From the Vault: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Scar Tissue"

It was summer 1999 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were back. I had just graduated high school and received "Californication" as a graduation gift by way of a $20 Sam Goody gift card. Upon purchasing, I knew there was an extremely high possibility of me listening to "Scar Tissue" over and over because it was so damn good.

The opening shot is of guitarist John Frusciante driving, a metaphor for Frusciante's return and ascension to musical leadership of the band after his long bout with heroin addiction. The four band members appear battered, beaten, and bandaged (an obvious analogy for their journey as a band). The Chili Peppers travel in a rusty and wrecked convertible, all while playing broken instruments on their comeback trail.

I spent that summer of 1999 discovering and re-discovering my love for "Scar Tissue". It was the perfect song at noon, it was the perfect song at eight o'clock at nite and it came off as especially great in the hours past midnight. After 10-12 cans of Budweiser, I typically felt closer to the song than ever before. The song itself eventually became an overplayed radio track but I never let that tarnish the personal connections I had made with the song during that long, hot summer.