Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt
Encyclopedia
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt is the debut solo album by John Frusciante
, released on March 8, 1994, on American Recordings. Frusciante released the album after encouragement from several friends, who told him that there was "no good music around anymore."
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt combines avant-garde
and stream-of-consciousness styles, with guitar, piano and various effects and synthesizers on a four-track recorder. The album's first half, Niandra Lades, was recorded before Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers
in 1992; during the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik
. The second half, Usually Just a T-Shirt, was recorded while the band was on tour in the months leading up to Frusciante's departure. Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt sold poorly upon its release in 1994, and was taken off the market, only to be re-released in 1999.
in 1988, at the age of 18, and released his first album with the group, Mother's Milk
the following year. The follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik
, was recorded in an empty mansion that the band decided to live in for the duration of recording. Frusciante adapted well to the environment, and often spent his time alone painting, listening to music, and recording songs that would eventually make up the first half of the album, Niandra Lades. Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released on September 24, 1991 and was an instant success. The album peaked at number three in the U.S. and went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. Soon after the album's release, Frusciante developed a dislike of the band's newfound popularity. He felt that the band was too famous, and wished they were still playing small nightclubs like they were before he joined the group. By his own admission, the band's rise to popularity took Frusciante by surprise, and he could not cope with it. During Blood Sugar Sex Magik's promotional tour, Frusciante began using heroin and cocaine
heavily. He and vocalist Anthony Kiedis
often argued zealously before and after performances. Frusciante began purposely sabotaging shows by playing the wrong intro for a song, or playing out of key. His relationship with the band had become progressively more strained, and he abruptly quit during the Japanese leg of their world tour in 1992.
, Perry Farrell
, Gibby Haynes
and former Red Hot Chili Peppers band mate Flea
—encouraged him to release the material he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions. Frusciante began working on final cuts of the songs he had been writing, and producing
them at his home in mid 1992. The production process, however, became hampered by his increasingly severe addiction to heroin. Usually Just a T-Shirt was recorded in the order it appears, with the final tracks being recorded shortly prior to Frusciante's departure from the Chili Peppers. Frusciante's use of heroin and cocaine
became more extreme during the final stages of recording in late 1993; he began viewing drugs as the only way to "make sure you stay in touch with beauty instead of letting the ugliness of the world corrupt your soul."
During a 1994 interview, a visibly intoxicated Frusciante noted that he wrote the album in order to create "interesting music", which he felt no longer existed. He felt contemporary artists were not writing material he deemed worth listening to and the mainstream population were settling for mediocrity. Drugs were another significant topic Frusciante based Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt on. According to Frusciante, he "was stoned for every single note I played on the album." He increased his drug use to cope with worsening depression that was caused by leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and his subsequent isolation. Several songs on the album deal with his dislike for the Chili Pepper's success, such as the album's eleventh track, "Blood on My Neck From Success".
All of the music on the record was written by Frusciante, save for the cover of hardcore punk
band Bad Brains
' song "Big Takeover". The track was intentionally slowed down and recorded melodically because of a pastime in which Frusciante sang punk songs in different time signatures: "It was just something I had been walking around thinking of in my head. Sometimes I'll walk around singing punk rock songs to myself, but as if they were regular songs instead of punk rock songs, you know, slow it down and make a melody instead of just yelling them out. And then the idea occurred me to record it like a Led Zeppelin ballad with mandolins and stuff." River Phoenix
, a friend of Frusciante's, had contributed guitar and backing vocals to two songs that were intended be included on the record, but they were ultimately left off due to protests from his family. These were later included under different names on the album Smile From The Streets You Hold
in 1997. Frusciante played all of the instruments on all of the songs that eventually were officially released on the album, including guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, mandolin, banjo, and clarinet. His girlfriend at the time, Toni Oswald, sang vocals on "Untitled #9".
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt incorporated Frusciante's avant-garde
style of song composition, with his stream-of-consciousness methodology. He recorded, mixed, produced and mastered the entire record by himself, and released it on Rick Rubin's label, American Recordings. Warner Bros.
, the Chili Peppers' label, originally held the rights to the album because of the leaving-artist clause in Frusciante's Chili Peppers contract. Because he was living as a recluse, however, the label gladly handed the rights over to Rubin, who released the album under his label.
is such a great drummer, can play Stravinsky
, and also smokes pot." The concept of a tour was ultimately abandoned as well, due to Frusciante's diminishing health.
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was not widely reviewed, but yielded a generally positive response from critics. Steve Huey of Allmusic, who rated the album four out of five stars, said that "[the album was] an intriguing and unexpected departure from Frusciante's work with the Chili Peppers", and that "the sparse arrangements of the first half help set the stage for the gossamer guitar work later on." He went on to say that Usually Just a T-Shirt—the latter half of the album—contained "pleasant psychedelic instrumentals with plenty of backward-guitar effects." Ned Raggett, also of Allmusic, noted that "there's nothing quite so stunning as [Frusciante's] magnificent remake of Bad Brains
' 'The Big Takeover'." Adam Williams of PopMatters
said the album "fall[s] somewhere between madness and brilliance". He went on to compare Frusciante to Syd Barrett
, and felt it was a "hint at a deeply cerebral artist looking within for inspiration and creativity." High Times' Tim Kenneally saw the record as "a revelation, both disturbingly intimate and cryptically veiled. Ladeled straight out of the guitarist's stream of consciousness, it's worlds away from the up-front, balls-out funk assault of his former band," with "an ethereal, otherworldly quality." The album received its share of negative criticism as well. Rolling Stone's
Christian Hoard felt "Frusciante's eccentricities run seriously amok", and that " [the album] sounds like a string of four-track demos. The first part of the album is slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section[...] Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings." The first Rolling Stone review of the record, however, was positive: "All in all, [the album is] a mess - but definitely a fascinating, often lovely mess. As one might expect of an album titled Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt this is twisted, cool stuff." The Boston Herald said that while the album was "a stark display of Frusciante's acoustic guitar virtuosity" and "eerily beautiful", the singing was "terrible; his high notes will drive the neighborhood dogs into a frenzy."
Frusciante's drug addiction worsened as the years progressed. An article published by the New Times LA
described him as "a skeleton covered in thin skin". He participated in an interview with Dutch public broadcast station VPRO
—the first media appearance he made since leaving the Chili Peppers. In the interview Frusciante speaks of the positive effects drugs have had on his mind and proudly admits to being a "junkie
". He went on to confess addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, but ultimately described himself as being in the best health of his life. In 1997, Frusciante released his second solo album Smile From the Streets You Hold
, primarily for drug money. Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was estimated to have sold only 45,000 copies when Frusciante ordered it out of print in 1998—when Frusciante rehabilitated and rejoined the Chili Peppers. Smile From the Streets You Hold was withdrawn from the market a year later. In 1999 Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was re-released on American Recordings. Frusciante has said he plans to re-release Smile From the Streets You Hold sometime in the future, but has not given any indication as to when.
Niandra Lades
Usually Just a T-Shirt [commonly referred to as 'Untitled #1-13']
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
, released on March 8, 1994, on American Recordings. Frusciante released the album after encouragement from several friends, who told him that there was "no good music around anymore."
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt combines avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
and stream-of-consciousness styles, with guitar, piano and various effects and synthesizers on a four-track recorder. The album's first half, Niandra Lades, was recorded before Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
in 1992; during the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records...
. The second half, Usually Just a T-Shirt, was recorded while the band was on tour in the months leading up to Frusciante's departure. Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt sold poorly upon its release in 1994, and was taken off the market, only to be re-released in 1999.
Background
Frusciante joined the Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
in 1988, at the age of 18, and released his first album with the group, Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk
Mother's Milk is the fourth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 16, 1989, on EMI America Records. It was the first album to feature the band's most well-known lineup...
the following year. The follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records...
, was recorded in an empty mansion that the band decided to live in for the duration of recording. Frusciante adapted well to the environment, and often spent his time alone painting, listening to music, and recording songs that would eventually make up the first half of the album, Niandra Lades. Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released on September 24, 1991 and was an instant success. The album peaked at number three in the U.S. and went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. Soon after the album's release, Frusciante developed a dislike of the band's newfound popularity. He felt that the band was too famous, and wished they were still playing small nightclubs like they were before he joined the group. By his own admission, the band's rise to popularity took Frusciante by surprise, and he could not cope with it. During Blood Sugar Sex Magik's promotional tour, Frusciante began using heroin and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
heavily. He and vocalist Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,...
often argued zealously before and after performances. Frusciante began purposely sabotaging shows by playing the wrong intro for a song, or playing out of key. His relationship with the band had become progressively more strained, and he abruptly quit during the Japanese leg of their world tour in 1992.
Writing and recording
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante continued to write and record solo material. He had been doing so since the age of nine, but had never considered releasing his material to the public. That was until several of his friends—including Johnny DeppJohnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...
, Gibby Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
and former Red Hot Chili Peppers band mate Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
—encouraged him to release the material he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions. Frusciante began working on final cuts of the songs he had been writing, and producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
them at his home in mid 1992. The production process, however, became hampered by his increasingly severe addiction to heroin. Usually Just a T-Shirt was recorded in the order it appears, with the final tracks being recorded shortly prior to Frusciante's departure from the Chili Peppers. Frusciante's use of heroin and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
became more extreme during the final stages of recording in late 1993; he began viewing drugs as the only way to "make sure you stay in touch with beauty instead of letting the ugliness of the world corrupt your soul."
During a 1994 interview, a visibly intoxicated Frusciante noted that he wrote the album in order to create "interesting music", which he felt no longer existed. He felt contemporary artists were not writing material he deemed worth listening to and the mainstream population were settling for mediocrity. Drugs were another significant topic Frusciante based Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt on. According to Frusciante, he "was stoned for every single note I played on the album." He increased his drug use to cope with worsening depression that was caused by leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and his subsequent isolation. Several songs on the album deal with his dislike for the Chili Pepper's success, such as the album's eleventh track, "Blood on My Neck From Success".
All of the music on the record was written by Frusciante, save for the cover of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
' song "Big Takeover". The track was intentionally slowed down and recorded melodically because of a pastime in which Frusciante sang punk songs in different time signatures: "It was just something I had been walking around thinking of in my head. Sometimes I'll walk around singing punk rock songs to myself, but as if they were regular songs instead of punk rock songs, you know, slow it down and make a melody instead of just yelling them out. And then the idea occurred me to record it like a Led Zeppelin ballad with mandolins and stuff." River Phoenix
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
, a friend of Frusciante's, had contributed guitar and backing vocals to two songs that were intended be included on the record, but they were ultimately left off due to protests from his family. These were later included under different names on the album Smile From The Streets You Hold
Smile from the Streets You Hold
Smile from the Streets You Hold is the second solo album by John Frusciante. The record was released during a time when Frusciante was not performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on August 26, 1997 on Birdman Records, while Frusciante was still addicted to heroin...
in 1997. Frusciante played all of the instruments on all of the songs that eventually were officially released on the album, including guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, mandolin, banjo, and clarinet. His girlfriend at the time, Toni Oswald, sang vocals on "Untitled #9".
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt incorporated Frusciante's avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
style of song composition, with his stream-of-consciousness methodology. He recorded, mixed, produced and mastered the entire record by himself, and released it on Rick Rubin's label, American Recordings. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, the Chili Peppers' label, originally held the rights to the album because of the leaving-artist clause in Frusciante's Chili Peppers contract. Because he was living as a recluse, however, the label gladly handed the rights over to Rubin, who released the album under his label.
Release, reception and aftermath
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was initially previewed by Billboard magazine, who said that "Chili Peppers fans might be daunted by the album's elusive experimentalism." A representative of American Recordings did not foresee the album as being viable in any mainstream music stores, and some retailers went as far as to ban it from being sold. After the album was released, Frusciante played three small performances, and participated in a few magazine interviews to promote the album; explaining in one interview that people would only be able to understand his work if "their heads are capable of tripping out." At one point shortly after release, Frusciante began searching for a string quartet to play the album with him on tour. The idea was eventually discarded when he could not find a band that "understands why Ringo StarrRingo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
is such a great drummer, can play Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, and also smokes pot." The concept of a tour was ultimately abandoned as well, due to Frusciante's diminishing health.
Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was not widely reviewed, but yielded a generally positive response from critics. Steve Huey of Allmusic, who rated the album four out of five stars, said that "[the album was] an intriguing and unexpected departure from Frusciante's work with the Chili Peppers", and that "the sparse arrangements of the first half help set the stage for the gossamer guitar work later on." He went on to say that Usually Just a T-Shirt—the latter half of the album—contained "pleasant psychedelic instrumentals with plenty of backward-guitar effects." Ned Raggett, also of Allmusic, noted that "there's nothing quite so stunning as [Frusciante's] magnificent remake of Bad Brains
Bad Brains
Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
' 'The Big Takeover'." Adam Williams of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
said the album "fall[s] somewhere between madness and brilliance". He went on to compare Frusciante to Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett , born Roger Keith Barrett, was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter, best remembered as a founding member of the band Pink Floyd. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter during the band's psychedelic years, providing major musical and stylistic...
, and felt it was a "hint at a deeply cerebral artist looking within for inspiration and creativity." High Times
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Christian Hoard felt "Frusciante's eccentricities run seriously amok", and that " [the album] sounds like a string of four-track demos. The first part of the album is slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section[...] Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings." The first Rolling Stone review of the record, however, was positive: "All in all, [the album is] a mess - but definitely a fascinating, often lovely mess. As one might expect of an album titled Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt this is twisted, cool stuff." The Boston Herald said that while the album was "a stark display of Frusciante's acoustic guitar virtuosity" and "eerily beautiful", the singing was "terrible; his high notes will drive the neighborhood dogs into a frenzy."
New Times LA
New Times LA is a now-defunct alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California by the New Times Media corporation from 1996 until 2002. The editor-in-chief for its entire run was Rick Barrs...
described him as "a skeleton covered in thin skin". He participated in an interview with Dutch public broadcast station VPRO
VPRO
The VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...
—the first media appearance he made since leaving the Chili Peppers. In the interview Frusciante speaks of the positive effects drugs have had on his mind and proudly admits to being a "junkie
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
". He went on to confess addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, but ultimately described himself as being in the best health of his life. In 1997, Frusciante released his second solo album Smile From the Streets You Hold
Smile from the Streets You Hold
Smile from the Streets You Hold is the second solo album by John Frusciante. The record was released during a time when Frusciante was not performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on August 26, 1997 on Birdman Records, while Frusciante was still addicted to heroin...
, primarily for drug money. Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was estimated to have sold only 45,000 copies when Frusciante ordered it out of print in 1998—when Frusciante rehabilitated and rejoined the Chili Peppers. Smile From the Streets You Hold was withdrawn from the market a year later. In 1999 Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt was re-released on American Recordings. Frusciante has said he plans to re-release Smile From the Streets You Hold sometime in the future, but has not given any indication as to when.
Track listing
All songs written by John Frusciante, except where noted.Niandra Lades
- "As Can Be" – 2:57
- "My Smile Is a Rifle" – 3:48
- "Head (Beach Arab)" – 2:05
- "Big Takeover" (Bad BrainsBad BrainsBad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...
) – 3:18 - "Curtains" – 2:30
- "Running Away into You" – 2:12
- "Mascara" – 3:40
- "Been Insane" – 1:41
- "Skin Blues" – 1:46
- "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on FireYour Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire"Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire" is a 1994 song by John Frusciante.Frusciante had joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988. He wrote and recorded the song during the writing of the band's 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik and left the band in 1992. In 1994 he released his solo album...
" – 3:17 - "Blood on My Neck From Success" – 3:09
- "Ten to Butter Blood Voodoo" – 1:59
Usually Just a T-Shirt [commonly referred to as 'Untitled #1-13']
- Untitled – 0:34
- Untitled – 4:21
- Untitled – 1:50
- Untitled – 1:38
- Untitled – 1:30
- Untitled – 1:29
- Untitled – 1:42
- Untitled – 7:55
- Untitled – 7:04
- Untitled – 0:25
- Untitled – 1:51
- Untitled – 5:27
- Untitled – 1:52