Yes—the quote is real in substance, but the meme leaves out what Nick Cave later said about it. In a March 2025 response, he called the remark an offhand, uncharitable attempt to provoke, said he meant no malice, and described how Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea’s generous response moved him. Cave also recounted later musical encounters between them.
What was the Red Hot Chili Peppers quote?
Rolling Stone Australia reproduced the familiar wording as: “I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers.’” Rolling Stone Australia reported on the quote’s meme circulation in March 2025.
Asked about the quote in Issue 316 of The Red Hand Files, published in March 2025, Cave acknowledged making an “offhand and somewhat uncharitable remark” roughly twenty-five years earlier. He did not identify the original interview outlet or give an exact date, so the precise source and timing remain unverified.
What did Cave say he meant by it?
Cave said there was “no malice intended”; he described his younger self as someone who liked to provoke and “piss people off.” He also called himself “a troublemaker, a shit-stirrer, feeling most at ease in the role of a societal irritant.” His account frames the line as a deliberately provocative put-down, not a considered explanation of a lasting feud.
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How did Flea respond?
Cave recalled that Flea expressed hurt on Facebook while also writing at length about loving Cave’s music. Cave said the response genuinely moved him and described Flea as “a human being of an entirely different calibre, indeed, of a higher order.” That generous reaction changed the story from a one-line insult into an exchange Cave remembered with respect.
Did Cave and Flea work together afterward?
In the same 2025 account, Cave described later encounters at festivals and backstage in Los Angeles, as well as two musical connections:
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- Flea helped assemble a children’s choir from the Silverlake Conservatory of Music for the Bad Seeds’ Coachella appearance during the Push the Sky Away tour.
- Flea joined Cave and Warren Ellis to perform “We No Who U R” during the Carnage tour.
Cave’s post also said Flea had recently asked him to sing on a song for a trumpet record. Cave did not name the track or album there. A MusicRadar report dated March 31, 2026 later said Flea’s solo album Honora includes Cave vocals on a version of “Wichita Lineman.” That release detail comes from MusicRadar’s report, not from Cave’s original post.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the meme misses the point
The meme compresses the story into “Nick Cave hates the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” Cave’s own later account supports a narrower reading: he acknowledged a real, deliberately provocative insult, said he had not intended malice, and remembered Flea’s response as generous. Their later musical contact makes a simple feud narrative especially incomplete.
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