Props for the Peppers

Slate's Jody Rosen (who previously had an interesting piece on "Poptimism/Does hating rock make you a music critic?") goes Under the Bridge downtown and praises the new double album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've been loving the 28-song marathon. I've read good reviews and not so good reviews.

With the new album debuting at #1 in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere, Rosen notes "The Chili Peppers are one of the world's top-grossing live bands and have attained, in the third decade of their career, the near-universal esteem of critics, who recognize them as the skilled standard-bearers of commercial rock."

She also points to the oft mentioned the good and the bad: singer Anthony Kiedis' "limited—almost nonexistent—vocal range" but also outstanding the musicianship of guitarist John Fruscante and bass master Flea.

So where's she going with this? To a point that I certainly agree with:

"In a landscape cluttered with dour rockers—post-grunge mopers, emo mewlers, and ineffectual indie depressives—there's charm in the Chili Peppers' old fashioned belief that the point of rock is to make merry."

The Improbable Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers [Slate]
Seven For Seven, 5/21 + Chili Peppers [Jonworld]
Stadium Arcadium Review [Rolling Stone]
Stadium Arcadium Review [The Onion A.V. Club]