This is a list of every real life person ever mentioned in a RHCP song.

• For a name to be included, it has to be obviously referring to that person specifically (e.g. "Bob" in Me And My Friends possibly refers to Bob Forrest, but that is not certain so it's not included).
• A person can be referred to by name or nickname (e.g. Slim for Hillel).
• Most commonly referenced people are Hillel (6 songs), Flea (5 songs) and John (4 songs)
• Most namedrop-heavy album is Unlimited Love (26), least is Freaky Styley (1)

List:

Hillel Slovak (Get Up And Jump, Me And My Friends, Backwoods, Fire, My Lovely Man, Open/Close)

Nastassja Kinski (Get Up And Jump)

L. Ron Hubbard (Green Heaven)

Larry Fine (Green Heaven)

Curly Howard (Green Heaven)

Moe Howard (Green Heaven)

Flea (Out In L.A., Flea Fly, If You Have To Ask, Charlie, This Ticonderoga)

Anthony Kiedis (Out In L.A., Nevermind, Special Secret Song Inside)

Jack Sherman (Out In L.A.)

Keith "Tree" Barry (Out In L.A.)

Albert Einstein (What It Is AKA Nina’s Song)

Adolf Hitler (What It Is AKA Nina’s Song)

Pablo Picasso (What It Is AKA Nina’s Song)

Salvador Dali (What It Is AKA Nina’s Song)

Jimi Hendrix (What It Is AKA Nina’s Song)

Marilyn Monroe (Catholic School Girls Rule, Wet Sand)

Jack Irons (Me And My Friends)

Chuck Berry (Backwoods)

Larry Holmes (Backwoods)

Bo Diddley (Backwoods)

Little Richard (Backwoods)

Howlin’ Wolf (Backwoods)

Dr. Seuss (Skinny Sweaty Man)

Stevie Wonder (Higher Ground, Even You Brutus?)

Magic Johnson (Magic Johnson)

Byron Scott (Magic Johnson)

A.C. Green (Magic Johnson)

James Worthy (Magic Johnson)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Magic Johnson)

David Letterman (Punk Rock Classic)

Bonnie Parker (If You Have To Ask)

Clyde Barrow (If You Have To Ask)

Mike Tyson (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Robert Williams (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Mark Twain (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Truman Capote (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Charles Bukowski (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Robert DeNiro (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Billie Holiday (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Count Basie (Mellowship Slinky In B Major)

Marvin Gaye (The Righteous & The Wicked)

Sly Stone (Give It Away)

Bob Marley (Give It Away)

River Phoenix (Give It Away)

Roberta Flack (My Lovely Man)

Iggy Pop (Coffee Shop, Afterlife)

Picabo Street (One Big Mob)

Bob Forrest (Bob)

Mark Johnson (Around The World)

Guy Oseary (Around The World)

Kurt Cobain (Californication)

John Frusciante (Castles Made Of Sand, This Velvet Glove, Purple Stain, Readymade)

Darla Hood (Purple Stain)

Chris Farley (Purple Stain)

Joan Of Arc (Right On Time)

Yohanna Logan (Fat Dance, I Could Die For You)

Julia “Butterfly” Hill (Can’t Stop) Stella Schnabel (The Zephyr Song)

Charles Baudelaire (Tear)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Minor Thing)

Gloria Scott (Venice Queen)

James Brown (Bicycle Song, Afterlife)

Oscar Wilde (Eskimo)

Sister Rose (She’s Only 18)

Bruce Springsteen (She’s Only 18, These Are The Ways)

Brigitte Bardot (Warlocks)

Heather Christie (Desecration Smile)

Norman Mailer (Animal Bar)

Milo Aukerman (Storm In A Teacup)

Clara Balzary (Death Of A Martian)

Emily Kokal (Mercy, Mercy)

Billy Bob Thornton (Save This Lady)

Raymond Pettibone (Monarchy Of Roses)

Sherry Rogers (Monarchy Of Roses)

Mary Forsberg (Monarchy Of Roses)

Kateri Butler (Brendan’s Death Song)

Cosma Shiva Hagen (Annie Wants A Baby)

John Coltrane (Happiness Loves Company)

Marcus Junius Brutus (Even You Brutus?)

Robert Moses (Long Progression)

Jack Kerouac (Hometown Gypsy)

Everly Bear Kiedis (Love Of Your Life)

The Zodiac Killer (Dark Necessities)

Alice Cooper (Go Robot)

J Dilla (Detroit)

Henry Ford (Detroit)

Ed McMahon (Encore)

Greta Thunberg (Black Summer)

Siouxsie Sioux (Aquatic Mouth Dance)

Billy Zoom (Aquatic Mouth Dance)

Grandmaster Melle Mel (Poster Child)

Richard Hell (Poster Child)

Adam Ant (Poster Child)

Robert Plant (Poster Child)

Ulysses Grant (Poster Child)

Yoko Ono (Poster Child)

MonoNeon (Poster Child)

Mother Theresa (Poster Child)

Bernie Mac (Poster Child)

Steve Miller (Poster Child)

Van Morrison (Poster Child)

Dave Mushegain (Poster Child)

Ronald Reagan (Poster Child)

Flavor Flav (Poster Child)

Carl Sagan (Poster Child)

Chubby Checker (Poster Child)

Sid Vicious (Poster Child)

Virginia Woolf (She’s A Lover)

George Clinton (These Are The Ways)

Bobby Darin (White Braids & Pillow Chair)

Miles Davis (One Way Traffic)

Madonna (Let ‘Em Cry)

Curtis Mayfield (Nerve Flip)

Sonny Bono (Tippa My Tongue)

Cher (Tippa My Tongue)

David Lee Roth (Eddie, My Cigarette)

Frank Sinatra (Bella)

Daryl Hall (Roulette)

John Oates (Roulette)

Henry Miller (Roulette)

Timothy Leary (Roulette)

Marlon Brando (Roulette)

Nat King Cole (My Cigarette)

Dick Van Patten (My Cigarette)

Christopher Colombus (La La La La La La La La)

Tommy Chong (La La La La La La La La)

Cheech Marin (La La La La La La La La)

Norman Lear (La La La La La La La La)

Fibonacci (In The Snow)

I've seem critics state this or something similar, saying they rarely stray from their core themes of sex, drug addiction and California. Aren't you supposed to write what you know? The sme thing could be said of other bands like The Doors, or, to a lesser extent, The Beach Boys.

Sorry if this has been brought up before. I don't see it anywhere online. I only ever see two theories, either "it's personal reflection" or "it's a love song to a girl". I don't see why people assume it's a song to a woman/love interest. I don't get any of that from it. People are so basic with their song interpretations, lol.

What it sounds like to me is that Anthony is sitting in a hot tub with John ("in the water where I center my emotion"), smoking some weed together ("What a night to fly my kite on / Do you want to flash a light on?") ("Pickin' up, but not too strong for you / Take a piece and pass it on"), maybe they're on some ecstasy (by the vibe of the song), and they're opening up to each other ("Take a look, it's on display for you"), getting to know each other more deeply. My tip-off was the mention of Stella, presumably Stella Schnabel, John's girlfriend at the time:

Did you meet your fortune teller?
Get it off with no propeller
Do it up, it's on with Stella
What a way to finally smell her

Anthony wouldn't write a romantic song to Stella, for obvious reasons, so the mention can't mean he's directing the song at her. So the other alternative is that those lines mean she's one of the subjects that Tony and John are talking about in their convo. And Tony feels like he's finally gotten to know her because John finally told him all about her.

So in that context the rest of the song reads intuitively as two bros ecstasy-bonding and feeling like they're going to live forever and be together forever.

So, I want to get myself a reverb pedal, yet I havent decided between the EHX Holy Grail and the MXR Reverb. I know on the last tour John used two MXRs, one always-on and one for longer, dedicated reverbs, while during the SA era he was a prominent Holy Grail user.

Now Im mot sure which one to get, since I wont buy two reverbs, I definitely wont do his double MXR strategy, but if he moved on from the Holy Grail there must also be a reason.

Yeah of course „depending on what you wanna play/which era you want to come close to“ but I wanna be universal, play his new songs but also be capable of his iconic fat 2006-07 sound.

What would you suggest?

The group is called Minor Threat

I think this question has been asked once previously in this subreddit, but I'd be somewhat interested to see a more contemporary view on the track. For context, the track was recorded during sessions with Dave Navarro toward the end of his short-lived stint in the band. Recorded and planned for their second album with Dave, the track never saw the light of day on any RHCP studio album until it leaked slightly short of a decade ago. To my knowledge, Dave has been the only band member to ever publicly comment on the track, doing so in an interview in 2019.

I reserved this guitar back in 2024 and finally picked it up at Centro Chitarre in Naples this January. I have been an RHCP fan for most of my life, so yes, I actually went for it.

I know the price is crazy and I completely understand why this guitar received so much hate online. This is not a proper review yet, just a few RHCP songs I played in the shop.

I want to make a full owner review and compare it with my other Strats, so let me know what you would like me to test.

I love RHCP’s early era, with albums like Freaky Styley and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and I equally love everything they did with Frusciante starting with BSSM, but Mother’s Milk just doesn’t click with me. I’ve listened to the album several times to see if it would grow on me, and while there are definitely some great songs like “Pretty Little Ditty,” “Good Time Boys,” and “Higher Ground,” it still feels more like a blueprint for the sound the band would develop on their next few albums than something that stands on its own as a particularly interesting record. I much prefer albums like One Hot Minute with Navarro and The Getaway with Klinghoffer as experiences, for example. Does anyone else feel the same way?

I was listening to the song today, and I thought how similar the riff was to how John was playing during the Intro to Californiacation at the Iconic Slane Castle gig.

"Space may be the final frontier, but it's made in a Hollywood basement."

Do you think this is a reference to the moon landing being fake or are they specifically referring to Star Trek?

I have been playing guitar for a little over a year, and i mainly play my fender vintera II strat. i havent upgraded my amp setup quite yet, so i am still working with my fender mustang lt25, which i find good for me to explore different tones easily and simply. i am a huge john frusciante fan and would like to recreate one of frusciantes many tones, preferably the clean by the way tones, the more dirty clean stadium arcadium ones, californication, or also the bssm tone. if specific songs can help narrow down how to achieve the tones im looking for would help, I'd say Quixoticelixer, under the bridge, snow, on mercury, fortune faded, castles made of sand, and if you have to ask. would appreciate any advice, recommendations, and tips! (I know i do not have the marshall that john uses and I am not looking for exact replicas, just close enough, it would be helpful to know what makes up his sound)

I honestly can't tell you how funky this album is. I may be biased because it's my favorite band, but I honestly can't stop thinking about how these guys still got it. Might sound strange, but it gave me the funky vibe of Freaky Styley and the sunny feeling of By the Way.

This is my opinion. I’m fairly young, I sort of grew up with The Getaway so there will always be a slight bias.

Every album beforehand though is great. Josh or John it doesn’t matter, they all have something special about them. You can tell that real effort is being put in to create something with a cohesive (or purposefully abstract) vision.

For me, Unlimited Love and Dream Canteen are utterly awful. Each album has about 2 good songs, and the rest feel either like demos, or songs made by a soulless cloned version of RHCP.

I understand some of the reasons why people aren’t a fan of The Getaway, Chad’s signature drumming really just isn’t on display for about 80% of the album, It’s a lot more heavily produced and streamlined than any of the classic RHCP albums. But it has soul to it! You can easily grasp the “vibe” that’s being communicated by the band.

I just feel so much less of a “vibe” or vision with the last 2 albums than I do with any other of their albums. I understand it’s not the 90s or 2000s anymore, everyone has their peak, but they were still going so strong through the 2010s.

This might have came off as me glazing The Getaway more than I intended it to but I think the discussion point still stands.