Turn me on to some good John Frusciante

[MayTheFuzzBeWithYou]

I obviously started too with RHCP - then listened "to record only water for ten days" - and all his solo albums followed...

With a bit of a break (more or less when he left the band) ... I recently fell in love again with his (solo) sound about two years or so ago when I finally discovered ATAXIA! Which is one of my favorite bands still...
So make sure you check them out!

[Marc]

I obviously started too with RHCP - then listened "to record only water for ten days" - and all his solo albums followed...

With a bit of a break (more or less when he left the band) ... I recently fell in love again with his (solo) sound about two years or so ago when I finally discovered ATAXIA! Which is one of my favorite bands still...
So make sure you check them out!

Thank you - yes I am consuming as much as I can - proper fanboy here at the moment.

Shadows collide with people is one of my favs.

Yes - like that one too.

Regarding the comments regarding JF's electronica output - I have to agree with the negative comments. I like certain types of electronic music and even have a bash at it myself purely for fun.

I think that the problem with JF's electronic solo work is that he is new to it and has spent the past five years or so learning the process (he openly admits it). But the stuff I heard was either a hybrid thing with guitar and vocals or, was very influenced by Aphex Twin and Venetian Snares but not really hitting the mark. The last one he released a year or two ago showed some improvement. It's not that they sound unprofessional as such but he doesn't seem to really understand the genres. That's not to say he won't release something outstanding further down the line as he gets more experienced. He's gone pretty quiet over the past couple of years and last I read he said he was not fussed whether people got to hear what he has been working on or not. I guess if he's careful with his money he won't have to work again.

One thing I was very impressed by was the Joy Division live tribute he did almost 20 years ago with Flea and Josh (on drums). I thought it was going to be a funked up version of JD but no - really accurate covers that sounded as though they had studied bootlegs and their versions were from the iterations JD did live.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKzmux7TvfA

[Acoasma]

My favourites are:
RHCP's Californication, BSSM
solo empyrean, shadows collide with people
MOST favorite album: automatic writing by Ataxia.

[egosheep]

One thing I was very impressed by was the Joy Division live tribute he did almost 20 years ago with Flea and Josh (on drums). I thought it was going to be a funked up version of JD but no - really accurate covers that sounded as though they had studied bootlegs and their versions were from the iterations JD did live.

I remember reading an interview he did years ago where he said he learned every Smiths song in a summer as his practice routine, which I thought was pretty impressive.

[Marc]

One thing I was very impressed by was the Joy Division live tribute he did almost 20 years ago with Flea and Josh (on drums). I thought it was going to be a funked up version of JD but no - really accurate covers that sounded as though they had studied bootlegs and their versions were from the iterations JD did live.

I remember reading an interview he did years ago where he said he learned every Smiths song in a summer as his practice routine, which I thought was pretty impressive.

Yes he has great transcribing skillz

[aliendawg]

I've been a big John Frusciante fan for quite some time now.

I think Blood Sugar Sex Magic was his peak. But what impresses me the most is his creativity.

He released like 10 albums/EPs between 2004 and 2005. And they were all pretty good.

But nothing beats Ataxia really. Too bad he (kind of) lost his mind now

[Marc]

But nothing beats Ataxia really. Too bad he (kind of) lost his mind now

Yes! Ataxia is great too. I've been appreciating some of Bob Forrest's work with Josh K too - I like the Bicycle Thief stuff.

I think from what I've seen and heard via interviews in recent years his mental health is OK. My ex-wife was a consultant psychiatrist and something she always pointed out is that someone can be very eccentric, have bizarre belief systems and have a unique view of the world and even claim to hear critical voices but it doesn't make them definitively crazy or ill. Whilst JF totally changed from the person he used to be I would guess he is just an eccentric who had also had some kind of cognitive damage from all the drug abuse (slower, slurry speech mainly). The fact that he chooses to be very open about his beliefs is misread as him being crazy (I don't mean you specifically - in a more general sense he's portrayed as 'the crazy one'). I imagine people find him very attractive to be around as he is so talented, modest and gentle, but he may be hard work to spend any length of time with. I would love to meet the guy but I wouldn't have a clue what to talk about for fear of being awkward. Whilst he's known for being friendly and tolerant in small doses, he's known for being introverted so I'd probably say hello love your music and leave the guy alone.

[aliendawg]

Yeah... I guess eccentric is a much better word for John. I don't know... I usually don't freak out meeting famous people but with John it would be hard to say something that doesn't make him uncomfortable

And The Bicycle Thief definitely has some highlights!!