The compilation came out in November. Silver cover. A red asterisk for a logo. It debuted at number one in the UK, number three in the US. Critics called it “definitive.” Fans argued online about what was missing ( “Where’s ‘My Lovely Man’?” ).
That became Fortune Faded . A song about chasing the dragon of success and finding only your own reflection.
Flea put an arm around him. “We’ll be lucky to be alive at fifty.” greatest hits red hot chili peppers
But the band knew the truth. The greatest hit was survival. Every other track was just the soundtrack.
The label wanted the obvious ones: Give It Away , Under the Bridge , Suck My Kiss . The MTV bones. But Anthony had a different knot in his stomach. He was forty-one. He had buried Hillel Slovak. He had fired Jack Irons. He had watched John quit, descend into heroin’s abyss, nearly die, and then resurrect himself like a ghost who remembered how to play guitar. The compilation came out in November
He meant: We’ve been through hell to get here. These hits are scars, not trophies.
In 2004, they played a secret show at the Viper Room. No cameras. Just the four of them, sweating, laughing, screwing up the bridge to Soul to Squeeze . Afterward, on the curb, John lit a cigarette and looked up at the Hollywood sign, its letters glowing like a lie worth believing. It debuted at number one in the UK, number three in the US
They weren’t making a new album. They were making a monument to themselves, and it felt strange.