Me and My Friends #40 - Black Summer
I wasn't planning on talking about "Black Summer" at all, but then I realised that this is the first new piece of Chili Peppers music we've had since I started this newsletter all the way back in January 2019, so I may as well say a little something, if ye don't mind.
Let's get the accent out of the way immediately. I have to say that I'm still 50:50 (sometimes 80:20, sometimes 20:80) that Anthony is even doing an accent at all. I'm pretty sure autotune is just doing so much to his vocals that it's affecting his very pronunciation. It makes sense that it seems like he might be doing a sort of Sea Shanty affectation because of the lyrics - The night is dressed like noon, a sailor spoke too soon - and so on.
But occasionally, depending on the time of day, how long it's been since I heard the song, my mood, the way the light comes in certain windows, etc. I think that, honestly, he's just been so over-processed that he no longer sounds the way he really did on that day in 2021.
There's definitely some correction there; the waiting for a headless horse line before the second chorus sounds like Anthony has two tongues. But is it enough to alter his very speech pattern?
For those that like having specific tiny moments of songs ruined for them, listen to the ~3:00 mark on "The Zephyr Song." Anthony says, All the world can pass me by... but really, because of the way a (at that point kinda primitive) computer program reacts with a slight slip of his mammoth vocal effort, he says A-uhh-ll the world instead. Either you've never noticed, or it's a fun little bit that sticks out like a lighthouse on a clear night every time you hear the song.
An autotune plugin isn't a human, and it will sometimes over-correct. But like I said, I'm still 50:50.
Let's wait for the first live performance of "Black Summer" (Late Feb? Early March?) and see how Anthony does it. If he's still doing the accent... all the power to you, my man. Rock on. But if he's just regular old Anthony up there, then I think we can chalk all the pirate and shamrock jokes up to an over-zealous autotune, which probably could have been turned down a little and covered up with John's backing vocals at certain points. This isn't the first time he's used it on a track, and it's definitely not the first time it's been so notable. But we've never had to wonder if he's putting on an Irish accent before. So that's something to think about.
But what about the rest of the song? I mentioned that I thought it sounded like the 38th Stadium Arcadium song and a lot of Twitter users with 7 followers yelled at me, but I still think this is the case. It's not necessarily a bad thing; Stadium Arcadium is great. But really it's a very clear sign of the difference in the band when John has brought a (probably basically finished) song in to the rest of the band, and the decade beforehand, when they tended to write more songs in a room together (and for a lot of Getaway songs, on the spot in the studio).
This isn't a competition thing. Being a RHCP fan means it's John and Josh, not John vs. Josh. Just an observation.
But if you had told me this song was written back in 2006 (or even 2004) I'd have believed you; lots of bar chords, trilled guitar backup lines, long and atmospheric solos. The man is definitely back. And it definitely feels familiar.
Elsewhere, if I had a magic wand, I'd probably bring Chad's drums in a few bars earlier, just some hi hat hits matching the beat so it's not so jarring when they arrive.
Anthony's lyrics are strange at times, but not embarrassing like they totally could be, and... DING DING DING He didn't say California!!
And, maybe there doesn't need to be a 18 bar solo after the first chorus. Couldn't that have come at the end?
I like the song, and I'm purposefully not listening to it too much so I don't wear it out before the album arrives. If I had my way, though, I'd prefer something very different sounding - which might arrive on the album in a few weeks anyway! So this might be a pointless observation.
If I could, I'd change a few things about it. But that's the case with virtually every single Chili Peppers song.
Isn't it wonderful that there's a new one to think this way about?