Spoiler Alert?

Imagine the scene, if you will. Evening. A quiet bar in Oxford. Pints on the bar. Some dated decor and old knotted wood beams. The kind of place that would have been smoky had there not been a law against it. The rain is steadily falling in the night air beyond the steamy windows, and the bar stool I now perch on has become my resting place. It is, all things considered, a nice evening. And that’s when it happened. It made my breath catch in my throat and sent my beer spraying across the bar. He said it. I quote: ‘I’d be more than happy if the Chilli’s broke up.’

So, we’re talking the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They’ve been going strong since 1983, and have pretty much built up their own style of alternative-funky-pop-rock over the years. We’ve heard their sound gradually change from album to album, heard the musicianship becoming tighter, more crisp and technical – we’ve seen Anthony Keidis change his hair style as many times. And I don’t mean that flippantly – we really have watched things like Keidis’ haircuts, and Flea’s fickle wardrobe changes (to T-shirt or not to T-shirt?). My point here is that the Chilli’s are a huge band. Known internationally with lyrics lurking in a part of your brain, they’ve got songs that you’ll know, whether you’ve heard of them or not. They’ve got songs that’ll get the same reaction as Mr Brightside does these days – unrestrained singing and head-bobbing/ dancing. They’re just generally accepted. Which is why this man, in a bar, in Oxford, telling me he didn’t want to hear any more from the Chilli’s, took me rather by surprise.

Did he mean he’d by happy for them to disband (no pun intended) out of fear? Was he scared that their future albums might not live up to the classics? In a way this seemed to be it. Old singles such as Scar Tissue, Californiacation, and Can’t Stop were amazing. They combined amazing bass lines, funky guitar, tight and interesting drum beats and vocals that rode the music like a bird on air currents. The trouble came with Stadium Arcadium. It was no secret that there were a few spats in the making of the latest album – guitarist John Frusciante and Bassist Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary wanted to take the music in two different directions, which (rumour has it) lead to the two disk album, with a division between the bass-based tracks and the more melodic guitar-based tracks. The album was not as well received as previous records, but that in no way at all means it was terrible. Singles such as Charlie were melodic, funky and very sing-along-able, and Dani California was an instant hit, making every radio playlist within days, inspiring hundreds of air guitarists across the western world. So was Stadium Arcadium a reason to completely abandon the Chilli Peppers? Not for a second.

So should we be worried about future albums? Again: not for a second. Following Frusciante’s departure from the band, Keidis, Smith and Flea began work on their next album, complete with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. New guitarist, new sound? Most likely, especially with a band such as the Chilli’s, where the music produced is so obviously a result of a contribution from every member of the band. Chad Smith, the Chilli’s drum man, is quoted as stating that there would be a different sound, from Stadium Arcadium at least, with a new guitarist. Something to look forward to? On one hand, yes. On the other hand, as my dull Oxford acquaintance suggested, have the Chilli’s run their course? Have they come to the end of their time in the spotlight? To an extent, I think I might have to regretfully say yes. There comes a time with a lot of artists when you just want to say... ‘Ok, that’s enough now. Don’t ruin it.’ And in a way that time is now for the Chilli’s. Music itself seems to be heading in an entirely new direction, where the mainstream is a land of simple guitar riffs and indie singers (skinny jeans: compulsory). It’s hard to imagine the Chilli’s fitting in anymore, even if the music is still awesome.

Whether you like the Chilli’s or not, however, there’s no denying that as individuals, the musicianship involved in the Chillis is brilliant. It takes just a few clicks onto YouTube to watch Flea and Smith at their best, and another few onto Spotify to hear some of Frusciante’s solo work. They’re the kind of players that young aspiring musicians have watched and learnt from; played their riffs, mastered their techniques. As a band, their discography is a long list, their songs (for the most part) instantly memorable, and their style, effortless. So whether the Chilli’s stick around or not, it could never be said that they didn’t matter.

As it goes, I don’t think it’s time to say goodbye to the Chilli’s just yet. Their music reaches too far into the media-players of far too many people for that to happen. The new Chilli Pepper’s album, due late 2010- early 2011, will sell millions of copies, and that’s for a reason. The music these Californian superstars are producing appeals to a vast number of people, and that, again, is for a reason: it’s good stuff. So to you, Oxford-Acquaintance, I’m afraid we must disagree. The Chilli Peppers should not go just yet. There might, sometime in the future, be a time for it... but it isn’t yet.