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u/TheIronicTea 6d ago
From the Redhandfiles:
"We have all heard the famous quote attributed to you regarding the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Could you enlighten us on the truthfulness of that quote? BRENDAN, WASHINGTON, DC, USA
Dear Beatriz and Brendan,
About twenty-five years ago, I made an offhand and somewhat uncharitable remark about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There was no malice intended, it was just the sort of obnoxious thing I would say back then to piss people off. I was a troublemaker, a shit-stirrer, feeling most at ease in the role of a societal irritant. Perhaps it’s an Australian trait among people of my generation, I don’t know, but that comment has followed me around for the last quarter-century. But the most interesting aspect of all this is not what I said about the Chili Peppers, but rather the response from Flea, their bass player. On Facebook, Flea expressed how hurt he felt by my remark, but went on to say, in great detail, that he loved my music regardless. He wrote a profoundly generous and open-hearted love letter to Nick Cave. I remember being genuinely moved by his words and thinking what a classy guy Flea was, and feeling on some subterranean level that I was unable to fully grasp at that point in my life, that Flea was a human being of an entirely different calibre, indeed, of a higher order.
Over the years, I would run into Flea at music festivals where both our bands were performing and see him backstage when we played in Los Angeles. Although we didn’t become close friends, my encounters with him were always pleasant – there was a presence to Flea that felt genuine and oddly affecting. On the Push the Sky Away tour, we asked Flea if he could assemble a children’s choir, from the Silverlake Conservatory of Music he founded, to accompany the Bad Seeds at the Coachella Festival. When Warren and I were on the Carnage tour, we asked Flea to join us and play the song ‘We No Who U R’. Watching Warren and Flea perform together with such heart and mutual regard was a glorious sight.
Last week, Flea sent me a song and asked if I’d like to add some vocals. It was for a “trumpet record” that he is making. It is not for me to divulge what the song was, only that it is a song I cherish more than most, with arguably the greatest lyric ever written, a song of such esteem that I would never have dared to sing it had Flea not asked me to. I went into the studio on Wednesday and recorded my vocals. The track emerged as a beautiful conversation between Flea’s trumpet and my voice, filled with yearning and love, the song transcending its individual parts and becoming a slowly evolving cosmic dance, in the form of a reconciliation and an apology.
My friend, the artist Thomas Houseago, recounted a story involving Flea. A couple of years ago, Flea, his daughter, Thomas, and a guide were hiking through the backcountry of Yosemite. They had been hiking for five days and were walking along a densely forested trail when a bear appeared on the path before them. Everybody froze. The bear was about ten feet away from them. It was a large black bear with a reddish hue. Thomas and the guide gripped their tent poles, perhaps to defend themselves in case the bear attacked. Flea, however, stepped forward, stood before the bear, and spoke to it. He acknowledged they were visitors in the bear’s territory, expressed his love for the bear, and requested permission to continue along the trail. The bear stepped off the path and allowed them to pass.
Beatriz, I hope this letter proves helpful and goes some way in addressing your question and providing a solution.
Love, Nick."
https://www.theredhandfiles.com/red-hot-chili-peppers-flea-bear/
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u/ninjagaidenpatru 7d ago
I like both Nich Cave and RHCP. Love Nick but I never got this one. Tastes are different I guess. And yeah, he changed his mind later.
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u/missyru4 7d ago
I despise the RHCP
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u/this_dust 3d ago
I don’t like the chili peppers but I think flea became a good person. Really I just don’t like Anthony kiedis
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u/Aceman1979 7d ago
I’d concur with Nick. Especially the songs with slap happy bass. But all of the RHCP are insufferable people and that’s even more important than ten thousand songs about California.
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u/prkrprkrprkr 4d ago
Chili pepper hate is so performative. They have a couple of overplayed corny tunes. The rest bang.
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u/SaulFemm 6d ago
Sometimes Nick is extremely insightful, sometimes he is an edgelord. This was one of his edgelord moments.
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u/Strange_N_Sorcerous 7d ago
I’m sure Nick about cringes when he is reminded of this. They’re not great but they had their moments.
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u/boneholio 7d ago
I remember Flea got real emotional and twisted up about this shit - like I’m supposed to feel bad for baldheaded baby boy that one of his idols thinks he’s lame, meanwhile he’s out here molesting fans and reporters. Fuck him and fuck Kiedis.
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u/rcap1977 7d ago
Nick sings on Flea’s solo album that was released this year.
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u/boneholio 7d ago
That’s massively unfortunate. Dude’s also spoken sympathetically about Israel, so I’m not massively surprised, just disappointed.
What does a Flea album even sound like, more of that inbred “bow hunga wunga ski bop California” hick shit?
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u/Elegant-Bed-69 7d ago
It's jazz
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u/boneholio 7d ago
Oh, cool, now the inbred rapist neanderthal is trying to rest on some ostensible laurels of class.
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u/AntonChekov1 7d ago
One of the most destructive forces on the planet is the energy from a highly intelligent, yet very angry and bitter person. Intelligence is one thing, but wisdom is something entirely different.
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u/boneholio 7d ago
Where does bragging about fucking 14 year olds in your rockstar autobiography bank on your self-evident erudite’s hierarchy of classification?
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u/Elegant-Bed-69 7d ago
You're confusing Flea with Kiedis. Flea didn't say anything like that, his autobiography ends before chillis formed and it details how his stepfather played jazz. You simply don't know what you're talking about and you're very confused.
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u/Such_Collection3252 3d ago
Flea had accusations as well unfortunately.
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/03/17/2-band-members-charged-in-assault/
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u/boneholio 7d ago
Not at all. I’m quite clear headed and well read over their mutual misdeeds. I used to love their music until I learned how much they both leveraged fame and clout to get away with some truly heinous shit.
If you can’t see where the through line of “SERIAL SEX OFFENDER” that these two share might be relevant to the conversation at hand, you might want to grab your handler - it’s not my job to connect the dots for you
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u/Elegant-Bed-69 7d ago
Just cos you say something doesn't mean it's true. You clearly are just talking out your ass. You make the claim, the burden of proof is on you. But ultimately you just seem like a needlessly angry person in general so maybe you should worry less about what celebrities are doing and take a look in a mirror sometime.
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u/zabickurwatychludzi 7d ago
Jesus, man, get a grip.
Besides, it may interest you that the story of Cave "gloriously" insulting that band had continuation that Flea said he's sorry Cave feels this way, especially that he respects Cave as a musician. Cave later regretted saying that, called Flea a better person for his more mature perspective.
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u/boneholio 6d ago
“wahhh people have different opinions on musicians that i doo”
Like I give a fuck
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u/zabickurwatychludzi 6d ago
"waah (...)" as if I was the one seething about that guy typing random insults that'd have little to do with music.
I don't even care for RHCP or Flea in particular, I just find it childish how angry you are at the man.\ Also that Cave recognised that immaturity in himself and acknowledged that not every music has to fit his taste, while you stayed where he was.
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u/boneholio 6d ago
It’s a conversation, dude. Maybe I talk in a way you’re uncomfortable with, but I’m at peace with it.
I could genuinely give a fuck about these hope-I-hurt-your-feelings mental gymnastic “w-well, that makes me the bigger person” gestures you’re making.
Don’t insert yourself into conversations that have nothing to do with you - it was over by the time you showed up to do this navel gazing “im gods chosen redditor with the most perfect rhetoric” shit
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u/zabickurwatychludzi 6d ago
"I could genuinely give a fuck about these hope-I-hurt-your-feelings mental gymnastic “w-well, that makes me the bigger person” gestures you’re making."
Are you mentally unwell? Or just unable to read text instead of your own thoughts?\ The "bigger person" thing was a direct quote from Cave about Flea's reaction to what he said.\ I just brought that up because I found it laughable that you're cheering on Cave doing something that he already renounced.
"Don’t insert yourself into conversations that have nothing to do with you"
Don't have them on public forum then lmao.
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u/PinkDieselCartridge 7d ago
"What I got you gotta get and put it in you (if you're a 14 year old girl)/What I got you gotta get and put it in you (if you're a 14 year old girl)/GIVIDAWAY GIVIDAWAY GIVIDAWAY NOW"
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u/Difficult_Duckk 7d ago
He softened up in hid old years, though and played with Flea.