2.9 - "Is Anthony Kiedis going to ruin this song, too?" That's the question that came up again and again listening to this record. I'm baffled as to why they keep him around. The interplay between Flea's bass and Frusciante's guitar is stellar as ever, especially on tracks like "Parallel Universe." And as with other RHCP records I've listened to, I do actually like a couple songs: "Scar Tissue" and "Porcelain." But on other tracks like "Around the World" and "Get on Top", Kiedis is like a shit-flinging gorilla. Probably the worst offense is "Purple Stain", in which he describes fingering a woman on her period (WTF?!). The backing band is the only thing buttressing Kiedis from tumbling head-first into the gutter.