Test your knowledge of Red Hot Chili Peppers's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.
Most of these start on a bassline you could pick out anywhere: 'Give It Away', 'Can't Stop', 'Around the World'. Flea does more to name a Chili Peppers song than the vocals do.
Flea learned trumpet before bass. Their breakout ballad started as a poem about addiction. One of their early hits was written by Stevie Wonder. These are the details that settle a close game.
The band has two modes, and the quiz lives in the gap between them. Learn the funk singles first, then the ballads that hide the bass, the oddball covers, and the album cuts only long-time fans can place.
Open with the funk singles. 'Around the World', 'Can't Stop', 'Give It Away', 'Aeroplane' and 'By the Way' lead on Flea's slap bass, and most players lock them in before Anthony Kiedis starts singing. If a clip kicks off with a funk bassline, start here.
The ballads are where a Chili Peppers quiz turns. 'Under the Bridge', 'Scar Tissue', 'Otherside' and 'Californication' lean on John Frusciante's guitar and melody, with the funk pulled back. Anyone guessing by the bassline alone can miss the band's biggest songs entirely.
Then there are the odd ones out. 'Higher Ground' is a Stevie Wonder cover, 'Love Rollercoaster' came from a movie soundtrack, and the fan-favorite 'Soul to Squeeze' first surfaced as a B-side. A complete quiz digs past the studio albums for these.
This is where obsessives pull clear. 'Parallel Universe', 'This Velvet Glove', 'Wet Sand', 'Dosed' and 'Slow Cheetah' come from the Frusciante years, buried on records fans know track by track. Name these before the chorus and you are guessing at a level few reach.
The bass gives most songs away, so players lean on it. Then a ballad like 'Under the Bridge' or 'Scar Tissue' arrives with the funk stripped out, and the usual shortcut stops working.
The staples show up first: 'Under the Bridge', 'Californication', 'Give It Away', 'Can't Stop' and 'Scar Tissue', with Frusciante-era album cuts thrown in to catch the die-hards.
Nine times out of ten it is Flea's bass. His slap-and-pop intros on tracks like 'Around the World' and 'Can't Stop' are the quickest giveaway from a short clip.
A clean sweep depends on the deep cuts. If you can place 'Parallel Universe' or 'Wet Sand' before the vocals arrive, you are guessing like an obsessive.
The core is singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea, whose real name is Michael Balzary, with guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith on the best-known lineup. They formed in Los Angeles in 1983.
Yes. Every Chili Peppers quiz is free, plays in your browser, and needs no signup or account. Choose a mode and jump in. You can also guess the song with friends in a multiplayer music quiz.
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