UK rock magazine Kerrang! has put together an ultimate playlist of 150 songs as voted for by their readers; the tracks were voted for in yearly categories and Red Hot Chili Peppers featured twice with By The Way being selected as one of the best tracks of 2002 and Dani California in 2006.

BY THE WAY

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS’ 1999 album Californication sold 15 million copies, rescuing their career and establishing them as one of the world’s biggest rock band. Naturally, the first single off their follow-up full-length needed to be an absolute cracker. The Chilis rose to the task magnificently with By The Way, a song that spent seven weeks at Number One on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.  Lyrically it speaks of a girl named Dani and as such is reputedly part one in a trilogy of songs that first referenced her in Californication’s title-track and then later in the single Dani California on 2006’s Stadium Arcadium.

DANI CALIFORNIA

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

AFTTER THE troubled sessions for 2002’s By The Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers returned with a sprawling double album of even sprawlier guitars. This was the collection’s lead single, a simple chugging ditty complete with explosive chorus and, of course, plenty of guitars. Written in celebration of Anthony Kiedis’ former conquests, it sounded to some listeners’ ears similar to Tom Petty’s 1994 hit Mary Jane’s Last Dance-though the ever affable Mr Petty let the undoubtedly accidental resemblance go as the song clambered into Top 10s around the world and earned two Grammies.

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