First, I’d like to give a shout-out to one of my best and long-time friends who left tonight for a semester abroad in Italy—bon voyage, mia ragazza! Party it up, take lots of pictures and, oh yeah—study, I guess. You’re going to have the best time of your life! Love you!
Secondly—yes, I know it’s technically a Tuesday entry, not a Monday, but it would have been on Monday except I was out late and then my laptop had a little bit of a meltdown and I couldn’t post in time.
So the other day a friend called and while we were talking I could make out music in the background, which I identified as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It turned out to be their latest album, the double-disc Stadium Arcadium, which I acquired last summer. Unfortunately, I am sorry to admit that I have not listened to all of it. I have to admit a terrible flaw when it comes to music: after listening to an album all the way through for the first time, I tend to only focus on a few songs that I am instantly attracted to and ignore the rest, which is a constant source of annoyance to a lot of my friends. “How can you do that?” several have asked more than once. I don’t have an answer for this; I guess I just figure why waste time on songs that don’t really grab me when I can spend more time with the ones I love? It’s not a conscious decision; it’s just something I do. Of course, I will occasionally stumble upon these “reject songs” later, sometimes on the radio or played for me by a friend, and I’ll say, “Wow, what’s this? I love it!” And when I am told the song and artist, I say, “Oh, I have this album!” I usually get the knowing look: She’s had this song for years and never bothered to give it a second chance. Again. I generally don’t have this problem with EPs or short albums, but on one as extensive as Stadium Arcadium, I regret to say I have not given it all the attention it deserves.
But overhearing my friend’s background music led us to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes—discussing music! I love it so much and yet this happens to rarely with people that I really don’t know why I don’t actively try to engage people in the topic. Instead, I often bore my mother with long-winded descriptions of songs or bands or my idol, Claudio Sanchez, the front man of Coheed and Cambria. But it happened the other night, and I was very pleased. My friend told me how much he loves the Chili Peppers because their lyrics are often so in-depth and can be interpreted in a number of ways. He said you really have to give them a careful listen and pay close attention to get all the meaning. I definitely agree with that, but for me the Chili Peppers have such an easy-going beat to so many of their songs that I tend to just write them off as background music without paying much attention to the lyrics. Of course I know the old RHCP classics (because who could forget “Don’t Stop” and “The Zephyr Song”?) and about four years ago a friend gave me a number of RHCP albums. But, of course, I just picked out a few favorites, like “Don’t Stop,” and forgot about the rest.
So yesterday, keeping in mind my friend’s conversation, I made a point of giving the Red Hot Chili Peppers another listen. It seems that whenever a Chili Peppers song comes on, pretty much no one has to stop and wonder, “What band is this?” I think this is primarily because of Anthony Kiedis’s distinctive vocals, but also for that mellow melody I mentioned before that is such a trademark of many of their songs. As my friend said, they have a very unique sound that I have not heard elsewhere. I am not going to go into a RHCP back-story, because I know virtually nothing about their history as a band, other than that (I believe) they began in the early 80's (circa 1983) and are still going strong. But I do find it interesting that they have been able to uphold their own style for over 20 years without deviating too much in style, especially when so many of today’s bands can be mistaken for one another with sound-alike vocals and lyrics. And frankly, a lot of modern bands lack creativity. (I won't name names, but you might know what I mean--the pop boy bands or the screaming emo bands with uninspiring songs of unrequited love.) The Chili Peppers have held on to their own voice, and that is really something.
After listening much more closely to them yesterday, I have to concede to the talent of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. If you had asked me before this weekend what I thought of them, I would have said they are a decent band but not to my taste. I would have admitted that they are unique, but not extraordinary, in my opinion. But now I have come to think that they have been able to create something really amazing in their songs. One of my favorites off of Arcadium (skipping over the obvious hit-singles like “Snow (Hey Oh)” and “Dani California”) is “Wet Sand.” (And okay, yes, I am guilty AGAIN of skimming over a lot of the songs on Arcadium even yesterday—but hey, it’s a twenty-eight track album, and I’m definitely going to pay a lot closer attention to this band from now on.) Focusing on “Wet Sand” called to mind some of their older singles, again with the lulling melodies and the tapestry of lyrics that seem so simple at first-listen, but on reflection are actually a lot deeper than I originally thought. “Wet Sand” is actually a really beautiful song when you focus more on the use of the words, rather on just the simple phrases themselves—and to be honest, I am not even going to pretend that I understand it all. But the line, “I saw you there so unaware / Those hummingbirds all in your hair,” creates a beautiful mental image, and what about the lines that follow it? “The disrepair of Norma Jean / Could not compare to your routine / Balarama beauty goin’ toe to toe.” I really admire the ideas behind all the imagery in this song.
AND THEN! And then, as if the lyrics didn’t turn out to be fantastic enough, it really picks up at the last stanzas: “You don’t form in the wet sand / You don’t form at all / Oh, you don’t form in the wet sand – I do!” And it ends with a really fantastic guitar part that only adds another dimension to the Chili Peppers’ talents. If you have not given “Wet Sand,” Stadium Arcadium, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers a good listen, I definitely recommend that you familiarize yourself with them. Give those lyrics a good second look-over—you really might be surprised. Or, maybe you just aren’t as dismissive of spectacular artists as I am.
Goodnight, music-lovers!
Emily Noel
[Credit for entry title: lyrics taken from “Wet Sand” - Red Hot Chili Peppers.]
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