Warped (song)

"Warped" is a song by the American alternative rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers, from their 1995 album, One Hot Minute. It was released as the first single from the album. It is the first track on One Hot Minute, beginning with an unusually quiet intro, before suddenly kicking into a very heavy, crunching riff, and ends with a mellow, melodic outro. Anthony Kiedis' vocals are distorted and echoed throughout, and contrast dramatically with the rapping present on the band's previous material, especially on their more fast-paced songs such as this; short lines are stretched to fill an entire measure. The musical style is of an unpredictable and unsettling nature, which is generally maintained throughout the entire album. The lyrics describe Kiedis' confused feelings about drugs, starting already in the first lines with: "my tendency/for dependency/is offending me".

"Warped"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album One Hot Minute
B-side	"Melancholy Mechanics"
Released	August 21, 1995 (1995-08-21)
Genre	Funk metal^[1] hard rock^[2]
Length	5:04 (album version) 4:19 (edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Anthony Kiedis Flea Dave Navarro Chad Smith
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Soul to Squeeze" (1993) "Warped" (1995) "My Friends" (1995)
Music video
"Warped" on YouTube

Despite being the album's first single, neither the song nor the accompanying video was included on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Greatest Hits compilation. The B-side "Melancholy Mechanics" also appears on the soundtrack to the 1996 movie, Twister, as well as on the Japanese pressing of One Hot Minute.

During live performances of "Warped", the band sometimes played a sample of the song "Three Days" by Jane's Addiction (former band of then-guitarist Dave Navarro) at the end of the song. This song made its live debut at the Woodstock Festival in 1994, although with much different lyrics.

Music video

While piecing together the final components of the album, the band recorded a video for "Warped", which was released on August 9, 1995.^[3] They asked Flea's brother-in-law, Gavin Bowden, to direct it. The video featured members of the band scantily clad and posing in rather sexual manners and it involved Kiedis and Navarro kissing towards the end as a way of breaking the monotony of cumbersome video recording. Thinking nothing of it, they continued to shoot and finished several days later.^[4] Warner Bros., however, saw the video and instantly wanted it thrown away, considering it to be unmarketable and that the kiss and homoerotic imagery would alienate a large portion of the band's fan base.^[4] The band came to a consensus to let the kiss remain on the final cut, prompting a backlash from the more conservative segments of their audience, who took offense at the action. Kiedis said of the situation: "If they couldn't accept what we were doing, we didn't need them anymore."^[4]

Track listing

CD single (1995)

1. "Warped" (edit)
2. "Pea" (album)
3. "Melancholy Mechanics" (previously unreleased)

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Anthony Kiedis – vocals
• Dave Navarro – guitar
• Flea – bass
• Chad Smith – drums

Additional musicians

• Stephen Perkins – percussion

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[5]	12
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)^[6]	3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[7]	27
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[8]	3
Germany (Official German Charts)^[9]	47
Netherlands (Single Top 100 Tipparade)^[10]	14
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[11]	4
Norway (VG-lista)^[12]	12
Scotland (OCC)^[13]	29
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[14]	24
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[15]	33
UK Singles (OCC)^[16]	31
US Radio Songs (Billboard)^[17]	41
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[18]	7
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[19]	13

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	August 21, 1995 (1995-08-21)	CD cassette	Warner Bros.	^[20]

References

1. Waltz, Peter (January 25, 2016). "The Red Hot Chili Pepper's Top 10 Albums". The Odyssey Online. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
2. Reiff, Corbin (June 25, 2020). "The Best Albums in Rick Rubin's Discography, Ranked". The Ringer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
3. . redhotchilipeppers.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
4. Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. pp. 347–349
5. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
6. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 2759." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 38. September 23, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
8. "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Warped" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
9. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
10. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
11. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
12. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped". VG-lista. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
14. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
15. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Warped". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
17. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
18. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
19. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
20. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. August 19, 1995. p. 31.