Ostaje smiraj u kojem ta ljubav raste, množi se i čini ovaj tužni i prelijepi svijet mjestom gdje se zbog magije zvane muzika nikad ne osjećamo sami. Michael Balzary Flea rođen je u Australiji u kojoj je proveo prvih sedam godina života, nakon čega se sa porodicom seli u Njujork. Odrastajući u velikom gradu, sa roditeljima koji su se par godina nakon dolaska u Ameriku razveli, uvijek bez istinske ljubavi i pažnje koja je djetetu njegovih godina bila potrebna, Flea pokušava da shvati dinamiku međuljudskih odnosa, roditeljskih, vršnjačkih, dinamiku bivstvovanja u nemilosrdnom svijetu.

CORNISH: ...And breaking into buildings with your friends. Your hobby is shoplifting. It almost felt like you were describing the life of a runaway. A kad se ogoli ego, ostaje samo ljubav, pretočena u muziku, u riječi, u vodu, u zahvalnost, u uspomene. Zbog toga je prikaz knjige Acid for the Children jedan od najtežih, ali i najdražih. Jer, kako ostati objektivan kada je knjigu napisao čovjek koji je 1983. sa Anthony Kiedisem oformio RHCP, čija muzika me, bez pretjerivanja mogu reći, u određenom smislu oblikovala kao ličnost i bila tu kada nikog drugog nije bilo. Ali, hajde da pokušam. Es para estómagos sensibles? Depende de tu tolerancia a leer sobre drogas, su consumo, uso y abuso. Advierto que no sólo tiene que ver con ese tema, pero digamos que está muy influenciado por ellas. Michael “Flea” Balzary, was born in Melbourne, Australia. A fact this is bizarrely little-known in Australia itself. To this day Flea calls himself a “Californi-stralian”.. an apt self-homage that in a weird-microcosm portrays much of what it is that makes Flea... FLEA!!!In Acid for the Children, Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years, spanning from Australia to the New York City suburbs to, finally, Los Angeles. Through hilarious anecdotes, poetical meditations, and occasional flights of fantasy, Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist, a musician, and a young man. His dreamy, jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty, glorious life, including the potential for fun, danger, mayhem, or inspiration that lurked around every corner. It is here that young Flea, looking to escape a turbulent home, found family in a community of musicians, artists, and junkies who also lived on the fringe. He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes. But it was in music where he found a higher meaning, a place to channel his frustration, loneliness, and love. This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends, soul brothers, and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band, which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Poglavlje u kojem opisuje svoj čudni san atmosferom podsjeća na Bulgakovu Margaritu koja postaje vještica i leti visoko, iznad predjela i ljudi.

His parents separate and he describes the relationship with his step dad Walter. Walter is at once a wildly unpredictable alcoholic and a source of inspiration for Flea through this dedication to his Jazz music.FLEA: I think it was a fear of being able to write about it or understand it because ours is a relationship that is very brotherly, but we push each other's buttons in ways that are almost like, you know, when you have a troubled relationship with parents even as adults. And... He writes in Beat Generation bursts and epiphanies… You’ll put down Acid for the Children with your human sympathies expanded; you’ll feel less alone.” NO MAJOR SPOILERS Acid for the Children attempts to recount Flea’s development from a young child in a seemingly mild, conservative family into a twenty-something musician/actor. The first half dragged for me because I kept waiting for the memoir to start. Turns out this is more of an autobiography, focusing more on accounting for every personal milestone and friend or mentor rather than developing a personal journey or theme. This broad approach requires a lot of name-dropping and jumping between timelines. Svi koji me poznaju znaju koliko volim Red Hot Chili Peppers, njihovu muziku, istoriju i cjelokupnu auru koja okružuje ovaj bend koji je na sceni skoro četiri decenije.

The book is full of amazing stories and traces his life through different bands including Fear up to the first time RHCP perform.In Acid for the Children Flea shares, in great detail, the first 20 years or so of his life. As you may expect, there is no shortage of wild and crazy tales. From family and friends to music and drugs, this memoir covers it all. (Even the influence of books on Flea’s life from a very young age!) The reader is, however, likely to be surprised by the deeply touching nature of Flea’s narrative. I imagine that reading this book is akin to having a conversation with the man himself: candid and stripped down, like hearing Flea speak his own story aloud, just as a memoir should be. Acid For the Children's closest analog is, somewhat surprisingly, Patti Smith's Just Kids...The prose frequently mimics [Flea's] playing: occasionally beautiful, occasionally outrageous, in conversation with a small group of predecessors but unwilling to follow anyone else's rules. This is what gives Acid for the Children its considerable charm..."-- AV Club guess it's just the way he is. He seems to be spur of the moment type of guy and it just comes with the territory. CORNISH: Well, Flea, thank you for sharing your story, this part of your life, so frankly and talking about the book with us. We really appreciate it. The bassist is completely open with readers, describing the difficulty he had writing about this friendship, and his transparency in revealing this decades-long relationship shows his vulnerable side. The fact that Flea felt the need to preface his chapter on Kiedis shows the enormous amount of care he put into it.