Alt-rock icons Red Hot Chili Peppers embody all that is sunny and seedy about LA. The band—originally vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Michael “Flea” Balzary, guitarist Hillel Slovak, and drummer Jack Irons—baked that dichotomy into their sound upon forming in 1982. Fusing Black Flag’s punk and Parliament’s funk, RHCP combined wild bass-slapping and absurdist humor, making them college radio’s court jesters throughout the ’80s. Slovak’s death and Irons’ exit forever altered the band’s DNA, but the arrival of drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante helped breathe new energy into 1989’s hard-rocking Mother’s Milk, particularly on the caffeinated “Knock Me Down” and a cover of Stevie Wonder's “Higher Ground.” 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik revealed the melancholic nuances of Flea’s and Frusciante’s playing, providing Kiedis with an emotional palette for the epic ballads “Under the Bridge” and “Breaking the Girl.” 1999’s Californication twisted the band’s funk-rock template into a sobering, sophisticated collection of cautionary tales, led by “Scar Tissue” and the title track. RHCP retained a chart-topping, festival-headlining reign well into the 21st century, including releasing two albums in 2022, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen, which yielded “Black Summer” and “Tippa My Tongue,” respectively.