the very least, try to get an explanation from her; closure. It seems he’s trying to convey the point that his mind will not rest until he gets this closure.

Verse two carries the same weight as the first, only diving deeper into the matter: “A mountain never seemed to have the need to speak

A look that shares so many seek 

The sweetest feeling I got from you

The things I said to you were true

I could never change just what I feel

My face will never show what is not real”

Using an analogy in the first line, Kiedis brings attention to the fact that mountains are so large and out in the open that they don’t need to speak to get attention from people. He believes his feelings are structured and should be treated in the same context that a mountain should; she should see his feelings through action and expression without him having to say anything. Everything that Kiedis expressed to O’Connor was heartfelt and honest, even if she didn’t see that. 

We then get bled into the chorus, which reveals something we do not yet know about the two singers’ relationship: “I could have lied, I’m such a fool

My eyes could never, never, never keep their cool

Showed her and I told her how

She struck me but I’m fucked up now”

Kiedis admits that he “could have lied,” which can easily be connected to the fact that he covered up his affair with another woman while with O’Connor. He only revealed this later on in his autobiography “Scar Tissue”. 

The final verse before a chorus replay is short but to the point: “But now she gone, yeah, she gone away

A soulful song that would not stay

You see, she hides ’cause she is scared

But I don’t care, I won’t be spared” 

After O’Connor left, Kiedis did not see her for years and years. Their relationship was very real and intimate to Kiedis, the soulful song that would not stay is O’Connor and his feelings for her. He tries to tell himself he doesn’t care, even though deep down he can’t convince himself of this.       

This song is another lighthearted one, mixing playful wordplay, pop culture references, reflections on fame, and personal growth. The title of the track directly suggests a blend of mellow and fluid funk rhythm that the song provides. Kiedis name-drops a couple of well-known figures in the song that he looks up to and resonates with, celebrating his love for music as a whole. 

The song also references throwbacks from the band’s early days back in ‘84, and the first part of the first verse kicks off with: “I got a mellowship, I got a fellowship

I got a nonstop “yo swan” hello chip

Born to adore the big bad bison

Thunderstorms and a man like Tyson”

Kiedis’s aforementioned “fellowship” in the first line testifies to The Chili Peppers’s tight bond they all share. Kiedis used to be dubbed “Antwuan The Swan” in the earliest days of the band’s formation, which is a comment on their first band touring together. Kiedis is born to adore anything that may be extreme, aggressive, out there, and funky. He decides to reference the big bad bison, thunderstorms, and “a man like Tyson,” alluding to the boxing champion Mike Tyson. 

Another snippet from the first verse tells us where Kiedis is from and what he holds close to his heart: “Rockin’ to the beat of the fabulous Forum

My Lakers, I adore ’em”

This is merely just a comment on his hometown’s NBA team that he supports. “The Fabulous Forum” is a sports arena that housed the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Sent into the pre-chorus, we only find more clever wordplay from Kiedis: “I’m so in love, yes, with an artist

Imagination, he the smartest

A Robert Williams stroke and splatter

I attest to your gray matter

Living kings, how true it rings

These are just a few of my favorite things”

Kiedis admires an American artist and underground cartoonist, Robert Williams, who often created many psychedelic images. He describes Williams as one of his “favorite things”, as well as a “living king”. 

Now we roll into the chorus, using a lot of repetition for the beginning half of the lines, executed nicely: “Good God, where’s my sleigh now?

Good God, playing for days now

Good God, well any day now

Good God, take me away now

Good God, the purple haze now

Good God, the baddest of brains now

Good God, well any day now

Good God, I’m ridin’ my sleigh now”

The two lines that stand out most to me are next to each other: “Good God, the purple haze now/Good God, the baddest of brains now”. The Chili Peppers are open fans of many different musicians and bands, the Bad Brains being one of many bands they give a nod to in their songs. Directly above that line, Jimi Hendrix’s song Purple Haze is also referenced. In The Chili Peppers’ previous album, Mothers Milk, they covered one of Hendrix’s songs. 

Now approaching the second verse, we see a large group of pokes and nods to various artists and heavy-influencing people: “Being that I’m the duke of my domain

My hat goes off to Mark Twain

-Singing a song about what true men don’t do

Killin’ another creature, that’s kind of blue

Writing about the world of the wild coyote

Good man, Truman Capote

-Talking about my thoughts ’cause they must grow

Cock my brain to shoot my load

-I’m on the porch ’cause I lost my house key

Pick up my book, I read Bukowski

-Can I get another kiss from you?

Kiss me right here on my tattoo”

In Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Duke and the King are a pair of con men whom Huck meets along his journey. The Duke claims to be the long-lost son of an English duke, while the King claims to be the Lost Dauphin, the son of Louis XVI, and thus the rightful claimant to the throne of France. The two of them use these stories to try to bilk a lot of people out of their money.

The second block of verse two only again throws us back to their first album, self-titled, where the first single off that project is called “True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes”. “Kind of Blue” is a nod to, and the name of, Miles Davis’ album released in the late 50’s.  

Kiedis has always been inspired by the author Charles Bukowski, known for writing semi-autobiographies about his experiences with booze, women, and terrible jobs. 

The tattoo that Kiedis is referencing is their band logo, the 8-pointed asterisk he tattooed on his right wrist, known as the Star of Affinity.         

This album ties in with the theme of the first track on the album more than any other. It contrasts it by talking about a different political issue than racial equality, but it still covers its bases when it comes to political subjects. The song explores themes of war, environmental destruction, and power corruption.

The first verse sets the tone of the song, and although it sounds loose, there are serious, meaningful lyrics behind it: “I can’t rest in war, will you be my friend? 

Dark Ages never change, well I can’t comprehend

Kiss me, we self-destruct, can you hear me, Lord?

Yes, I think we’re fucked, but I can’t rest in war”

Kiedis is not only talking about the United States’ conflict with rival countries and organizations but the entire world as a whole. The third line is a clever play on words meaning one day there can be peace, but the very next day war can break out anywhere around the world due to this or that reason. 

The second verse sees the environmental consequences of war through: “Holy mother earth crying into space

Tears on her pretty face for she has been raped

Killing your future blood, fill her with disease

Global abortion, please, that is what she needs”

Shedding light on how the Earth needs to be saved, Kiedis explains how society is ruining future generations with pollution and disregarding the current state of the planet. Mother Earth needs a “global abortion,” meaning an end to the human race.

Being one of the band’s most popular songs, “Give It Away” features surface-level sexual lyricism to the naked ear, but Kiedis is telling a story in these words.

The song immediately kicks off with the pre-chorus, where you can initially hear these deceptive lyrics in use: “What I got, you got to give it to your mamma

What I got, you’ve got to give it to your pappa

What I got, you got to give it to your daughter

You do a little dance and then you drink a little water

What I got, you got to get it put it in you

What I got, you got to get it put it in you

What I got, you got to get it put it in you

Reeling with the feeling, don’t stop, continue

I realize I don’t want to be a miser

Confide with Sly, you’ll be the wiser

Young blood is the lovin’ upriser

How come everybody wanna keep it like the Kaiser?”

The first three lines express the great feeling of giving something away to someone else that they like or find interesting. Even though you may also like this object, it shows selflessness and kindness and makes the world a happier place by always giving. In Kiedis’ 2004 autobiography Scar Tissue, he tells us about a specific time he realized this:

When Kiedis was looking through her closet, he came across a jacket he liked and commented to Hagen that it was “really cool”. Upon expressing this, Hagen immediately told him to keep it. Her reasoning behind this selflessness was due to an attempt to constantly make her life more enjoyable and explained to Kiedis that:

A simple nod to sobriety is heard directly after the first three lines, showing that Kiedis holds being clean, drinking well, and having fun highly in his life. 

Kiedis’s saying that you need what he has “in you” goes back to the first three lines, that you simply need selflessness and altruism in your life. Building on this idea, Kiedis expresses he does not want to be a miser, which is someone who hoards money and items. 

The chorus nails the purpose of the song on the head by saying “Give It Away” an astonishing sixty-eight times throughout the song: “Give it away, give it away, give it away now

Give it away, give it away, give it away now

Give it away, give it away, give it away now

I can’t tell if I’m a kingpin or a pauper”

Kiedis is so lost in the funky flow that he forgets who he is. He decides between two types of people, either a central authoritarian figure or a poor person. When you become free of worries about money and social status, issues that used to be a big deal are no longer prominent in your life.

The two verses on this track only include supporting details and base-laying lyricism to the general basis of the track. Kiedis just makes further references and allusions to being a giver and how his mind has opened up ever since he was taught that valuable lesson by his ex-girlfriend Nina Hagen.     

The title track of the album is short in lyrics, but gets its point across through the chorus and supporting verses. Kiedis keeps his voice low and subdued during each verse, only to explode into a passionate shout during the chorus. We jump right into the first verse after an instrumental introduction: “Blood sugar sucker fish in my dish

How many pieces do you wish

Step into a heaven where I keep it on the soul side

Girl, please me, be my soul bride

Every woman has a piece of Aphrodite

Copulate to create a state of sexual light

Kissing her virginity, my affinity

I mingle with the gods, I mingle with divinity”

The verse starts with a redone version of a popular kids’ rhyme, “Bubble Gum Bubble Gum in a Dish,” for no apparent reason other than Kiedis’s sparkling word choices from time to time. Anthony then describes how every woman holds a certain beauty that is portrayed by Aphrodite, who is the Greek goddess of love, lust, and beauty. Whoever Anthony is describing in his private life makes him feel among the gods when he is with her. 

The chorus is just a repeat of two lines that appear a lot during this song through rhythm changes: “Blood sugar baby, she magik

Sex magik, sex magik

Blood sugar baby, she magik

Sex magik, sex magik

Blood sugar crazy, she has it

Sex magik, sex magik

Blood sugar baby, she magik

Sex magik, sex magik”

Not only is Blood Sugar Sex Magik the name of this song, but it’s also the album title. The name of both the track and album stems from Aleister Crowley, an English occultist who taught about a power known as ‘sex magik’, which involved doing unusual sexual practices to gain spiritual knowledge.

This track is quite short in the way that the chorus is structurally simple and there are only two short verses. The second verse is the most vulgar, alluding to many obvious sexual references that don’t need coverage.  

Initially, this track wasn’t going to be put onto an album at all, let alone even become a song. Kiedis wrote this as one of many poems in his notebook dedicated to abstract writing. It was written during one of the lowest points in his life, which created this raw, gloomy atmosphere around the track. Although “Under the Bridge” covers a sensitive topic in Kiedis’s life, it also has a positive turning point and lesson embedded in it. Kiedis felt that his sobriety was distancing him from the band, as fellow band members were still smoking pot and shooting up on occasion. The death of Hillel Slovak, the original guitarist and long-time friend, put a new perspective on drug usage for Kiedis and eventually led to his sobriety. Kiedis went from old smack habits like scoring and shooting up with Slovak under a traffic bridge to preaching how freeing it feels to reach a point of sobriety. The words of this song show Kiedis’s positive growth and development as a person indefinitely.

We immediately get the first verse from Kiedis where he puts us right into the story he tells throughout this song: “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner

Sometimes I feel like my only friend

Is the city I live in, The City of Angels

Lonely as I am, together we cry”

Kiedis expresses that he feels this sense of deep isolation now that he is sober from drug usage, he goes as far as to say that he feels the city he lives in is his only friend because he just couldn’t get to that sweet spot with his band members anymore, he had no lover at the time, and he is not close with his family.

In verse two, he expands on the sad truth of the city being his only friend: “I drive on her streets ’cause she’s my companion

I walk through her hills ’cause she knows who I am

She sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy

Well, I never worry, now that is a lie”

Kiedis is simply referring to the city as “she” in this passage to show that Los Angeles brings a sense of comfort to him. 

The chorus follows this verse, giving insight into Kiedis’s true feelings: “I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day

Take me to the place I love, take me all the way

I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day

Take me to the place I love, take me all the way”

Kiedis explains that, despite losing his girlfriend and close friends to sobriety, he feels way better than he did two years before writing this song. He wants to be brought to the place he loves: being in a creative, drug-free space, making music with his friends.

Verse three is self-explanatory, again adding to the general purpose of this song: “It’s hard to believe that there’s nobody out there

It’s hard to believe that I’m all alone

At least I have her love, the city she loves me

Lonely as I am, together we cry”

We get to another chorus before a short bridge which leads us to an outro: “(Under the bridge downtown)

Is where I drew some blood

(Under the bridge downtown)

I could not get enough

(Under the bridge downtown)

Forgot about my love

(Under the bridge downtown)

I gave my life away, yeah

Yeah, yeah

(Away)

Oh, no, no no no, yeah yeah

(Away)

Oh no, I said, yeah yeah

(Away)

Where I’ll stay” 

Frusciante’s mother and her friends sang the pieces seen in the parentheses. Kiedis refers to drawing blood, not getting enough, forgetting about his love, and ultimately giving his life away to heroin and the abuse of narcotics as a whole. He wants to stay at this sober spot for the rest of his life and forget about the bridge downtown for good.

“Naked In the Rain” brings a sense of connection between the band members and nature. The lyrics within this song refer to a love for animals and freedom found in the great outdoors. You may view it as a love letter to the natural world.

Although there are three separate verses in this song, all the subject matter found within the verses are just tributes and clear messages of the band’s love for animals, nature, and the outside world. 

The chorus appears three separate times throughout the song, and directly references a movie: “(Naked in the rain) Doctor Doolittle, what’s your secret?

Give it to me, doctor, don’t keep it”

Doctor Doolittle was a doctor who used special abilities he had to converse with animals. He did this to better understand nature and the history of the world in this movie. Kiedis asks him to give up his secret so he, too, can speak to animals. 

This song brings another upbeat sound to the ears while Kiedis explains to us all of the crazy things he witnessed while walking down the New Orleans streets in Louisiana. For example, the first verse goes like this: “Sittin’ on a sack of beans

Sittin’ down in New Orleans

You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen

Sitting on that sack of beans

Lunatics on pogo sticks

Another southern fried freak on a crucifix

Hicks don’t mix with politics

People on the street just kickin’ to the licks”

Kiedis describes himself sitting around on the streets of New Orleans while seeing both crazy people and people just like him who seem to be laid back, watching the madness like it’s a normal occurrence. 

Similar to the previous track, the lyrics are quite self-explanatory from verse to verse. In later verses, Kiedis explains that he continues to see odd, standout people doing unhinged actions. After he thinks he “has seen it all,” he finds “a bird walking down the block, Name Apache Rose Peacock”, which refers to a flamboyant and beautiful woman. 

In the first chorus, Kiedis tells listening ears that he enjoys being in New Orleans: “Yes, my favorite place to be

Is not a land called Honalee

Oh, mentally or physically

I wanna be in New Orleans”

He indicates that New Orleans is his favorite because he feels like he fits in with the crazy atmosphere that feels closest to home. Being from Los Angeles, he was used to a similar amount of oddball encounters on the street, except with two different cities, experiences, and people. Kiedis brings up the “land called Honalee”, which is a fictional land found in Puff, the Magic Dragon. He makes this comparison for two reasons: the first being that New Orleans is simply a more magical place to him than an actual fictional land. The other reason he brings this place up is because it serves a point that Kiedis makes about growing up and leaving your youthful innocence behind.     

One of the most basic of the basic. This song is the most frowned-upon song in this whole album’s lineup. Not that the sound of this track is mucky or underdeveloped, but it is easy to tell that its not in line with the Chili Pepper style. Rick Rubin, the producer of this album and many other albums that the Chili Peppers released, has a sweet spot for songs about cars and girls. Rubin was never into sociopolitical lyrics, and in his mind, the first track of this project wasn’t anything he wanted to produce. Kiedis respected Rubin’s opinion and decided to write a song with his band members about just what Rubin liked, cars and girls. Kiedis explained he never wanted to write about this, rather, he’d like to write about topics nobody else has ever covered or thought of. To this day, Kiedis hates everything about this song, and although it is well-produced and instrumented, it lacks the charm that an unrestricted Chili Peppers song brings in many fans’ opinions.

Verses one and two both talk about this cookie-cutter cars and girls format: “Drivin’ around, I’ve got my baby and my top down

Mary-go-round I ride you for my love

Throwin’ me down in the backseat underground

I’m on the mound I make it for my love”

These lyrics have no deeper meaning than exactly what they look like, verse two is cut from the same cloth: “Makin’ my way, I break another L.A. day

Time in the town I need it for my love

My Chevrolet rollin’ to another play day

This is the sound I listen for my love”

Kiedis continues to talk about his beloved home, Los Angeles, where he finds his love and motivation. Although these lyrics are relatively basic, you can still find good in any song. This song shines in the pure sound of the music, and not so much in lyrical weight. Not every song within an album has to be meaningful and deep, although they can be.  

One of the last tracks of the album, “My Lovely Man,” is a heartfelt, rocking tribute to the ex-guitarist of the band, Hillel Slovak. Although the song is upbeat and hard-hitting in nature, it serves its purpose in the lyricism; it’s the only tribute that Slovak would’ve wanted with the otherworldly guitar solo delivered flawlessly by Frusciante. The song encapsulates the tough times Kiedis went through following his death, even going as far as to retreat to Mexico for a month to clear his head.

We jump right into a ring of sound as the first verse begins: “I used to shout across the room to you

And you’d come dancin’ like a fool

Aw, shuffle step, you funky mother

Come to me, all warm as covers

Rest with me, my lovely brother

For you see, there is no other

Memory so sad and sweet

I’ll see you soon, save me a seat”

Kiedis tells us about the simple times he misses with his best friend, Slovak. Whether it be recording music together or just hanging out in general, Kiedis loved to be with Slovak. He misses the sweet and goofy times with him, and he tells the listener there is no other who can replace him. Although it hurts to remember these moments with Slovak, he acknowledges his gratefulness to have Slovak in his life in the first place. Kiedis wants Slovak to save him a seat in the afterlife, wherever that may be.

As verse one wraps up, we roll right into the chorus, which has a soft break compared to the rest of the song: “Oh, well, I’m cryin’ now, my lovely man

Oh, yes, I’m cryin’ now, and no one can

Will ever fill the, the hole you left, my man

I’ll see you later, my lovely man, if I can”

Kiedis continues to speak as if he’s talking to Slovak directly, telling him that his death left a hole in his world that nobody can fill. He reassures himself that he will visit Slovak again in due time.

Verse two is short but to the point, making Kiedis’s point about how he’ll never get to spend one more moment with his best friend: “In my room, I’m all alone

Yeah, waitin’ for ya to get home

I listen to Roberta Flack

But I know you won’t come back”

Listening to Roberta Flack is a nod to a few of her performance songs, “Back Together Again” and “If I Ever See You Again”. Nothing will bring Slovak back, but Kiedis listens to these songs in hopefulness and delusion that he will return.

This song is a fun track following the tough subject matter that was “My Lovely Man”. Kiedis tells a rather different… side of him. Not much needs to be explained about this song, it merely features the signature funk of the Chili Peppers while delivering a common theme of lyrics talking about Kiedis’s sex life in rather sharp detail. 

The first verse may very well be the most tame verse worth diving into on the track, the rest I will leave to the listener to decipher: “A long, long, long, long time ago

Before the wind, before the snow

Lived a man, lived a man I know

Lived a freak of nature named Sir Psycho

Sir Psycho Sexy, that is me!

Sometimes I find I need to scream”

Kiedis sees himself as this freaky lust machine that he sometimes cannot contain; no further explanation is needed.

At an outstanding eight-minute seventeen-second runtime, the song is worth a listen, no doubt. Sometimes, especially with the Chili Peppers, you have to sacrifice deep diving into lyricism for the pure experience of how the song makes you feel.   

The final track throughout the funky, displacing rollercoaster that is Blood Sugar Sex Magik happens to be a fast-paced cover of blues artist Robert Johnson’s “They’re Red Hot,” released in 1936. Nothing more needs to be said or explained about this wild ride; simply listen to the one-minute ten-second track to feel the rush of funk run through your veins. 

You can tell the band had loads of fun not only with this song but with the entire project. Whether it comes to Rick Rubin’s genius producing, Anthony Kiedis’s pure vocals occasionally harmonizing with Frusciante’s, Flea’s unmatched bass plucking skills, legend-made Chad Smith on the drums, or John Frusciante as an incredible, young guitarist, you can’t beat this crew or replace any of its members without sacrificing an unstoppable bonded force. 

This breakthrough album of The Red Hot Chili Peppers shot them directly into the mainstream, never to return to the underappreciated funk-rock alternative group they once were in the 80s. These four great men have been together in song for thirty-six years now, the band name itself lasting over forty. 

What was your first impression of this album, and has your opinion changed over time?

Noah Kahre (SHS Senior): “I thought the album was not the best at first because the music was different than what I was used to, after a few listens I came to love the album.”

Silas Dingman (SHS Junior): “That is was so new, when I first listened to it, I haven’t heard anything like it. It’s funky, so funky and groovy. I first heard it when I was in 6th or 7th grade, I literally was so into it the better part of that year, I probably haven’t listened to it since then. That’s another great thing about it is it helped me branch out and find different music.”

Do you have a favorite track, and why does it stand out to you?

Noah Kahre: “My favorite songs in the album are ‘I could have lied’, ‘Breaking the Girl’, ‘Under the Bridge’. I can not decide between the three.” 

Silas Dingman: “Suck My Kiss; the drum fills are insane. The way they make it change so drastically within the song when it goes in and out of the chorus makes this song stand out to me.”

How do you think this album compares to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ previous work or similar albums in the genre?

Noah Kahre: “The album fits the genre of their previous music, but each song has its own uniqueness, so not every song is a repeated sound. The album has a few songs that differ in intensity compared to previous music.”

Silas Dingman: “This is a step up sonically, and even recording-wise it sounds better. It created a new sound for the band and they definitely found their sound in this album. It’s the perfect middle ground with the aspect of their old stuff mixed with their new work.”

What kind of mood or emotions does this album evoke for you?

Noah Kahre: “This album brings a soothing calming feeling with a few songs like under the bridge, and a few others have a more mild intensity but still funk feel.”

Silas Dingman: “It’s got a lot because it can bring out dark and raw emotion, but a simultaneous feeling of hype in the same way. It’s kind of like a rollercoaster of emotion that it goes back and fourth with their uplifting tracks contrasting with the emotional tracks. When it’s moody, it has depth, but it can also bring out the pure rock energy.”