Acid for the Children: A Memoir

by Flea

The greatest fault of humankind belongs to those who think their view of what’s real is the only truth.

Yeah, I was the annoying little brother, and we had some full-on knock-down, drag-out fights. I once threw a vacuum at her from about five steps up and took her out, and another time pelted her hurtfully with a handful of pennies; she got her licks in too and beat the shit outta me lotsa times. But we were able to generate a unique brand of humor that I’ve never shared with anyone else. The funny chants we made up, the hysterical laughter we birthed, the wrestling in the bathtub as tiny kids when our parents would stick us in there. In a lot of ways we were the same: She was me with a wig.

we were great comfort to each other. Not like we talked each other through it or anything, we just silently knew that we were the only ones who understood. We bore witness together.

It’s so hard when you know someone is sweet and beautiful inside, but they can’t outrun the demons and ignorance of their family culture.

met Penelope Spheeris, director of the defining documentary of the L.A. punk scene, The Decline of Western Civilization. Somehow,

Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver, who, discussing racism, wrote, “You either have to be part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem.”

The greatest writer in history—Mikhail Bulgakov

For years and years, I made the mistake of trying to run away, before I learned to surrender, accept my pain as a blessing, trust in the love, and let it change me.

Kind of Blue—Miles Davis Hardcore Jollies—Funkadelic Clifford Brown & Max Roach—The Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet The Procrastinator—Lee Morgan (GI)—The Germs Hotter Than July—Stevie Wonder Sandinista—The Clash The Boatman’s Call—Nick Cave The Complete Hot Five & Hot Seven Recordings—Louis Armstrong Hunky Dory—David Bowie Channel Orange—Frank Ocean Axis: Bold as Love—Jimi Hendrix The Argument—Fugazi Ruff Draft—J Dilla Unknown Pleasures—Joy Division Wild Gift—X Una Mas—Kenny Dorham Glenn Gould—Bach: The Art of the Fugue It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back—Public Enemy Metal Box—Public Image