EWB Music Club Meeting #1

[Matt]

Berober didn't post in this thread or elect an album to be voted for. :/

He voted for my suggestion. Or at least I think it's Berober

Edit: It is.

[METALMAN]

I am ever so sorry for being a couple of nights late with this. I've been rushed off my feet with work, etc. (especially etc.) and my fleeting moments on EWB were all on my phone, which gets a little bit jumpy in topics with polls. But nevertheless, I am here now. The Red Hot Midlife Crises are, as I expected, the clear winner.

Now, in my limited experience of the album, I can assure you that is by no means dreadful. Certainly, it is not anywhere near as bad as Pitchfork (boo Pitchfork!) have been telling us. But this is no surprise! There is no way on Earth that Pitchfork would have liked I'm With You. Even the latest offering from Anthony and his mates turned out to be In The Aeroplane Over The Sea wrapped in the sweaty socks of Tyler, the Creator (...of dull, uninteresting mulch), P4k (boo P4k!) would have turned their noses up at it.

Anyway, time to get off the soapbox - I'm With You is our first assignment. You obviously shouldn't listen to it if the merest thought of Flea's bass megalomania sends you into a tizz, but even if it does, give it a listen anyway! Don't be a spoilsport! Just post your thoughts in here whenever you like and after a little while - maybe three or four days - we'll pick our second project.

Have fun!

[jack95]

Is the album available on Spotify? I can't seem to find it... I'll give Watch the Throne a listen in the mean time.

[METALMAN]

Don;t worry! You can find every song on youtube! Pretty decent quality too.

that's the first tune, and the rest are easilly accessible from there. I quite like that one actually.

Might be a thought to cbeck than an album is on Spotify in future before we put it forward? Or maybe not. I've no idea how expansive Spotify's catalogue is these days. It waxes and wanes.

[Benjamin]

Just listened to a few songs the first go around, really liked Did I Let You Know a lot more than Monarchy of Roses, which was alright until the guitar solo, then fell a little flat for me. Then I listened to Look Around, same same old goodness from RHCP, but nothing mind blowing so far, though.

[fr34k]

Quick question: How are we going to determine our next album for discussion? Again suggestions + voting? Picking the album with the second highest votes? Selection by a specific member?

I had already listened to I'm With You prior to this project, because I actually enjoy most of the things the Chili Peppers do. I was looking forward to it, because to me it was going to be interesting what Josh Klinghoffer (who I like) would bring to the table and how much John Frusciante would be missing. When I first listened to the album, I thought it was one thing: average. This does not have anything to do with Josh, who was the main reaon why I liked "Did I Let You Know" so much. That was the only song that I really, really enjoyed. Everything else was okay, but not great. Anyways, I'm now going to listen to the album for the second time and will give a detailed song by song overview of what I think.

Monarchy of Roses: When hearing the beginning of the song and all the verses, we are left wondering if we are actually listenting to the Chili Peppers because it is a very different sound to their usual style. I actually enjoyed that for the kind of experimental feel it has, but the chorus was just standard Red Hot Chili Peppers, and thus sounds like something we have heard a million times by now. To me, the Chili Peppers have already made their typical record (By The Way, which I enjoy very much) so there is no point in repeating their regular style over and over again. I would have liked if this experimental sound would have continued throughout the song.

Factory of Faith: Again, esentially the same thing as in Monarchy of Roses, terrible chorus and okay verses. I like the Chili Peppers when the Flea present is heavy and when Anthony does not so much as sing but "raps" more, for lack of a better term. Josh Klinghoffer is pretty good on this track though.

Brendan's Death Song: The first song on the record that is a bit slower and I like it. Anthony's voice is good in this one and fits the mood of the song. This is the first time I notice Josh singing background vocals and he is awesome. I really like his voice (I did already when he was working with Frusciante) and think he does a pretty good job. The only problem I have is that because Josh sounds good, Anthony sounds worse, although it is still tolerable in this song. The final part of the song with Anthony just going "Yeah, yeah, yeah" in the background is pretty cool too. Best song so far.

Ethiopia: Good god I just realized that Anthony's voice can really piss me off. I liked the overall sound of the song, but thought Anthony was terrible. Also, the chorus once again sounds like every Chili Peppers chorus they ever did. WE KNOW HOW IT SOUNDS GODDAMIT.

Annie Wants a Baby: Eh, I feel like repeating myself. Average song, Josh is good, rest not so much.

Look Around: Pretty good, definitely did not feel this way when I first listened to the record. This is the style of Anthony that I love and Flea is pretty cool too. The song has a definitely a very pleasant sound to it I really like the bridge towards the end. Also, Josh .

The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie: Ugh. I think this is the worst song so far, it just sounds boring and it's not fresh at all but just same old, same old.

Did I Let You Know: I thought this was the best song on the record when I first listened to it and I still think this is true. It just sounds beautiful. I think this is also the first time I really, really dig the chorus on this record. The trumpet solo is pretty cool too. Josh's backing vocals are obviously fantastic and his guitar solo is pretty neat.

Goodbye Hooray: Good song. Nothing special, but I like the tempo and it's pretty groovy. Flea is awesome.

Happiness Loves Company: The keyboard on the track definitely gives a fresh sound to the Chili Peppers, I like this.

Police Station: Boooooooooooooooooooooring.

Even You Brutus?: Another good song. Sounds fresh and new and shows that the Chili Peppers can still produce quality tracks. Chorus is pretty boring though.

Meet Me at the Corner: And another standard slow Chili Peppers song. Dammit, why can't they do something new. Josh is again awesome. I think it's pretty funny that his vocals are so much better than Anthony's.

Dance, Dance, Dance: I hated this song at first, but I guess it's okay. Nothing spectacular though.

_______

Short Review: Josh is a great addition to the Chili Peppers but does not manage to save this album from being average. It has good songs ("Did I Let You Know", "Happiness Loves Company", "Look Around", "Even You Brutus?"), but it all sounds like the Chili Peppers are repeating themselves over and over again. Could have been much better, but it did actually improve upon listening to it for a second time. 6/10

[Matt]

First off, maybe stick up the voting and nominations thread for the second week now so it's decided by the weekend, then we can get straight into it at the start of next week?

Anyway, I'll probably contribute again as I've only listened to this album the once so far and I tend to give albums a couple of listens if they're not awful because sometimes they grow on you. And that pretty much sums up my opinion on this album: it's not awful. There's nothing on this album that I thought "God, that's terrible" but there's nothing I thought "Wow, that's really good" either. On first listen, the closest to a good song was Happiness Loves Company, everything else was just there. Its the kind of album that if someone stuck it on, I wouldn't ask them to change the song, but at the same time I wouldn't say "oh you've got this album, stick XYZ on, that's a good song".

I'm pretty hit and miss on Chilis anyway, I think they've recorded some really fun, catchy songs and they've got a couple of albums I occasionally stick on if I can't think of anything in particular I want to listen to but at the same time, they've written a lot of rubbish down the years. This falls somewhere in between, it's just average, but like I say, I'll give it another listen, my opinion might change one way or the other.

[jack95]

I agree with the consensus that this is a solid but unspectacular album. It's not something I regret listening to at all, but I wouldn't have bought it. There were some fairly catchy songs on there, I particularly enjoyed Brendan's Death Song, Look Around and Did I Let You Know, plus Monarchy of Roses and Factory of Faith were quite fun in places. There were no songs that I truly loathed, but I wasn't keen on Ethiopia or Police Station. On the whole, I'm still not a big Red Hot Chilli Peppers fan, but I'd call myself pleasantly surprised by this. If I had to give it a rating, I'd agree with fr34k's of a 6. I think the main problem for me was lyrically none of this made much of an impression on me, aside from the aforementioned catchier bits. In contrast, I thought Watch the Throne was very good, and this coming from someone who isn't much of a fan of rap any longer. I thought the tunes were unique and interesting, and I've found some of the lyrics to No Church in the Wild and Made in America hovering around my mind today, which is more than I can say for anything on I'm With You. But again, it was an alright album.

[Your Mom]

Is there a legal way that you guys are listening to this for free?

[jack95]

Is there a legal way that you guys are listening to this for free?

Not in this instance, it's all off Youtube, but I'd imagine most of the albums we'll do will be available on Spotify 100% legally.

[Benjamin]

Kay, thoughts on the whole album after my first complete run through.

1. Monarchy of Roses - Actually second time listening to it after the YouTube one posted above. Came off a lot better the second go around. The bridge fell a little flat for me, though.

2. Factory of Faith - The only part I liked in this was the chorus, really good lyrics and composing, IMO, during that part. Verses were forgetable, but Flea was brilliant this whole song.

3. Brendan's Death Song - Probably my second favorite song on the album, besides Did I Let You Know. Really got immersed in this one.

4. Ethiopia - Eugh, hated this one. Didn't do anything for me. Drumming even sounded a little out of place here and there.

5. Annie Wants A Baby - Totally forgetable. Don't remember anything sticking out in this one, it kinda' just ran through my head.

6. Look Around - I really just can't get the feeling that this one is just old school Chilis, and so was not in the least bit groundbreaking for me. Nice tune to listen to, but not phenomenal.

7. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie - Chad was really good in this one, but the vocals were shit, the guitar was off-putting during the chorus, so it was pretty terrible. Chad sounded crisp as fuck, though, especially his part during the bridge, really liked that.

8. Did I Let You Know - Just brilliant. Flea kept it sounding like it was leading somewhere with his bass, and when it hit the chorus the first time you're like "Fuck yeah." The solo from the trumpet, I think it is, was a nice touch, and the lyrics are pretty nice, too.

9. Goodbye Hooray - Sounds really different from normal RHCP, but it's not something I'd like to listen to, personally. Good that it's different, but maybe just not my cup of tea.

10. Happiness Loves Company - Ooh, I like this song. Maybe my third favorite song? A different sort of sound, different beat than their usual, and Kiedis sounds really nice in this one. His voice suited the tempo.

11. Police Station - Wow, I like this song, too. It's not anything new, but it does have nice lyrics, the sound of the guitar is nice and neat. Two good songs in a row, finally.

12. Even You Brutus - This song sounds so boring. Wanted to skip it halfway through.

13. Meet Me At The Corner - Wow, I nearly passed out from boredom during this song. Nothing to grab my attention, it just kind of blared out of my speakers and I couldn't wait for it to finish.

14. Dance, Dance, Dance - Damn, I love Chad in this. Anthony's vocals for this are pretty nice, too. Not bad, but again, nothing fantastic.

So yeah, would listen to Did I Let You Know, Happiness Loves Company and Brendan's Death Song over and over again, no problem. Rest were a mix of lousy tunes and okay-ness. This whole album was pretty mediocre in general, though, with nothing groundbreaking happening. Wouldn't really recommend the whole album, just a song or two there. On the whole, slightly above average, at best.

[Steeb]

Herrrre we go!

Right, first off, a bit of a foreword. For years, Chilis were my favourite band in the entire world (until I saw them live, and they ruined all hopes and dreams I had for the event). No-one could compare. From Chad's imperious drumming, and brilliant fillwork, to Flea's body-popping, soul-drenched bass playing, through Anthony's soulful lyrics - although often nonsensical - brilliant delivery style, and all round coolness, and of course John's Godlike guitar mastery.

This is sort of the disclaimer. John Frusciante is, to me, a genius. No-one playing a guitar has affected me the way he does. He has something for every single mood I experience. His solos reach me, and move me, in a way I can't award to anything else musical. He is, simply, a master.

So the idea of a Chilis record without him, in this day and age, does not fill me with joy. He is, to me, the glue that holds the band together. Without him, they just....don't work. Obviously, people felt this way after Hillel. But John harnessed the spirit of Hillel, and bought all of his own emotion, and passion, and really improved upon greatness. In my own mind, I cannot see this album working, at all. I have listened to it, once, whilst doing other things. Now, it gets my attention, thanks to you EWB. We'll see if that's heartfelt or not at the end...

Monarchy of Roses

Nice, crunchy guitars, distortion...oh, wait, no. There they go. Shame. Kinda typical modern-RHCP stuff now. Interchangable with any of their 'single'-esque tracks from the last few years. Oooh! It's back! I like this bit! Why is there not mo-oh fuck off....Gah. And a very...nothing...solo-spot too. This tempo change is quite nice, but sounds like the ending of an album, not the first track on one. It sounds like they're giving it their all for the ending. This is either a good thing or a bad. We'll see.

Factory of Faith

Loooooovely bass. I suddenly see what fr34k means about the 'cool verses, terrible choruses' thing. Quite nice, almost vintage verses. Boring chorus. I actually quite like the guitar on this track, in a very different way to John's (yeah, that's gonna be a thing throughout, get over it >_>). Some lovely little 'bites'. Switches up a lot. Not as enjoyable on some levels, but on others, very cool and likeable. Backing vocals are grrrreat. Flea is just fucking immense, and Chad's little semi-shuffle drumwork is very lovely too. Not a fan of the 'solo' again, as it feels like it should be under something more.

Brendan's Death Song

Woah. Breakneck turn of pace there. Hmm. This seems like a song that would be far more enjoyable when not really listening to it, in order to break it down. As it is, it sounds just a bit too busy. Not sure why. I like the bridge, that was a nice breakdown. Anthony doesn't sound as bad as I was expecting. In fact this outro - the repeated 'Yeah's is pretty wonderful. Really quite nice, and that business now sounds appropri-holy fucking drumroll-ate.

Ethiopia

Lol, Ethiopia. Hello Flea! And hello Flea's bass! Very nice. Spotty (in a good way, if you get me) guitar. Effective. The song itself sounds like it's lots of different ideas glued together, and not in a good way. It doesn't flow, it's very broken, and a bit boring too. This time I actually quite like the chorus - because Fuck Yes Chad. Booooriiiiing.

Annie Wants a Baby

Alright Tony K, give it a rest. Jesus, his voice actually is quite annoying when it's really pushed to the forefront like it is in the verses here. Perfectly acceptable song, but that's not really good enough for a band that have been doing this so long. Chad is really rescuing this album for me at the minute. Which, again, isn't really good enough for a band this 'big'. Your drummer shouldn't be the headline, really. You all should. QUIT PHONING IT IN!

Look Around

Classic opening. HANDCLAPS! I FUCKING LOVE A HANDCLAP! Jesus, this is like a timewarp. Lovely little rap. Popping bass. Oh fuck, it's the same chor-HANDCLAP! YES! Boring guitar line, followed by a lovely echo-y guitar line. Consistency obviously not the keyword. Cool bridge, head was bobbing without actually realising...and then promptly stopped again when we hit chorus.

The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

The single song I've heard multiple times before now. I remember a boring solo. Let's see if that holds true.

Sometimes it doesn't even sound like Anthony is using real words anymore. Cowbell. Awesome. All we're missing now is some glockenspiel and we're onto an absolute classic album. Inoffensive verses. Dull chorus. I don't know why they feel the need to make them alllllll sound interchangable. Quite nice guitar, but ill-fitting, in my opinion. Sounds out of place. And that droning repetitive 'riff' is really annoying. Anthony's whining doesn't help. "It's in the zo-ho-ho-ho-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-nnnneee girrrrrlllll". Stop it.

Did I Let You Know

Oooh, I like these drums. And the guitar! And the bassline! Come on Ant, don't fuck it up. Hmmm. Sounds like a reinvent of Tell Me Baby's verses, which is no bad thing. I liked those verses. Very femme backing vocals, as part of a different chorus. Wow. I actually quite like this song. It's good! Really funky, nice and complete and FUCKING TRUMPETS! YES! THIS SONG IS BRILLIANT! That's right, you laugh Anthony, you deserve it! A really lovely track right here. Just when I thought there was going to be nothing but gray and black on this record. Even a lovely solo too. Although I am in no way sold on the idea of '..so Mozambique-y' being a legitimate use of language. Wonderful bridge, keeping the funk going. And a spot of bongo? Happy days!

Goodbye Hooray

Urgent, methodical opening. Good stuff. Familiar chorus. Anthony's buried under just enough of Josh's mic to be acceptable. Love the breakdown in it, and the breakdown of the breakdown even more so. Nice and experimental, piano stabs, ethereality, and lifts brilliantly into the chorus again.

Happiness Loves Company

Wow, that's very different! Wasn't really expecting that when people said there were keys on this track. Has the feeling of a song from a film soundtrack. It's quite modern-montage in its air. I like it. It's upbeat, it's clearly going somewhere, lovely bridge again. It's not the sort of song I would hunt down and have the urge to listen to, or will start singing out of nowhere one day, but I would probably be happy if it came on shuffle.

Police Station

This song really annoyed me. I managed to get 3/4 of the way through before anything to say came up. Any time it looked like it was going anywhere, it just doubled back on itself. Dull, dull, dull. And then that lovely piano piece comes in. Wonderful stuff. But then we're back to meandering again. It just really feels like it's missing an actual lift, after the semi-lift for the chorus - which is only really louder, rather than a progression. If it wasn't for the piano, and the harmless guitar reverberations, this may as well have been a write-off.

Even You Brutus?

OK, did they buy a piano/keyboard halfway through the recording process? Brilliant, urgent vocals for the verses, with some very suitable, funky guitar running underneath. Wait, he wants to 'make it with a younger girl'? Grow up Tony K! It puddles a bit after that, until the bridge, after which the vocals sound urgent again. Ahaha, stupid yowl in the middle of the song. I don't know if it was vocals or guitar, but either way it sounded out of place - there it is again - and stupid.

Meet Me at the Corner

I love it when they start off with soft instrumental sections at the beginning. I could listen to just them as background noise forever. Like soft-jazz, but not irritating. Josh's guitar is really, really nice on this track. Just the right amount of noodling. There, I said it. Don't hate me John >_>. Oh, wow, his vocals are fucking beautiful too. Really, really wonderful. After that, quite boring, nice re-start, but yeah, doesn't go anywhere.

Dance, Dance, Dance

Sounds good. Lovely bassline. I like how Flea can make relatively simple basslines funky as all Hell. I agree with someone before me, Chad is awesome. Backing vocals outshine Anthony again. A nice quasi-country guitar line underneath too. This feels like quite an expansive song at times, you can imagine a video utilising a great amount of water. If that makes sense. Cool funky breakdown. More Chad greatness. Anthony being used effectively. Nice minimal lead guitar line.

Overall

It is such a shame that this album isn't 3-4 songs shorter. There is a lot of promise here, but it often doesn't pan out. Unfortunately, as has been the case for a long time now, it seems as though the majority of the fault lies with Anthony Kiedis. He hasn't got enough range or, to be frank, talent, at this stage, to be fronting a band with such prowess as he does. Chad's drumming is, mainly, immense, and sometimes his fills just sound inspirational, as though you couldn't imagine anyone else going the way he does with a line. Flea is Flea. Dependable, funky basslines, played with finesse. Never overstuffing a song, always just adding enough to keep you moving. Josh...Josh really impressed me. He hasn't replaced John. No-one can, for me. But he really does bring a Hell of a lot to the table. His guitar-work is beautifully understated, and his vocals are, as I mentioned throughout, clearly better than Anthony's at this point. I only wish that we could somehow have John, Josh, Flea and Chad as a full-time band - with John and Josh splitting lead guitar and vocals song-by-song. That would be brilliant, and closer to the Chilis I fondly remember. I feel that Anthony's limitations at this point, end up curtailing avenues for songs to go down, and you can hear it at points - as though a song should go higher, and more full-on, but can't. To summarise, a pretty solid album, one I enjoyed a lot, lot more than Stadium Arcadium, but still with a lot of moments of weakness, in comparison to the Chilis I once knew and loved.

7/10

[GoGo Yubari]

Monarchy of Roses

Wow, this started kind of interesting. I liked the heavy drums and the more dissonant feel (by RHCP standards) it started with. Then, like fr34k said, it turned into a Red Hot Chili Peppers song. When the chorus isn't happening there's a lot of interesting stuff happening musically. I'll tentatively say I liked this okay, though nowhere near enough to ever want it in my library. I'm going to say .5 for 1.

Factory of Faith

I was tired of this song before it hit the thirty second mark. I've never been much of a fan of Anthony Kiedis' singing, and even less a fan of his sing-rapping, and this song is heavy on that and absolutely nothing new or interesting. .5 for 2.

Brendan's Death Song

This is the song style from the RHCP playbook that I actually like. Like, this is out of that "Zephyr Song" school of very pleasant music I could see myself enjoying if it came up on online radio or something. The vocals in RHCP work when they hit this level of mellowness, and the fact that they're sometimes nearly overpowered by the instruments is neat too, so I'm giving this one a point. 1.5 for 3.

Ethiopia

Opening bass line made me think I was going into a "My Sharona" cover. God, do I wish this were a "My Sharona" cover. With a song title like this I was hoping they'd follow up "Death Song" with something equally chill and maybe a little world-music sounding. Instead I get vaguely off-rhythm, grating singing, a tremendously annoying vocal hook (EEE AIII EEE AIII OHHHH AIIII AYYYYYYYY), and chorus by numbers including a guitar solo that was basically a three-second loop. I feel like this song escaped from some awful coffee house open mic night in San Diego. 1.5 for 4.

Annie Wants a Baby

I kind of like this one. Actually, the music is pretty solid, everything gels together really well. Like, I don't feel like it's all "hey look at this awesome slap-bass thing Flea did!" when it's not really that awesome. After "Ethiopia" I was probably going to give a point to any song that didn't make me cringe, but I ended up listening to it twice and it really grew on me. It's not "I want this on my computer right now" good but it's the album standout thusfar. 2.5 for 5.

Look Around

You're too old for this shit, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Like, seriously, this isn't 1993 anymore. "Hustle me, bitch, and you best beware?" You're like fifty, Anthony Kiedis. This is hitting Rivers Cuomo territory for regrettable pseudo hip-hop posturing, but at least when Rivers does it he thinks he's being cute and funny. 2.5 for 6.

The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

The song title immediately made me wary. That is not a song title that gives me confidence. This is their single, right? It really sounds like a single, and not in a good way. These lyrics are pretty bad and the music is too bland to really make up for it. Actually, for an RHCP single it really doesn't have much in the way of memorable hooks. There's usually at least one thing that stands out to me in a lasting way with those but here it's just that "we got to make it rain somehow" line, and that's not a good line. 2.5 for 7.

Did I Let You Know

TRUMPET SOLO! I mean, not a very good one? But it's there. That's something different. This song is better than the last two songs. I enjoyed the pace more here, there's some decent interplay between instruments. Lyrics are still deeply cheesy, and this is like... this would be playing in frat houses. I don't think I like that. I'm giving it half a point for the trumpet and being pretty okay if I don't listen to it too intently. 3 for 8.

Goodbye Hooray

Gets off to a really good start, then Kiedis starts singing and it dips a bit. Seriously, a much more dynamic singer would make this song great. Kiedis just sounds like he's sort of slouching his way through an uptempo hard rock song, like he's too chill for it. Just not a good fit for what he's good at. But I really dig the actual music surrounding him, thoughaybe not the bass solo as much. And then when it gets a lot sparser and backs off from the guitar and instead becomes piano-driven for a little while, that transition feels really welcome and smooth. Not as good as "Look Around" "Annie Wants a Baby" but I like this. 4 for 9.

Happiness Loves Company

I started out liking this and then the longer it went the more the novelty went away. Huh. I hate the backing vocals at this one point where they sounded like bad acapella accompaniment. But then it started coming back after a while. The drums really work, and putting pianos front and center really gives it an entirely different feeling than anything that's proceeded it. Is this album properly regrouping and getting better as a whole? 5 for 10.

Police Station

Back to the same well that produced "Brendan's Death Song." I liked that one for being pretty chill and not trying too hard and just being a pleasant song to listen to, and I like this one for that too. Holy shit, we're over the 50% mark. 6 for 11.

Even You, Brutus?

Oh dear god we went off the rails quick, didn't we. Starts off with weepy piano and then follows it off with incredibly goofy spoken-word that just keeps coming back. And then Kiedis makes a weird bird noise in the chorus! That's hilarious. How the fuck is this song over four minutes long? Were this a comedy song it would get a point, but it's not and I kept laughing unintentionally. 6 for 12.

Meet Me At the Corner

Eh, I dunno. It left no impression on me. Sort of felt like diminishing returns from "Police Station." 6 for 13.

Dance Dance Dance

This is okay-ish. It actually starts out great and then it sort of degenerates into sounding like it should be the soundtrack for a commercial about juice. 6.5 for 14.

So, 6.5 out of 14 means it's just under 50%. And, I mean, none of these songs that I even liked are ones I like so much that I would go out of my way to listen to them. It's a Red Hot Chili Peppers album, you know? This is about where I thought I'd be with it, maybe a little bit better than expected but not by much.

[apsham]

Not entirely excited about doing the Chili Peppers, they've never really appealed to me outside of my teenage "finding music" years but I decided to give the album a try.

While I appreciate that there is some musical merit here, I just really couldn't get into it. It's not that I am sitting this week out, I just found myself having a really hard time getting into it. Perhaps I'll give it a listen a bit later and see what happens for me.

[Matt]

It's a Red Hot Chili Peppers album, you know?

See I don't think it is. I've listened to it again since and it sounds like Chilis all the way through, but it isn't a Chilis album. I can't think of the last Chilis album that didn't have a couple of songs on it that were good and/or really catchy that I might stick on out of boredom, this really doesn't have that, there's nothing that makes me want to go listen to this album again.

[Steeb]

You know what, I'll say it. Repeated listens to the second half makes me like I'm With You. Well, the second half at the very least. It's a good half-album, and makes me want to listen to them more again.

[GoGo Yubari]

It's a Red Hot Chili Peppers album, you know?

See I don't think it is. I've listened to it again since and it sounds like Chilis all the way through, but it isn't a Chilis album. I can't think of the last Chilis album that didn't have a couple of songs on it that were good and/or really catchy that I might stick on out of boredom, this really doesn't have that, there's nothing that makes me want to go listen to this album again.

All that means is it just makes it a bad Red Hot Chili Peppers album.

"It's a solid half-album" is maybe the nicest thing I can say about it too, even if I probably don't fully agree on the track listing that would make it that way.