Californication; Red Hot Chili Peppers and the "California Dream"

There's this illusion that's sold to not only Americans, but of folks abroad, about the “California Dream” and how life here is about all dreams coming true, instant fortunes, and living the glamorous life. It's a scam; a false pretense that's packaged and pitched by the very heart of the entertainment industry.

As this industry has grown, and become more convoluted, more and more of those in it have begun to express the disillusion they, and others, have come to experience in Hollywood. Of those, Californication, by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, is probably one of the more masterful. Formed in the mid 1980's in Los Angeles, the band is no stranger to the twists and wilds of the music scene, and have expressed as much in many of their songs. Here, in Californication, the band puts forth, through lyrics, exposing some of the realities of what folks have come to believe is the dream of living in California.

One of the primary elements of the myth of California is its near exotic location; always envisioned as idyllic weather, beaches, and beautiful scenery. “It's the edge of the world /And all of western civilization/The sun may rise in the East /At least it settles in the final location” pretty much sums up this idea that California is the end all be all; the place everyone wants to be.

In his book, Scar Tissue, lead singer Anthony Kiedis says he was inspired by something he heard from a ranting lady in New Zealand, opening the song with “ Psychic spies from China/Try to steal your mind's elation /Little girls from Sweden /Dream of silver screen quotations”; referring to how wide spread this notion of the Hollywood myth is, across the globe – how invasive it can be. In many cases, it also goes to talk about how this romantic notion of life, adventure, and fortune have infected some's expectation of how life should just fall into place; much like a movie, or even a song.

This is perfectly exemplified in a bit of lyrics, written in the first person of one chasing that very dream, in Hollywood with “Marry me girl be my fairy to the world /Be my very own constellation” but goes on to reveal “A teenage bride with a baby inside /Getting high on information”; directly commenting on how the system can lead young and impressionable folks astray. And with the final line of this particular verse, we get our real first glimpse of what everyone who dreams of coming to the west coast has their eyes blinded by; “ And buy me a star on the boulevard /It's Californication”. Here we can get this sense that, while everyone comes here for fame and fortune, no one's really aware of how much hard work it takes, or how many fail miserably trying.

The term “Californication” is the blending of the state name, for which most attach the ideas of fame, fortune, and romance, with the term “fornication”; giving the meaning of prostituting the Californian life to create a form of marketing brand in order to make a profit. This is noted in the song with lines that end each verse, such as ; “ And if you want these kind of dreams /It's Californication”, and “ It's understood that Hollywood /Sells Californication”.

This notion, then, of glamor and glitz is exposed in the line “ Pay your surgeon very well/To break the spell of aging/Celebrity skin is this your chin/Or is that war your waging” is referring to the urgent need to look young and beautiful, and how its sold to everyone en mass; affecting the very way we see and perceive ourselves, and how we judge ourselves for and against it. The song revisits this, and really questions it with “Pay your surgeon very well/To break the spell of aging/Sicker than the rest/There is no test/But this is what you're craving”; bringing to light the very idea that, somehow, Hollywood has warped our ideas of beauty and self.

While the song does note how we're all colored by this ethereal image sold to us by Hollywood, who controls who is, and gets famous - “Born and raised by those who praise/Control of population/Everybody's been there/And I don't mean on vacation” - it also can't help but point out that, while it can be destructive, if you can keep your head and wits about you, then it's not necessarily an evil place; “Destruction leads to a very rough road/But it also breeds creation/And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar/They're just another good vibration”. Though there is consideration about how much we really need Hollywood and its fake dreams for sale; “ And tidal waves couldn't save the world/From Californication”.

Having been at the heart and center of the Hollywood music industry, themselves, for some time, The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been able to pull from a wealth of experience; weaving a lyrical tapestry that reveals, in its prose, some of the darker truths behind the notion of the “California Dream”, the myth of wealth, romance, and fame often promised by Hollywood. Giving us the hard sell, Hollywood has ingrained in the American people, and, to some extent, the world, this image of a good life, beauty, and success. In Californication, The Red Hot Chili Peppers peel back the facade, giving us a better look at the reality of this myth; broken dreams, wasted youth, and the desperate clinging to impossible ideals of beauty in a desperate attempt to remain hip, relevant, and noticed. Maybe even, in the process, trying to show how we can be enamored by it, ourselves.