The Four Best Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs According To A Hater

According to RollingStone.com, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are celebrating the 25^th anniversary of Californication by releasing a limited-edition capsule collection. Inspired by the album cover art, the exclusive merch serves as an ode, a love letter if you will, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ iconic album. The band is also also supporting California’s Yosemite National Park, a cause dear to the band heart 

Californication was released on June 8, 1999 and features some of the bands biggest hits' “Scar Tissue”, “Around the World” and “Otherside” were smash hits. On the radio every 5 minutes (ok Im exaggerating, but it felt that way) They were also songs I couldnt stand.

Now, to be fair, I’m not a fan of the band at all. Sure, I understand their importance in the world of music, and they are all over the radio station I work on because Its not my personal jukebox. But, trust me, I’m never in a hurry to listen to anything they record.

Related: The Five Best Metallica Songs Not On The Radio

However, a friend of mine (and huge fan of the band) dared me to find something good from he band that I, as a hater, would happily have on my personal “playlist”.  Songs I would listen to on my own time.

And I'm never one to back down form a challenge. So here it goes.  

In 1991, The Red Hot Chili Peppers released Blood Sugar Sex Magik and it was the album that made them a household name. The title track is one of the best songs The Peppers ever produced, In this haters opinion. 

There was a time, when I I wasn't a Red Hot Chili Peppers hater. My disdain came after I met the guys (Long story). However, When Mothers Milk was released, before I had the 'pleasure" of their company, I was into their funky style. “Knock Me Down” had my ears from the get. 

What's funny about my distaste for the Chili Peppers is the songs that are super popular, I’m not fan of at all. But the ones that didn't quite get there, I dig. Maybe its a weird, “Haha, this song failed”  that makes me dig it? I know, I need therapy. Anyways, This track from The Getaway is a perfect example of that. 

However, my absolute favorite song by the band obviously from California, is a song written by someone completely different, Stevie Wonder. It figures. But I have to give credit to Anthony and the boys because they did a really good job with this masterpiece. 

Maybe if they did a covers album, Id might be more receptive to the band? No, I’d probably still be a hater. And they still be cashing checks and not caring .

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The Record Plant in Los Angeles is closing; the legendary studio has been open since 1969.

The studio was one of three Record Plant locations in the United States. Founded by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone, the first location opened in New York City in 1968. The next year, the Los Angeles location opened. The third location in Sausalito, Calif. opened in 1972. Sadly, the New York location shuttered in 1987, and the Sausalito location closed in 2008.

The closing of the Record Plant is another sign of the ever-changing music industry. Technology has greatly evolved to the point where studios aren't always necessary to record music. It's a sentiment shared by East/West and Ocean Way engineer Gary Myerberg, who's quoted by Los Angeles Magazine saying, "There is no money in the recording music business ... If you want to go to the studio and spend $2,000 a day, just take that and buy a laptop and a sample library or tell A.I. what song you want to make and it’ll make it."

In a coincidence that certainly couldn't have been planned, Variety published a story on July 11 titled "L.A. Recording Studios Are Fading, Despite Manifesting Music's Greatest Hits." The story centered on the reopening of Capitol Studios, which was closed for two years due to renovations from earthquake damage. The story even name-checked the Record Plant as among some of the great studios still operating in Los Angeles. That same day, news of the Record Plant's closure was first reported.

This has been a problem for a number of years now. In a 2009 segment on NPR's "All Things Considered," Joel Rose explored the shuttering of recording studios in New York City. Even a decade and a half ago, studios were losing money to at-home recording technology. First, it started with losing business from musicians working on demos. Then it started to snowball.

" ... Some of the big work dried up, too, as the major record labels slashed their budgets," wrote Rose. "Add the soaring price of real estate, and it's easy to see why most of the well-known Manhattan studios closed their doors."

Each Record Plant location has a unique history. It's incredibly difficult to decide which location yielded the greatest albums. All three locations had some of the most iconic artists in music history record some of the most memorable releases ever. In tribute to the Record Plant in Los Angeles, here are just five albums that recorded there.

The Record Plant in Los Angeles is one of four studios where the 1987 debut album of Guns N' Roses was recorded. Nearly 40 after its release, Appetite for Destruction is still considered one of the greatest debuts and overall albums of all time. It has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. In the United States alone, it has sold over 18 million copies.

Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumours in five different studios. Among them were the Record Plant locations in Los Angeles and Sausalito. What more can be said about Rumours that hasn't already been said? It remains, as an album, an absolute pop/rock masterpiece that is both of its time and timeless. With every passing year and new generation, its legend just continues to grow.

Like Rumours, Stevie Wonder recorded Songs in the Key of Life in multiple studios, including the Record Plant's Los Angeles and Sausalito locations. Also like the iconic Fleetwood Mac album, Wonder's 1976 release is a masterpiece and boasts the singles "I Wish," "Isn't She Lovely," "Sir Duke," "Another Star" and "As." Songs in the Key of Life went on to win Album of the Year at the 19th annual Grammy Awards.

The Eagles recorded Hotel California at the Criteria in Miami and at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. It's one of the best-selling albums of all time. In the United States alone, it has sold over 26 million copies. Currently, it's tied with AC/DC's Back in Black as the third best-selling album of all time in the U.S. The only albums to sell more than Hotel California are Michael Jackson's Thriller (34 million copies) and Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (38 million copies).

The Record Plant in Los Angeles was one of three studios where Nine Inch Nails recorded The Downward Spiral. Released in 1994, the album solidified Nine Inch Nails and leader Trent Reznor as one of the most influential forces of the '90s. The album has sold over four million copies in the United States, has made countless "best albums" lists and remains beloved by rock fans over 30 years after its release.