6 replies to this topic

[kelly]

uh oh. The big rumor about the Beatles, we know, is that the songs on Abbey Road were divided by songwriter: McCartney on one side, Lennon on the other, since they hated each other so much by that point. (Stick with me, this is going somewhere.)

Not to stir up trouble.. but doesn't anyone find it curious that Stadium Arcadium is being widely called "the John Frusciante album".. while his is the only solo portrait appearing in the liner notes on its own, in the "Mars" half?

pardon me if it's been brought up before.. and i don't want to disturb the harmony.

[Surrogate_Helical]

No I dont think that has anything to do with anything, it's just how they were ordered I think. Good observation though.

And although John has a lot of involvement on the album doesn't mean there is hatred involved in the band, lol.

I mean if we want to look into it, I guess you could suggest that John has his photo in the Mars section simply because that side of the album is a bit more "guitary" than the first. If it was intended I very much doubt that it was down to any bad feelings towards any members of the band.

[kelly]

So, in that case, it's the exact opposite of what I'm saying. The person(s) in charge of art layout could have changed their logical photo placement pattern to put the four individual portraits together.. instead, JF is on his own.. to kind of glorify him on his own. BAD MOVE. Hopefully, RHCP have got a tight enough groove to not get bitter about the subject. Although from recent interviews, I would say that tension is very much an issue. (Flea, I'm talking to you..)

and I kind of disagree with the way they divided up the songs between the two albums. The initial burst of energy is way too long.. and it doesn't carry over to the second disc. Double albums are so tricky that way.

[Surrogate_Helical]

I really don't think we can look into it like that, i see your point but I won't believe anything about tension between the band about it until I read it. I think the band have known each other and been in each others trust and honesty for so long I very much doubt that a simple photograph placement is going to cause any bad feeling between them.

[kelly]

I hope you're right! I think I mentioned before that I work in journalism.. I know quite well to err on the side of caution when it comes to the sensational. It's hard, though, to ignore quotations. Some of the recent articles just make you squirm with uneasiness..

It sounds like things are better now, but someone always mentions the complete lack of "band of brothers" mentality with RHCP.. we'll keep our fingers crossed, heh heh..

[Iva]

Well, Kelly, actually...a couple of us noticed the thing with Mars as well. And it's also remarkable that John's pic is a model photo, meant to make him look good; while the pics of the other three members are ridiculous goofing. The promotional photos have been weird to me since they started appearing in January...John had his hand in his pants on one, he was on fire on the other one, then he ended posing almost nude on the cross. Suddenly, the focus is on him.

As for the tension, well, my theories are a bit controversial. I think that Flea is feeling huge pressure, acting way too pissed and basically begging for attention; because before Stadium Arcadium, everyone was just talking about him, calling him the best bass player in the world, he was always in the focus as far as the playing technique was concerned, and now, suddenly, everyone's eyes are on John. It was obvious in the Kerrang interview! ( http://www.invisible-movement.net/articles...errang-article/ ) Interesting, it's the same one where John said that they're not a "gang".

At one moment I even believed that Flea said he and John were smoking pot to relax solely to dig out some dirty laundry and make people wonder if John is using drugs again. It's a bit contradictory, knowing that 4 years ago Flea was the one who said that John knows he'd never hurt him.

Edited by Supersonic Squirrel, 27 May 2006 - 12:57 AM.

[taurus82]

As much as I hope the band is getting on well, I can't help but feel the same way after some of the comments that have been made. If you think about it, a lot of the attention in the past years was always on Flea. And then this album comes around and the focus is more on John. Even though I believe Flea is actually very proud of John and his guitar playing, he could feel insecure. A lot of the reviews for Stadium Arcadium mention John instead of Flea, whereas it was the other way around for a lot of the other album reviews. Flea could just be feeling like "what am I doing wrong?" or wondering if he is even on the same level as John.

Even on the new DVD, Flea kept talking about how he would be so excited bringing in these bass lines he thought were amazing and just hoping they all would like them.

So, Kelly..I don't think your comparison is stirring up trouble at all. A lot of the new articles just make you go

But I do think they all still love and trust each other. It's not impossible to feel tension and still love someone. None of them really seem like they would ever purposely try to stand out more than the others.

It's a naive way of thinking when you believe everything is always perfect within the band. I'm sure it is like being a family..they have good times and bad times. John even said himself they still have problems, but the difference between back in the day and now is they confront one another about it and work it out.