Frusciante takes a break...

At this very moment I am both happy and sad. Why you ask? Because I just received the newest John Frusciante CD in the mail, the very CD I pre-ordered almost a month ago. Yet again, Frusciante does not disappoint as he elevates himself closer to true singer-songwriter status. The guitar style is creative, the vocals are melodic, and the overall sound is different than the normal shit on the radio. However, I am sad because of the fact that this will be the last album, for the time being, released by Frusciante. Yet, there is little reason for me to be sad. After all, my favorite solo artist has blessed me with six albums, five of them full length, in six months. How many of you can say that (unless you are Frusciante fans too)? It is very rare for an artist to release so much material in such a short amount of time. Even more amazing is that each album has a unique sound of its own.

When was the last time Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, Simple Plan, Linkin Park, or almost any other mainstream artist, for that matter, even manage to squeeze out 2 albums in a year? How sad is it that these singers and bands get so much attention, yet they have not even come close to accomplishing the feats of Frusciante and other talented, but unkown artists. All of the artists mentioned in the opening sentence of this paragraph have been around for less than a decade; John Frusciante has been around for almost 15 years. While Britney Spears was still in grade school, John Frusciante and his fellow Chili Peppers revolutionized modern rock with the release of Blood Sex Sugar Magik. When she released her debut album in 1999, the Chili Peppers were releasing Californication, an album that would later gross 13 million in sales and solidify them as one of the greatest bands of our generation. As Ashlee Simpson lip-psynced her way through a live performance in front of a TV audience of thousands this year, John Frusciante had already released what was arguably the best pop rock song of 2004, Song To Sing When I'm Lonely; no one heard it. The same can be said for the next 5 albums released under Frusciante's name. But hey, Jimi Hendrix didn't get such an incredibly large fanbase until he died. Maybe it will just take time. One can only hope; after all, the last thing I want to hear 20 years from now on an elevator is a string arrangement of "You make me wanna la la on the kitchen floor." Seriously people, why do you tolerate such meaningless shit? ~Rich