Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). He left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again in 2009 to focus on solo work, and rejoined in 2019.
Frusciante's solo work encompasses genres including experimental rock, ambient music and electronica. He released six albums in 2004, each exploring different genres and recording techniques. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features Chili Peppers bassist Flea and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Frusciante also releases acid house under the alias Trickfinger. With Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, he has released two albums as Ataxia.
Frusciante was named one of the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone and Gibson, and in a BBC poll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012.
Frusciante's musical style has evolved over the course of his career. Although he received moderate recognition for his early guitar work, it was not until later in his career that music critics and guitarists alike began to fully recognize it: in October 2003, he was ranked eighteenth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Frusciante attributes this recent recognition to his shift in focus, stating that he chose an approach based on rhythmic patterns inspired by the complexity of material Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen produced. On earlier records, however, much of his output was influenced by various underground punk and new wave musicians.
In general, his sound is also defined by an affinity for vintage guitars. All the guitars that he owns, records, and tours with were made before 1970. Frusciante uses the specific guitar that he finds appropriate for a certain song. All of the guitars he owned before quitting the band were destroyed when his house burned down in 1996. The first guitar he bought after rejoining the Chili Peppers was a 1962 red Fender Jaguar. His most-often used guitar, however, is a 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that was given to him as a gift from Anthony Kiedis after Frusciante rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1998. He has played this guitar on every album since rejoining the Chili Peppers, and their ensuing tours. He also owns a 1955 Fender Stratocaster, his only Strat with a maple fretboard. Frusciante's most highly appraised instrument is a 1955 Gretsch White Falcon, which he used twice per show for the songs Californication and Otherside. Since 2006, he only uses it for the latter song, saying there was "no room for it", preferring multiple Stratocasters for the Stadium Arcadium tour. Virtually all of Frusciante's acoustic work is played with a 1950s Martin 0–15.
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he switched to using a Yamaha SG as his primary guitar for his solo work. "With the Yamaha SG, I could play along with guitar players who were playing, say, Les Pauls, and feel like the sound matched what I was hearing on the record. ... People like Robert Fripp, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi, and particularly John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, who played a Yamaha SG, which is why I bought one in the first place". Frusciante has also noted his increased use of the Roland MC-202 for his electronic music, saying that he was at the point "where I thought as much like a 202ist as I did a guitarist ..." The MC-202 has been his primary melodic instrument in his electronic music.
With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante provided backing vocals in a falsetto tenor, a style he started on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He thoroughly enjoyed his role in the Chili Peppers as backing vocalist, and said that backing vocals are a "real art form". Despite his commitment to the Chili Peppers, he felt that his work with the band should remain separate from his solo projects. When he returned to the Chili Peppers in 1998, Kiedis wanted the band to record "Living in Hell", a song Frusciante had written several years before. Frusciante refused, feeling that the creative freedom he needed for his solo projects would have conflicted with his role in the band.
A Corner
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wouldn't go ouside and walk around
They may fear for your life
But I've reached this conclusion
everyone's in a corner
face to the wall
I never looked the other way
I'm not allowed to at all
It never lets me be
no one said to be here
I was punished by me
and there's a weeping fire
that's high as a moutain
and we go all the way up
to the top
great is my confusion
It never lets me down
everyone's in a corner
they'll never turn around
The lyrics of John Frusciante's song "A Corner" suggest a feeling of entrapment and confinement. The singer begins by warning against going outside, as there is a sense of danger in the world. However, he then makes the argument that everyone is trapped in their own corner, facing the wall, unable to look the other way or turn around. Furthermore, the singer suggests that this sense of confinement is self-inflicted: "no one said to be here / I was punished by me."
This theme of self-imposed confinement reflects the song's broader themes of mental illness and addiction. John Frusciante has been open about his struggles with both, and the lyrics of "A Corner" suggest a feeling of being trapped in one's own head or in a cycle of destructive behavior. The line "great is my confusion / It never lets me be" speaks to the endless loop of negative thoughts and emotions that can keep a person stuck in a corner, unable to move forward.
Overall, "A Corner" is a haunting and introspective song that explores the dark corners of the human psyche. It is a powerful reflection on the struggle to break free from the mental and emotional traps that can hold us back in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I mean it
I am serious about what I am going to say
I wouldn't go outside and walk around
It's not safe to go outside and walk around because of potential danger
They may fear for your life
Others may have concerns for your safety
But I've reached this conclusion
However, I have come to this realization
everyone's in a corner
Everyone is stuck in a difficult situation
face to the wall
And feeling trapped or helpless
I never looked the other way
I never ignored or turned my back on the problem
I'm not allowed to at all
I am not in a position to do that
great is my confusion
I am extremely confused and lost
It never lets me be
This feeling of confusion persists
no one said to be here
No one instructed me to be in this situation
I was punished by me
I am the one responsible for putting myself in this situation
and there's a weeping fire
There is a deep emotional pain
that's high as a mountain
That is overwhelming and feels insurmountable
and we go all the way up
And it affects us completely
to the top
And it is the most extreme degree possible
great is my confusion
Again, the feeling of confusion persists
It never lets me down
This feeling is constantly present
everyone's in a corner
Again, everyone is in a difficult situation
they'll never turn around
They are unlikely to change their situation
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@raunakdas8397
John Frusciante be the kind of artist who doesn't give a damn about his songs hitting the charts or about the money, but just wants to do what he loves to. It's hard to find musicians like these today.
@karlhiscock92
It's always hard to find musicians like that
(because they're obscure...)
@ivanthemountainman9291
You’re fr right, it’s so rare to find musicians that actually do what they love and let that message reach you as a listener, and honestly it’s the best. Thanks for that 4 years later and keep listening to the best)
@aldi0997
realistically speaking, its because he already got his life's worth of money secured from his projects and revenues with RHCP, hence why he got the freedom to create whatever solo project he desired without any concern about sales and charts for daily living. John's solo albums are where his true creative idealism shines
@ciaraskeleton
@Karl Hiscock the guitarist of an incredibly world famous band is hardly obscure, you just...type his name in and you find everything ever. Not obscure, people just don't dig any deeper than the surface to find these gems
@ciaraskeleton
@Aldi09 he made money off of bssm, quit the band at 22, spent all his money on drugs (take a look at his arms). 5 years he sat painting and waiting to die from an OD. He had next to no money when he started producing his solo records. Listen to Niandre lades. He spent a year being sober, got asked to join the band again. That's when all the huge rhcp hits were made. He stayed in the band, still made solo music and then left again. Sat with a few friends and made solo stuff again. It's made on his own 4 track usually, with one other person working on it. The album enclosure I believe is literally cut and stuck together with scissors to create abrupt transitions. He made an album with Josh Klinghoffer too, just them and 1 other guy. He generally hides from money success or fame. Truly. Every time he is in the spotlight his mental health just, crumbles and he has to go back to hiding and making music that he loves.
He has fame from rhcp (a lot of people still dont actually know who john even is), but none of his albums are high production or expensive. He literally made niandre lades to try and scrape a few coins for heroin and crack. We could all record songs on a 4 track. We can all literally do these things. It's just I doubt we have the same amount of talent, dedication and musical vision as a man who was asked to join the peppers at 18 years old. Idk like I get what you're saying but I don't agree at all that he made this music because he feels he can sit back and comfortably relax now that he's all comfortable and rich from the chilli peppers.
@jmnlkop45
when im in a corner john gives me the feeling to turn around it
@lucaskim8500
My hard-times song
@willywilly1
김병신 인생곡
@sahidgil1823
My hard-times album.