History Music / RedHotChiliPeppers

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] at the end of "[[SurrealMusicVideo Can't Stop]],” with a board reading: "Inspired by the 'One-Minute Sculptures' of Erwin Wurm.” Wurm is an Austrian modernist artist/photographer whose works revolve around unusual situations, like the ones the band protagonizes in said video.
** Also "Otherside"; it's supposedly modeled after German art films, but whether it's a straight use or a parody is debatable.
** Listening to them rant about their songs and their inspirations is sometimes confusing. In the early days they would describe everything in relation to sex, funk, punk, and their friendship, and in recent years they compare everything to beauty and their friendship.

Considering that between them they've probably done enough illicit substances to kill a herd of buffalo, it's remarkable that they're all still alive (excluding the band's original guitarist Hillel Slovak, of course). To give you an idea of how much they've done, John Frusciante overdosed on heroin. [[FunctionalAddict Twice.]] [[StayingAlive And lived.]]

* 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.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: The whole band to some degree or another, what with the constant fighting and breaking up, the heavy drug abuse and stints in rehab and one of their key members and best friends dying. They got better though.

** Anthony's family split up when he was very young, and he spent a lot of his youth with his drug-dealing (and using), womanizing dad, who introduced him to both hard drugs and sex at an extremely inappropriate age. His novel recounts several instances of girls his dad brought home (as well as a celebrity friend) doing sexual things to a barely-teenaged Anthony.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* 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.

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

+ Music/GangOfFour, Music/TheClash, Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone, Music/JamesBrown, Music/StevieWonder, Music/MarvinGaye, Music/CurtisMayfield, Music/BillieHoliday, Music/GeorgeClinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players, The Meters, Music/BobMarley, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, Defunkt, Music/{{Fishbone}}, Big Boys, Music/{{Minutemen}}, Music/TheMisfits, Fugazi, Music/{{The Damned|Band}}, Music/BlackFlag, Germs, Music/TheStooges, Music/IggyPop, Music/DavidBowie, Music/MarcBolan, Music/BadBrains, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, Music/TheBeachBoys, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Music/JoyDivision, Music/{{XTC}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/VelvetUnderground, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Neu}}, Music/RobertJohnson, Lead Belly, Music/{{Santana}}, Music/VanHalen, Music/MilesDavis, Ornette Coleman]

* LeadBassist: Despite being a respected, famous bassist, Flea adheres to a minimalist philosophy, focusing more on playing melodic, supporting bass lines that complement the other instruments, rather than playing multiple notes at the same time.
** This is actually only dating back to ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik''. On previous albums, Flea was happy to show off and play ultra-fast slap-bass assaults, and he said that it was only on ''BSSM'' that he got tired of his busy style and decided that "I have to chill out and play half as many notes.”
*** Of course there are more than a few exceptions, most notably in tracks like "By The Way,” "Throw Away Your Television" and "Hump De Bump.”

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

* BadassBaritone: Late guitarist Hillel Slovak had a quite pleasant, deep-sounding voice, as can be heard in interviews.

* 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 (By The Way Tour) although this was a compilation of tracks from 3 nights.

* LiveAlbum: The ''Live at Slane Castle'' DVD and ''Live in Hyde Park'' CD, both recorded during the ''By the Way Tour''.

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 by some to be a leading force in alt-rock's widespread popularity.

With over 80 million sold records, six Grammy Awards, 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]]notably meaning that Josh Klinghoffer, the band's guitarist at the time, is the youngest inductee ever, being inducted at just 32[[/note]].

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: They're usually pretty far on the idealistic side, as most of their songs have an underlying message of hope, compassion and/or simply having a good time. That said, there ''are'' moments where they veer more towards the cynical end of the scale. Such as in the song "Californication" (which paints a VERY cynical portrait of Hollywood and its cultural influence).

* [[FiveManBand Four Man Band]]:
** TheLeader: Anthony
** TheLancer: Flea
** TheBigGuy: Chad
** TheSmartGuy: John

* 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.

-->-- "Under the Bridge,” about the band's past extensive drug use and its subsequent revival

* AmbiguousDisorder: John Frusciante's mental health has been a topic of heated debates among fans. Since he's openly admitted to speaking to "voices" and seeing ghosts, not to mention admitting those "voices" talked him into the drug abuse that almost killed him.

* RefrainFromAssuming: Some of the songs aren't named after the chorus, e.g. "Dani California.” One would assume the song is titled "California Rest In Peace.”
** It's a running joke among fans that newbies will call Under The Bridge "Take me to the place I love" or "City Of Angels.” When "Love Rollercoaster" was a single, people would often call it "Rollercoaster Of Love.”
** Famously, EMI made the band change the name of the song "Party On Your Pussy" to "Special Secret Song Inside", which had the knockon effect of making the refrain more unexpected and therefore effective. They also made the band change "Blowjob Park" to "Battleship", although at least this word appears in the song.

+ Music/GangOfFour, Music/TheClash, Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone, Music/JamesBrown, Music/StevieWonder, Music/MarvinGaye, Music/CurtisMayfield, Music/BillieHoliday, Music/GeorgeClinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Music/TheBeatles, Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}, Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players, The Meters, Music/BobMarley, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, Defunkt, Music/{{Fishbone}}, Big Boys, Music/{{Minutemen}}, Music/TheMisfits, Fugazi, Music/TheDamned, Music/BlackFlag, Germs, Music/TheStooges, Music/IggyPop, Music/DavidBowie, Music/MarcBolan, Music/BadBrains, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, Music/TheBeachBoys, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Music/JoyDivision, Music/{{XTC}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/VelvetUnderground, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Neu}}, Music/RobertJohnson, Lead Belly, Music/{{Santana}}, Music/VanHalen, Music/MilesDavis, Ornette Coleman]

* 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 title) 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).

*** The song "Show Me Your Soul,” which never previously appeared on an album, was featured in ''What Hits!?''. It gained mild popularity following its release.
*** In fact it was recorded for the Pretty Woman soundtrack in 1990. The target audience of that movie generally wasn't into funk so it wasn't that noticed at the time. It was a promo single and B Side to the second version of Taste The Pain and the Australian version of Knock Me Down (both released in 1990). It was included on ''What Hits?!'' because it was a single, sort of.

* LongRunnerLineUp[=/=]RevolvingDoorBand: The Kiedis-Frusciante-Flea-Smith line fits fifth type of the former due to fitting the latter so well. In fact, since Chad joined, the only position that has changed is the guitarist.
** The line-up lasted from 1988 to 1992 (a little under four years), and 1997 to 2009-ish.
*** While this particular lineup was active, they took no hiatuses except after 2007, at which point Frusciante decided to leave the band.

--> My sunny side has up and died, I'm betting then when we collide
--> The universe will shift into a low
--> The travesties that we have seen are treating me like Benzedrine
--> Automatic laughter from abroad...
--> You don't form in the Wet Sand, you don't form at all
--> You don't form in the Wet Sand, I do

** 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.

*** 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.

* [[SelfDeprecation Take That Me]]: The video for "Dani California" features the band singing the song dressed as humorous, but perfectly accurate parodies of rock acts from the 50s ([[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]] up until just prior to the modern day ({{Music/Nirvana}}), ending with themselves dressed in their own typical concert attire, their logo hanging prominently in the background.

+ Music/GangOfFour, Music/TheClash, Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone, Music/JamesBrown, Music/StevieWonder, Music/MarvinGaye, Music/CurtisMayfield, Music/BillieHoliday, Music/GeorgeClinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones, Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players, The Meters, Music/BobMarley, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, Defunkt, Music/{{Fishbone}}, Big Boys, Music/{{Minutemen}}, Music/TheMisfits, Fugazi, Music/TheDamned, Music/BlackFlag, Germs, Music/TheStooges, Music/IggyPop, Music/DavidBowie, Music/MarcBolan, Music/BadBrains, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, Music/TheBeachBoys, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Music/JoyDivision, Music/{{XTC}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/VelvetUnderground, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Neu}}, Music/RobertJohnson, Lead Belly, Music/{{Santana}}, Music/VanHalen, Music/MilesDavis, Ornette Coleman]

** Nearly every song on ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'', but their eight-minute "Sir Psycho Sexy" is arguably this taken UpToEleven. Averted with that album's "Give It Away,” which is actually about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin giving away possessions]]. Well... semi-averted anyway.

* LoudnessWar: The ''Californication'' album's [[UpToEleven shitty mastering]] got even non-audiophile consumers to complain.

+ Music/GangOfFour, Music/TheClash, Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone, Music/JamesBrown, Music/StevieWonder, Music/MarvinGaye, Music/CurtisMayfield, Music/BillieHoliday, Music/GeorgeClinton, Parliament-Funkadelic, Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones, Bootsy Collins, Ohio Players, The Meters, Music/BobMarley, Music/ElvisPresley, Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive, Defunkt, Music/{{Fishbone}}, Big Boys, Music/{{Minutemen}}, Music/TheMisfits, Fugazi, Music/TheDamned, Music/BlackFlag, Germs, Music/TheStooges, Music/IggyPop, Music/DavidBowie, Music/MarcBolan, Music/BadBrains, Music/{{Devo}}, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/DeepPurple, Music/TheBeachBoys, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, Music/TheCure, Music/JoyDivision, Music/{{XTC}}, Music/TheSmiths, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/VelvetUnderground, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/FrankZappa, Music/{{Neu}}, Music/RobertJohnson, Lead Belly, Music/{{Santana}}, Music/VanHalen, Music/MilesDavis, Ornette Coleman]

-->Twisting and turning
-->Your feelings are burning

** 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.

** John's family also broke up, and while he's been really tight-lipped about his youth, it is known that he at one point became so obsessed with music that he was virtually friendless, preferring (by his own admission) to practice guitar instead of interacting socially. Then he became a superstar while barely a day over twenty, cracked under the pressure and spent the majority of his 20's dealing with a horrific heroin habit.

* SanitySlippage: John Frusciante infamously descended into drug abuse and mental illness during the 90's. By 1994 he looked and sounded completely insane, though thankfully he recovered.

* WeUsedToBeFriends: During their first big break, John basically alienated everybody except Flea, who desperately tried to keep their connection going. During John's mid-90's addiction troubles, neither Anthony nor Chad would even speak to him.