Downloading Hurts Chili Peppers' Feelings

If legal deterrents to file-sharing won't discourage you from getting The Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest album early through a peer-to-peer network, bassist Flea has another reason not to do it: It'll make him and his band mates sad. Real sad.

“(Illegally downloading the new album) will break my heart,” he wrote on the band’s web site. “It will break John Frusciante's heart. It will break Anthony Kiedis' heart, and it will break the heart of Chad Smith.”

The Peppers’ upcoming double album, Stadium Arcadium is on tap for release Tuesday (May 9), but it already surfaced on peer-to-peer file-swapping sites. Sure, the piracy will result in a loss in sales, but, really the issue at stake isn’t monetary, Flea says, reminding fans that his entire band is perched on an emotional precipice over the idea of leaked copies’ “poor sound quality” making new songs sound bad.

“This bums all of us out,” Flea wrote, “and I know that, as sensitive as John Frusciante is about sound, the idea of anyone getting and hearing this thing that way will devastate him. For people to not hear the work the way we meant it to be will really hurt him deep inside, and all of us will hurt.”

So there. Go ahead and download it, but just know, you’re helping to send The Red Hot Chilil Peppers, especially the apparently emotionally delicate Frusciante, into therapy.

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No folks, don't you DARE support this thick-headed RIAA enslaved bunch of crybabies by downloading their crap. (EVEN "illegally" doing so only helps promote them.)

"Hurt feelings"? I'm guessing the RIAA paid him to say that, as it sounds so phoney.

Nice to know where he stands tho. Good luck Flea!

Now let's see, they are concerned about people dl'ing the mp3 format of their new album because of sound quality.

Are they issuing the same warning about people listening to the CD on a boom box? Or on those dinky computer speakers they build into people's monitors? Will that break their hearts? Because an MP3 file on decent headphones will sound better than a CD on the average boombox.

No, they didn't send out any statement about that, did they? Curious.

Old has-been rock stars whining -- that breaks my heart. Do you hear the Beatles whining about people sharing their music? I haven't.

Gee, Flea must have been wearing his Diaper when he wrote this.

RIAA fleabags!

(Oh, alright, that WAS a bit harsh; I almost want to take it back.)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH HAAAA HHAAA HAAAAHAHHHAAAHAA

-- gasp ----

HAHAHAAAHAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHAHAAA hee heee HAA HAA HAAAA

This is highly amusing, especially if you remember back to Napster when the RIAA was lying, er, testifying to a Senate subcommittee that mp3s were perfect copies of the original.

Now we're supposed to feel sad because a crappy mp3 sounds so bad it hurts Flea's feelers? I didn't hear him complain when his fans were getting sued.

Flea can bite me.

Good.

Breaking Flea's heart will be a welcome change after breaking Britney's and Christina's anuses.

How do we know Flea wrote this him self? What if some one from the RIAA did, band manager, etc. Do the RHCP even use computers. dont computer technicians work the web sites?

I really dislike the RHCP, but I don't think Flea said those things.

The bigger question IS who leaked it to P2P????? Who had acess to it to do the leaking??? RHCP better hire a plumber!!!

they sure are damn good live

Just like everything else (the star wars movie, various recent big-name music artists, etc.) I am sure they "leaked" it themselves for the publicity. (I'm glad it seems to be back-firing.)

I really used to dig the RHCP, but if they want my respect ever again, they need to stop playing the typical RIAA artist's game. (And perhaps move to North & join up with the Bare Naked Ladies and the Canadian Musician's Coalition.)

Broken hearts? hmmm. Get out the defibrillator and fire that mother up. 360 joules for everybody.

Yeah, I'm crying my dirty little eyes out.

ROTFLMAO

RHCP are about to turn into junior edition of Metallica. Another washed up band without a clue. BTW you can get a promo copy of their new creation for a buck or two on eBay. Got it. It sucks. Will give it away for free.

The CD got out like every other bit of digital media...A cd slipped out under someone's shirt. CD or a fart, it's gonna hit the airways...and some say they both stink...

RHCP was on Saturday Night Live last night. You know how live performances are. Anything could go wrong. For Flea's sake, I turned the channel when Tom Hanks introduced them, lest I hear any unapproved, substandard music from them.

That's another good one!!!
[out-of-control laughing fit starting again]

Oh, gracious, my sides are starting to hurt.
I'm going to have to quit looking at this thread;
I can't STOP laughing, and my wife doesn't understand
the humor, so she thinks I'm "losing it".

Back up the WAH-mbulance.

"Back up the WAH-mbulance."

. . . and transport those poor souls in crisis (Flea & the Fleabags)
to the Emotional Rescue Therapy Center.

I think you all dont realize how much hard work goes into creaing a cd and how many sleepless night they stay up working on it, just so we can hear it. I have studied these musicians in and out and these guys are the most creative sound in music right now and in the past. They work so hard for that quality and then they hear some idiot downloaded it. I think john being sensitive and diff makes him the greta musician he is today! And have you read the flea mail lately he said he the people who download there stuff are just really big fans and want to hear the stuff asoon as they can and he prob would do the same.
-Ty

"I think you all dont realize how much hard work goes into creaing a cd and how many sleepless night they stay up working on it, just so we can hear it. "

Shouldn't that read 'so the RHCP can make millions on it'? If they really cared about US (WE) hearing it, they wouldn't have it available through an RIAA record label at whatever the going rate for a CD is these days. And have that CD full of DRM crap.

"I have studied these musicians in and out and these guys are the most creative sound in music right now and in the past. They work so hard for that quality and then they hear some idiot downloaded it. "

Yep, and then they have a lost sale! It's a joke that they are making quality an issue when their record label has convinced a judge that the MP3 file is an EXACT DUPLICATE.

"And have you read the flea mail lately he said he the people who download there stuff are just really big fans and want to hear the stuff asoon as they can and he prob would do the same. "

I still think he is wearing out his diaper.

"I think you all dont realize how much hard work goes into creaing a cd "

Hmm, new here eh ??
Schmoo ......
A guess .... How many of us regulars you figure are musicians, who have been at it for a good long time, and have even made a few CD's of their own ??
I do believe that a large majority of us here know EXACTLY how much work goes into a CD.

"people who download there stuff are just really big fans and want to hear the stuff asoon as they can "

Much more correct than you even realise.
A famous study ( Oberholzer/Strumpf sp ?? ) showed that P2P downloads had a zero effect on sales.
Why I wonder ?
Mostly since those " really big fans " after sampling the MP3 version will go out and buy the CD IF THEY LIKE IT
Really Big Fans WANT the CD and the materials ( artwork,lyrics ) and such that go with it.

"They work so hard for that quality and then they hear some idiot downloaded it. "

That "idiot" that downloaded it did so because he is one of their FANS. A fan the ( as indicated by the aforementioned study ) that is very liekly to buy the CD.

You see, someone that is just curious about them may dl and listen, rather than shell out for a CD they may find ... unpalatable, and be unable to return it.
If they couldn't sample it, they would probably NOT buy it anyway. No lost sale here. Can't lose what you never had. If however they LIKE it, once again, the aforementioned study would seem to indicate that they would be very likely to purchase. A NEW fan
See how it REALLY works ?

One more thing, uumm Ty, is it ?

Try to understand that in all likelyhood, the Peppers LABEL, not the Peppers themselves hold all the rights to the songs. The Peppers are merely Indentured servants. Coporate teat-sucking lapdogs that, since the labels hold them by their teeny kahoneys, say whatever their masters tell them to say.

"most creative sound in music right now "

Only that you have been allowed to hear.
There is a HUGE body of creative work by independent and unsigned bands that is quite innovative and interesting. Start with Dmusic, and look around. You'll be amazed at what you're NOT hearing.

Very well said, Dreddsnik!

BTW,

Whats he sniffing in that picture ??
Someones "undie-britches" ??

eeeeeeewwwwww