From Flea’s journal at redhotchilipeppers.com.
05.02.06when i woke up this morning
i was was confronted with the news that our record has been leaked to
the internet
it does not come out til may 9 but now it has leaked
and not that i know alot about this kind of thing
but i guess now it is possible to down load it for free if you want
well
that’s not very nice
if you down load it now off one of these file sharing sites
you will be getting a pale imitation of the record
it will be of the poor sound quality of the technique they used to
get it on there
and that will break my heart
it will break john frusciante’s heart
it will break anthony kiedis’s heart
and it will break the heart of chad smith
yes, we worked for a year and a half to make the epic record of our
lives
and it is sad to me for the business reasons of course
i think we are selling something really cool and we put all we had
into it, 28 songs, 2 hours of the best that we can offer
and i think it is a fair deal for everyone
and for people to just steal a poor sound quality version of it for free
because some asshole stole it and put it on the internet
is sad to me
but, equitable business reasons aside
the thing that really bums me out is
we worked so hard, and so thoughtfully, all of us, for so long
to make this record sound as warm and full from top to bottom
as was possible
we spent day and night for a year making sure every little sound was
just right
that they were all put together in the most beautiful way we could
we did not leave a stone unturned in doing that work
i can not put in words how much this record, stadium arcadium, means
to us
how sacred the sound of it is to us
and how many sleepless nights and hardworking days we all had
thinking about how to make it be the best sounding thing we could
and now, for someone to take it and put it out there with this poor
sound quality
it is a painful pill for us to swallow
let me tell you
this bums all of us out
and i know that, as sensitive as john frusciante is about sound
the idea of anyone getting and hearing this thing that way
will devastate him
for people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be
will really hurt him deep inside
and all of us will hurtyes, it is stealing from us, and that is lame
everyone has to live with their own conscience on that one
let it be your guide
but to take a version that has been defiled sound wise
a version in which some idiot has taken our year and a half of soul
baring work and pissed all over it
that will break our heartssincerely,
flea
There you have it. Don’t steal the dude’s work. It’s not very nice. But do check Stereogum in the next day or two, ’cause we’ll be giving away the band’s entire CD and DVD catalog, Neil Young style.
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I wasn’t interested in getting a leaked copy of this album at all before. Now I am.
Man, fuck them. I’d go so far as to say it’s gonna sound lousy on CD, but for completely different reasons than he alludes to.
Poor Flea. First mean old America won’t stop picking on the gentle Iranians and now his “epic” fucking record has been leaked. Welcome to 2006, Flea.
Fucky you, Anthony. Get over yourself. While you’re at it, how about finding a girl to fuck who isn’t young enough to be your daughter?
Fucking egomaniac.
4/4 comments by bitchy queens? what’s up with that? this has potential to be the gayest set of comments ever, let’s keep it going! say fuck more!
The previous poster may have been ‘taken from the teet’ just a bit too earlier.
Relax man, take your Percocet and put the knife down.
It’s not even worth downloading, actually. There’s not enough good songs to make one good CD, much less two; it’s mediocre at best. You can do better flea.
I have to say, although he put it quite badly, that I agree with Flea. I hate the fact that a release day means nothing anymore. Where’s the fun in going down to your local music shop and buying the CD when you’ve already heard it? I do hate this whole leaking of albums thing, and if I were to ever run a label or make an album then I’d be following that album in it every step of its journey. I’d write and record, take the master tapes to the mastering engineer, take the master to the pressing plant, take the pressings home and put them in some kind of garage and lock them up. Then I’d leave copies of blank CDs around so that people can try and steal the album, if they manage to then shame on them for becoming the fool with a blank disc.
Its a shame that they couldn’t get someone else from the band to write that message. Flea sounds like he just got his lollipop stolen from him via his older sister.
Maybe this is an early way to explain why Gnarls Barkley has the potential to outsell them on Tuesday? And am I the only person who will download a record before it comes out, but still buy it on release day?
When your record company mails out several thousand promo CDs, what do you expect?
I actually “stole” the album last night off of SoulSeek.
Thanks Flea!!!
P.S. Flea, Anthony & John are the kind of guys that would have stole the album if they weren’t so effin’ rich these days! I hate ex-junkies that get on high horses.
Poor Flea. We all pissed over his work and broke his heart. Haven’t heard great things about this record, but I’ll probably buy it to make the guy feel better.
I know none of you like the Chili Peppers because they don’t sound like Sufjan, but I have to say that $19.99 is not bad for a cd of 28 songs.
What about the fact that it’s being released on iTunes?
Is that not lossy quality?
Who commissioned that?
Oh, it was you and your ‘sensitve’ little band, sorry.
Oh, how awful. Flea is so upset that people are stealing his album that he apparently broke the SHIFT key on his computer.
And the period key, too, apparently.
P.S. Aswell as iTunes, please stop broadcasting ALL your music on FM radio from now on.
128ACC = FM Radio bitrate.
With cover art like thay who is really going to buy this album anyway?
The RHCP’s need to go back to acting anyway. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281359/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452347/
They have the kewlest characters:
Flea:
Needles – Back to the Future II
Musician #1 – Less than Zero
Nihilist #2 – The Big Lebowski
Anthony:
Surf Gang – Point Break
Oh yeah, they haven’t had a good album since Blood Sugar Sex Magik
In reference to an earlier post, I will say that Flea was never a “junkie.” He rarely ever took drugs.
I downloaded the album. I like it, I will buy it too, especially since its only a week from now. My comp has good speakers so the leak sounds great, but whatever.
I guess this means they won’t be releasing any instrumental tracks for remixing. damn!
lossless version motherfucker!
maybe they should put some more effort into it as a package as a whole. that cover art is atrocious.
I’m leaking my own bands recordings here. But please don’t listen to them or download them, or when you do, don’t judge them on the inferior sound quality, just because you couldn’t wait until the box set comes out in 2009.
These guys can’t really be this naive, can they?
Flea is the most boring musician on the face of the earth. I want him to be sad, I want his heart broken.
So who’s got the motherfuckin yousendit hookup for this leak?
and FLEA, READ THIS YOU UNINTELLECTUAL SAP:
http://imomus.livejournal.com/186136.html
i’m sad that flea is sad….
but, i think it’s all a ploy….
marketing scheme….
you gotta spark an interest for the upcoming release….
of course they want you to download the shit….
listen to it…..maybe go out and buy it…
(if you’re real cool, you’ll buy it on vinyl and not even own a turntable, loser)
but like was stated……
gnarls barkley has been downloaded more than most….
and it will hopefully outsell the chili peppers who haven’t made a good record since hillel passed away anyway….
the record industry has changed forever.
remember that…..ok?
did flea actually write ‘equitable business reasons aside’? ha ha…
where’s the new-age spirituality that characterizes their shitty lyrics and annoying sound-bites? free love, sharing and caring, cautious drug use, etc? ha ha… i have no problem with artists being concerned about their financial bottom line, but when they market themselves as ideologically-free, pseudo-hippie sunshine, they should follow it through.
it does suck about the shitty sound quality on the leak though. that really does break my heart. good thing i stopped listening to them in ’93.
gnarls barkley was leaked. gnarls barkley sells shitloads of “albums”. flippin’ the script is the only way to get things done these days flea. I beleev in nussing.
Why is it so terrible that an artist–even a less than brilliant one–might want to have control over the release of their music?
Who cares what the reasons are? They created the music. They should get to decide how it hits the world.
Is he referring to the “shitty sound quality” of compressed audio? Isn’t the biggest promotion of this through iTunes? Like, what, they have a better rip? Get real. I almost expected this to end with:
and please buy the $55.98 MSRP limited edition
we worked so damn hard on it
please, it comes with stickers
Dear, Flea
Your band has sucked for years and no one cares that you and yours spent the last year perfecting those three and half minute, corporately sponsored, radio friendly, un-listenable tracks; that will undoubtedly be forced down our throats at movie theatres and clothing stores. And for your kicking and screaming about the sound sucking on a downloaded version; you and your washout rock-star band mates, as well as your money grubbing record company, are well aware that the music [you recorded] will be louder than it has to be and condensed to the point where you will barely tell a guitar lick from a snare tap on hi-fi equipment, so spare us the drama you fucking burnout. It only needs to sound loud enough for the radio- who will in turn, equalize the shit out of it and condense the sound even further.
Flea, your whining sounds like a little girl with a skinned knee and why don?t you just come out of the closet already and admit you?re gay and like listening to Coldplay. The RHCP are ancient history and have not credibility. Why don?t you call Lars Ulrich and start a new crappy band called WE TAKE IT IN THE TAILPIPE, sissy.
Thanks,
Dave
I personally like that albums get leaked, so I get a chance to sample what is being released before paying outrageous prices for the “art”. Red Hot Minute ruined that bands credibility for me- Im not running out with a big smile and buying shit from my local record store.
The tracks that I have illegally listened to haven’t been that good. Epic? Get over yourself like the rest of us did in the late 90′s.
I think artists who actually complains about people stealing their music are making records that aren’t worth getting. If they did make one that is worth your dollars then people will go and support them, even if someone who has downloaded the leaked record already. I download leaked record sometimes and deciding if it’s worth my money, there’s too many good artists out there that needs our support and I will buy their record if I know that i’m getting my money’s worth.
Next time leak it in OGG instead of mp3 so Flea bag can sleep at night…its all about the sound quality..lol….
Just downloaded it, thanks for the heads up Flea. It is not low quality. Also, anyone that thinks Gnarls Barkley is going to outsell this on Tuesday needs to pull his head out of his blog.
boohoo! your overproduced record with loose eq and normalized vocals is out on the web. what did you expect? by the way when a sound wave is a block, it’s not a good thing.
chill dude. it’s not like the real record isnt going to come out becuase a poor quailty one leaked to the net. damn.
Blame the record company, for charging so much and making the consumer pick and choose which artist to buy. There are too many good bands out there to justify an immediate purchase for a band whose last great record was Blood Sugar, over 10 years ago.
And blame bands for making records just for money. Dont give me that shit about how its all about art.
And blame whatever whiney bitch crybaby 8 year old whose attitude rubbed off on you. Or was it Lars Ulrich.
flea
i don’t care
about your shitty record
and i am glad
it has leaked
and i hope it only sells
a small handful of copies
welcome to the 21st century and stop
whining about it.
although flea could have worded this much better, i agree with him. i think it’s a shame when people illegally download music. i will forever receive joy from going to the local record shop, buying a cd, and then listening to it as soon as i get home while reading the cd jacket top to bottom. am i the only one that still does this??
Saying you want to illegally download this album to see if you like it first is a cop-out.
This is a huge major label release. If you’re really interested you’ll most likely be able to stream the tracks for free legally on sites like AOL Music and Napster. (unless of course the sound quality sucks ha ha!)
Since you’re only sampling it you don’t need the mp3s stored on your computer. Because one of these will be the case:
A. You’ll hate the album and you’ll never want to listen to it again anyways.
B. You’ll like the album and you’ll go and buy the CD.
so… now that everyone let out all their anger, where can i d/l it?
I downloaded it, but that being said, I think Flea has the right to be disappointed that it’s been leaked…I don’t understand the anger from most of the posters….wouldn’t you be pissed if you were in their shoes?
What is this internet thing he’s talking about anyway? How does this down load business work?
Its not a copout, and anyone who wants to expand their musical tastes beyond major record releases would understand that. I love going to record stores, coming home and listening to a GOOD cd, but sadly a GOOD cd is becoming more of a rarity. I would’ve been pissed at myself for wasting money on this cd. The last few years, I’ve been purchasing very few CD’s, and using the money to actually see bands I like live. I probably spent close to a grand last year on tickets, and think my money was better spent that sitting in a pile of cd’s I’d get offered next to nothing to sell as used. Rubber Factory is the last CD I didn’t regret buying.
Dearest Flea (Quick! Put Me in the Closet!),
As I’m sure you know, your band has used Auto-tune, Vocalign, and Beat Detective extensively in it’s recent releases to digitally perfect it’s music. These are aspects of a bigger picture called: “Technology.” The iTunes Music Store is releasing your CD digitally at the same “quality” as the leak. Please be informed. You cannot expect anyone to hold you credible when you employ technology EXTENSIVELY in the recording process and BEG music listener’s to avoid it all together. That is hypocrisy.
Looks like Flea took blogging lessons from Rosie O’Donnell.
Make him feel better — only steal the high-quality version.
Listen to:
- Strip My Mind
- Wet Sand
- Hey
and get back to us. Real musicians writing songs, what a novel idea.
I don’t think there really ever been a band this late in their career that has released a viable double album. Think about it. Most double albums are a 2nd or 3rd album.
Gnarls has a great single, I’ll listen to the rest of my downloads in a bit.
are the poetic line breaks his or just from the copy and paste?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_double_albums
Its the wikepedia list of double albums- you can go through and pick out the ones you deem viable.
We are talking about the Red Hot Chili Peppers right? That’s too funny.
I’ve never given a fuck about them but I will now download the album (and possibly back catalog) and seed it just to break his heart just that much more.
wow. this is some pretty proactive hating. peeps are going out of their way to tear flea to shreds. all the dude did was write a journal entry. i don’t think he asked stereogum to post his thoughts. stereogum should take one of the more vitriolic rants about flea’s rant, post it, and let us all rant about that. shouting generalized opinions into the internet is cathartic. it really does feel good doesn’t it.
lenin-warm-guns missed the point of my post.
In this case, it is a cop-out, BECAUSE it is a major-label release and the opportunities to preview the CD legally will be plentiful.
That being said, I have no interest in listening to this album in any way, shape or form. I will not download it, I will not stream it, I will not buy it. As many have mentioned it’s not the late 80s/early 90s anymore and RCHP have failed to be interesting for quite some time.
I too spend most of my entertainment dollar hitting the small shows at clubs and buying CDs direct from the artists.
Most of the CDs I’ve purchased in the few years have been in that direction.
My last CD purchases have been directly from labels like ugExplode, Skin Graft, Suicide Squeeze, and Load. Hardly “major label” by any stretch of the imagination.
My original message was directed at people who wanted to download and “preview” a major label release such as this.
Unless “left no stone unturned” means “fired Anthony Keidis,” I think he’s pretty deluded with regards to his band’s sonic qualities.
you guys are tools if you think anything is going to outsell this album on may 9th. this will be number one on the chart by a landslide. and whoever said this cd sucks: shut the fuck up, its amazing
In a word shutthefuckup.
I can’t help but think of the South Park episode. We are taking a gold plated G4 gulfstream jet right out of the mouths of the Chilli Peppers’ children. Boo Fucking Hoo.
Usually movies offer early viewings to the critics in order to get reviews out on opening day. Unless, that is, the movie stinks and they don’t want people to figure that out before hand.
Same thing is at work here. Those who like this band (not me)will find their early listens, and if they like it they will buy it, and tell their friends how great it is However, if it stinks they won’t buy it and will tell their friends not to bother.
Look at the Artic Monkeys as an example of this. Nearly every song off their album was leaked prior to official release. Did this hurt album sales? No way! It helped, ’cause the record is great.
I get a bit concerned when people feel the need for you to buy the product before they let you sample it.
It’s 2006 and we’re actually wasting bandwidth on this?
:: yawn ::
Wake me up when this becomes relevant.
I was wary when I heard the new album would be a dual-disc 28 song release. Usually, that equates to a bunch of average songs and a bunch of filler. I’ve listened to the leak a few times and because of this “early preview” I will be purchasing the full album on its release date. I have no problem paying for something if its good.
seriously, fuck you guys. they rock.
this is about as important as my cat’s poor self image
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuckity fuck shit cunt ass ass ass ass
balls balls balls
balls
balls
nuts
doosh bag a donuts
wah wah wah some one stole my album
oh no I got sand in my sandwich
I’m gonna cry all the way home
I wish I had a blog
poop
poopie poop
I’d swear on my blog
It’s be called albumius suck von badius
And it would be better than all other blogs ever
And if you disagree I will fight you in the parking lot after school. But I won’t show up cause I am a rat and that is what rats do.
Personally I think they have sucked since “Real Mean Don’t Kill Coyotes.” If you liked blood sugar sex magik it just means your a clown who was uncool in 1994 and should probably be prevented from having kids.
And one more thing…I banged your girlfriend…door #2…she liked it
Is there a size limit to these posts???
Do your opinions really matter?
Does any of this really affect your life? If so you should find a high structure and jump off.
Yours in Christ
Flapppppppa
You know what people, Flea says you?re breaking RHCP? hearts. I mean, breaking their hearts. Those of you wanting to hear this album so badly need to realize you are breaking RHCP? hearts. I can?t even believe you have the audacity to want to hear this album. You people are what?s killing the music industry. You people. Claiming to be fans of music, to be interested in music. You even try to listen to new releases as early as possible regardless of poor sound quality! Who do you think you are? I mean sure, RHCP could have given away a few of their 28 new songs and given fans an idea of their current musical direction, but what would that accomplish? Some people might hear it and want more ? so much so that they will purchase the album! Maybe they?ll post the songs on their blog and give RHCP some free advertising. How?d that work out for Gnarls Barkley and Pearl Jam? Others might take a test drive and say, ?I prefer Mother?s Milk and prior RHCP.? That must be what you?re afraid of? Are you paranoid cause you?re trying to cash in on a double album without letting people know they?re buying a pile of shit?
Flea and company should thank god every night that anyone even gives a fuck about their music.
“Home taping is killing the music industry.” ~British Phonographic Industry
I read Flea’s letter then i went to their website, then i saw the tour dates,then i found out you have to join the fan club for $30 just to get decent tickets to see them.Relax Flea i will buy the cd but i also want to hear what the hype is all about first.Just put the damn thing out already.
p.s.how much will I have to PAY to get the songs that didn’t make the album?
a friend of mine posted somewhere else about this and i thought i should share as i figure it to point on.
#1: People who don’t know that download is one word you should not publish on the Internet.
#2: The only person who can eshew proper capitalization in a press release is e.e. cummings.
#3: Millionaires complaining about the proletariat taking control of the means of production and, in turn, preventing said millionaires from making a few more hundred grand, should take a long draw on Clive Davis’ man-shaft.
#4: #3 was partly due to May 1. I apologize for the form, not the content.
#5: It’s too bad about Mr. Flea. I did enjoy his performances in The Big Lebowski and Back to the Future II & III.
Is this the same guy who sells his “art” to Best Buy, Circuit City, and WalMart at steep discount, but charges a much higher price to independent neighbourhood music stores?
holy shit. i have now completely lost the last modicum of respect i had for the chili peppers. that was seriously pathetic, dude… if i were the rest of the band i’d be wailing on his ass right about now for making them all look like prima-donnas… pull your cock out of your sock and download a reality check, brother.
Actually his name is EE Cummings–his editors thought it’d be cool to print his name in lower case because it matched his material.
You know why I don’t care about the leak?
Their latest video is on TRL.
That’s my red light to stay away from the album.
p.s. flea, you should be thankful that people still give enough of a shit to post your record. no doubt if it weren’t up anywhere on the net you’d be crying the blues that no one loves your fancy epic noise… seriously, think about it. how’d you feel if no one cared enough to post it or download it? honestly, you deserve to not have people want to steal your music.
“I don’t think there really ever been a band this late in their career that has released a viable double album. Think about it. Most double albums are a 2nd or 3rd album.”
cough beatles cough
maybe if they didn’t rest on their bloodsugarsexmagik laurels, they could pull what the acrtic monkeys have – downloads for free, then everyone still buys it. relax flea, i don’t think they’re coming for your bentley any time soon.
THINK OF JOHN FRUSCIANTE!! For God’s sakes, won’t you PLEAE think of John Frusciante?!
The chilis have spectucularly sucked since bloodsugar anyway. Not even worth the HD space if you ask me.
Might be worth sharing just to satisfy the minshare for some hub, I guess.
Wankers..
Like Seamus, I like to pick on illiterates–has-been rock stars, stereogum posters, GWB, etc. Unlike Seamus, I know how to spell eschew.
“I don’t think there really ever been a band this late in their career that has released a viable double album. Think about it. Most double albums are a 2nd or 3rd album.
cough beatles cough”
The “White Album” was released 5 and a half years after the first Beatles record. In RHCP terms, that would be prior to Blood Sugar Sex Magik. And I’m pretty sure no Beatle was in their 40′s at the time of the release. And the artwork was better.
Ah, puke.
I”m with Jules, et al-
If they were really concerned about ultimate sound quality, they would have continued their holdout against releasing on itunes. Flea’s post, just like the band’s huge cross-promo with itunes, is the work of an artist past his prime, panicking at the thought of only single-digit platinum numbers. Don’t worry, Flea, there are plenty of audiophiles out there who still believe your schtick. I think you’ll be okay.
From what I’ve heard, they should have cut this “epic” down to about ten tracks. The rest is just complete filler and junk, and it amuses me that they spent so long working on it. Who in their right mind would want to actually sit down and listen to 28 tracks of the Red Hot Chili Peppers? For two hours?! Jesus. Maybe if they were still in their prime… but they’re long past that now.
This record is just too long, drawn out, bloated… unneccessarily large… you get the idea.
They don’t want it leaked, because it’s shit… and they don’t want you to discover that until you lay the money down!
Ryan:
I think he brought up the beatles because you said a band who were late in their career (at least the beatles knew when to stop). And several bands released double discs after a few albums. the Band. Metallica. Bob Dylan. Elton John. Flaming lips. Nine inch nails Fragile is there 14th release. Foo Fighters*. Have you head of Pink Floyd’s the Wall? It was a pretty big deal. Hedrix’s electric lady land wasnt released until the year he died, so that’s pretty late in his career.
* I don’t have anything against RHCP- I saw them when they toured with Foo Fighters, who I didn’t listen to much. But its the only time Ive even seen an opening act blow the headliner out of the water.
ok, i’ll admit it. i don’t think the RHCP got crappy after “Blood Sugar” – I just think that I stopped liking their brand of music.
I can’t even enjoy those early albums about Catholic School Girls and Coyotes.
In fact, I cannot imagine what I ever liked about them…
they’re punk rock! PUNK. ROCK. !!! remember, limos, everyone. they drive around in limos ALL DAY LONG. and they’re still more punk than us. so don’t steal that shit. put another $17 in their coffers. buy flea a bigger house. PLEASE.
Who are these Chili Peppers and why are they Red Hot?
I used to have a friend that we called Red-faced spaz.
Something like this, yeah?
well i like to think i spell fine for a dsylexic, but as i said in my post is was pasting soemthing a friend had written.I appericate everyone’s concern with my grammar and spelling.
P.S. THE CHILI PEPPERS STILL SUCK
I’m sure somewhere out there, someone wants to buy the new RHCP album. Wherever that person is, whoever they may be, our prayers go out to them and their families.
Wah wah wah wah. I can’t believe this guy was in Fear, and had to deal with the horrors of his parents burning his clothes in front of him in “Suburbia.”
double albums are for pussies….
gimme that triple album, please sir…..
SANDINISTA, mother fuckers!
This has probably already been mentioned, but the album is streaming over at VH1:
http://www.vh1.com/music/hear_music_first/
Gee. I don’t know about you guys, but I have a new level of respect for Flea and the rest of RHCP now that I know that they spent a year and a half in the studio making music while we worked our asses off doing shit we hate to make rent. I mean, Jesus Fucking Christ, those people really fucking sacrificed.
Tell you what, buddy, live my life then have the fucking balls to complain about how heart broken you are because you spent a year and a half fucking around on your bass only so people can’t wait to listen to your music and end up d/l’ing it.
Apparently Flea has no problem with VH1 streaming their new album with poor sound quality.
if they’re so concerned about quality, why do they let their music stream on Myspace?
What Flea doesnt get is that the work he does is so well received and liked/loved that people will leak his album beforehand.
Maybe he forgot what things were like passing out demos to get people to listen before “Red Hots” was a household name.
Sounds like a poor little rich artist to me.
Ooooh, so much hatred, you’re not kind all of you…
Once I used to make music with my heart, and you used to sing my songs… And now you break this heart by stealing my shitty commercial soulless music !
Maybe I should go back to drugs…
Most of you posters are a bunch of petty, sarcastic pricks. Why is it so bad that artists actually want control of how their music is released, and heaven forbid, actually make some money off their work??
The Chili Peppers may not be the most “cutting-edge” band anymore, but there are far inferior bands out there…they’ve obviously lasted for a reason.
I see it now…in 2018, Sufjan will either be long-forgotten, or still releasing albums, in which case younger hipsters will be making the exact same snarky comments as those being directed at the Chilis and Pearl Jam…trying to please you “cutting-edge” little shits is a no-win situation for artists.
give me a break. it was those ‘cutting edge shits’ dsven speaks of that put the peppers and pearl jam where they are now. i once had a conversation with peter buck right after REM hit it big with ‘losing my religion’ and asked him if it bothered him that people who used to support the band where now bailing only because they’d gotten huge (my philosophy has always been that people who hate a band because they’re huge are no better than those who like a band because they’re huge). his response was perfect and changed my thinking. he said he was cool with it because now those people were off looking for another band to support and do for them what they’d done for his band. brilliant. anyway, what’s my point? none. except it’s pretty hypocritical to slam those who slam the peppers while slamming sufjan…
Actually, I didn’t slam Sufjan at all. My point is that either he will be forgotten in 12 years, or if still releasing albums, likely subject to the same overly harsh criticism facing bands of the 90s today…
Example of 2018 post on Stereogum: “I lost interest in Sufjan in 2009. I liked him in college, but he hasn’t made a decent album since Illinoise. For people who like GOOD, releant music, download!”
It will happen…oh yes.
F off DSven. Sufjan rules.
I don’t know if I agree with the whole “cutting-edge” comments DSven brings up, but I do agree that I don’t think Flea did anything THAT bad. All he did was post a message on his site saying he was disappointed it had leaked out. Juvenile? A little. But deserving of all the spiteful, vindictive, bitter posts?
If you don’t like their music fine, but at least grant them the right to have an opinion on how they deliver their music to fans. I’m sure everybody would offer Sufjan that privilege.
If you think that because the members of RHCP are already rich you have some right to take their music without paying for it, under the stated guise of “class warfare,” you are seriously misguided. Music is not required for subsistence. If you want to argue that it should be free, fine. But it’s not. If you want to argue the album sucks or the band is irrelevant, fine. If you want to argue that it’s disingenuous to Flea’s “roots” for him to whine about it, fine. But don’t make this into “I have a right to take this music because it’s just going to make Flea and his record label more rich.” That’s infantile.
Oh, and Seamus, don’t criticize people for spelling if you can’t spell.
bickel: I think the main thing, which you’re missing, is that it’s not just illicit downloading that’s going on. As others have said, the music is being streamed on MySpace, the VH1 site, iTunes, and, uh, on the radio, all with the band’s permission, and all at a bitrate that is FAR below CD-quality. Since that’s what Flea’s apparently so dead-set against (i.e. poor audio quality), it’s sort of a bit hypocritical — and misguided at best — to blame RHCP’s impatient die-hard fans for, you know, wanting to hear their music.
So where can I download it and listen? Flea’s gotta take up fishin. C’mon to Canada flea, I’ll take ya fishin k?
Tell me where I can download it and I’ll buy the bait?