RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS - CALIFORNICATION

"Californication" is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 4th single from their hit album, Californication. It was released in 2000, the song only reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, though it remains as one of Red Hot Chili Peppers' best known songs and has been played at nearly every concert since its release. It is notable for its sparse yet haunting combination of guitar and bass notes in the intro, and its unique music video.

Californication is a unique video in that it takes the form of a video game from the point of view of the player. The video itself bears resemblance to many games, including Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto, Crazy Taxi, SSX, Resident Evil and the railcar level of Donkey Kong 64.

Guitarist John Frusciante starts off on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He bumps into a celebrity, and jumps over three security guards, then picks up an asterisk. The action pauses and cuts to a shot of the band playing on top of a hill for a few seconds. (This happens each time a band member picks up an asterisk, which is the logo of the band.)

Chad Smith, the Chili Peppers' drummer, is seen snowboarding down a hill (although he has never ridden a snowboard in real life). He falls into a ravine, but lands on a train.

Lead singer Anthony Kiedis starts off swimming in an ocean, passing sharks and swimmers and picks up an asterisk. He gets out riding a shark and lands in his car. The registration plate on the car says "GERMS", which is a reference to The Germs, the band that Kiedis listened to as he grew up.

Flea, the bassist, is seen in Muir Woods, and is about to pick up an asterisk, but he can't get past a bear guarding it, although he helps it out by kicking down a hunter about to shoot it. He goes on a mine-cart ride, and goes to another asterisk, but it's guarded by a pregnant teen (Dani of Dani California). He then gets surrounded by a horde of lumberjacks, but he jumps on top of a tree and sees all the other trees fall.