I'm making chili tonight, so a Red Hot Chili Peppers song seems to be in order. Like many alternative bands (R.E.M.), Red Hot Chili Peppers paid their dues in the '80s only to explode into superstardom in the '90s. Prior to 1991, the band's highest-charting album was 1989's Mother's Milk, which topped out at #52 on the Billboard album chart. Then they released Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and everything changed. That went to #3 on the Billboard album chart and eventually went 7x platinum in the U.S., establishing them as one of the biggest bands around. Their follow-up, 1995's One Hot Minute, went to #4 on the Billboard album chart and went double platinum.
Then, in 1999, they had the perfect bookend to the decade, with Californication, which, like Blood Sugar Sex Magik, went to #3 on the Billboard album chart and went 7x platinum in the U.S. Californication marked the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who had quit the band in 1992 and fell into addiction to various drugs. After going through rehab, he rejoined the band in 1998.
Californication was the first Chili Peppers album to have two Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. "Scar Tissue" went to #9, and "Otherside" went to #14. In addition, the title track peaked at #69. All three went to #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, "Scar Tissue" and "Californication" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and "Otherside" went to #2 on that chart. Also, "Around the World" went to #7 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The album -- which is 15 tracks -- is awesome and has a bunch of great songs. I'm going with "This Velvet Glove," which wasn't released as a single, but is a pretty damn good late '90s rock song. Like so many of their songs, it melds rock with elements of funk and R&B.
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