"Warped" is a song by the American

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group

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 ...

, from their 1995 album, ''

One Hot Minute ''One Hot Minute'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 12, 1995 by Warner Bros. Records. The worldwide success of the band's previous album ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991) caused guitar ...

''. It was released as the first single from the album. It is the first track on ''One Hot Minute'', beginning with an unusually quiet intro, before suddenly kicking into a very heavy, crunching riff, and ends with a mellow, melodic outro.

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 ...

' vocals are distorted and echoed throughout, and contrast dramatically with the rapping present on the band's previous material, especially on their more fast-paced songs such as this; short lines are stretched to fill an entire measure. The musical style is of an unpredictable and unsettling nature, which is generally maintained throughout the entire album. The lyrics describe Kiedis' confused feelings about drugs, starting already in the first lines with: "my tendency/for dependency/is offending me". Despite being the album's first single, neither the song nor the accompanying video was included on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' ''

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'' compilation. The B-side "Melancholy Mechanics" also appears on the soundtrack to the 1996 movie, ''

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...

'', as well as on the Japanese pressing of ''One Hot Minute''. During live performances of "Warped", the band sometimes played a sample of the song " Three Days" by

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

(former band of then-guitarist Dave Navarro) at the end of the song. This song made its live debut at the Woodstock Festival in 1994, although with much different lyrics.

Music video

While piecing together the final components of the album, the band recorded a video for "Warped", which was released on August 9, 1995. They asked Flea's brother-in-law, Gavin Bowden, to direct it. The video featured members of the band scantily clad and posing in rather sexual manners and it involved Kiedis and Navarro kissing towards the end as a way of breaking the monotony of cumbersome video recording. Thinking nothing of it, they continued to shoot and finished several days later.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. pp. 347–349 Warner Bros., however, saw the video and instantly wanted it thrown away, considering it to be unmarketable and that the kiss and

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

imagery would alienate a large portion of the band's fan base. The band came to a consensus to let the kiss remain on the final cut, prompting a backlash from the more conservative segments of their audience, who took offense at the action. Kiedis said of the situation: "If they couldn't accept what we were doing, we didn't need them anymore."

Track listing

CD single (1995) # "Warped" (edit) # "Pea" (album) # "Melancholy Mechanics" (previously unreleased)

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers *

– vocals * Dave Navarro – guitar *

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 ...

– bass *

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 ...

– drums Additional musicians *

Stephen Perkins Stephen Andrew Perkins (September 13, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellride. Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Perkins continued to play ...

– percussion

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Red Hot Chili Peppers songs 1995 singles 1995 songs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs written by Anthony Kiedis Songs written by Chad Smith Songs written by Dave Navarro Songs written by Flea (musician)