Song · Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Universally Speaking” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
From the album By the Way (2002)
“Universally Speaking” by Red Hot Chili Peppers appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations in 2003. It was first released in 2002 on the album By the Way. Its best result is #59 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #242 alternative song of 2003.
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Video from YouTube (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Universally Speaking" rides on By the Way, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' eighth studio album, and became the record's fourth and last single in mid-2003, issued only in Europe and Australia. Rick Rubin produced it and Jim Scott engineered and mixed, and the writing credit is shared by Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith.
XFM called it a "fairly upbeat rock ode"; Rolling Stone heard "Beatlesque psychedelia". The video picks up a thread from the "By the Way" clip: Dave Sheridan plays an unhinged fan desperate to return a book Kiedis left in his cab, and after a string of misfires he finally hands it over by climbing onstage mid-"Suck My Kiss". The song later landed on Live in Hyde Park and the band's Greatest Hits.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 59 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003 | 107 |
| 2003 | 61 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2003 | 100 |
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