When I read Kiedis’s autobiography Scar Tissue, I was young but not too young to realize he had a lot of issues. Unfortunately, those crass lyrics are perhaps the least problematic of RHCP’s behavior. I enjoy the music and lyrics of other albums much more, and I think Anthony Kiedis has done a better job of making his sexuality seem more…artsy and less crass. In fact, they’re quite degrading, which is probably why I don’t regard their albums prior to Californication in very high esteem. I regularly laugh hearing “Sir Psycho Sexy” because the song is ridiculous and seeing and hearing the guys perform it in Cleveland in 2012 is a favorite memory of mine, but overall, those songs won’t win over feminists. Songs like “Special Secret Song Inside” (or, as most fans know it to be, “Party on Your Pussy”), “Sexy Mexican Maid,” and “Sir Psycho Sexy” are obviously and overtly sexual and objectifying. Alternative rock is almost a boys’ club, and, in RHCP’s case, that often comes across in their music, particularly their early work. I thought of all the bands I listened to and shamefully realized most were male-dominated. This past semester, in a Sociology of Gender course, we were asked to identify our favorite music and if there was gender equality within it. Perhaps my eternal soft spot for RHCP is the reason I was so taken aback by the recent calls to have the band banned from Spotify.
#ANTHONY KIEDIS PEDO STACHE PROFESSIONAL#
Whether they’re musicians, actors, professional wrestlers, or authors, I try my best to be informed, but some things do slip through the cracks for me. I try not to ignore the downsides of my favorites the way Beatles fans tend to ignore John Lennon’s bad behavior.
That, however, does not make me blind or oblivious to the band’s problematic behavior. My life effectively changed in 2006 when I first saw the video for “Dani California.” At ten (and maybe at 22), I didn’t always know what Anthony Kiedis was singing about, but Stadium Arcadium quickly became my most-listened-to album and RHCP my most-loved band. For as long as I can remember, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been my favorite band.
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