Palmer..................”Red Pot Chili Peppers Stoner Songs”

Red Pot Chili Peppers Stoner Songs

by Julian Palmer Okay so we all know the funky, punky Red Hot Chili Peppers. Despite their deserved success and well-recognized (though it should be more well-recognized) genius, most people would not consider the punk funkers to be an iconic stoner band (think more Sublime, Bob Marley & the Wailers, and Grateful Dead). However, I am here today ladies and gentleman to present to you the list of the best RHCP stoner songs.

The Zephyr Song:

• lyrics to note: 1. “Get it off with no propeller / Do it up, it’s always stellar” 2. “Fly away on my zephyr / I feel it more than ever” • drums- the fll before the chorus…I can’t even • backing vocals (service of Frusciante)- takes you places • the music video will make you trip balls

Yertle the Turtle:

• lyrics to note: “Look at that turtle go, bro” spoken by the highest person ever • this song is about a turtle named Yertle that lives in a pond on the island of Salamasond • turns Dr. Seuss’s tale into a funk masterpiece 31

Open/ Close:

• lyrics to note: 1. “Get out of bed and I clear up my head and I don't want to go but I do it instead” (um wake and bake?) 2. “we smoked weed and Green Heaven: • lyrics to note: 1. “The smile of a dolphin is a built in feature” 2. “Let your soul foat away like the soul of a crow” • we’d go up in the hills” Kiedis narrates about his friends and good memories in one of the only RHCP songs to feature spoken word • the title alone is pretty telling (get it? Because ‘green’ is slang for marijuana!) • this song critiques American society, and A. Kiedis dreams of a world where humans will take after dolphins and be chill (he seems to have a thing for dolphins doesn’t he?)

Behind the Sun:

• lyrics to note: all of them; Kiedis frequently refers to his friend, a talking dolphin • bass: funk-tastic! The sequence following the frst verse will make you want to jump into a volcano (in a good way) • trippy Indian noises • the music video looks like it was written, flmed, and edited by druggies, and hey, it probably was

Quixoticelixir:

• lyrics to note: “Kick back a little just to watch and see/ Getting sicker by the minute with debauchery” • backing vocals- holy shit

Mellowship Slinky In B Major:

• lyrics to note: “Good God any day now/ Good God take me away/ Good God purple haze/ Good dank-ass art by Sam Watson God the baddest of brains” (references to Jimi’s Purple Haze and the Bad Brains, and I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess they smoked hella ganja) • has a real “funk, swing, shuffe feel to it” as described by Smith himself