"By the Way" is a song by American
funk rock
Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer sta ...
band
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
. It is the title track and first single released from the band's eighth studio album
of the same name (2002), on June 24, 2002. The song was the band's sixth number-one hit on the
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart and spent seven weeks at number one on the
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
chart. Internationally, the song reached number two in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's highest-peaking single there alongside "
Dani California
"Dani California" is a song from American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers' ninth studio album, ''Stadium Arcadium'' (2006). The single was first made available at the iTunes Music Store and was officially released on April 28, 2006. The internati ...
", and peaked atop the
Italian Singles Chart
The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...
.
Regarding its release, guitarist
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...
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."
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
Yearbook (2002), pg.25 Vocalist
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa ...
elaborated: "I thought that single was an über-bombastic assault of non-commercialism. For it to be so well-received
n_the_United_Kingdom.html" ;"title="United_Kingdom.html" ;"title="n the United Kingdom">n the United Kingdom">United_Kingdom.html" ;"title="n the United Kingdom">n the United Kingdomwas shocking to me, but thrilling at the same time."
Music video
The music video was directed by
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a team of American film and music video directors who received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). Later the ...
, a couple who have directed many other music videos for the band. The video was released on June 10, 2002.
The video starts off with Kiedis calling for a taxi. He gets in the taxi and the cabbie (played by
Dave Sheridan) realizes he has him as his passenger. To please him, the driver puts a copy of the "By the Way" single into the taxi CD player, making Kiedis smile slightly. Suddenly, the cabbie begins driving out of control as he lip-syncs the song while driving rambunctiously throughout the streets of Los Angeles. After he locks the car door, an uncomfortable and apprehensive Kiedis attempts to make a call on his cell phone, but the cabbie brakes so hard that Kiedis loses grip of it. The cabbie snatches the phone and throws it out the window, then drives the car in a cloud of dust and backs up under a bridge.
While there, the cabbie pulls out flare sticks and begins to torture Kiedis through awkward dancing while the latter finally pages bassist
Flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
and Frusciante (with a message reading, "Help! Been kidnapped."), who are having lunch in a cafe. At first, they think it's a hoax, so they ignore the first message. When Kiedis pages them for the second time, they set out on Flea's Ford Bronco to find him with the crazy cabbie in the taxi. A wild chase and road rage ensues. Kiedis soon sees Flea and Frusciante, breaks out of the taxi window, and jumps in Flea's truck with a sigh of relief as the three escape the cabbie. At the end of the video, drummer
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...
flags down the taxi, with the cabbie realizing he is also a member of the band, so he lets him in and drives off with him. However, Chad is unaware that this is the same taxi man that kidnapped Kiedis and also ignores the broken glass.
Kiedis said of the video:
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'' is a 2000 Mexican psychological drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Guillermo Arriaga, based on a story by them both. ''Amores perros'' is the first installmen ...
'' 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.
Live performances
"By the Way" has been performed over 600 times since 2002, making it the band's fourth-most-performed song.
Track listing
CD single and Australia CD1
# "By the Way" – 3:35
# "Time" – 3:47
# "
A Teenager in Love
"A Teenager in Love" is a song written by Doc Pomus and partner Mort Shuman. It was originally recorded by Dion and the Belmonts, and released in March 1959. It appeared on their album ''Presenting Dion and the Belmonts'' (1959). It reached numb ...
" – 3:01
CD version 2 and Australia CD2
# "By the Way" – 3:35
# "Search and Destroy" (Live) – 12:13
# "What Is Soul?" (Live) – 3:58
CD version 3
# "By the Way"
# "Time"
# "Search and Destroy" (Live)
CD version 4, UK and Japanese CD single
# "By the Way" – 3:35
# "Time" – 3:47
# "Teenager in Love" – 3:01
# "Search and Destroy" (Live) – 12:13
7-inch single and Canadian CD single
# "By the Way"
# "Time"
DVD single
# "By the Way" (music video) – 3:36; directed by
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton (born July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (born October 20, 1958) are a team of American film and music video directors who received critical acclaim for their feature film directorial debut, ''Little Miss Sunshine'' (2006). Later the ...
# "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
Personnel
Red Hot Chili Peppers
* Anthony Kiedis – lead vocals
* John Frusciante – guitar, backing vocals
* Flea – bass
* Chad Smith – drums, tambourine
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
"Waiting 4" Peter Gelderblom remix
An
electro house
Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...
remix of "By the Way" by
Peter Gelderblom with co-production by Rene Amesz, was released on July 5, 2007, and became a popular track in clubs worldwide despite being released without the band's knowledge or approval. The song is called "Waiting 4", which is a prominently featured lyric in the original song. It reached number 29 for one week in the United Kingdom in December 2007.
It is included on the compilation ''Wild Weekends 04'' (2007). It was C-listed by
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
. A music video was made for the single. It was uploaded on Data Records' official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
account on November 13, 2007.
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:By the Way
2002 songs
2002 singles
Data Records singles
Music videos directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Number-one singles in Italy
Red Hot Chili Peppers songs
Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin
Songs written by Anthony Kiedis
Songs written by Chad Smith
Songs written by Flea (musician)
Songs written by John Frusciante
Warner Records singles