The Red Hot Chili Peppers song that stole from The Cure
The main inspiration behind any good Red Hot Chili Peppers record is about having a good time. From day one, the flow of Anthony Kiedis, matched with the massive energy of Flea behind the bass, made for some of the most electric performances in rock history, as the band made inroads to becoming musical legends off the back of masterpieces like Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Once the band started to put things back together following the departure of John Frusciante, they got one of their biggest hits out of listening to the darker side of rock.
Compared to the good-time spirit of their magnum opus, Californication was a far more nuanced record. Since the members had to overcome massive drug addictions before the album began, many songs reflect that weathered attitude, from Kiedis’s drug opus ‘Otherside’ to the tender sounds of ‘Porcelain’ and the closer ‘Road Trippin’.
Although the group were never known as one of the most lyrical bands in the world, the title track provided a massive critique of what California meant in the minds of those who populate Hollywood. Forming in Kiedis’ head when working on lyrics, the song had a set of lyrics describing what happens at the edge of American society, where one’s dreams can be achieved instantly and stripped away only moments later.
While the track had a fantastic foundation to work off, Frusciante could not find any type of musical backbone to go with it. In his time out of the band, the guitarist had begun putting things back together, overcoming heroin addiction and having to build his chops back up due to the massive toll that the drug took on his dexterity and motor skills.
Even though the band had been known for their high-energy tracks, Frusciante found the key to the song by listening to the minimalist production of The Cure. When discussing putting the song together, Frusciante recalled, “I was listening to this song, it was a 25-minute long instrumental. If you listen to it, it sounds exactly like ‘Californication’. They’re just different notes, but it’s the same rhythm, same kind of feeling.”
The song in question, entitled ‘Carnage Visors’, was part of the initial batch of Cure songs dating back to their third album, Faith. Featuring a long, drawn-out electronic sequence spread across 28 minutes, the main synthesiser lick is almost taken verbatim for the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar figure.
Since this was the first time the band had worked on music that dealt with serious subject matter, the sounds of Robert Smith worked surprisingly well. By keeping the arrangement sparse, Frusciante’s subtle guitar licks allow Flea’s bass to do most of the heavy lifting, adding little flourishes as Kiedis starts to warn any prospective Hollywood stars what they are getting themselves into.
Frusciante would say that The Cure loomed large over most of the project, explaining, “To me, the music on Californication, a lot of it was very influenced by The Cure, and no critic’s ever picked up on that. It’s Seventeen Seconds and Faith. Those two albums were influential on Flea and myself when we were making Californication, and I can hear those albums a lot when listening back to [it].”
While the funk energy of Red Hot Chili Peppers feels like the furthest thing from artistic post-punk and goth rock, Frusciante’s clean guitar tone wouldn’t feel all that out of place on the early works by Robert Smith, having the same atmospheric quality found in songs like ‘A Forest’. The Red Hot Chili Peppers might have their lane for funk rock, but anyone looking to get in touch with their emotions is taking something from The Cure, whether they know it or not.
