The Alternative Number Ones: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “My Friends”

In The Alternative Number Ones, I’m reviewing every #1 single in the history of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks/Alternative Songs, starting with the moment that the chart launched in 1988. This column is a companion piece to The Number Ones, and it’s for members only. Thank you to everyone who’s helping to keep Stereogum afloat.

This is the one where he's like, "Ah luhhhv awwwl of yew, hut bah the coal."

In the grand narrative of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute is generally remembered as the moment where they almost blew it. Coming off of the gazillion-selling success of 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the Chili Peppers were playing with house money. They had a label that was happy to send them off to Hawaii for an extended songwriting trip, and even a random one-off track like "Soul To Squeeze," an outtake that made its way into the world via the Coneheads soundtrack, could become a radio smash during the long stretch between albums. The Chili Peppers were among the biggest bands of the early-'90s alt-rock boom, and unlike most of their peers in that moment, they actually liked being rock stars. The world was ready for them to come back with something triumphant, but that's not what happened.