Peak
34
Weeks
20
Score
1,993
Chart Year
2002
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position34
Peak DateAug 24, 2002
Weeks at Peak1
Weeks Charted20
Weeks in Top 406
Weeks in Top 100
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #10
Scoring
Summary Calc427
Weekly Calc1,566
Total Score1,993
Rankings
Year Ranking#111
Decade Ranking#1,043
Billboard Year#114
Top 5000#7,235
Details
- Album
- By The Way
- Label
- Warner Bros. Records
- Genre
- Funk Rock
- Composer(s)
- Anthony Kiedis;Chad Gaylord Smith;John Anthony Frusciante;'Michael Peter Balzary
- Entered Chart
- Jun 15, 2002
- Peak Date
- Aug 24, 2002
- Released
- June 24, 2002
- Recorded
- Unknown
- Catalog #
- Warner Bros. 38574
- B-Side
- Time"
Music Video
The music video was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, a couple who have directed many other music videos for the band. The video was released on June 10, 2002.[5] The video starts off with Kiedis calling for a taxi. He gets in the taxi and the cabbie (played by Dave Sheridan) realizes he has him as his passenger. To please him, the driver puts a copy of the "By the Way" single into the taxi CD player, making Kiedis smile slightly. Suddenly, the cabbie begins driving out of control as he lip-syncs the song while driving rambunctiously throughout the streets of Los Angeles. After he locks the car door, an uncomfortable and apprehensive Kiedis attempts to make a call on his cell phone, but the cabbie brakes so hard that Kiedis loses grip of it. The cabbie snatches the phone and throws it out the window, then drives the car in a cloud of dust and backs up under a bridge. While there, the cabbie pulls out flare sticks and begins to torture Kiedis through awkward dancing while the latter finally pages bassist Flea and Frusciante (with a message reading, "Help! Been kidnapped."), who are having lunch in a cafe. At first, they think it's a hoax, so they ignore the first message. When Kiedis pages them for the second time, they set out on Flea's Ford Bronco to find him with the crazy cabbie in the taxi. A wild chase and road rage ensues. Kiedis soon sees Flea and Frusciante, breaks out of the taxi window, and jumps in Flea's truck with a sigh of relief as the three escape the cabbie. At the end of the video, drummer Chad Smith flags down the taxi, with the cabbie realizing he is also a member of the band, so he lets him in and drives off with him. However, Chad is unaware that this is the same taxi man that kidnapped Kiedis and also ignores the broken glass. Kiedis said of the video: It's kidnapping... A cab driver kidnaps me and just goes haywire through the town; he's a fan, but he’s kind of a [pause] obsessive, compulsive, psychologically misarranged fan, and he sees me and starts enjoying himself a little too much and my friends have to come and rescue me.[6] The fast and often jerky camera angles used in the high-speed chase sequences are based on the 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros in which all the characters are linked by a car crash at the beginning of the film; before the crash is an almost identical high speed car chase sequence.
Notes
Much of the lyrics are simply fun wordplay by Anthony Kiedis, but it does talk about a girl named "Dani," who was the "Teenage bride with the baby inside" on the Red Hot Chili Peppers 1999 song "Californication," and also appeared in their 2006 song "Dani California" Kiedis says that "Dani" is a representation of every girl that he's come across in his life. >> "Waiting 4," an electro-house track by Peter Gelderblom, became one of the most popular songs in clubs worldwide during 2007 and peaked at #29 in the UK singles chart. It was based heavily around a sample from "By The Way" and The Red Hot Chili Peppers enthusiastically approved its release despite their usual hardline stance on the use of their music in samples. This song did very well in the UK, where the group's funkier fare is embraced. Along with "Dani California," it's one of their two song to reach #2 on the UK chart, the highest they've gotten. In America, their biggest hit is the ballad "Under the Bridge." The music video does not play any of the things described in the lyrics, but instead plays a story of its own. In it, Anthony climbs into a taxi and when the driver realizes who he is, he starts to drive out of control and goes under a bridge. Anthony calls Flea and John for help, and they come and rescue him. At the end, Chad climbs into that same taxi, much to the delight of the driver. The team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris directed the clip. They've done several other RHCP videos, including "The Zephyr Song" and "Tell Me Baby." >>
Standing in line to see the show tonight And there's a light on, heavy glow By the way, I tried to say I'd be there, waiting for Dani the girl is singing songs to me Beneath the marquee, overload Steak knife, card shark Con job, boot cut Skin that flick, she's such a little DJ Get there quick by street but not the freeway Turn that trick to make a little leeway Beat that nic, but not the way that we play Dogtown, blood bath Rib cage, soft tail Standing in line to see the show tonight And there's a light on, heavy glow By the way, I tried to say I'd be there, waiting for Black jack, dope dick Pawn shop, quick pick Kiss that dyke, I know you want to hold one Not on strike but I'm about to bowl one Bite that mic, I know you never stole one Girls that like a story, so I told one Song bird, main line Cash back, hard top Standing in line to see the show tonight And there's a light on, heavy glow By the way, I tried to say I'd be there waiting for Dani, the girl, is singing songs to me Beneath the marquee, oversold By the way, I tried to say I'd be there waiting for Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah, guess you never meant it Ooh, ah Standing in line to see the show tonight And there's a light on, heavy glow By the way, I tried to say I'd be there waiting for Dani, the girl, is singing songs to me Beneath the marquee, oversold By the way, I tried to say I know you from before Standing in line to see the show tonight And there's a light on, heavy glow By the way, I tried to say I'd be there waiting for
Chart History (20 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 15, 2002 | 55 | 71 |
| 2 | Jun 22, 2002 | 53 | 73 |
| 3 | Jun 29, 2002 | 51 | 75 |
| 4 | Jul 6, 2002 | 47 | 79 |
| 5 | Jul 13, 2002 | 47 | 79 |
| 6 | Jul 20, 2002 | 48 | 78 |
| 7 | Jul 27, 2002 | 37 | 89 |
| 8 | Aug 3, 2002 | 41 | 85 |
| 9 | Aug 10, 2002 | 35 | 91 |
| 10 | Aug 17, 2002 | 38 | 88 |
| 11 | Aug 24, 2002 | 34 | 92 |
| 12 | Aug 31, 2002 | 36 | 90 |
| 13 | Sep 7, 2002 | 35 | 91 |
| 14 | Sep 14, 2002 | 44 | 82 |
| 15 | Sep 21, 2002 | 43 | 83 |
| 16 | Sep 28, 2002 | 47 | 79 |
| 17 | Oct 5, 2002 | 52 | 74 |
| 18 | Oct 12, 2002 | 59 | 67 |
| 19 | Oct 19, 2002 | 76 | 50 |
| 20 | Oct 26, 2002 | 76 | 50 |