Californication (song)

"Californication" is a song by the American rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their seventh album, Californication (1999). Released as a single in June 2000, it reached number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 16 on the UK Singles Chart, and number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts.

"Californication"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Californication
B-side
  • "I Could Have Lied" (live)
  • "End of Show Brisbane" (live)
ReleasedJune 2000 (2000-06)
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length
  • 5:21 (album version)
  • 5:29 (Greatest Hits version)
  • 3:26 (radio edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Rubin
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Otherside"
(1999)		 "Californication"
(2000)		 "Road Trippin'"
(2000)
Music video
"Californication" on YouTube

Recording

In his memoir book, Scar Tissue, the Red Hot Chili Peppers singer, Anthony Kiedis, wrote 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 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.

In Rick Rubin's podcast "Broken Record", Chad Smith revealed that for quite some time, the song was "like reggae, like Bad Brigade" and "that the melody was there, but the music...." After a while, everybody thought it was not coming together and the song was nearly thrown out before John came in with a new arrangement.

Composition

"Californication" explores the dark side of Hollywood and the export of culture through the movie industry. Kiedis wrote that he took the inspiration for the line from hearing a woman on a New Zealand street ranting about "psychic spies in China".

The track references topics such as pornography ("hardcore soft porn") and plastic surgery ("pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging") and pop culture references including Kurt Cobain and David Bowie. The "spheres" are a reference to Music of the Spheres, an ancient philosophical concept that regards proportions in the movements of celestial bodies as a form of music ("Cobain, can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station?"). Other cultural references include the Beach Boys ("They're just another Good Vibration"), Star Wars ("and Alderaan's not far away") and Stanley Kubrick ("Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement"). The phrase "First-born Unicorn" refers to Dorothy Stratten, whose life was covered in the book The Killing of the Unicorn.

The song begins in the key of A minor[2] with Frusciante picking the chords of Am and F for twelve measures, before picking the chords of C-G-F-Dm then going back and picking Am and F for 8 more measures before picking C-G-F-Dm again. For the pre-chorus Frusciante then strums a combination of Am and Fmaj7 chords for twelve measures, until the chorus when he strums the chords C-Gmaj7-Dm9-Am, then C-G-Dm9. It is notable for its sparse combination of guitar and bass notes in the main riff; Frusciante drew inspiration from "Carnage Visors" by The Cure.[3]

After the second chorus, a 16-measure guitar solo is played by Frusciante, along with a modulation to A major. After the solo, the key returns to the original A minor, and a third verse and final chorus is played.

Music video

The video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, takes the form of a fictional open world video game that depicts each of the band members on some sort of adventure in a California setting, particularly San Francisco and Los Angeles, which ends when the world is ravaged by an earthquake and the avatars are replaced by the live action band members. The music video for "Californication" is the group's most watched video on YouTube, having officially reached a billion views on December 5, 2022.[4]

Video game

On March 1, 2022, Spanish game developer Miquel Camps Orteza created a video game based on the song's music video. The player plays as one of the four band members. The game has seven different levels, each based on a scene from the music video. Orteza wrote, “I wanted to play that game so bad! It’s 2022 and I haven’t seen anyone made the game so I challenged myself to create it. I have selected some epic moments from the video and turned into 7 levels each one with different game mechanics, I hope you like this game."[5]

Critical reception

"Californication" was named the Red Hot Chili Peppers' best song by both Kerrang and Rolling Stone.[6][7]

Formats and track listings

CD single 1 9362 44907 2

  1. "Californication" – 5:21
  2. "I Could Have Lied" (Live) – 4:26
  3. "End of Show Brisbane" (Live) – 8:11

CD single 2 9362 44908 2

  1. "Californication" – 5:21
  2. "I Could Have Lied" (Live) – 4:26
  3. "End of Show State College" (Live) – 9:27

EP 9362 44872 2

  1. "Californication" – 5:21
  2. "End of Show Brisbane" (Live) – 8:11
  3. "I Could Have Lied" (Live) – 4:26
  4. "End of Show State College" (Live) – 9:27

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[35] Platinum 90,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[36]
sales since 2009 		2× Platinum 100,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
Europe June 2000 CD Warner Bros. [16]
United States June 13, 2000
[39]
Japan July 12, 2000 CD [40]
United Kingdom August 7, 2000
  • CD
  • cassette
 [41]
United States September 11, 2000
[42][43]
September 12, 2000 Contemporary hit radio

References
  1. Gallucci, Michael (June 22, 2013). "Top 10 Alt-Rock Videos From 2000". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  2. Anthony, Kiedis; Flea; John, Frusciante; Chad, Smith; Peppers, Red Hot Chili (February 6, 2014). "Californication". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  3. Songfacts (2016). "Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers". Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  4. "Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Californication" Music Video Joins the 1 Billion Views Club on YouTube". December 5, 2022.
  5. Polygon (2022). "Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1999 song 'Californication' is a free video game, finally". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  6. Law, Sam (March 17, 2021). "The 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  7. "The 40 Greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs". Rolling Stone. April 11, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  8. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  9. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  10. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7101." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9937." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  13. "Éxitos discográficos internacionales". El Siglo de Torreón. August 8, 2000. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  14. "Éxitos discográficos internacionales". El Siglo de Torreón. August 28, 2000. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 35. August 26, 2000. p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  16. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  17. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (22.7–29.7 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). July 21, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Californication". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  19. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". Top Digital Download. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 30, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  21. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  22. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  23. "Major Market Airplay – Week 37/2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 37. September 9, 2000. p. 19. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  25. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  26. "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  27. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  28. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  29. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  30. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  31. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  32. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  33. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 5, 2001. p. 10. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  34. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2000". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  35. "Danish single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  36. "Italian single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  37. "British single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  38. "American single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  39. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1354. June 9, 2000. pp. 109, 111.
  40. "New Release" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  41. "New Releases – For Week Starting August 7, 2000: Singles". Music Week. August 5, 2000. p. 23. Misprinted as July 17 on source.
  42. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1367. September 8, 2000. pp. 48, 92.
  43. "Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2321. September 8, 2000. pp. 8, 21.
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