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.
Look On
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Knots in my mind
I resent
Self I can't find
I can't get through [Repeat x2]
A paper and a pencil
Are the best friends I've got
I went to downtown L.A.
I didn't get what I wanted
But I didn't care a thought
I saw that life was kidding
Look on [Repeat x6]
I'm warning you
I skipped a life
To be here
I've got no right
I'm bad luck
I used to feel a lot
Things used to be alright
So much was going on
I'm empty now inside
When I thought life was terrible
Things were going fine
Vincent called as a set up
Look on [Repeat x21]
It's not right
I lost my fame
It's a cheap trick
I want to do it again
I've got no life [Repeat x2]
I am a separate entity
From the guy I was before
Here nobody wants me
I hoped for something more
I flip through empty pages
That I thought I wrote on
I can't tell what is dreaming
Look on [Repeat x12]
The song "Look On" by John Frusciante explores themes of confusion, self-doubt, and disconnection. The opening lines capture the feeling of being stuck in one's own thoughts, unable to move past the "knots in my mind." The singer expresses frustration with themselves, unable to find their own identity ("self I can't find"). The repetition of "I can't get through" emphasizes this feeling of being stuck, unable to shake off these negative thoughts and perceptions of oneself.
The second verse introduces a sense of recklessness or desperation, with the singer referring to their only "friends" being a paper and a pencil. They recount a story of being picked up by the cops in downtown L.A., highlighting their feeling of being adrift or disconnected from society. The refrain "look on" takes on a deeper meaning here, as if the singer is urging themselves and others to look beyond the surface and see the deeper reality of their situations.
The third verse adds a sense of loss and regret to the mix, with the singer lamenting that they "skipped a life" to be in their current situation. They feel as though they have no right to be where they are, and express a sense of resignation to their bad luck. The line "when I thought life was terrible, things were going fine" underscores the idea that our perceptions often color our experiences, and that the singer's negative perception of their life may not reflect reality.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't get through
I am struggling to overcome my mental obstacles
Knots in my mind
My thoughts are tangled and complicated
I resent
I am feeling bitterness towards myself
Self I can't find
I am struggling to understand who I am
A paper and a pencil
Writing is my only source of comfort
Are the best friends I've got
Writing is the only thing that understands me
I went to downtown L.A.
I took a risk by going to the city
Got picked up by the cops
I had a negative experience while in the city
I didn't get what I wanted
My actions did not result in the outcome I desired
But I didn't care a thought
I was not emotionally affected by the negative outcome
I saw that life was kidding
I realized that life can play cruel jokes on us
Look on
Keep moving forward despite setbacks
I'm warning you
I am cautioning you about the dangers I have faced
I skipped a life
I took a risk and left my old life behind
To be here
In order to be where I am now
I've got no right
I do not deserve to be where I am
I'm bad luck
I feel that I bring misfortune upon myself
I used to feel a lot
I was once much more emotional
Things used to be alright
My life was better in the past
So much was going on
My life was once filled with excitement and activity
I'm empty now inside
I feel hollow and unfulfilled
When I thought life was terrible
I believed that my life was worse than it actually was
Vincent called as a set up
Someone I thought I could trust betrayed me
It's not right
The situation I am in is wrong
I lost my fame
I am no longer as successful as I once was
It's a cheap trick
My current situation is unfair and undeserved
I want to do it again
I wish I could go back and relive past experiences
I've got no life
I feel that I am not truly living
I am a separate entity
I am a different person than I used to be
From the guy I was before
Compared to my past self
Here nobody wants me
I feel unwanted in my current surroundings
I hoped for something more
I expected more from life
I flip through empty pages
I am searching for meaning in my life
That I thought I wrote on
But I am not finding the answers I seek
I can't tell what is dreaming
I am having difficulty distinguishing between reality and my dreams
Look on
Despite my struggles, I must continue to move forward
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind