Californication (song)
Encyclopedia
"Californication" is the Red Hot Chili Peppers
' fourth single and sixth track from their seventh studio album, Californication
. Released in 2000, the song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Mainstream Rock Tracks and US Modern Rock Tracks. It is notable for its sparse combination of guitar
and bass
notes in the main riff; guitarist John Frusciante
drew inspiration from The Cure
song "Carnage Visors". The artwork from the single is used on the iTunes re-release of the album of the same name
.
that he got the inspiration for the lyric from when he was in New Zealand and he heard a woman on the street ranting about there being psychic spies in China. The track also makes references to topics such as pornography
("hardcore soft porn") and plastic surgery
("pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging") and even some pop culture references including Nirvana
singer Kurt Cobain
and David Bowie
("Cobain, can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station
?"), Star Wars
("and Alderaan's not far away"), and Star Trek
("Space may be the final frontier
but it's made in a Hollywood basement"). "First born Unicorn/hard core-soft porn" refers to the late Dorothy Stratten
. She was first born, and was written about in the novel "The Killing of the Unicorn".
Guitarist John Frusciante exclusively recorded this song and "Otherside" with a vintage Gretsch White Falcon
hollow body electric guitar; he also played these songs live with the White Falcon until 2006 when he retired it for one of his vintage Fender Stratocaster
s.
In Kiedis's book Scar Tissue he reveals that the band had enormous difficulty in putting the song together. Kiedis had written the lyrics, which he felt were some of the best he had ever written, but the band could not decide how the song should sound musically. As they struggled with the song it seemed like they would not be able to finish it in time to include it on the album, until one day Frusciante walked into the studio and exclaimed that he had "figured it out". He played the song as he visualised it, and it went from being a song that could have been an afterthought, to becoming one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' greatest hits, similar to the way "Under the Bridge
" was conceived.
On December 31, 2009 the song was declared "The Song of the Decade" by the listeners of the Israeli radio station Galgalatz
and the surfers of the Israeli news website Ynet
.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Greatest Hits
album uses a slightly different version of the song. Most notably, the first chorus is extended. The reason for this alternate version's appearance on the album is unknown.
Like most of the singles from the album, "Californication" remains a live staple in the band's setlists and is one of their most performed songs since it's release.
takes the form of a 3D video game from the third-person point of view of each of the band members, all on some sort of adventure; this varies with each band member. John runs through Hollywood, dodging celebrities and their bodyguards. Chad snowboards in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, then he falls off a cliff and lands on a train. Anthony swims in the San Francisco Bay, surrounded by sharks and females; he then surfs on a shark's back and suddenly jumps into the front seat of, and drives, a convertible car. Flea runs through Sequoia National Park, saving a bear from a hunter, riding a mining cart, and escaping many lumberjacks as they are cutting down all the trees. John enters a film studio, where he interferes with the productions of a space movie, a pornographic film, and a Leonardo DaVinci biographical documentary. Next Chad rails one of the Golden Gate Bridge's main suspension wires on his skateboard/surfboard, while Anthony, joyriding across the bridge, passes through the Andy's Donuts doughnut; he then drives off a cliff, landing on a giant dragonfly with Flea riding it. In the meantime, Chad skysurfs, and John rides the DaVinci flying machine prop from the studio. Anthony then falls off the dragonfly and lands brutally on a giant garden. This scene cuts off into the band passing through an earthquake of the San Andreas Fault, eventually concluding with all four of them meeting at the center of the Earth, where they all touch a 3D cube which transforms their computer-generated avatars back into all four of their own real selves. Intercut with all this is live-action performance footage of the band, which remains in a picture-in-picture insert till a band member passes through the eight-rayed star that became the band's de facto logo symbol when it was first used for the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
; this is enough to make the live-action footage fill the screen each time a band member passes through it. The video itself contains many homages to video games of its time.
(2005).
CD single 2
EP 1
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
' fourth single and sixth track from their seventh studio album, Californication
Californication (album)
Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace...
. Released in 2000, the song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Mainstream Rock Tracks and US Modern Rock Tracks. It is notable for its sparse combination of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
notes in the main riff; guitarist John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
drew inspiration from The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
song "Carnage Visors". The artwork from the single is used on the iTunes re-release of the album of the same name
Californication (album)
Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace...
.
Song information
The song is mainly about the dark side of Hollywood and the export of culture through the movie industry. The song opens to "Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation." Kiedis says in his book Scar TissueScar Tissue (book)
Scar Tissue is the autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis. It was released in 2004 by Hyperion and authored by Kiedis with Larry Sloman, who compiled information and interviewed various parties associated with the plot line. The story follows Kiedis from his birth in 1962 to...
that he got the inspiration for the lyric from when he was in New Zealand and he heard a woman on the street ranting about there being psychic spies in China. The track also makes references to topics such as pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
("hardcore soft porn") and plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
("pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging") and even some pop culture references including Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
singer Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
("Cobain, can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station
Station to Station
Station to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1976. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station is also notable as the vehicle for Bowie's last great 'character', The Thin White Duke...
?"), Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
("and Alderaan's not far away"), and Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
("Space may be the final frontier
Final frontier
Final Frontier may refer to:*Outer space, especially from the perspective of space colonization** "The final frontier", a description of space used in the opening narration of the science fiction TV series Star Trek...
but it's made in a Hollywood basement"). "First born Unicorn/hard core-soft porn" refers to the late Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten was a Canadian model and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980 and was the second Playmate born in the 1960s. Stratten appeared in three comedy films and at least two episodes of shows broadcast on US network...
. She was first born, and was written about in the novel "The Killing of the Unicorn".
Guitarist John Frusciante exclusively recorded this song and "Otherside" with a vintage Gretsch White Falcon
Gretsch White Falcon
The Gretsch White Falcon is a visually distinctive guitar commercially introduced in 1955 by Gretsch. While it has seen vast and substantial changes to its body shape and features through the years, and is currently offered in several styles, the White Falcon has always maintained a striking and...
hollow body electric guitar; he also played these songs live with the White Falcon until 2006 when he retired it for one of his vintage Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
s.
In Kiedis's book Scar Tissue he reveals that the band had enormous difficulty in putting the song together. Kiedis had written the lyrics, which he felt were some of the best he had ever written, but the band could not decide how the song should sound musically. As they struggled with the song it seemed like they would not be able to finish it in time to include it on the album, until one day Frusciante walked into the studio and exclaimed that he had "figured it out". He played the song as he visualised it, and it went from being a song that could have been an afterthought, to becoming one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' greatest hits, similar to the way "Under the Bridge
Under the Bridge
"Under the Bridge" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on March 10, 1992 as the second single from the group's fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to express a feeling of loneliness and despondency, and to reflect on...
" was conceived.
On December 31, 2009 the song was declared "The Song of the Decade" by the listeners of the Israeli radio station Galgalatz
Galgalatz
Galgalatz is a popular Israeli radio station operated by Israel Defense Forces Radio. This is the second of two Israel Defense Forces-operated stations, while the first one is Israel Defense Forces Radio/Galatz. The station was established in 1993 and broadcasts primarily nonstop pop music and...
and the surfers of the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Red Hot Chili Peppers album)
Greatest Hits is the second compilation album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on November 18, 2003 by Warner Bros. Records. Aside from their cover of "Higher Ground", all songs on the compilation are from their tenure on Warner Bros...
album uses a slightly different version of the song. Most notably, the first chorus is extended. The reason for this alternate version's appearance on the album is unknown.
Like most of the singles from the album, "Californication" remains a live staple in the band's setlists and is one of their most performed songs since it's release.
Music video
The videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
takes the form of a 3D video game from the third-person point of view of each of the band members, all on some sort of adventure; this varies with each band member. John runs through Hollywood, dodging celebrities and their bodyguards. Chad snowboards in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, then he falls off a cliff and lands on a train. Anthony swims in the San Francisco Bay, surrounded by sharks and females; he then surfs on a shark's back and suddenly jumps into the front seat of, and drives, a convertible car. Flea runs through Sequoia National Park, saving a bear from a hunter, riding a mining cart, and escaping many lumberjacks as they are cutting down all the trees. John enters a film studio, where he interferes with the productions of a space movie, a pornographic film, and a Leonardo DaVinci biographical documentary. Next Chad rails one of the Golden Gate Bridge's main suspension wires on his skateboard/surfboard, while Anthony, joyriding across the bridge, passes through the Andy's Donuts doughnut; he then drives off a cliff, landing on a giant dragonfly with Flea riding it. In the meantime, Chad skysurfs, and John rides the DaVinci flying machine prop from the studio. Anthony then falls off the dragonfly and lands brutally on a giant garden. This scene cuts off into the band passing through an earthquake of the San Andreas Fault, eventually concluding with all four of them meeting at the center of the Earth, where they all touch a 3D cube which transforms their computer-generated avatars back into all four of their own real selves. Intercut with all this is live-action performance footage of the band, which remains in a picture-in-picture insert till a band member passes through the eight-rayed star that became the band's de facto logo symbol when it was first used for the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records...
; this is enough to make the live-action footage fill the screen each time a band member passes through it. The video itself contains many homages to video games of its time.
Use in popular culture
The song featured in the film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the RoomEnron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, a study of one of the largest business scandals in American history...
(2005).
Personnel
- Anthony KiedisAnthony KiedisAnthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...
– lead vocals - John FruscianteJohn FruscianteJohn Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
– leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
& rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, backing vocals - FleaFlea (musician)Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
– bass - Chad SmithChad SmithChad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Track listings
CD single 1- "Californication" – 5:21
- "I Could Have Lied" (live) – 4:26
- "End of Show Brisbane" (live) – 8:11
CD single 2
- "Californication" – 5:21
- "I Could Have Lied" (live) – 4:26
- "End of Show State College" (live) – 9:27
EP 1
- "Californication" – 5:21
- "End of Show Brisbane" (live) – 8:11
- "I Could Have Lied" (live) – 4:26
- "End of Show State College" (live) – 9:27
Chart positions
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
44 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
6 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
59 |
| Canadian RPM Rock Report Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
41 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
63 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
24 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
19 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
8 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
37 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
16 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 | 28 |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Pop Airplay | 33 |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
69 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
37 |