The definitive Red Hot Chili Peppers song, according to Flea
When it comes to the American rock scene of the 1990s, one group that is virtually unavoidable is the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They wouldn’t let you avoid them even if you tried.
From their initial formation in 1982, the California outfit honed their craft for nearly a decade before making an impact on the mainstream rock scene with the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik during the early 1990s, thanks to a collaboration with Rick Rubin. Influenced by everything from punk to progressive rock and free jazz, the distinctive sound of the Chili Peppers is famously difficult to pin down.
During the early years of the band at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, the young group were dedicated to the rough and ready sounds of punk rock. Recruiting post-punk icon Andy Gill of Gang of Four fame to produce their often-overlooked debut album, the band moved further towards the kind of funk-influenced rap-rock that they would later become synonymous with.
Although the album failed to make much of an impact and is largely forgettable – aside from its utterly terrible album cover – it did form the basis of the band’s later sound. Yet, it was clear even to Gill that they were still figuring things out. As Anthony Keidis recalls in his memoir, “One day, I got a glimpse of Gill’s notebook, and next to the song ‘Police Helicopter’, he’d written ‘Shit.’ I was demolished that he had dismissed that as shit.”
Throughout the 1980s, the band wrote the “shit” out of their system and explored a variety of different styles while waiting for musical trends to catch up with their own distinct sound. It was with Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991 that the LA group came into their own, finally finding a mainstream audience for their strange mixture of rock, rap, and funk.
For the group’s bassist, Flea, who has been with the Chili Peppers since their initial formation, this album produced the definitive moment of the band’s discography. It encapsulated everything that they had journeyed towards both sonically and spiritually.
Back in 2019, the erratic bassist was asked which song best encapsulates the sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Although he initially struggled to give any sort of answer, telling ALT92.3 Radio, “It’s so hard for me to answer. No matter what we do, we could be the most poignant, poetic band on Earth and people are always going to be like ‘Oh, the guys with the socks on their cocks,’” referring to the band’s penchant for on-stage nudity.
After debating the question in his mind, Flea eventually landed upon the iconic Blood Sugar Sex Magik track ‘Give It Away’. “I guess, in terms of sentiment and in terms of rhythm and feeling, ‘Give It Away’,” he shared, explaining, “No matter how many millions of times we play it, every time we get to the end of it and we’re closing out a show, and me and Anthony are all vibrating and jumping up and down, and everything is alive, the idea of ‘giving it away’ is just such a beautiful thing.”
Upon its initial release in 1991, ‘Give It Away’ provided the Chili Peppers with a top ten single in the UK. From that point on, the song became a mainstay of the Peppers’ raucous live performances, becoming a firm fan favourite and one of the band’s greatest hits. For Flea, it seems as though the song has never really lost its appeal despite the countless times the bassist has had to perform the track over the past three decades.
Although he listed ‘Give It Away’ as the song that best exemplifies the sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it is likely that, for Flea, the answer to that question changes with the weather. He himself even admitted, “Every song is a different facet of who we are.” Reflecting upon his choice of ‘Give It Away’, the bassist mused, “It’s such a hard question for me, kind of impossible.” Yet, it is the song’s free-love sentiment that sweetens the answer.
It might be an impossible question for Flea to answer, but for fans, it is difficult to pick a track which encapsulates the joy and energy of the Red Hot Chili Peppers quite like their 1991 effort. Showcasing the punk energy, funk dedication and hip-hop sensibilities harboured by Keidis and the group, the track introduced an entire generation to the defiant sounds of the California band, and it continues to be one of their all-time greatest efforts. Keidis seemingly agrees, too.
The song arose after a conversation about selflessness and art with Nina Hagen, and inspiration soon struck. “Flea started playing this insane bass line, and Chad cracked up and played along … I always had fragments of song ideas or even specific isolated phrases in my mind. I took the mic and belted out ‘Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now.” The rest is history.
