History Music / RedHotChiliPeppers

-> ''I don't ever wanna feel, like I did that day,''
-> ''Take me to the place I love, take me all the way...''
-> ''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.''

With over 80 million sold records, six UsefulNotes/{{Grammy Award}}s, and the most #1 singles, cumulative #1 weeks, and top 10 songs on the ''Billboard'' rock charts, they are one of the most successful rock bands of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012[[note]]Josh Klinghoffer, the band's guitarist at the time, is the youngest inductee ever, being inducted at 32[[/note]].

Their original style during TheEighties and TheNineties revolved around an energetic funk sound and hedonistic SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll subject matter, but they began to [[GrowingTheBeard experiment more]] as their popularity grew. Come the TurnOfTheMillennium, they would become world-famous for more melodic song structures and introspective lyrics.

[[SignatureStyle You can expect most of their songs to contain]] [[WordSaladLyrics nonsensical lyrics]], {{Epic Riff}}s and references to UsefulNotes/{{California}} -- ''especially'' references [[HollywoodCalifornia to California]], considering Anthony Kiedis's [[Creator/CharlesBukowski lyrical inspirations.]]

This band is the TropeNamer to CatholicSchoolGirlsRule, which is an infamous song from their second album ''Freaky Styley''.

[[folder: Tropes A-M]]

--> It's safe out there now you're everywhere just like the sky;
--> And you are love, you are the lucid dream, you are the ride
* AdaptationExpansion: Their cover of The Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster," a SingleStanzaSong in its original version. They (thankfully) omitted the scream from the original version.

* AddictionDisplacement: Psychoanalysts would agree that Kiedis's addiction to exercise, health and time with his son is a healthy means of channeling his previous drug addiction.
** Kiedis said that the line from "Can't Stop," ''Sweetheart is bleeding in the snow cone/So smart she's leading me to ozone'' is about his periodic injections of ozone gas and how it helps him fight the hepatitis virus in his body. The entire song, in fact, is about his joy from being clean.

* AlbumTitleDrop: ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' isn't a song on the album but is mentioned in "Fight Like a Brave" & "Organic Anti-Beat-Box Band."
* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Chad Smith. Especially in the ending jam of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orOFDLmUgTQ&t=2m40s this performance]] of "Purple Stain." It's magnificent.
* AlternativeRock: Since the Chilis are signed to a major record label, their music genre is considered "alternative" instead of "indie," despite their style being very similar to that of indie bands (or vice-versa).
* AnswerSong: "Funky Crime" on ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' was the band's answer to the rising wave of people who were saying that funk is solely a black genre of music.
--> Funky crime! [[PunctuatedForEmphasis FUNK! Y! CRIME!]]
--> Don't you know funk's color-blind?
--> Well, I've committed a funky crime!
--> Against a state of mind...
** This is made all the more amusing given that Music/GeorgeClinton (Creator of P-Funk) thought the band were awesome AND when producing Freaky Styley taught them to play funk even better than they did.

* AutoTune: Completely averted by Anthony, despite continual pressure from various music executives.
** Actually, Anthony has been accused of using it in the studio and in DVD releases of concerts, which are the reasons for him being a significantly better singer than when singing live. A giveaway is in "The Zephyr Song," where the vocal pitch conspicuously changes.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: John Frusciante was this his first time round, being close to a decade younger than the rest with ''no'' other bands before joining the Chili Peppers. In fact, when he first joined the Chili Peppers, who had already made three records, John had only just turned eighteen and had no prior experiences of being in a band.

* BaitAndSwitch: Before many performances of "Right on Time," the band jokes that they are going to play a Music/CelineDion song or an extremely soft song. They then break out into the intro of Music/TheClash's "London Calling" before playing "Right on Time," which has a notoriously fast and intense slap-popping bassline.

* BreakAwayPopHit: "Soul to Squeeze" didn't even make the ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' track lineup, but became a hit after it was featured on the ''Coneheads'' soundtrack. Producer Music/RickRubin convinced them to drop it in favor of "Under the Bridge."

* BreakTheCutie: "Breaking the Girl"

Your feelings are burning
-->You're [[TitleDrop 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
* BusbyBerkeleyNumber: The video for "Aeroplane."
* CaliforniaCollapse: The song ''Californication.''
--> And tidal waves couldn't save the world from [[TitleDrop Californication.]]
* CarefulWithThatAxe: "Torture Me."

* CatholicSchoolGirlsRule: The TropeNamer. Anthony claims in "Scar Tissue" that the inspiration for the song came from an actual teenage Catholic School girl, whom he slept with during one of his earlier tours. She also resembled Creator/MarilynMonroe.

* CelebrityResemblance: Chad Smith and comedian Creator/WillFerrell. They have a hilarious drum-off on Creator/JimmyFallon Live, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsWHyBOk2iQ here]] (interview) and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uBOtQOO70Y here]] (the actual drum-off). [[spoiler: Will Ferrell wins, while the rest of RHCP makes a cameo, performing a cover of Music/BlueOysterCult's "Don't Fear the Reaper"]].
** Funnily enough, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman have both been compared to Anthony Kiedis on ''Creator/JimmyFallon''.

* ClingyJealousGirl: Claire Essex, also known as Yohanna Logan, had a turbulent relationship with Kiedis, to say the least. They (thankfully) broke up in four years.
** Kiedis even noted that if he had put as much effort into his other girlfriends as he did with Yohanna, [[HappilyMarried he would be married with five kids.]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: All the band members are this to some degree.
** To put this into perspective, Buckethead once auditioned for the band and was was turned away because (other than not knowing any of the band's songs) the Chilis thought he was TOO NORMAL.
** John Frusciante - the musical monk that swears he once masturbated in front of a ''ghost'', regularly talks to spirits.

* ClusterFBomb: Many of their songs qualify: "Pea," "Sex Rap," the obviously named "F.U.."..

* ConceptVideo: Quite a few, with "Californication," "Otherside" and "Scar Tissue" being some of the standouts. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a husband-and-wife director duo, and Stéphane Sednaoui, a French director, have directed a number of their videos.
** "Californication" involves the band in video game personas going in CGI representations of various parts of California. The ending has Los Angeles falling apart due to a massive earthquake indicating the fall of Hollywood culture; the band falls to the center of the Earth, where they turn into their real life representations. (directed by Dayton and Faris)
** "Otherside" is set in a faux German Impressionist world. It involves a young man (not any of the band members) battling increasingly strange monsters while the band plays around him, [[spoiler: until the man falls in the same position in which he was found in the beginning]]. (directed by Dayton and Faris)
** "Scar Tissue" has the band going through a desert (very similar to the one in the "Give It Away" video) with the band bruised and injured, representing their revival. This was directed by Sednaoui, who had also directed "Give It Away."
* CountryMatters: Most notably in "Get On Top," with this extremely profound lyric:
--> Gorilla! Cunt-illa! Salmon-D and Salmonella!

* CoverVersion: "[[Music/StevieWonder Higher Ground]]," "[[Music/RobertJohnson They're Red Hot]]," "Love Rollercoaster," "[[Music/TheStooges Search And Destroy]]," "[[Music/JimiHendrix Fire]]," "[[Music/JimiHendrix Castles Made Of Sand]]," and "[[Music/BobDylan Subterranean Homesick Blues]]," among others.
** CoverAlbum: To celebrate being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, they released the aptly titled ''Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Covers EP'', consisting of six previously released covers of other artists who were in the Hall themselves.
* DisabilitySuperpower: John Frusciante's famous minimalist approach to guitar was mostly born out of his drug abuse, which both left him without a guitar for ''years'' and did significant damage to his arms and hands.

* DreadfulMusician: Anthony, self-admittedly so. It took him close to 10 years to sing in tune, and he's notably the only member in a band of virtuosos that doesn't play an instrument.

* DigitalPiracyIsOkay: Flea lampshades this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QP4DdODW8g this performance]] of "Desecration Smile," where he says "this song is brand-new, so be sure to bootleg it and put it on the Internet." Funnily enough, this performance was done two years before the song was released on ''Stadium Arcadium'', before the band ''completely'' changed the chorus and bridge.
** Both Flea and Dave Navarro were ok with ''Circle Of The Noose'' leaking and publicly posted about it. Neither had heard it in years, it being mired in Warner's vaults with no consideration of release.
* DistinctDoubleAlbum: ''Stadium Arcadium.'' Also, ''Live in Hyde Park''.
** They had enough material to make ''I'm With You'' a double album as well. However, they opted instead to release a single album with a couple of B-side tracks every month.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The EMI era is full of this compared to the band's best known songs.
** [[LaterInstallmentWeirdness The reverse]] is true for fans who got into the band back in the EMI period - the modern day Peppers are completely weird compared to their familiar original incarnation.
* EchoingAcoustics: ''By the Way'' was mostly produced by Frusciante, who is a big fan of layering vocals and synthesizers. The acoustics overrode the bass on most of the songs, especially on "Minor Thing" and "Warm Tape," which is part of the reason Flea almost left the band at this time.

* EpicRocking: "Sir Psycho Sexy," "Turn it Again," and "Venice Queen." Also "In Love Dying" from the ''I'm With You'' B-sides.

* ExplicitContent: ''Stadium Arcadium'' and ''I'm With You'' are the only two RHCP albums to not be labeled as such.
** Kiedis once said, in response to whether he was okay with the albums being labeled as such, "It doesn't bother me. Our lyrics are very explicit, whether it's about sex or friendship or love for life in general."

** This is done on ''One Hot Minute'' where "Walkabout" goes into "Tearjerker."
* FallingBass: In "By the Way" and "Stadium Arcadium," Flea's bass disappears in the end during John's chord FadeOut.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: John Frusciante during the ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' era. He grew notoriously resentful of the band's popularity and butted heads with the rest of the band, almost fighting Kiedis at several times, before leaving.

* {{Funk}}: A huge stylistic influence on the band's sound. Their second album, ''Freaky Styley'', was even produced by [[Music/GeorgeClinton George Clinton]] (of Parliament-Funkadelic fame). The Red Hot Chili Peppers are widely considered one of the most notable examples of the FunkRock genre.
** The funkiness of their sound varies between albums, however. Their first six albums are funkier than the ones that came after, with ''Freaky Styley'' being the funkiest one of them all; some songs on it are more straightforward Funk than they are Funk Rock. On ''Californication'', they would start to alternate between Funk Rock and a more conventional AlternativeRock sound, sometimes within the same song (the opening track "Around the World" showcases this best). ''By the Way'' largely does away with the funk, with only three songs from it being Funk Rock and Alternative Rock hybrids (those being the title track, "Can't Stop," and "Throw Away Your Television"). ''Stadium Arcadium'' returns to balancing both sounds the way ''Californication'' did, and even includes a song that wouldn't sound out-of-place on ''Freaky Styley'', with "Hump de Bump," while another song sounds like it came straight out of 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik," with "Warlocks." Their next two albums would keep this sort of balance. ''Unlimited Love'' is their funkiest album since ''Californication'', and includes the ''Freaky Styley''-like songs "Aquatic Mouth Dance" and "Poster Child."
* GaiasLament: Lampshaded in "Righteous and the Wicked."
--> 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
* {{Garfunkel}}: While Chad is considered a great drummer, he's the least influential of the band (Anthony writes the lyrics, Flea and John Frusciante write the music, Chad just plays).
** It should be noted, though, that Chad is highly regarded in drummer circles. He's also liked for being down to earth and for revealing new RHCP information early, even when he not's supposed to.
** Chad's somewhat more taciturn personality compared to the rest of the band has arguably been important to the band's continued existence. Anthony Kiedis notes in his autobiography Chad being the glue that held them together when things got rough.
*** Chad himself has said a good drummer compliments the rest of the band, and doesn't blaze new trails for himself.

* GiveAwayTheBride: From "Hard to Concentrate:"
--> Will you agree to take this man into your world?
--> And now we are as one...
--> All I want is for you to be happy
--> And take this woman and make you my family
--> Finally you have found someone perfect
--> Finally you have found yourself
* GoneHorriblyWrong: At the notorious Woodstock 1999, Music/JimiHendrix's sister approached the band and asked them to do a cover of one of her brother's songs. The band decided to play the cover after performing "Under the Bridge," during which they handed out lit candles to the audience as a symbol of peace. As it turned out, the song they had chosen to cover was "Fire," unaware of how tense the audience was. All hell broke loose.
* GoshDangItToHeck: "Suck My Kiss."
** And the version of "Give It Away" that appears in The Simpsons episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled."
** The lyric from "Tell Me Baby," "''Chitty chitty baby when your nose is in the nitty-gritty/Life could be a little sweet but life could be a little shitty''" is rapped so fast that it's difficult to catch the swear word at the end. However, on some radio versions of the song, "shitty" is somehow replaced with "kitty" using an audio mixer.

* GreatestHitsAlbum: Two: ''What Hits?!'', the biggest hits of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' EMI years (which were not noted for being much of a success, hence the SarcasticTitle) and ''Greatest Hits'', a proper hits album featuring their Warner years released a decade later. Both include a song of the other phase ("Under the Bridge" and "Higher Ground," respectively).
** There are a number of compilations which have 10 tracks that also appear on ''What Hits!?''. EMI licensed these tracks to various budget labels for unknown reasons. They aren't considered canon.
*** The song "Show Me Your Soul," which had only appeared in ''Film/PrettyWoman'' beforehand, was featured in ''What Hits!?''. It gained mild popularity following its release, helped by how the target audience of that movie generally wasn't into funk so it wasn't that noticed at the time.
* GriefSong: "Knock Me Down" and "My Lovely Man" are inspired by guitarist Hillel Slovak's death.
** "This is the Place," "Soul to Squeeze," "Dosed," and other songs also referenced Hillel in the lyrics.

* GuyOnGuyIsHot: The band's members onstage hugging and kissing all of which is done while they're in [[WalkingShirtlessScene advanced stages of undress]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Anthony and Flea.
** Hillel was this for both Anthony and Flea, before his tragic death.
* HollywoodToneDeaf: Anthony, especially during his earlier days. Granted, he was able to hit approximate notes and work extensively toward recording melodic songs (especially "Under the Bridge," which took him hundreds of takes to semi-perfect). However, his live performances suffered in quality, even sometimes to the present day. He even stated that he never took singing seriously until ''Californication'', when he hired a vocal coach and rigorously trained.

--> The story of a woman on the morning of a war
--> Remind me, if you will, exactly what we're fighting for...
--> Throw me to the woods because there's order in the pack
--> Throw me to the sky because I know I'm coming back
* HorribleHollywood: "Californication" practically defines this trope.

* HypocriticalHumor: In an interview about Josh joining the band, Anthony said auditioning doesn't work for them, to which Chad agrees. Chad joined the band through auditions.

* ICantDoThisByMyself: "Snow ((Hey Oh))" from ''Stadium Arcadium''
--> Come to decide that the things that I tried
--> Were in my life just to get high on
--> When I sit alone, come get a little known
--> But I need more than myself this time

* ImmuneToDrugs: When Kiedis was sent to the hospital for injuring his arm after a car accident, he needed ''seven'' doses of morphine before the pain could be somewhat alleviated. Just to give you an idea of how bad that is, a normal 150-pound person ''would be killed'' from that kind of dose. A lifetime of drug abuse didn't really help him.

* IncrediblyLamePun: "Shallow Be Thy Game."
* IndecipherableLyrics: Some of the older songs featuring Kiedis' rapping can be hard to understand.
** Arguably, his lyrics have gotten even more incomprehensible in recent years, primarily because Kiedis intends them to mean something. Older songs were pretty much explicitly about sex, friendship or the funk. His more recent lyrics use a lot of poetic lyrics about the effects of drug use, romance and the environment. The lyric to Look Around, for instance, seems to be a collection of random phrases, but has a meaning.
* InheritedIlliteracyTitle: Played with in "Fat Dance," a ''Californication'' b-side. The song is about getting into a fat dance with a girl... before the bridge reveals that the song is about Anthony's ex-girlfriend, Yohanna Logan, [[http://cache-assets.flogao.com.br/s74/2009/01/07/93/128942910.jpg who is anything but fat]]. Frusciante stated in an interview that the song was originally spelled "Phat Dance," which stands for Pretty Hot And Tempting, before the spelling got changed for some reason.
* {{Instrumentals}}: "Pretty Little Ditty." Which also came straight from the first jam the band did with John.

** Surprisingly averted on "Californication," which actually has more to do with cultural homogenization.
** Nearly every song on ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'', but their eight-minute "Sir Psycho Sexy" is arguably this taken up to eleven. Averted with that album's "Give It Away," which is actually about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin giving away possessions]]. Well... semi-averted anyway.
** Pretty much averted on every album made after 1991. A Rolling Stone Magazine critic lampshaded the fact that the guy who used to sing "''I want to party on your pussy''" now sings "''All I want is for you to be happy''."
*** Songs such as "C'mon Girl" do deal with sex, but in a more mature form.
* {{Keet}}: Anthony and Flea. ''Especially'' Flea, who literally got his nickname because he couldn't sit still. Even in his sixties, he hasn't really slowed down.
** John was every bit as hyper as Flea during his first year or so, but became much more low-key as he became increasingly unhappy and reliant on substances.
* KidsRock: "Aeroplane" has a choir of children at the end (one of whom is Flea's daughter).

* KnuckleTattoos: Flea has "LOVE" etched onto the knuckles of his right hand. This is actually mentioned in the lyrics of "Charlie:"
--> Everybody do the twist
--> Get the message off [[SingerNameDrop Flea's fists]]
* LampshadeHanging: ''What Hits!?'' was a GreatestHitsAlbum collecting songs that weren't quite hits.
** EMI knew this, which is why they licensed the band's then biggest hit "Under The Bridge" from Warner Bros. "Behind The Sun" was released as a single to promote ''What Hits?!'' and was a respectable hit at the time, thanks to cashing in on the popularity of the band's ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' album.
* LargeHam: Both Anthony, who often gets carried away in his singing, and Flea, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D32PhQr3RIQ who seemingly can't stand still and is also always mugging]].
** John, during the ''Mother's Milk'' era definitely counted, though he sort of lost that edge as he got closer to leaving the band.
* LarynxDissonance: Here's an experiment: go up to someone who has never heard John sing, have them close their eyes, and play [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPJo6KC2-Ik this cover]] of Music/EltonJohn's "Tiny Dancer." Guarantee that they will assume that the singer is a girl.
** Josh too. His backing vocals on "Hanalei" (the ''You and I do more than merely survive'' part) are absolutely feminine-sounding.

* LastNoteHilarity: "Lovin' And Touchin'," from ''Freaky Styley'', has a poignant sound and, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin loving and touching]] lyrics. The final few seconds has one of the band members snickering.

* LeaveTheCameraRunning: The video for "Desecration Smile," which features the four band members just singing the song and fooling around.
* LighterAndSofter: ''By The Way'' (and the subsequent albums, depending on whom you ask) is often seen as this by hardcore fans.
** ''By The Way'' is intentionally so. Rick Rubin suggested to the band that they play down the punk and funk and focus on their poppier elements. At the time, some of the older fans thought that the band had abandoned funk music, but it was apparent this was not the case for ''Stadium Arcadium''.
* LimitedLyricsSong: "Freaky Styley." It is set to a groovy, funky beat with just two lyrics repeated through the three-and-a-half minute song (its original long version clocks in at just under ''nine minutes''): "''Fuck 'em just to see the look on their face''" and "''Say it out loud/I'm Freaky Styley and I'm proud!''"
** "Gong Li," a B-side to "Scar Tissue," has three long, subdued, repeating guitar-bass jams interpolated with just a few lyrics.
* ListingCities: "Around the World." The song also lists states and countries, [[SarcasmMode in case the listeners did not take Geography 101 in high school.]]
** "Dani California" lists states that "Dani," the main character, lived in.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "If You Have to Ask" from ''BSSM'' is a reference to a famous quote by Music/LouisArmstrong; when Armstrong was asked what jazz is, he replied, "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."
** The song was released at a time when RHCP felt ostracized for being one of the few white bands still performing FunkRock, which was solely considered a "black" form of music. This sentiment was even reflected in "Funky Crime" on ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan''.
* LiveAlbum: The band had the video "Psychedelic Sexfunk Live From Heaven" (Mother's Milk tour) and the [=DVDs=] "Off The Map" (Californication Tour) and ''Live at Slane Castle'' (Greatest Hits Tour). They also had the ''Live in Hyde Park'' CD (Greatest Hits Tour) although this was a compilation of tracks from 3 nights. Numerous live tracks of theirs have been released as b-sides and as bonus tracks as well.
* LongRunnerLineUp[=/=]RevolvingDoorBand: As listed above, lots of guitarists and drummers went by the band. But still the percussion has been stable ever since Chad joined, and aside Dave Navarro was the only guitarist that didn't last over a decade afterwards - to wit, the lineups are Kiedis-Frusciante-Flea-Smith from 1988-1992, 1997-2007, and since 2019; and Kiedis-Klingoffer-Flea-Smith from 2007 until Frusciante returned 12 years later.

* LoudnessWar: The ''Californication'' album's shitty mastering got even non-audiophile consumers to complain.
** Even the ballad "Scar Tissue" was [[FakeLoud downright deafening.]]
** What makes the case of this album particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} is that even the vinyl mix was ruined - apparently, it was run through a digital dynamic range processor ''before'' being mastered for vinyl, which is usually mixed from analogue sources. The [=CDs=] of future RHCP albums were also brickwalled, but the vinyl mix of at least ''Stadium Arcadium'' was made from a pristine analogue mix by audiophile favourite Steve Hoffman that basically cancelled out all the CD version's flaws. With ''Californication'', listeners don't have that option with any of the commercially available versions, so the whole thing is basically ruined. The mastering however is still better on vinyl than on CD, due to the fact that the CD version was given additional compression compared to the vinyl version.
*** There is, however, an unmastered version making the rounds on the Internets of an earlier version of the album that does not have the clipping problems, although includes a few alternate versions and some outtakes too. This is one of those cases where the album can basically only be truly appreciated through piracy.
** It's worth noting that ''One Hot Minute'' was pretty loud too, especially for its day. Not ''Californication'' levels of awful though.
* LoveRedeems: The most potent example is probably "Wet Sand." Flea stated in an interview that it's about the dark side of love and its redeeming qualities.
--> My sunny side has up and died, I'm betting then when we collide\\

* LyricalColdOpen: "Your Eyes Girl," on ''I'm Beside You'', opens with Flea yelling, "Oh... [[PrecisionFStrike FUCK]]! SHIT!" before beginning the song. It's notable for being the ''only'' song on the album with a swear word in it, caJusing it to receive an ExplicitContent label for a single transgression.
* LyricalDissonance: Lots of songs. Especially the ones on ''I'm Beside You''; "In Love Dying," for example, is a very gentle and calming song, with this particularly violent chorus:
--> My girl, she shoots down the baddest of guys
--> She knows that they want me dead
--> She fires up the starry night
--> And fills them so full, so full of lead
* "Midnight" is, instrumentally, a little dreary but is actually very positive and uplifting lyrically (it's an unironic love song dedicated to Anthony's at-the-time girlfriend, combined with a message of successfully overcoming obstacles like drug addiction).
* LyricalShoehorn: Quite a few songs have very nonsensical lyrics. "Warlocks," for example, [[ItMakesSenseInContext makes sense when paired with the funky music]], because it's about the band's friends and legacy. On paper, however, the lyrics don't really make sense.
--> Warlocks in wonderland
--> I got a megatropolis in my hand
--> With a happy ending that's made of sand
--> And a little bit of lovin', that's all I plan

* {{Magick}}: for some reason spelled this way on ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik''.

* MetalScream: "Around the World" has one of these in the intro, and another partway through the song.

* MoodWhiplash: Some of their albums are sequenced in a way that causes this. An example would be how "Under the Bridge" is immediately followed by "Naked In The Rain."
** "Grand Pappy Du Plenty," a melancholic instrumental that appears at the end of their first album is definitely this, ESPECIALLY as it comes after 9 tracks of funk rap and hardcore punk. The song was a rare example of Flea's sensitive side, and an obvious indication that he did get on with Jack Sherman and Andy Gill at some point.

--> It's not about religion and the God, sitting in a chair in the sky,
--> With a punishing hand, no...
--> It's about, heaven in your hearts!
--> Now, when can we start...?
* MotorMouth: Anthony used to be able to rap quite fast up until ''Magik''. Afterwards he started to de-emphasize rapping in favour of singing. (Or as a joke goes, he used to mostly rap and sometimes sing, but now he mostly sings and sometimes raps.)
** Anthony doesn't like playing rap-heavy songs like "Storm In A Teacup" live, but he still raps "Give It Away" due to its popularity.
*** Anthony actually does this on "By The Way" and "Tell Me Baby," but people don't always notice because there is such a pop sheen to them.

[[folder: Tropes N-Z]]

* NobodyLovesTheBassist: Averted by Flea, being one of the most popular bassists of the modern day.
** In fact, Flea has been known to get upset if his bass-playing is not the center of attention - he almost left the band in the By The Way period because John Frusciante's layers of guitar, backing vocals and electronics were pushing Flea's bass into the background (hence the reason for songs like "By The Way," "Can't Stop" and "Throw Away Your Television").
* TheNotRemix: Their cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" was originally released as the B-Side to 'Fight Like A Brave', then a new and more widely known mix was done for The Abbey Road EP (and also appeared on Mother's Milk). The main difference is the later mix has phasing added to the intro and the overall mix is muddier.

** "Behind The Sun (Ben Grosse Mix)", as appears on Out In L.A. is very nearly identical to the LP version, with slightly more upfront vocals.

** The remaster of Mother's Milk was remixed from the multitracks to create a strikingly better sounding mix than the original album, which had been the victim of heavy compression and reverb, things which made the original mix sound very dated (partly because of Michael Beinhorn's production, and partly to fit the long album on vinyl). Thanks to the additional space on a CD, they also reinstated the uncut mix of "Pretty Little Ditty" which is about twice as long, and added the "Knock Me Down" and "Sexy Mexican Maid" long mixes as bonus tracks. Indeed, the album is only missing the long version of "Taste The Pain" (which was released on the "Say Anything" soundtrack) for fans to recreate the unedited original album the band intended.
* OnlySaneMan: Chad Smith is this to the classic line-up.
** John Frusciante, post-reunion counts to some degree, being far more serious compared to Flea and Anthony.
* OdeToSobriety: "Knock Me Down," "Under The Bridge," "Otherside" and "Snow" are type 3.
* OhCrap: Anthony, who used to [[ReallyGetsAround really get around]] in the early years of the band, often hooked up with girls who came backstage after shows. One of these girls was a beautiful Catholic girl "with eyes like Marilyn Monroe," who Anthony took back to his hotel and slept with. The morning after, she revealed to him that her father was the chief of police for the state they were in and that she was a ''14-year-old schoolgirl'' who had a crush on him. Anthony, who was internally freaking out that he'd unknowingly slept with a minor, was very calm and sent her back on a bus after telling her she should learn a few things about love and relationships. The song ''Catholic School Girls Rule'' is dedicated to her, and the incident was documented in his autobiography ''Scar Tissue''.

* OnceMoreWithClarity: The video for "Otherside."
** Overlaps with [[spoiler: BookEnds.]]

* PepTalkSong: "Fight Like a Brave." It was written right after Anthony quit using drugs for 60 days.
** Also "Can't Stop:"
--> Can't stop the spirits when they need you
--> This life is more than just a read-through

* PrecisionFStrike: A few others, such as "Special Secret Song Inside" (two "fucks," both in the [[IntercourseWithYou Biblical sense]]) and "Aeroplane" (which has a 'motherfucker' right in the chorus).
** Also "This is the Place" on ''By the Way'', the only song on the album with the f-word:
--> I am a misfit, I'm born with all of it
--> The ''fucking'' ultimate of love inside the atom split
* ProtestSong: "Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky" is about the US government's mistreatment of Native Americans. (Kiedis himself has Native American ancestry.)
** As is "American Ghost Dance."
** "Green Heaven" counts. It is against global pollution and government corruption: Anthony even calls the president (UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan at the time) a whore.
* PunnyName: Name of their 7th studio album, Cali''fornication''.

* RapRock: Much more so in their earlier days. Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive's "Music/TheMessage" was a profound influence on Kiedis' songwriting.
** Creator/ChrisRock even said that the first time he heard the Peppers live was when he went to a concert, expecting to listen to Flash. He went to the wrong venue, however, but he noted that the Red Hots were just as good as Flash. Since then, he has been both a longtime friend and fan of the band.

* RecordProducer: Music/RickRubin, the long runner.
** In fact, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik,'' ''Stadium Arcadium,'' and a variety of songs were even recorded in Rubin's house, "The Mansion." John Frusciante claims that during the ''Magik'' sessions, the band felt that the house was haunted, and they are not the only band to have recorded at "The Mansion" and said that afterwards. John didn't mind, but Chad was so unnerved that he refused to live in the mansion with the band, going back home whenever a day's session was finished.
** However, ''The Getaway'' was produced by Danger Mouse instead: the first time in 25 years that Rick was not the producer.
* RecurringCharacter: "Dani," a character referred to in the lyrics of three of the band's post-1999 songs (coincidentally, all of them were hits for the band): "Californication," "By the Way" (where she is first mentioned by name) and the aptly titled "Dani California," which focuses on her.
** At the end of the By the Way video, after [[AccidentalKidnapping showing how much he loved Anthony's music]], the taxi driver noticed that Anthony had left a book in the taxi. He spends the entire "Universally Speaking" video trying to break in, and returns the book at the end [[AllPartOfTheShow dancing on stage with the Peps during the ending solo.]] Not that they mind.

*** The lines ''Love all your brothers and love all your sisters'' and ''With the power of it we are about to astound'' are featured in "The Brother's Cup."
*** The line ''The smile of a dolphin is a built in feature'' is used in the song "Green Heaven."
** The band performed a song called "Set It Straight" in a movie called Tough Guys in 1985. Although an original song, it never appeared on record, and there was not even a soundtrack album for the movie. Thus the only place it can be heard is that movie. However, they did recycle the chorus line "Set It Straight forever, better late than never" into "Fight Like A Brave," as "It's better late then never to set, ah set it straight."
** When "Higher Ground" was released as a single in 1989, remixes were made. Anthony gave the remixers some extra raps to use to make the remixes more interesting. One of them didn't get used in the song, but did appear as a short 11 second B side called "Politician (Mini Rap)." It solely consists of Anthony rapping the line "''Not another motherfuckin politician doin' nothing but something for his own ambition''," which they reused in "The Power Of Equality" two years later.
** Parts of the melody of "Rivers Of Avalon" was used in "This Is The Place," which is the main reason that "Rivers Of Avalon" was a B-Side. The same goes for "Time," parts of which were recycled for "By The Way."
** The bridge melody for the unreleased By The Way sessions song "Goldmine" was used for "I Could Die For You," which is part of the reason why "Goldmine" has never been released (the other reason being that it was unfinished).
* RecycledSoundtrack: "In Love Dying" has a near-identical bass line and drum groove to the Californication outtake "Andaman And Nicobar". As said outtake leaked a few years after "In Love Dying" was released, many fans noticed the similarity. It is likely Flea and Chad played with the original jam over time.

** Both have had temper tantrums with their equipment on stage, however. Josh, in fact, broke his foot in Oakland, California when he kicked an amp after getting angry with the tone of his guitar solo during the song "Otherside." He later apologized on stage for it, though.

** Crazy Town's megahit "Butterfly," released in 2000, samples a part of RHCP's "Pretty Little Ditty" from ''Mother's Milk'' throughout the entire song. It became much more popular; it was certified Gold in the US and Platinum in at least three other countries, while "Pretty Little Ditty" was never released as a single.
* {{Scatting}}: On a few occasions. Notably the final chorus of "Around the World:"
--> I know, I know, for sure
--> Ding dang dong dong ding dang dong dong ding dang
--> I know, I know, it's true
--> Ding dang dong dong ding dang dong dong ding dang

* SequelSong: As mentioned above, "By the Way" and "Dani California" are spiritual sequels to "Calfornication," all describing the same girl, Dani.
* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Though these aren't their only lyrical tropes, a rather large number of their songs, especially in TheEighties and TheNineties, are about at least one of the three.
* SexGod: Anthony portrayed himself as such in his earlier songs. Notably in "Sir Psycho Sexy," and "Out in L.A.," where he inserted himself under the pseudonym ''Antwaan the Swan''. From "Out in L.A."
-->Antwaan the Swan, from the pretty fish pond
-->Was a bad mother jumper, you could tell he was strong
-->He wore a cold paisley jacket and a hellified hat
-->And between his legs was a cocksucking lass
-->He threw a hundred women up against the wall
-->And he swore to fear that he'd fuck 'em all
-->By the time he got to ninety nine, he had to stop
-->Because that's when he thought that he heard a fault

* ShoutOut: The video for "Dani California" features the band dressing in the style of several other bands, and in some cases even doing an homage to one of the band's videos. Most blatant during the line "Gone too fast," when Kiedis is dressed like Music/KurtCobain.

---> ''[[Franchise/StarTrek Space may be the final frontier]] but it's made in a Hollywood basement\\

** Near the end of the guitar solo in "She's Only 18," we hear a very [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]-esque "HA-ha!" from Anthony.

* SiameseTwinSongs: Subverted with "One Big Mob" and "Stretch," which were originally one song that the band split into two and intended to follow each other on One Hot Minute. However, they removed "Stretch," and faded the former to cover the link. The band eventually released a version of the latter on iTunes which includes some of the original link between the former and it at the start. However it still doesn't quite join up.

** "Baby Appeal," a song from their debut album, is about how a friend's kid started dancing after Anthony played a tape of the Red Hots' music to him. It was more to mock the older crowd for denouncing their music as "trash," when the Chilis had a substantial cult following in colleges and high schools even in their earlier days.
** In "Out in LA," the first song the Chilis wrote and recorded as a demo version, Kiedis wrote shout-outs to himself, Hillel, and Flea. When Hillel (and Irons) temporarily left the band in 1983 and was replaced by Jack Sherman, Kiedis had to change the line about Hillel (''I can't leave you hangin' but my man Baby B/'cos he's smooth as a cat'') to a cringeworthy line about Sherman (''I can't leave you hanging but my man Shermzy/he swings the yang, he bangs the yang'').

--> Nevermind the [[BritishRockStar British bands]]!
--> Nevermind the [[NewRomantic synthfunk bands]]!
--> Nevermind the [[Music/GeorgeMichael Wham Wham Band]]!
--> Nevermind Music/DuranDuran!
--> [[PunctuatedForEmphasis 'CAUSE WE'RE THE RED HOT! CHILI! PEPPERS!]]
** In the aforementioned odes to Hillel ("My Lovely Man," "Bob," "This is the Place," "Open/Close").
** "Savior:"
--> We are the Red Hots and we're lovin' up the love-me-nots
--> [[WordSaladLyrics The flowers in the flowerpots are dancing on the tabletops]]
** When Music/JohnFrusciante returned to the band in 1998, Anthony wanted the Chilis to record a solo song Frusciante had created called "Living Above Hell." John refused because he didn't want this solo work to conflict with that of the band's, so Anthony instead used the name of the song along with John's name in "This Velvet Glove:"
--> John says to [[TitleDrop live above hell]]
--> My will is well

--> Python power straight from Monty
--> Celluloid loves got a Music/JohnFrusciante

* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: "Get Up And Jump." (To wit, "something something you got a pumpkin in your pants.")
** Or "Give It Away:" "Something something something MAMA, something something something PAPA... GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY GIVE IT AWAY NOW"

* TheSomethingSong: "The Zephyr Song," "The Greeting Song," "Bicycle Song," "Brendan's Death Song," "Song That Made Us What We Are Today," "Special Secret Song Inside" (renamed to its original Party On Your Pussy on Uplift Mofo remaster).

** "Around the World." The funky verses, the melodic choruses, and the distortion-heavy bridges do not have effective transitions between them.
*** "Can't Stop" has a funky verse and a kind of twee psychedelic chorus which takes a while to get used to if you are expecting it to be all funk.
*** On the reverse side of the coin, "Eskimo" has subdued verses and a very heavy chorus, as does the unreleased track "Fall Water." "This Velvet Glove" also applies. "Emit Remmus" also has relatively soft verses (although huge amounts of feedback going through them) and a heavy chorus.
** "Transcending" on ''One Hot Minute'' begins as a soft song for the first 3 1/2 minutes- the song progresses into a screamed metal song for the last 2 minutes.
*** In fact, a lot of songs from ''One Hot Minute'' fit this trope. "Warped," "Deep Kick," "One Big Mob," and "One Hot Minute" all have ostentatious verses, followed by a melodic shift at some point in the song. On a symbolic level, this somewhat represents the conflict between the Red Hots' chill, funky music with Navarro's dark, psychedelic guitar-playing.
** "Venice Queen." The song literally fades out and goes quiet for a second before the second part of the song begins.
*** "Tell Me Baby" seems to have been written to appeal to both the band's ballad and funk fanbases, and although it was a big hit, many fans regard it as a mess, due to the way it sounds like Anthony is going from being a tough macho man to being a twee lover between the bridge and the chorus.

* SongsOfSolace: "Under the Bridge." The bridge named in the title is described as a highway underpass, where Kiedis would shoot speedballs. It has become so personal to him that he refuses to admit its location, stating that he doesn't "want people looking for it."

--> Alone inside my forest room and it's storming
--> I never thought I'd be in bloom, but this is where I start...
--> The Stadium Arcadium, a mirror to the moon
--> I'm forming and I'm warming, state of the art until the clouds come crashing
* SophisticatedAsHell: Anthony displays this occasionally, especially in his lyrics.
** This is incredibly obvious during the band's Carpool Karaoke appearance.
* SopranoAndGravel: Flea and Anthony (in early songs such as "Mommy Where's Daddy"), John and Anthony, and Josh and Anthony, respectively.
** Interestingly enough, Anthony was also the soprano to Hillel Slovak's gravel.
* SouthernBelle: ."..with a scarlet drawl," as mentioned in "Scar Tissue."

*** Funnily enough, Clinton was going through problems with his drug dealer during that time: in order to repay him, he let the dealer sing "Look at that turtle go, bro!" on the song "Yertle the Turtle." The band loved this.
** Flea even played the trumpet on tracks such as "Torture Me" and "Hump de Bump," and he has played the trumpet live on many occasions. In fact, he initially learned the trumpet.
** On ''Magik'', the band's friend Pete Weiss played jaw harp on "Give It Away," and mixing engineer Brendan O'Brien played the Mellotron on "Breaking the Girl" and "Sir Psycho Sexy," nearly inaudible piano on "Mellowship Slinky in B Major" and nearly inaudible toy celeste on "Apache Rose Peacock." John's mother Gail Frusciante and some of her friends were brought in to perform the female choir part in "Under the Bridge."

* SpringtimeForHitler: The ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tuByO1kS5U performance of "Under the Bridge"]]. Despite the fact that John's guitar playing nearly derailed the song, it increased album sales and popularity for the band, which was the opposite of what he actually wanted.
** John was in fact on heroin during the performance. This was about the time (early 1992) when John hated everything the band stood for - its direction, its popularity, Anthony's ego, etc. - and decided to play an "experimental" version of the song after Anthony kicked him during a previous performance of "Stone Cold Bush." Anthony, who already struggled at singing that song, couldn't sing at the same tone as John's guitar, and nearly panicked on air in front of millions of people. John's backing vocals during the final bridge are particularly horrendous as well.

* SuddenDownerEnding: The video for "Behind The Sun," made without the band's input to promote the ''What Hits?!'' GreatestHitsAlbum, features an animated dolphin frolicking happily in the water... until the final 30 seconds of the song, when the dolphin is killed by hunters. And all for a song that's [[MoodDissonance serenely joyful in nature.]]
** Most of that video is taken from the "Higher Ground" video (thus John and Chad appear) and the dolphins and everything were digitally added in. However, this fits the meaning of the song somewhat - if you see Behind The Sun as a sequel to their older song Green Heaven (and What It Is from which the dolphin lyrics in Heaven come) - as about how dolphins are intelligent creatures who run their society without hurting one another, which is contrasted with being an American citizen and suffering various injustices caused by corrupt politics - not even the peaceful dolphins can escape those.
* SurprisinglyGentleSong: RHCP has quite a few of these, for example: "If," "Porcelain," "Someone," "Teenager In Love," "This Velvet Glove" (to an extent), "Dosed," "This Is The Place," "I Could Have Lied," "Breaking the Girl," "Under the Bridge," and "Soul to Squeeze."
** However, the lyrics of the songs are often [[LyricalDissonance dissonant]].
*** "This Is The Place," "Soul to Squeeze," and "Under the Bridge" describe Kiedis's drug addiction and a retrospective analysis of his past misdoings. Although "Under the Bridge" has a generally happier tone to it than the other two. (Frusciante admitted that this was intentional - when Kiedis showed him the lyrics, Frusciante claimed he mentally interpreted them as "sad," and wrote a "happy" riff for contrast.)

*** "Dosed," "This Is The Place" and "Soul to Squeeze" reference Hillel's death.
** Their very first one would probably be "Lovin' and Touchin'" on ''Freaky Styley''. Many fans thought it was a parody (from the sophomoric snickers at the end), but time has shown that it wasn't - it was Anthony showing his sensitive side which he kept hidden until "Under The Bridge." "Grand Pappy Du Plenty," "Lovin And Touchin," "Behind the Sun," "Knock Me Down," a cover of Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone's "If You Want Me to Stay," and a cover of Music/JimiHendrix's "Castles Made of Sand" helped shift their musical style.
*** Although ''One Hot Minute'' is commonly regarded as a heavy album, it has "Aeroplane," "My Friends," "Walkabout," "Tearjerker," "Falling Into Grace" and the first part of "Transcending" to balance it out.
* SurrealMusicVideo: "The Zephyr Song" takes the cake. It throws together a bunch of garishly colorful and looping shots of the band members performing, flowers blooming, whorls, hip-hop dancers, kaleidoscopic shots, birds, smoke, [[MsFanservice and sexy girls]], in an attempt to mimic psychedelia. Granted, it's not ''true'' psychedelia - the video effects are too computerized - but it's still weird and beautiful.

* TextlessAlbumCover: None so far, but famed album artist [[Creator/{{Hipgnosis}} Storm Thorgerson]] did a few conceptual, artsy covers for ''Stadium Arcadium'', which can be seen [[http://www.feelnumb.com/2016/05/09/red-hot-chili-peppers-rejected-storm-thorgensen-cover-artwork-stadium-arcadium/ here]]. The band instead went for a (virtually) text-only cover seen [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/Stadiumarcadium.jpg here]], which Thorgerson described as "trite, dull, and derivative."

* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: "Hustle Me, ''Bitch''." from "Look Around."

* TitleOnlyChorus: "Me and My Friends," and arguably "Behind the Sun." "Look Around" is very close to it, the first half of the chorus has the title repeated, the second half has the similar "All Around."
* ToiletHumour: "Nobody Weird Like Me"
--> Riding down the path\\

* TrashCanBand: For the bridge of "Breaking the Girl," the band went into the nearest garbage dump and rounded up a bunch of garbage for Chad to use as percussion, giving off this effect.
* UnpluggedVersion: A few, notably during their Bridgefoot School Benefit concerts in 2000, 2002, and 2004. Also a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert, where they played "Under the Bridge."

* TheWalrusWasPaul: Frusciante stated in an interview that "Stadium Arcadium" was just a beautiful juxtaposition of words, nothing more. He even referenced "I Am The Walrus," stating that much like he doesn't really need to know what the walrus is, he doesn't really need to explain the symbolism of the song.
* WanderlustSong: "Walkabout" from ''One Hot Minute'' and "Road Trippin'" from ''Californication''. "Ethiopia" from ''I'm With You'' can sort of be read this way.
** "Road Trippin'" is an interesting example in that it recounts an actual road trip Anthony, Flea, and John took a few months after the latter rejoined the band. Thus, in the song, Chad doesn't play the drums, and he hilariously makes [[TheCameo a cameo]] in the music video for the song which primarily focuses on the other three members.
* WhereDidWeGoWrong: From "Righteous and the Wicked:" ''Music/MarvinGaye my love/Where did we go wrong?''. The line references Gaye, a famous but depressed artist who gave his abusive father a gun, knowing full well that he would shoot him: and did. The song is about the lack of humanity epitomized by greed and war, and Anthony laments this act of filicide.

** There are some literally examples in the leaked By The Way Rough Mixes where Anthony sung gibberish to the vocal melody to get a feel for the tune before adding proper lyrics. There's a released example of this happening in the Californication sessions too, with the digital bonus track "Over Funk."

* WeUsedToBeFriends: During their first big break, John basically alienated everybody except Flea, who desperately tried to keep their connection going. During John's mid-'90s addiction troubles, neither Anthony nor Chad would even speak to him.
** It's become sort of common knowledge that John and Josh stopped being friends around the time John quit the second time, with Josh replacing him, though it seems it was less acrimonious and more that John dropped everybody.
* {{Yarling}}: Anthony does his share of nasal singing. Notably in "Scar Tissue" and "This Velvet Glove."

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an AlternativeRock[=/=]FunkRock band formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. One of the more prominent bands in the funk scene of the time, they exploded in popularity during the following decades and are considered to be a leading force in alt-rock's widespread popularity.

[[caption-width-right:350: The current members of the band (left to right): Flea, Anthony, John, and Chad[[note]][[CelebrityResemblance not]] Creator/WillFerrell Will]][[MemericMutation Ferrell]][[/note]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350: The current members of the band (left to right): Flea, Anthony, John, and Chad[[note]][[CelebrityResemblance not]] Creator/WillFerrell[[/note]].]]

* “Midnight” is, instrumentally, a little dreary but is actually very positive and uplifting lyrically (it’s an unironic love song dedicated to Anthony’s at-the-time girlfriend), combined with a message of successfully overcoming obstacles like drug addiction).

+ Music/ChristinaAguilera, Music/{{Korn}}, Music/LimpBizkit, Music/{{Maneskin}}, Music/SystemOfADown, Music/LouisTomlinson, Music/{{Yelle}}