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.
Heaven
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanted to figure it out for myself
I spin around the fortress
You never know the currency that we all run on
We run on
We run on
You once told me
End the night with channel four
You don't see me looking you up when I'm here
We live fast cause time won't last
See me freezing like the bum I am
From where you start there's endless information drilled into your eyes
Well, I don't need protection
One life begins, another dies
Bad timing
I won't last
Man, that's the facts
It is a feeling that will never pass
And you know you could be taking us far
When I speak to you again through the stages of pleasure
Well, I don't have my own fave
So c'mon and be replaced
There's a future that's calling
But I don't see it coming
No, I don't have my own face
So c'mon and be replaced
There's a future that's calling
But I don't see it coming
No, I don't see it coming
No, I don't see it coming
The song "Heaven" by John Frusciante is a dreamlike, introspective piece that touches on themes of mortality, human connection, and the search for meaning in life. The opening lines "Well I spent the night in heaven / I wanted to figure it out for myself" suggest a desire for personal enlightenment, a sense that the singer is searching for answers beyond the confines of conventional belief systems or societal norms. The image of spinning around a fortress adds to the surreal, almost hallucinatory quality of the lyrics, suggesting a kind of disorientation in the face of the unknown.
The lines "You never know the currency that we all run on / We run on / We run on" seem to speak to a sense that there are hidden forces at play in the world, unseen currents that guide our lives, and yet remain fundamentally unknowable. The reference to "a billion frequencies" and "channel four" suggest a kind of overload of information, a sense of being bombarded with stimuli that can be difficult to process or make sense of. The line "We live fast cause time won't last" adds to the sense of urgency and impermanence that runs throughout the song, reflecting on the fleeting nature of existence and the need to make the most of every moment.
As the song continues, the singer addresses a "you" figure, someone who seems to have a great deal of influence over their life but who remains somewhat distant and enigmatic. The reference to "endless information drilled into your eyes" suggests a kind of indoctrination or conditioning, a sense that we are all shaped by the world around us in ways we may not even be aware of. However, the line "Well, I don't need protection" suggests a willingness to break free of these constraints and think for oneself, even in the face of uncertainty and risk.
Overall, "Heaven" is a song that invites the listener to contemplate the mysteries of life and to seek out their own personal truths, even in the face of an overwhelming and often confusing world. It is a testament to the human spirit's capacity for resilience and growth, even in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I spent the night in heaven
I had an amazing experience that made me feel like I was in a different world
I wanted to figure it out for myself
I wanted to understand this incredible feeling on my own
I spin around the fortress
I feel like I'm surrounded by something powerful or protective
You never know the currency that we all run on
You never know what motivates people and what they value most
We run on
We keep moving, even though we don't always know where we're going
You once told me
There was a time when you shared something important with me
You keep a billion frequencies on your person
You have a million different ways of experiencing the world
End the night with channel four
You like to watch TV before going to bed
You don't see me looking you up when I'm here
When we're together, I don't need any outside information about you
We live fast cause time won't last
We try to enjoy life as much as we can because it doesn't last forever
See me freezing like the bum I am
I feel vulnerable and exposed
From where you start there's endless information drilled into your eyes
From the moment you are born, you are bombarded with information
Well, I don't need protection
I feel confident and strong on my own
One life begins, another dies
Life is a constant cycle of birth and death
Bad timing
This is not a good time for something to happen
I won't last
I know that I will eventually die
Man, that's the facts
That's just the truth of the matter
It is a feeling that will never pass
This amazing feeling will stay with me forever
And you know you could be taking us far
You have the potential to do great things
When I speak to you again through the stages of pleasure
When we reconnect, it will be a very enjoyable experience
Well, I don't have my own face
I feel like I'm not quite sure who I am
So c'mon and be replaced
I'm ready for a change, so let's do something new
There's a future that's calling
There are opportunities waiting for us in the future
But I don't see it coming
I'm not quite sure what the future holds
No, I don't see it coming
I'm not expecting anything specific in the future
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN ANTHONY FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aressacunha841
Lyrics:
Well I spent the night in heaven
I wanted to figure it out by myself
I spin around the fortress
You never know the currency that we all run on
We run on
We run on
You once told me
You keep a billion frequencies on your person
End the night with channel four
You don't see me looking you up when I'm here
We live fast cause time won't last
See me freezing like the bum I am
From where you start there's endless information drilled into your eyes
Well, I don't need protection
One life begins, another dies
Bad timing
I won't last
Man, that's the facts
It is a feeling that will never pass
And you know you could be taking us far
When I speak to you again through the stages of pleasure
Well, I don't have my own face
So c'mon and let me replace
There's a future that's calling
But I don't see it coming
No, I don't have my own face
So c'mon and let me replace
There's a future that's calling
But I don't see it coming
No, I don't see it coming
@Jclarkhawkins
Listening to this entire album with headphones so you can hear every nuance is one of the greatest experiences you'll ever have.
@dino3965
who listens to music without headphones?
@Jclarkhawkins
+dino people who drive in cars?
@dino3965
people who drive probably aren't running youtube through their aux
@user-vr4ng7hv1y
+dino People that have friends with whom they listen to music.
@laishoirulo4717
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasQ1lYoDhQ
@saraslezackova2603
Frusciante is a true gift from God. I'm so thankful to God, he gave him a second chance for life. So grateful, that John can be here with us. He has so much in his heart, what he can give to world. This song makes me cry, thank you John, in this way it´s aright.
@ely11mtz1
So true!
@iwonamlodawska-waterson4240
It's late at night and I'm just like: one more song...
@iwonamlodawska-waterson4240
Good to know.