Steph’s Review of Stadium Arcadium (Disc 1)

It’s about time I get this blog out. I’ve been planning a Red Hot Chili Peppers blog since New Years. My original plan was to make a huge blog post (like, over 2,000 words) reviewing every single album they’ve ever made. That’s 13 albums! So (after a while of fighting myself) I scrapped that idea, knowing it was 100 times easier to break down one album at a time (or in this case, half an album at a time).

This blog’s focus will be Stadium Arcadium! I’ve been listening to this album for a few weeks now, and I’ve definitely grown an unhealthy attachment to it.

Stadium Arcadium is an entire 2 hours long with a 30 minute commentary at the end, and it was released in 2006. In this blog, I’ll be going over disc 1, which contains 14 songs.

1. Dani California

“California, show your teeth”

This is such a good song to start this album. It’s definitely a classic, and I think it’s one of the best RHCP songs ever. I have so many memories tied to this song, good and bad, and that makes it really special to me. I think the beat is so catchy and the instrumentals go so well with the vocals. I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know much about the actual production of music, all I know is that it sounds good and I like it! The chorus is also really good and the background vocals support it so well. 10/10

2. Snow (Hey Oh)

“The more I see, the less I know / The more I’d like to let it go”

Another amazing classic. This is one of the most popularly covered RHCP songs that I’ve seen purely because of the guitar part. I think it’s amazing and it’s really unique. When I first got into RHCP a few years ago, I remember not really liking this song. Unfortunately, my opinion hasn’t changed that much… To me, it’s really repetitive to the point where I get bored. I still absolutely love this song, just not as much as others. I will admit, the lyrics are heartbreaking in a way that hits me right in the soul. 7/10

3. Charlie

“My heart, your skin, this love I’m in”

This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album! I’ll admit, I have no clue what he’s talking about in the lyrics, but it sounds really good. My favorite part about this entire song is the background vocals. I think they add a lot of support and fun to the song! And the chorus bridge is so amazing. I feel that part through my whole body and the lyrics in that part are so good! 11/10

4. Stadium Arcadium

“The stadium arcadium / A mirror to the moon”

This is the perfect title track for this album. I think it represents the album in such a beautiful and meaningful way. It completely clears my mind in the way a song never has before. I just completely zone out when I listen to this song, I just think it’s so beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe the instrumentals, everything is just so well done. It feels so universal, like I imagine space when I listen to it (maybe because of the album cover). 9/10

5. Hump de Bump

“It’s not about the smile you wear, but the way we make out”

If “Stadium Arcadium” made you sleepy, this is the perfect song to wake you up. I don’t even know what it’s about, and honestly, I don’t think I want to… I’d rather stay oblivious. It’s so fun, it’s so funky, and it gets stuck in my head all the time. My friends hate to hear me sing this. I love the trumpet and the “oh no!” part. 8/10

6. She’s Only 18

“(Knock the world) / Right off its feet and straight onto its head”

Walk with me here. This song is so good. I was going to talk about how I don’t pay attention to the lyrics and only listen to the sound but curiosity got me and I deeply regret researching the meaning behind this song… Anyway, I love the background vocals. 6/10

7. Slow Cheetah

“It’s so bad it’s got to be good / Mysterious girl misunderstood”

What a song to unwind to after “Hump de Bump” and “She’s Only 18.” This song makes me grab onto my t-shirt like my life depends on it. I think this is one of the only songs on the album that uses an acoustic guitar and I think it’s so beautiful. I really love this song and it reminds me of the By The Way album. 7.5/10

8. Torture Me

“I want it all, I want it bad / Oh, it’s what I know”

What a heartbreaking song. It’s still really fast paced, but rather than catchy (like most of this album’s fast paced songs), it comes off as quick and desperate and that perfectly captures the lyrics and overall meaning of the song. I love the breakdown in the chorus, it adds some clarity to balance through the noise. 7/10

9. Strip My Mind

“Please don’t strip my mind / Leave something behind”

I mentioned “Torture Me” to be a heartbreaking song, but this is the most heartbreaking song on the album (to me). I absolutely love the background vocals and I think they add a lot of grit and personality to this song. I just take a deep sigh every time I hear this song, I love it. 8/10

10. Especially in Michigan

“Cry me a future / Where the revelations run amok”

I really enjoy listening to this song. I’m not sure what this song could possibly be about, but I really enjoy seeing the metaphors that are pieced together from anywhere and everywhere. The background vocals (once again) bring in so much element and the effect over them also fits so well into this song. I also love how the electric guitar (?) at the beginning matches the background vocals that you can hear later in the song. 8/10

11. Warlocks

“Every night I go looking for you / Everyone in the world adores you”

This song is a lot catchier than I thought it would’ve been. It took a lot of warming up to for me to actually like it, but after that, it’s one of my favorites on the album. I think it’s really unique and the flow of the vocals is so strange, I really like it. I’m a huge fan of the bass in this song. 7.5/10

12. C’mon Girl

“And if you let it germinate / I know it will be worth the wait”

This was my favorite song when I first listened to this album. I thought it was really enjoyable and stimulating. The background vocals extend the sound and they really open it up to add so much more depth. It’s moved its way down my list of favorites as I listen to it more, I think I was just so enamored with the chorus that I could only see it as my favorite for a few weeks. 7/10

13. Wet Sand ★

“Oh, you don’t form in the wet sand / You don’t form at all / Oh, you don’t form in the wet sand / I do”

This is my favorite song of all time. This song has such a special place at the bottom of my heart where it is playing on repeat all day, all night. This is actually one of the only songs that I’ve been extremely interested in learning the meaning of. Flea, RHCP’s bassist, says the song is about loving the dark parts of a person along with their good parts. I’m all about loving the human experience and the flesh and blood that creates it with the mind, so that hits me in a place that’s really special. Everything about this song just means so much to me, from the meaning, to the instrumentals, to the vocals. I especially love the whistling and, of course, the chorus. All of it is so beautifully crafted. I think I could scream these lyrics until I die. 100/10

14. Hey

“Hey, what would you say if I change / I’ll change everything but my name”

The lyrics to this song are so gut-wrenching it’s actually insane. But. I do not care for the sound as much as I wished I did. It’s just really plain to me, but I really enjoy the lyrics. I will admit, it’s really catchy. And I love the little triangle part. Not my favorite song to end on, but I still love it. 6/10

And that’s disc 1! I absolutely love this album and I’m really happy that I get to share it now. I used to think that disc 1 was the better half of Stadium Arcadium but I honestly think both halves are amazing. I know my ratings averaged around 7/10 because I love all of these songs equally (for the most part), so it’s really hard to rate them. But when you see a low rating, keep in mind that this is my favorite album right now. So those 6/10’s and 7/10’s that you see are still some of my favorite songs ever. The rating used to compare the songs to each other.

I loved breaking down these songs and talking about them, I can’t wait to do disc 2 because it has a lot more diversity in the tracks.