Otherside

"Otherside" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as the third single from their seventh studio album, Californication (1999), and confronts the battles addicts have with their prior addictions. The track was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1999 and was given an international release in January of the following year.

This article is about the Red Hot Chili Peppers song. For other uses, see The Other Side (disambiguation).
"Otherside"
Single by Red Hot Chili Peppers
from the album Californication
B-side"How Strong"
ReleasedDecember 1999 (1999-12)[1]
GenreAlternative rock[2]
Length4:15
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Flea, Frusciante, Kiedis, Smith
Producer(s)Rick Rubin
Red Hot Chili Peppers singles chronology
"Around the World"
(1999)		 "Otherside"
(1999)		 "Californication"
(2000)
Music video
"Otherside" on YouTube

The single was highly successful, peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the fourth-highest peak for the band, and number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, which was, at the time, the fifth for the band. The song remained at number one on this chart for 13 consecutive weeks, one of the longest runs at the top of that chart. It was also a big success in Iceland, where it became the second single from the album to reach number one, and in New Zealand, where it charted at number five.

"Otherside" refers to former band member Hillel Slovak, who died of a heroin overdose in 1988.[2]

Music video

The video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris in a black-and-white/monochrome Gothic style similar to Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, all influenced by German Expressionist art. Elements of Cubism and work by the graphic artist M. C. Escher are also seen in the video.

A cartoonish story line is juxtaposed upon the song; that of a young man's dream sequence. The band members appear dressed in black in unusual locations, with props intended to appear as surreal instruments. Throughout the video Anthony Kiedis with short, platinum hair is seen in a castle tower. His stage persona is different and quite dark when compared to his more energetic performances in other videos. John Frusciante plays a rope down a long corridor as if a guitar. Flea is hanging on high voltage wires and playing them as if they were a bass guitar, and Chad Smith is up on a tower with a rotating medieval clock that serves as his drum kit.[3]

Jonathan Dayton: "We did look at Caligari, and we looked at a lot of German Expressionist film. But it was also very important to avoid 'Caligari.' It was both inspiration and something to work around, because it has such a strong, specific style, and there have been other videos that have completely ripped it off."

Valerie Faris: "We didn't look at 'Calagari' all that much, really. We did, but then we just left it. We did look at a lot of the works of the futurist artists from the '30s, and the illustrations of the surrealists and from cubism. We were inspired more by paintings than by films…"

Reception

"Otherside" is widely considered to be one of the band's best songs. In 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs,[4] and in 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the song number six on their list of the 40 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs.[5]

Live performances

"Otherside" has remained a constant staple on the band's tours since 1999, making it one of their top ten most performed songs.[6]

Remixes

In 2009, Seattle producer Ryan Lewis sampled the song as a backdrop for his song of the same name with the rapper Macklemore. The song depicted Macklemore's own personal struggles as well as the wider problems that the hip hop community has with drug abuse.

In 2010, house duo Third Party made an unofficial remix of the song. The remix garnered considerable attention, but was never released. It was made official and released by Warner Records in 2013.

In 2015 British DJ Paul Oakenfold released a Future House remix released also by Warner Records, another version was released by Italian DJ Benny Benassi alongside Oakenfold.

Track listings

CD single (2000)

  1. "Otherside" (album) – 4:16
  2. "How Strong" (previously unreleased)– 4:43

CD version 2 (2000)

  1. "Otherside" (album) – 4:16
  2. "My Lovely Man" (live) – 5:18
  3. "Around the World" (music video)

CD version 3 [Australian release] (2000)

  1. "Otherside" (album) – 4:16
  2. "How Strong" (previously unreleased) – 4:46
  3. "My Lovely Man" (live) – 5:18
  4. "Road Trippin'" (without strings) – 3:25
  5. "Scar Tissue" (music video)
  6. "Around the World" (music video)

CD version 4 (2000)

  1. "Otherside" (album) – 4:16
  2. "How Strong" (previously unreleased) – 4:43
  3. "My Lovely Man" (live) – 5:18
  4. "Road Trippin'" (without strings) – 3:25

CD version 5 (2000)

  1. "Otherside" (album) – 4:16
  2. "How Strong" (previously unreleased) – 4:43
  3. "Road Trippin'" (without strings) – 3:25
  4. "Otherside" (music video)

Cassette version [US] (1999)

  1. "Otherside" (album) - 4:16
  2. "How Strong" (previously unreleased) – 4:43

Personnel

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Charts

Certifications
Certifications and sales for "Otherside"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[34] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[35]
sales since 2009 		Platinum 50,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[36] Platinum 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Otherside"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia December 1999 CD Warner Bros. [1]
Japan December 22, 1999 CD [39]
United States January 11, 2000 Alternative radio [40]
United Kingdom January 31, 2000 CD [41]
United States February 21, 2000
[42]
February 22, 2000 Contemporary hit radio [43]

See also

References
  1. "New Releases!". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 21, 2021 – via Imgur. Note: The source erroneously says the song was released on December 13, but that was when it first charted.
  2. "411MANIA - The 8 Ball 5.18.14: Top 8 Red Hot Chili Peppers Music Videos". The 8 Ball 5.18.14: Top 8 Red Hot Chili Peppers Music Videos. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. The music video on Google Videos
  4. Law, Sam (March 17, 2021). "The 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  5. "The 40 Greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs". Rolling Stone. April 11, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  6. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Tour Statistics - setlist.fm". setlist.fm. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  7. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  8. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7253." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  9. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 9767." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 9. February 26, 2000. p. 19. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  11. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  12. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 25. June 17, 2000. p. 13. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  13. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (13.1 – 20.1 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 14, 2000. p. 10. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  14. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Red Hot Chili Peppers". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  15. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". Top Digital Download. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 6, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  17. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". Top 40 Singles.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  20. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". Singles Top 100.
  21. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". Swiss Singles Chart.
  22. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  24. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  25. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  26. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  27. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  28. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  29. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  30. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 5, 2001. p. 10. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  31. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2000". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  32. "End of Year Charts 2000". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  33. "Billboard Top 100 – 2000". Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  34. "Danish single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  35. "Italian single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 6, 2019. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Otherside" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  36. "Portuguese single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  37. "British single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  38. "American single certifications – Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  39. "アザーサイド | レッド・ホット・チリ・ペッパーズ" [Otherside | Red Hot Chili Peppers] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  40. "Alternative: Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1332. January 7, 2000. p. 108.
  41. "New Releases – For Week Starting 31 January, 2000: Singles". Music Week. January 29, 2000. p. 33.
  42. "Gavin AC/Hot AC: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2291. February 11, 2000. p. 41.
  43. "CHR/Pop: Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1338. February 18, 2000. p. 45.
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