"Under the Bridge" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released in 1992 as the second single from the group's fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to express feelings of loneliness and despondency, and to reflect on the impact of narcotics on his life. He was reluctant to show his band mates the lyrics, which were more emotional than the Chili Peppers' usual style, but producer Rick Rubin insisted. The band was receptive, and wrote the music. The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The accompanying video was frequently played on music television channels, and won the Viewer's Choice and Breakthrough Video awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. The band's growing popularity overwhelmed guitarist John Frusciante, who temporarily left them the same year. The song is now considered a standard of the alternative rock movement of the early and mid-1990s, and has been cited as an inspiration by many artists.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Bridge

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

835:

In the Sweet Dew Incident, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspired to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot was foiled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Dew_Incident

1836:

The Toledo War, the mostly bloodless boundary dispute between Ohio and the adjoining Territory of Michigan, unofficially ended with a resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten Convention". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

1911:

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition

1960:

Australian cricketer Ian Meckiff was run out on the last day of the first Test between Australia and the West Indies, causing the first tied Test in the history of cricket. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Meckiff

2008:

During a press conference in Baghdad, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi infamously threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush, yelling that "this is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntadhar_al-Zaidi

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

handlanger: (South Africa) An unskilled assistant to an artisan. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/handlanger

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In its original literal sense, "moral relativism" is simply moral complexity. That is, anyone who agrees that stealing a loaf of bread to feed one's children is not the moral equivalent of, say, shoplifting a dress for the fun of it, is a relativist of sorts. But in recent years, conservatives bent on reinstating an essentially religious vocabulary of absolute good and evil as the only legitimate framework for discussing social values have redefined "relative" as "arbitrary." That conflation has been reinforced by social theorists and advocates of identity politics who argue that there is no universal morality, only the value systems of particular cultures and power structures.   --Ellen Willis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Willis