Red Hot Chili Peppers » Tracks
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
(5:20)2,924,164 plays (447,667 listeners)
rock, alternative, alternative rock, red hot chili peppers, funk… see all
About this track
The song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Modern Tracks and US Mainstream Rock Tracks. It is notable for its sparse combination of guitar and bass notes in the intro, and its unique music video.
The song is mainly about the dark side of Hollywood. The song opens to the “Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation.” Kiedis says in his book Scar Tissue 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 the decline in western society, and other topics such as pornography and plastic surgery and even some pop culture references including Star Wars (“Alderaan’s not far away”), Star Trek, (“Space may be the final frontier, but it’s made in a Hollywood basement”), Celebrity Skin magazine (“Celebrity Skin is this your chin”, although this could also be a reference to Hole’s song, “Celebrity Skin”), and Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain (“Cobain can you hear the spheres”). The line “teenage bride with a baby inside” refers to the fictional character Dani California, who is also mentioned in later songs By the Way and the eponymous Dani California. The song’s riff closely resembles the song “Elevation” off of “Marquee Moon” by Television.
The song is mainly about the dark side of Hollywood. The song opens to the “Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation.” Kiedis says in his book Scar Tissue 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 the decline in western society, and other topics such as pornography and plastic surgery and even some pop culture references including Star Wars (“Alderaan’s not far away”), Star Trek, (“Space may be the final frontier, but it’s made in a Hollywood basement”), Celebrity Skin magazine (“Celebrity Skin is this your chin”, although this could also be a reference to Hole’s song, “Celebrity Skin”), and Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain (“Cobain can you hear the spheres”). The line “teenage bride with a baby inside” refers to the fictional character Dani California, who is also mentioned in later songs By the Way and the eponymous Dani California. The song’s riff closely resembles the song “Elevation” off of “Marquee Moon” by Television.
Albums featuring this track
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Shouts
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shelaghswanson wrote:
just love this! xx
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akinbala wrote:
http://www.last.fm/music/Andrius+Mamontovas/_/Liudesio+Angelas
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Archerlion wrote:
i love this song
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thrashdeth wrote:
<333 this :]
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reload39 wrote:
Join Synesthesia group if you see images while listening......
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nemesis356 wrote:
my fave chillis song.
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fatih58arif wrote:
very very beautiful
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Chiami86 wrote:
beautiful song!
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nanyella wrote:
Until the pro spent !!!!! rs sound is legal ...
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Raisin-Girl wrote:
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simo_magic wrote:
one of my most preferred videos, it's so sharp to do everything like a videogame!
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Zephism wrote:
intro to this on the live at slane castle dvd is fucking AMAZING.
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Tedtrivia wrote:
According to Songfacts.com, the lyrics, "Celebrity skin is this your chin, or is that war your waging" get in a reference to Celebrity Skin, the third and final album from the band Hole. Hole was formed by Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain's wife. for more info & trivia on Californication check out http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2445.
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MettaT wrote:
Everything about this song is stunningly beautiful, and it all meshes perfectly.
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[deleted-user]
wrote:
Haunting chords from Mr Frusciante
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Jordy15 wrote:
Great song.
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Nico-foot wrote:
I dont ever wanna feeeeeeeel like i felt that day! Take me to the place i love!!!!! Just got to love it
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asliyurdugul wrote:
süferrr
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[deleted-user]
wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_to_Station
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GucciPiggy90 wrote:
Could someone explain the line "Cobain can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station" to me?
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