"Scar Tissue" is the first single from American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

' seventh studio album, ''

Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word), an expression that refers to the influx of Californians into various western states in the U.S. *Californication (album), ''Californication'' (album), a 1999 album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers ...

'' (1999). Released on May 25, 1999, the song spent a then-record 16 consecutive weeks atop the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart as well as 10 weeks atop the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart, and it reached number nine on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

. It was also successful in Iceland, New Zealand, and Canada, reaching numbers one, three, and four, respectively. In the United Kingdom, it charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. "Scar Tissue" is considered to be representative of the new, more melodic rock sound the band experimented with on ''

'' (in contrast with the psychedelic ''

One Hot Minute ''One Hot Minute'' is the sixth studio album by American Rock music, 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) c ...

'', and dry funk of ''

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, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, its musical style differed notably from the band's previous album ' ...

''). The song is notable for its mellow intro

guitar riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

and for its

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...

guitar solos A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as bl ...

throughout. ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...

'' placed the guitar solo 63rd in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos". "Scar Tissue" won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...

in 2000. In 2004, lead vocalist

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American musician 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 Fame in 2012. Kiedis spent his youth in ...

published an autobiography titled after the song.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "Scar Tissue" was directed by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French music video director, photographer, film producer and actor. He has worked in various forms of media, including music videos, photojournalism, portrait photography, fashion and pop culture. Sednaoui's career ...

, who also directed the video for " Give It Away". The opening shot is of

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante ( ; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician and the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, having been with the band across three iterations. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic gu ...

driving down a strip of desert highway, a metaphor for Frusciante's return to the band (he does not drive in real life). But the four of them are battered, beaten and bandaged. They are traveling in a rusty wreck and playing broken instruments on the comeback trail. The video ends after an emotional thirty second Frusciante guitar solo at the moment of sunset, with John tossing the broken, stringless guitar from the car. The car Frusciante pretended to drive for the video was a 1967 Pontiac Catalina convertible. A very similar concept was considered, then scrapped, for the earlier "

Soul to Squeeze "Soul to Squeeze" is a song by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers that was originally recorded during the production of their fifth studio album, ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' (1991). Although it was not featured on the record and was used ...

" video. Prior to the video shoot, Kiedis had his hair cut and bleached his brown hair to platinum blond, a look he kept throughout the promotion and tour for ''Californication''. It was filmed in California's

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

Reception

"Scar Tissue" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2021, ''

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, and in 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song number two on their list of the 40 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs.

Live performances

"Scar Tissue" has been a live staple in the band's setlists since its first performance in 1998 making it the band's fifth most performed song overall. American band

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. The band is known for its eclecticism, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde ...

performed a mock version of the song in 1999, as part of a

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

concert

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

ing Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Track listings

CD single (1999) (Catalogue Number 9 16913–2) # "Scar Tissue" (album) – 3:37 # "Gong Li" (previously unreleased) – 3:42 # "Instrumental #1" (previously unreleased) – 2:48 CD single (Slipcase) (1999) # "Scar Tissue" (album) – 3:37 # "Gong Li" (previously unreleased) – 3:42 Cassette single (1999) # "Scar Tissue" (album) # "Gong Li" (previously unreleased)

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers *

– lead vocals *

– lead,

, and rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Chad Smith Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...

– drums,

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Music videos directed by Stéphane Sednaoui Number-one singles in Iceland Red Hot Chili Peppers songs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Songs written by Anthony Kiedis Songs written by Chad Smith Songs written by Flea (musician) Songs written by John Frusciante Warner Records singles