"Monarchy of Roses" is a song from the
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
' 2011 album ''
I'm with You'' and the album's second single. The single is the follow-up to the number one hit, "
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
"The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released as the first single from their tenth album ''I'm with You (album), I'm with You'' (2011). It was their first single since "Hump de Bump" in 2007, and their fi ...
". The single was released to radio and for download in the UK on October 7, 2011 and to radio in the United States on October 25, 2011.
In a September 17, 2011 interview on
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
with
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
and
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...
, the show's host,
Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England.
Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...
broke the news that "Monarchy of Roses" would be the second single from the album and would be released on November 14, 2011. Neither Kiedis or Smith were even aware what song would be the next single and both seemed surprised during the interview. Despite the same date being also listed on the back of the promo single, the song was released weeks earlier to radio; however, the music video was, in fact, released on this date.
Music video
On October 4, 2011, the band began filming a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for Monarchy of Roses. Drummer
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...
posted a photo of his drums in front of a
green screen
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...
confirming that filming was underway.
The video was directed by
Marc Klasfeld
Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...
, who previously directed the video for "
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
"The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released as the first single from their tenth album ''I'm with You (album), I'm with You'' (2011). It was their first single since "Hump de Bump" in 2007, and their fi ...
" and was inspired by the art work of
Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for ...
.
Pettibon, who is the brother of
Black Flag guitarist
Greg Ginn
Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...
, is best known for his artwork for the Black Flag albums as well as the band's iconic four bars logo. Flea said of Pettibon that he has been a fan since he was a teenager and that his art was first seen as part of the
hardcore punk rock
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
scene in LA around 1980. Pettibon has since gone on to have a "transcendently beautiful and dynamic art career. Raymond Pettibon means a lot to us and we are honored to have made this collaboration with him."
On November 30, 2011, the band released a behind the scenes video of the making of "Monarchy of Roses".
Reception
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
calls the song a "mixed bag of new ideas" and that the band "hurt as much as they delight" with this song.
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...
gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, commenting that the song is "structured around a tightly wound tension and release formula". They conclude that the song "has a real stadium (arcadium) feel to it, as it invites plenty of singalongs with its layers of harmony".
Live performances and promotion
"Monarchy of Roses" was performed at every show on the
I'm with You World Tour
The I'm with You World Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in support of the band's tenth studio album, '' I'm with You''. It marked the band's first tour in four years and first with guitarist Josh K ...
as the opening song. The song was not played on the ensuing
The Getaway World Tour
The Getaway World Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers that was in support of their eleventh studio album, '' The Getaway'' which was released on June 17, 2016. It marked the first time since June 2014 that the ba ...
and has not been played live by the band since.
Even though for many years the band has strongly fought against having their music used in commercials or other promotional advertisements, "Monarchy of Roses" appeared in a 2011
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese car commercial for the
Nissan Elgrand
The is a minivan manufactured by Nissan Shatai for Nissan since 1997, available in three generations, with model codes E50 (1997–2002), E51 (2002–2010), and E52 (2010–present). The E50 Elgrand was also configured and produced as a light ...
.
Formats and track listings
Japanese single
# "Monarchy of Roses" (album version) – 4:14
UK promo single
# "Monarchy of Roses" (album version) – 4:14
# "Monarchy of Roses" (radio edit) – 3:43
# "Monarchy of Roses" (instrumental) – 4:12
European advance promo single
# "Monarchy of Roses" (album version) – 4:14
# "Monarchy of Roses" (radio edit) – 3:43
Personnel
Red Hot Chili Peppers
*
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
– lead vocals
*
Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Getaw ...
– guitar, backing vocals,
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
*
Flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
– bass
*
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the h ...
– drums
Additional musicians
*
Mauro Refosco
Mauro Refosco is a Brazilian percussionist. He is best known for working with singer David Byrne and as the former touring and session percussionist for the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is a member of the experimental supergroup A ...
– percussion
*
Lenny Castro
Lenny or Lennie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Lennie (surname), a list of people
* Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''L ...
– additional percussion
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2011 singles
2011 songs
Red Hot Chili Peppers songs
Warner Records singles
Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld
Songs written by Josh Klinghoffer
Songs written by Flea (musician)
Songs written by Chad Smith
Disco songs
American garage rock songs
American pop rock songs