Jupter; Song 8: Torture Me

…And back to our (semi)-regular programming. Initially not one of the songs that I immediately liked, it only made more sense to me after Binh, my pharmacist friend who car-pools with me and would have heard the album in its entirety at least 25 times as it’s the only thing I play in my car, picked it as one of his favourite tracks. It’s a song that has a terrific energy about it, courtesy of Chad’s snazzy drum work, and will no doubt wonders live. Once again Flea’s trumpets add a lot of “zest” (as Binh said) to the proceedings, adding a South American flavour to the piece, and hence incorporating another part of Californian culture into Red Hot Chili Peppers’ body of work. John’s back-up vocals are prevalent once more, and used better than they normally are.

The song has an interesting song structure for a party song, as “Torture Me” slows down about halfway through. This section sounds good individually, and it would have made for a good mellow jam elsewhere on Stadium Arcadium. Arguably it serves greater purpose as a launch pad to John’s solo, essentially reinforcing the chaotic nature of the rest of the song.

Having read Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography “Scar Tissue”, I’ve come to understand his life view; that it makes sense to appreciate the downs as well as the ups, as this provides life experience leading to personal development. This theme for the song makes “Torture Me” more than a trivial rockin’ song, and hence a solid addition to Stadium Arcadium.

Hmmm, a bit shorter than the usual ones. I’ll make up for it soon, as some of my favourite tracks are coming sooner rather than later. Anyway, Stadium Arcadium has been out for a few months now; what songs are you keen on entering the public consciousness as singles?