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Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation
tI picked this up because it was always a book that I would read a page or two out of while in a bookstore, so I finally decided to read “Scar Tissue” by Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was stunned by the depth in this book. It’s an easy read, but it talks about drug addiction, music, love and spirituality on a profound level. It made me really appreciate the Chili Peppers and even make sense of some of their lyrics. There’s a lot more than meets the eye with this band, in a great way.
tThe story is an autobiography about the rather wild life of Anthony Kiedis. He first smoked pot and made love at age 12, got into heroin, cocaine and pretty much every other wild drug by age 18. Drugs also consumed some of the people he was closest to, including the original guitarist of the Chili Peppers Hillel Slovak. Through all the struggles, there is an element of hope. His drug addictions were part of his attempt to reach a higher dimension, one that he finds through spirituality and love now as opposed to shooting up in motels. I think their warm ups reflect this overall maturing and beautifying trend. In their early days they used to get in a circle and slap each other in the faces before playing, now they get in their circle, hold hands, meditate and then throw a joke or two in there.
tI think the book gives you additional perspective into drug use, and really makes you empathize with someone who lived through that hell. You see the person behind the nightmare, and smile that he not only makes great music but has also overcome this problem. So, I think this book not only helps you appreciate their sweet music, but also appreciate the individual behind the nightmare. Cheers.
Quotes:
Adolescence is such a fun time in your life, because you think you know it all, and you haven’t gotten to the point where you realize you know almost nothing. 70
I didn’t see it as a road to death and insanity, I just saw it as a beautiful, beautiful feeling. 84
The initial high is the feeling that you’re doomed to be chasing for the rest of your life, because the next time you do it, it’s good but not quite like that. 141
High as kits together, back into the mix of a totally dysfunctional but passionate relationship. 198
When you’re kicking [quitting heroin:], your eyelashes hurt, your neck hurts, your head hurts, your back hurts, it all hurts. Parts of your body that you didn’t know could experience pain, experience it. 197
You’re not creating the ripple of love; you’re creating the vacuum of shit. I want to describe both sides of how I felt, but it’s important to know that in the end all the romantic glorification of dope fiendery amounts to nothing but a hole of shit. It has to appear enticing, because that’s why God or the universe, creative intelligence or whatever you want to call it, put that energy here. It’s a learning tool, and you can either kill yourself with it or you can turn yourself into a free person with it. I don’t think drug addiction is inherently useless, but it’s a rough row to hoe. 207
I certainly didn’t want to end up like Blackie [his dad:], the girl-of-the-day thing, because as exciting and temporarily fulfilling as this constant influx of interesting and beautiful girls can be, at the end of the day, that shit is lonely and you’re left with nothing. 271
When you’re at odds with yourself, it’s hard to create. 326
I didn’t have to go to India for spiritual enlightenment. The blue collar spirituality of everyday life was right in front of me, it was in every nook and cranny if I wanted to seek it, but I had chosen to ignore it. 379
We were picking people up and taking them to meetings and bringing new guys into that particular circle so they could see sobriety wasn’t about giving up the party, it was just creating a new, saner party. 458
tI picked this up because it was always a book that I would read a page or two out of while in a bookstore, so I finally decided to read “Scar Tissue” by Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was stunned by the depth in this book. It’s an easy read, but it talks about drug addiction, music, love and spirituality on a profound level. It made me really appreciate the Chili Peppers and even make sense of some of their lyrics. There’s a lot more than meets the eye with this band, in a great way.
tThe story is an autobiography about the rather wild life of Anthony Kiedis. He first smoked pot and made love at age 12, got into heroin, cocaine and pretty much every other wild drug by age 18. Drugs also consumed some of the people he was closest to, including the original guitarist of the Chili Peppers Hillel Slovak. Through all the struggles, there is an element of hope. His drug addictions were part of his attempt to reach a higher dimension, one that he finds through spirituality and love now as opposed to shooting up in motels. I think their warm ups reflect this overall maturing and beautifying trend. In their early days they used to get in a circle and slap each other in the faces before playing, now they get in their circle, hold hands, meditate and then throw a joke or two in there.
tI think the book gives you additional perspective into drug use, and really makes you empathize with someone who lived through that hell. You see the person behind the nightmare, and smile that he not only makes great music but has also overcome this problem. So, I think this book not only helps you appreciate their sweet music, but also appreciate the individual behind the nightmare. Cheers.
Quotes:
Adolescence is such a fun time in your life, because you think you know it all, and you haven’t gotten to the point where you realize you know almost nothing. 70
I didn’t see it as a road to death and insanity, I just saw it as a beautiful, beautiful feeling. 84
The initial high is the feeling that you’re doomed to be chasing for the rest of your life, because the next time you do it, it’s good but not quite like that. 141
High as kits together, back into the mix of a totally dysfunctional but passionate relationship. 198
When you’re kicking [quitting heroin:], your eyelashes hurt, your neck hurts, your head hurts, your back hurts, it all hurts. Parts of your body that you didn’t know could experience pain, experience it. 197
You’re not creating the ripple of love; you’re creating the vacuum of shit. I want to describe both sides of how I felt, but it’s important to know that in the end all the romantic glorification of dope fiendery amounts to nothing but a hole of shit. It has to appear enticing, because that’s why God or the universe, creative intelligence or whatever you want to call it, put that energy here. It’s a learning tool, and you can either kill yourself with it or you can turn yourself into a free person with it. I don’t think drug addiction is inherently useless, but it’s a rough row to hoe. 207
I certainly didn’t want to end up like Blackie [his dad:], the girl-of-the-day thing, because as exciting and temporarily fulfilling as this constant influx of interesting and beautiful girls can be, at the end of the day, that shit is lonely and you’re left with nothing. 271
When you’re at odds with yourself, it’s hard to create. 326
I didn’t have to go to India for spiritual enlightenment. The blue collar spirituality of everyday life was right in front of me, it was in every nook and cranny if I wanted to seek it, but I had chosen to ignore it. 379
We were picking people up and taking them to meetings and bringing new guys into that particular circle so they could see sobriety wasn’t about giving up the party, it was just creating a new, saner party. 458
