Chili Peppers Lose Their Heat On Mellow, Unpolished Album

Red Hot Chili Peppers
By The Way

A softer, mellower Californication, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album By The Way, can be described best as a set of radio-friendly B-sides.

Sounding more like an extension of the group's last album, it might be more appropriately titled, By The Way, Here's The Rest of Californication.

Warmly embracing the pop genre, the Red Hot Chili Peppers seem to have lost their punk edge.

Mediocre at best, the songs vary in style just enough to be distinguished as new material, illustrating that the bare minimum might not always get you by, or as in this case, it brings you down.

Anthony Kiedis' lyrics leave much to be desired, so desperately rhymed, one cannot help but think, "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." They are nothing more than words for the sake of filler, and in fact, most of the lyrics do not make sense at all.

In "This Is the Place," for example, Kiedis sings, "Can I get some Vaseline/Step into a modern scene/Take a chance on that/Which seems to be/ The making of a dream." This false witticism reaffirms that arbitrary lyrics do not a rock song make.

Some of the only true coherence appears in "I Could Die For You," but with one problem -- it's an endless cliche. "Something inside the cards/I know is right/Don't want to live/Someone else's life," Kiedis croons in his distinct, monotone voice.

If one listens closely, the foundation for a quasi theme can be found within the album. "Resist imitation and repetition" might be an accurate interpretation.

The highlights of By The Way include "The Zephyr Song" and "Midnight," tame songs that nevertheless stand out from the rest, and "Can't Stop," which draws from funk and hip-hop more reminiscent of the Red Hot Chili Peppers of olden days.

The fact that the band has taken a sharp creative turn from hard rock and punk to a softer, friendlier sound would not have been such a harmful transition had the music not seemed an attempt at pop-culture conformity. This fact remains ironic when coming from a band who appears to denounce imitation.

It's unfortunate that an album with such potential falls short due to lack of grooming. Songs like the title track could have risen above the common radio standards. Instead, it now runs the risk of being another severely overexposed single. For those overjoyed at the fact that "Otherside" is now only played once a day on the radio and not 20, brace yourselves.

True, it was about that time -- the two-year mark that inevitably sends musicians scurrying back into the studio to satisfy impatient fans. The sacrifice is evident -- one that might have been avoided with just a few more months of polishing.

By The Way demonstrates how originality and quality are all too often the price paid for the rush.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.