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Scar Tissue

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Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll: one phrase epitomizes the life of the lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis. Scar Tissue, Kiedis' autobiography, is a fast tempo, easy read that has an abundance of captivating stories. Anthony's childhood was filled with drug use and sex starting at an extremely young age. By the time he was fourteen, Kiedis had begun smoking pot, having sex, and shooting up cocaine. Anthony's unstable lifestyle never ceased to change until years later after seeing close friends die from drug use and personally having multiple near death experiences, which has made Anthony a true contemporary of the nineties. However, die hard Chili Peppers fans may be disappointed with the lack of band history or lack of details about members. Instead, Scar Tissue details how Anthony's lifestyle and experiences have influenced the creativity and lyricism of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
As most children his age were hitting puberty, Anthony Kiedis was taking his first hits off joints and shots of coke. His drug dealer father smoked pot with him at age twelve (26) and let him have sex with his girlfriend shortly after (39). Anthony quickly moved on to coke when he was only fourteen (84). Anthony's wild life was not simply drugs and sex though. There were many reckless decisions, most involving drugs, which very easily could have seriously injured him. A certain instance that could have easily left him paralyzed was an experience with Flea, the bassist. They had begun to get high and jump off buildings into pools in high school, so when Anthony was jumping off one building he overshot the pool and ended up on the concrete. Luckily he had only broken his back and needed a month in traction to re-set his vertebrae (68). Consequently, Anthony was never able to get off on the right foot with his life and seemed destined for heavy drug addiction and reckless decisions for the rest of his life. It is incredible and unbelievable that Kiedis was able to make it past twenty-five. Especially after some of his close contemporaries, Hillel Slovak and Kurt Cobain died due to much of the same activity.
Though Scar Tissue is in no way a book reliving the tails of Anthony Kiedis' band mates, it breaks down how Anthony and the band related to each other and how Anthony influenced the band's creativity. The lyricism and much of the drama reflected in the songs of the Red Hot Chili Peppers were due to Anthony's turbulent lifestyle. The ideas for the majority of the Red Hot Chili Peppers lyrics and songs came about as a result of drug addictions, sexual experiences, and skewed relationships. "Under the Bridge" is one song that details Kiedis' struggle with drugs and relationships. Anthony was driving home from rehearsal one day in a melancholy state of mind while reflecting on the way his addiction to shooting heroin under a bridge deteriorated the relationships around him. As he continued to think he began creating a poem and as a result one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' greatest hits was born (295).
As Anthony's main influences for his lyricism are derived from his own personal drug addictions, sexual experiences, and skewed relationships. He also takes away experiences from others close to him. In the song "Breaking the Girl" Anthony merges both styles. While Anthony is thinking back on his ex-girlfriend Carmen in a sort of purgatory like state of mind relationship wise, he begins to think about his father's life as well. He begins to think about how he does not want to end up like his father with a temporarily fulfilling life jumping from girl to girl, night to night. So in the song "Breaking the Girl" Anthony expresses how his father's lifestyle is not as fulfilling as it once seemed and that stable relationships are what complete your life (271). Consequently, Scar Tissue presents the interesting idea that if Anthony would not have lived the life he had, much of the music produced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers would have never happened.
Scar Tissue`s detail of Anthony Kiedis' road to sobriety present how truly mind blowing Kiedis' survival of addiction actually is. He is undoubtedly a nineties rocker who somehow survived the drug binges of the nineties and made it through to sobriety. Kurt Cobain and Hillel Slovak who were close to Anthony shook his world up tremendously when they died from the same addictions he was facing. For pieces of his life their deaths did help him to become sober, however he would always relapse. It was not until recent years that he has been able to stay sober, which was something he knew he had to become since their deaths. However, Scar Tissue truthfully portrays the life of a drug addict and the heartbreaking back and forth between sobriety and drug abuse for many years. Interestingly enough though is that without his turbulent life with drugs, sex, and relationships the creativity that was a large part of the Chili Peppers would have been absent. This is why Scar Tissue is so intriguing and compelling. After sampling a plethora of drugs and coming close to death many times, Anthony miraculously survived to carry on the legacy of nineties rock.
Scar Tissue: Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman

I always knew who the Chili Peppers were, but, i am now a full fledged fan. I got so into the book, I wanted to learn everything about Anthony Kiedis and the crazy life that is Rock and Roll. It will not disappoint!

It's a great book to read. I couldn't put it down when I read it. It's highly recommended if your a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan or just a fan of music.

One of my absolute favorite memoirs. I am a huge fan of the Chili Peppers, and even more so now knowing a tad more about the man behind the music. What a revealing and honest exposure of Anthony Kiedis' life as a drug user. This is for anyone who enjoys a human interest story, RHCP fan or not.

Karen

I couldn't stop reading the book. It was the best book I have read in years. Guys like Anthony Kiedis should always share their story. It is very inspiring to learn that somebody that didn't have very much now is rich and famous. I wish I had half of the fun Anthony had in his young life. I would recommend this book to everyone.

The impact this book had on me is priceless. I give this as gift to those going through the same thing we've gone through. If it helps one other person as much as it helped me, well then it will have saved at least two lives that we know of.

If you were like me, you picked up a copy of this book thinking you would be slightly entertained, reading about wild stories of this sexually charged performer and his drug-induced anarchy. Reading through these pages, I was not disappointed, in fact, I was moved.

I knew Anthony Kiedis was a talent. What I didn't realize was that he was a romantic poet, with a gift for making others feel. I was pleasantly moved learning of his relationship with his mother, a type of bond not all men share. Reading about each of Kiedis's loves, and how integral a part of his journey they were made me eager to keep reading.

It's rare that I find a book that makes me pause, whether it is at the end of a sentence or page, to taste and savor the words. After completing this masterpiece, I turned to page one again for second's....then thirds.

A must have for your collection. This book will surprise you, take you to bed, shake your soul a little and maybe even help you realize your own journey to self-discovery.

Actually bought this book for my son. He says that it is a great book. Scar Tissue is the autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis. This book reached a high of #1 on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Great Seller!!! No problems. Item as described. Will buy from this seller again!!! A+++++++

Fast shipping! Great Book. I love Red Hot Chili Peppers. Great book for all them fans...

I couldn't get over how this guy did SO MANY drugs and is still alive! And in relatively good health it seems. He certainly is a master at taking narcotics. Most people would have OD'ed I think. I wouldn't know a song by the RHCP if I heard it, but being a reader of biographies, this one sounded juicy....sex, drugs and rock & roll most definitely. I got a bit tired of reading about drugs and more drugs and every time I thought he had it licked he went back. Like he says-insanity. It's got to be. Girlfriend after girlfriend, wow. His story continues. I would be curious if he's EVER yet found true love and how long his sobriety and drug free time is. I don't think he'll ever be totally free until he finds the True Higher Power, but there's still time. Well written, very interesting. Quite unbelievable but then a lot of musicians end up this way. I don't think they are good role models for our children. They are so nonconformist. I don't envy their lives at all. At least he didn't seem obsessed by having lots of money eventually.