By the Way (song)
Encyclopedia
"By the Way" is a song by American funk rock
band Red Hot Chili Peppers
. It is the title track and the first single released from the band's eighth studio album of the same name
. The song was the band's sixth #1 hit and third straght #1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks
chart, staying at the summit for 14 weeks, tying it with "Dani California
" as the band's second longest stay at the top, behind only "Scar Tissue
", which was at the top for 16 weeks. It also spent 7 weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
chart, their fourth song to top this chart.
Regarding its release, guitarist John Frusciante
noted: "It wasn't really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us. I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound." Vocalist Anthony Kiedis
elaborated: "I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to be so well received [in the United Kingdom
] was shocking to me, but thrilling at the same time."
"By the Way" has been performed at almost every show since it's first performance in 2002 making it one of the band's most performed songs ever with well over 350 performances and counting.
, a couple who has collaborated with the band to create music videos on numerous other occasions. It is not a visual verbatim demonstration of the lyrical denotations, but rather a story all its own.
The video starts off with Anthony calling for a taxi. He gets in the taxi and a cabbie (played by Dave Sheridan) realizes he has Anthony as his passenger and puts a copy of the "By the Way" single into the CD player to please him, making Anthony smile mildly. Suddenly, the cabbie begins driving out of control as he lip-synchs the song loud and clear, accelerating the taxi faster and faster driving rambunctiously throughout the streets of L.A. After he locks the car door, making Anthony uncomfortable and apprehensive, Anthony attempts to make a call on his cell phone, but the cabbie brakes so hard Anthony loses grip of his cell phone and the cabbie snatches it and throws it out the window. The cabbie drives Anthony even more crazy as he drives the car in a cloud of dust and backs up under a bridge.
While under the bridge, the cabbie pulls out flare sticks and begins to torture him through awkward dancing while Anthony finally pages Flea and John, who are having lunch in a cafe, which says "Help! Been kidnapped." At first John and Flea thinks it a hoax so they ignore the first message, then when Anthony pages them for the second time, Flea and John set out on Flea's Ford Bronco to find Anthony once again with the crazy cabbie in the taxi and begin a wild chase and even having some road rage. Anthony soon sees them, and breaks out of the taxi window and jumps in Flea's truck with a sigh of relief as the Chilis drive on another road to escape the cabbie. At the end of the video, we see Chad flag down the taxi, the cabbie realizes that he is also a member of the Chilis, so he lets Chad in and drives off [the window that was broken was now shown intact] with him.
Anthony Kiedis
– The Making of: By the Way; Greatest Hits
.
The fast and often jerky camera angles used in the high speed chase sequences are based on the 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros
in which all the characters are linked by a car crash at the beginning of the film; before the crash is an almost identical high speed car chase sequence.
", in which the lyrics refer to an unnamed "Teenage bride with a baby inside". This story was continued in "By the Way", and concluded in "Dani California
".
The song is about a 18 year old guy, who gets killed by a car whilst waiting for tickets for a RHCP concert, he was sleeping in a parking lot when someone ran over him. "Standing in line, to see the show tonight and there's a light on"(describes the car coming). "Heavy glow"(the car running over him) "By the way I tried to say I'll be there" (he dies). It's their tribute for the kid "Dani the girl , singing songs to me."
. It is included on the UK edition of Now 68 and Wild Weekends 04 (2007).
CD version 2 / Australia CD2
CD version 3
CD version 4 / UK CD single
7" single / Canada CD single
DVD single
Funk rock
Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
band Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
. It is the title track and the first single released from the band's eighth studio album of the same name
By the Way
By the Way is the eighth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album was released on July 9, 2002 on Warner Bros. Records. It sold over 286,000 copies in the first week, and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The singles from the album included "By the Way", "The...
. The song was the band's sixth #1 hit and third straght #1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart, staying at the summit for 14 weeks, tying it with "Dani California
Dani California
"Dani California" is a single from the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers's ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and then was officially released on May 2, 2006...
" as the band's second longest stay at the top, behind only "Scar Tissue
Scar Tissue
"Scar Tissue" is the first single from the American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' seventh studio album Californication, released in 1999...
", which was at the top for 16 weeks. It also spent 7 weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
chart, their fourth song to top this chart.
Regarding its release, guitarist John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
noted: "It wasn't really our decision to put that song out first, but our managers thought it was an exciting song and their enthusiasm convinced us. I guess they thought that it combined the wild part of our sound with the melodic part of our sound." Vocalist Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...
elaborated: "I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to be so well received [in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
] was shocking to me, but thrilling at the same time."
"By the Way" has been performed at almost every show since it's first performance in 2002 making it one of the band's most performed songs ever with well over 350 performances and counting.
Music video
The frenetic video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie FarisJonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
, a couple who has collaborated with the band to create music videos on numerous other occasions. It is not a visual verbatim demonstration of the lyrical denotations, but rather a story all its own.
The video starts off with Anthony calling for a taxi. He gets in the taxi and a cabbie (played by Dave Sheridan) realizes he has Anthony as his passenger and puts a copy of the "By the Way" single into the CD player to please him, making Anthony smile mildly. Suddenly, the cabbie begins driving out of control as he lip-synchs the song loud and clear, accelerating the taxi faster and faster driving rambunctiously throughout the streets of L.A. After he locks the car door, making Anthony uncomfortable and apprehensive, Anthony attempts to make a call on his cell phone, but the cabbie brakes so hard Anthony loses grip of his cell phone and the cabbie snatches it and throws it out the window. The cabbie drives Anthony even more crazy as he drives the car in a cloud of dust and backs up under a bridge.
While under the bridge, the cabbie pulls out flare sticks and begins to torture him through awkward dancing while Anthony finally pages Flea and John, who are having lunch in a cafe, which says "Help! Been kidnapped." At first John and Flea thinks it a hoax so they ignore the first message, then when Anthony pages them for the second time, Flea and John set out on Flea's Ford Bronco to find Anthony once again with the crazy cabbie in the taxi and begin a wild chase and even having some road rage. Anthony soon sees them, and breaks out of the taxi window and jumps in Flea's truck with a sigh of relief as the Chilis drive on another road to escape the cabbie. At the end of the video, we see Chad flag down the taxi, the cabbie realizes that he is also a member of the Chilis, so he lets Chad in and drives off [the window that was broken was now shown intact] with him.
- Rumours exist that the bridge that Anthony gets driven under is the one he sang about in the song, "Under the BridgeUnder the Bridge"Under the Bridge" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on March 10, 1992 as the second single from the group's fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics to express a feeling of loneliness and despondency, and to reflect on...
" where he struggled with drugs and almost ended his life. - The book that Anthony holds in his hand at the beginning is Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs. The book based on L.A. punk band, The GermsThe GermsThe Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
and their late singer, Darby CrashDarby CrashDarby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
who were both a influence on Anthony and was written by Brendan MullenBrendan MullenBrendan Mullen was born in Paisley, Scotland and moved to Manchester, England when he was 8. He spent his early teen years writing for various British music magazines. In 1973, Mullen moved to the United States where he remained for the remainder of his life. Mullen had just started working toward...
.
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...
– The Making of: By the Way; Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Red Hot Chili Peppers album)
Greatest Hits is the second compilation album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on November 18, 2003 by Warner Bros. Records. Aside from their cover of "Higher Ground", all songs on the compilation are from their tenure on Warner Bros...
.
The fast and often jerky camera angles used in the high speed chase sequences are based on the 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros
Amores perros
Amores perros is a 2000 neorealist Mexican film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Amores Perros is the first movie in Iñárritu's trilogy of death, and was followed by 21 Grams and Babel. It is a triptych; an anthology film, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Pulp Fiction," containing...
in which all the characters are linked by a car crash at the beginning of the film; before the crash is an almost identical high speed car chase sequence.
Lyrical depiction
Contrary to the music video, the song's lyrics tell an ambiguous story of a girl named Dani. The story had been gradually developing throughout a 7 year time period, starting with "CalifornicationCalifornication (song)
"Californication" is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' fourth single and sixth track from their seventh studio album, Californication. Released in 2000, the song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Mainstream Rock Tracks and US Modern Rock Tracks...
", in which the lyrics refer to an unnamed "Teenage bride with a baby inside". This story was continued in "By the Way", and concluded in "Dani California
Dani California
"Dani California" is a single from the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers's ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and then was officially released on May 2, 2006...
".
The song is about a 18 year old guy, who gets killed by a car whilst waiting for tickets for a RHCP concert, he was sleeping in a parking lot when someone ran over him. "Standing in line, to see the show tonight and there's a light on"(describes the car coming). "Heavy glow"(the car running over him) "By the way I tried to say I'll be there" (he dies). It's their tribute for the kid "Dani the girl , singing songs to me."
"Waiting 4" Peter Gelderblom remix
An electro house remix of "By the Way" by Rene Amesz and Peter Gelderblom was released on 5 July 2007, and became a popular track in clubs worldwide. The remix is also known as "Waiting 4", which is a prominently featured lyric. It reached #29 for one week in late November/early December 2007 in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is included on the UK edition of Now 68 and Wild Weekends 04 (2007).
Track listing
CD single / Australia CD1- "By the Way" (album) – 3:35
- "Time" (unreleased) – 3:47
- "Teenager in LoveA Teenager in Love"A Teenager in Love" is a song written by Doc Pomus and partner Mort Shuman and was originally sung and released by Dion and the Belmonts in March 1959. It reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts. In May 1959, the song held three positions in the British Top 20, the other two versions being by Marty...
" (unreleased) – 3:01
CD version 2 / Australia CD2
- "By the Way" (album) – 3:35
- "Search and Destroy" (live) – 12:13
- "What Is Soul?" (live) – 3:58
CD version 3
- "By the Way" (album)
- "Time" (unreleased)
- "Search and Destroy" (live)
CD version 4 / UK CD single
- "By the Way" (album) – 3:35
- "Time" (unreleased) – 3:47
- "Teenager in Love" (unreleased) – 3:01
- "Search and Destroy" (live) – 12:13
7" single / Canada CD single
- "By the Way" (album)
- "Time" (unreleased)
DVD single
- "By the Way" (video) – 3:36; directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie FarisJonathan Dayton and Valerie FarisJonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a team of American music video directors, also husband and wife, that received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, Little Miss Sunshine....
- "Obsessive, Compulsive, Psychologically, Misarranged Cabdriver/Fan (aka the making of "By the Way")" – 13:45; directed by Byron Shaw and Bart Lipton for Brown & Serve
- "By the Way" (performance version) – 3:36