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.
The Mirror
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Unconsiderate to yourself
You are always out of tune to you
Stepping back from where you are
Nevers angle is one for all
Fired by an unknown eye
That wasn't always a place for you to cry
Everyone knows becoming's what you do
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
How many times have you been to the back
No one to see and
Nothing to laugh at
Going everywhere at once
Time does a crawl back to where it doesn't show
No one means me
When they say people don't grow
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
The lyrics in John Frusciante's "The Mirror" speak to the idea of self-reflection and discovering one's true identity. The first verse sets the scene of feeling disconnected from oneself, feeling "out of tune", and being faced with the harsh reality that you are not being gentle with yourself. This line can be viewed both literally and metaphorically, as not only are you being physically hit in the face by a door, but you are constantly hitting yourself emotionally by not being considerate of your own needs. The line "stepping back from where you are" suggests a step back from the current state of being and taking the time to really examine and evaluate one's actions and feelings.
The second verse continues this theme of self-discovery and exploration, asking how many times you have been to the back, a place where there's nothing to laugh at and no one to witness your struggles. The idea of going everywhere at once conveys a sense of lostness and searching for something that may not even exist. The line "no one means me when they say people don't grow" suggests that growth and change are not a one-size-fits-all concept and that each person must take their own journey towards self-discovery. The repeated line "the face in the mirror is not me" drives home the idea that one's true self may not be visible at first glance and that true identity comes from within.
Line by Line Meaning
Hit in the face when you open a door
You are often met with unexpected and unpleasant situations, as if life itself is hitting you in the face, and these experiences can come from something as simple as opening a door.
Unconsiderate to yourself
You tend to treat yourself poorly, disregarding your own needs and desires.
You are always out of tune to you
You struggle to understand and connect with yourself, and often feel a disconnect between your inner self and your outer actions and thoughts.
Stepping back from where you are
You feel the need to distance yourself from your current situation, perhaps in order to gain a clearer perspective or make changes in your life.
Nevers angle is one for all
Your perspective, goals, and desires are unique to you, and cannot be easily understood or shared by others, as they have their own unique perspectives.
Fired by an unknown eye
You feel as though you are being judged or scrutinized, even by an unseen force, driving you to constantly strive for betterment.
That wasn't always a place for you to cry
The world is not always a welcoming or understanding place, and often leaves you feeling vulnerable and alone.
Everyone knows becoming's what you do when you die
Death is an inevitability, and in life, you constantly grow and change in order to become the best version of yourself before you reach the end.
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
You struggle to recognize or connect with the person you see in the mirror, feeling as though you are constantly changing or disconnected from yourself.
How many times have you been to the back
You have ventured into dark, unknown places within yourself, perhaps in search of answers or understanding.
No one to see and nothing to laugh at
These internal journeys often leave you feeling alone and without the comfort of others or the ability to find humor in your situation.
Going everywhere at once
You feel as though you are constantly moving or changing, without a clear sense of direction or purpose.
Time does a crawl back to where it doesn't show
Time can sometimes seem to stand still, or move backwards, leaving you feeling as though you are in a place of limbo or stagnation.
No one means me when they say people don't grow
Despite the common saying that people don't change, you believe that growth and change are essential parts of life, and are possible for everyone.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Corvino
Hit in the face when you open a door
Unconsiderate to yourself
You are always out of tune to you
Stepping back from where you are
Nevers angle is one for all
Fired by an unknown eye
That wasn't always a place for you to cry
Everyone knows becoming's what you do
When you die
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
How many times have you been to the back
No one to see and
Nothing to laugh at
Going everywhere at once
Time does a crawl back to where it doesn't show
No one means me
When they say people don't grow
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
Soulinabody
John Frusciante is a livin' soul... His music can change the people,a real genius...!
R Corvino
Hit in the face when you open a door
Unconsiderate to yourself
You are always out of tune to you
Stepping back from where you are
Nevers angle is one for all
Fired by an unknown eye
That wasn't always a place for you to cry
Everyone knows becoming's what you do
When you die
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
How many times have you been to the back
No one to see and
Nothing to laugh at
Going everywhere at once
Time does a crawl back to where it doesn't show
No one means me
When they say people don't grow
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
The face in the mirror is not me - yeah hey hey
Ellandill
This man is the greatest song writer in the world. It's Jesus !
Cil
2:03 gives me chills all the times, so powerful
Ada Prado
Perfeição em música.
chenper
Genius ! Powerful ! Human ! Thanks God he exists !
André Moura
It feels like Golden Slumbers. And I loved it.
tasfa10
I always thought John sometimes sounds like Paul in Golden Slumbers! That "no one means me when they say people don't grow" sounds a lot like the "Smiles awake you when you rise"
Midnight Talker.
It feels like a reprise to Golden Slumbers.
Willie Maize
André Moura it feels like a lot of things