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{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Niandra LaDes and<br>Usually Just a T-Shirt
| type = studio
| artist
| cover = Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a TShirt album cover.jpg
| alt = The album cover, which features an old sepia photo
| released = {{start date|1994|11|22}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
*[[Lo-fi music|Lo-fi]]
*[[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]]
*[[psychedelic rock]]
*[[experimental rock]]
| length = {{plainlist|
*{{duration|m=70|s=12}} (CD version)
*{{duration|m=76|s=06}} (cassette version)
}}
| label = [[American Recordings (record label)|American]]
| producer = John Frusciante
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = [[Estrus (EP)|Estrus]]
| next_year = 1997
}}
'''''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt''''' is the debut studio album by American musician [[John Frusciante]], released on November 22, 1994, by [[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]].
Frusciante was previously a member of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]], but left in 1992 after he became overwhelmed by their newfound popularity. He became severely depressed, developed a serious [[drug addiction]], and isolated himself in his home to record music.
''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt''
==Background==
Frusciante joined the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] in 1988 at the age of 18, and released his first album with the group, ''[[Mother's Milk (album)|Mother's Milk]]'', the following year.<ref name="Far Out">{{cite web|last=McStarkey|first=Mick|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-reason-why-john-frusciante-left-red-hot-chili-peppers/|title=The strange reason why John Frusciante first left Red Hot Chili Peppers|website=[[Far Out Magazine]]|date=December 11, 2021|access-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130084800/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-reason-why-john-frusciante-left-red-hot-chili-peppers/|archive-date=January 30, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The follow-up album, ''[[Blood Sugar Sex Magik]]'', was recorded in an empty mansion where the band decided to live for the duration of recording.{{sfn|Kiedis|Sloman|2004|pp=274–275}} Frusciante adapted well to the environment, and often spent his time alone painting, listening to music, and recording songs that would eventually make up the first half of the album, ''Niandra LaDes''.{{sfn|Kiedis|Sloman|2004|pp=274–275}} ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' was released on September 24, 1991, and was an instant success. The album peaked at number three in the U.S. and went on to sell more than thirteen million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Epstein|first=Dan|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/red-hot-chili-peppers-blood-sugar-sex-magik-10-things-you-didnt-know-121474/|title=Red Hot Chili Peppers' 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik': 10 Things You Didn't Know|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 23, 2016|access-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831120907/https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/red-hot-chili-peppers-blood-sugar-sex-magik-10-things-you-didnt-know-121474/|archive-date=August 31, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blood-sugar-sex-magik-mw0000265082|title=''Blood Sex Sugar Magik'' – Red Hot Chili Peppers|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|date=n.d.|access-date=January 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130084800/https://www.allmusic.com/album/blood-sugar-sex-magik-mw0000265082|archive-date=January 30, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> Soon after the album's release, Frusciante became overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity. He felt that the Red Hot Chili Peppers were too famous, and wished they were still playing small nightclubs like they were before he had joined.{{sfn|Kiedis|Sloman|2004|p=229}} During ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik's'' promotional tour, Frusciante began using [[heroin]] and [[cocaine]] heavily.<ref name="tgm2002">{{cite magazine|last=Dalley|first=Helen|title=John Frusciante|magazine=[[Total Guitar]]|date=August 2002|page=35}}</ref> He and vocalist [[Anthony Kiedis]] often argued before and after performances. According to Kiedis, Frusciante purposely sabotaged the ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' performance of "[[Under the Bridge]]" by playing the wrong intro for the song and out of key.{{sfn|Kiedis|Sloman|2004|p=288}} His relationship with the band had become progressively more strained, and he abruptly quit during the Japanese leg of their world tour in 1992.<ref name="Far Out"/>
==Writing and recording==
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante continued to write and record solo material. He had been doing so since the age of nine, but had never considered releasing his material to the public.<ref name=VPRO>{{cite interview|last=Frusciante|first=John|title=Lolapaloeza - John Frusciante|interviewer=Bram van Splunteren|work=[[VPRO]]|year=1994}}</ref> That was until several of his friends{{snd}}including [[Johnny Depp]], [[Perry Farrell]], [[Gibby Haynes]] and Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmate [[Flea (musician)|Flea]]{{snd}}encouraged him to release the material he wrote in his spare time during the ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' sessions.<ref name="Guitar Player"/> Frusciante began working on final cuts of the songs he had been writing, and [[Record producer|producing]] them at his home.<ref name="Guitar Player"/> According to Frusciante, each song was completed in one take.<ref name="Guitar Player"/> During this period, Frusciante's use of heroin became more extreme; he began viewing drugs as the only way to "make sure you stay in touch with beauty instead of letting the ugliness of the world corrupt your soul".<ref name=VPRO/><ref name="pnt"/>
{{Listen|filename=My Smile is a Rifle.ogg|title=My Smile is a Rifle|description=This clip illustrates the album's avant-garde lyrical themes and unconventional song structure.}}
During a 1994 interview, a visibly intoxicated Frusciante noted that he wrote the album in order to create "interesting music", which he felt no longer existed. He felt contemporary artists were not writing material he deemed worth listening to and the mainstream population were settling for mediocrity.<ref name=VPRO/> Drugs were another significant topic on which Frusciante based ''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt''.{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}} According to Frusciante, he "was stoned for every single note [he] played on the album".<ref name="High Times">{{cite magazine|last=Kenneally|first=Tim|title=Chilly Pepper|magazine=[[High Times]]|date=July 1995|page=57}}</ref> He increased his drug use to cope with worsening depression that was caused by leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and his subsequent isolation. Several songs on the album deal with his dislike for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' success, such as the album's eleventh track, "Blood on My Neck From Success".<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Anon.|title=John Frusciante: Perso e Ritrovato|language=Italian|magazine=[[Il Mucchio Selvaggio]]|number=570|date=March 2004|pages=13–19}}</ref>
All the music on the record was written by Frusciante, save for the cover of [[hardcore punk]] band [[Bad Brains]]' song "Big Takeover".<ref name=amgreview/> The track was intentionally slowed down and recorded melodically because of a pastime in which Frusciante sang punk songs in different tempos: "It was just something I had been walking around thinking of in my head. Sometimes I'll walk around singing punk rock songs to myself, but as if they were regular songs instead of punk rock songs, you know, slow it down and make a melody instead of just yelling them out. And then the idea occurred me to record it like a Led Zeppelin ballad with mandolins and stuff."<ref name=rockinfreak>Broxvoort, Brian (1994). "John Frusciante Goes Over a Bridge". ''Rockinfreakapotamus''.</ref> [[River Phoenix]], a friend of Frusciante's, contributed guitar and backing vocals to two songs that were intended be included on the record, but were ultimately left off following his death in October.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nelson|first=Artie|title=Space Cadet|magazine=[[Raw (music magazine)|Raw]]|date=November 1994|pages=43–46}}</ref>
''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' incorporates Frusciante's [[avant-garde]] style of song composition, with his [[Stream of consciousness writing|stream-of-consciousness]] methodology.<ref name=amgreview>{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/niandra-lades-and-usually-just-a-t-shirt-mw0000122031|title=''Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' – John Frusciante|publisher=AllMusic|date=n.d.|access-date=November 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101171200/https://www.allmusic.com/album/niandra-lades-and-usually-just-a-t-shirt-mw0000122031|archive-date=January 1, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=rollingstone>{{cite magazine|last=Hoard|first=Christian|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnfrusciante/albums/album/146562/review/5944990/niandra_lades__usually_just_a_tshirt|title=Album Reviews: Niandra Lades & Usually Just A T-Shirt|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=August 4, 2003|access-date=November 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128154800/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnfrusciante/albums/album/146562/review/5944990/niandra_lades__usually_just_a_tshirt|archive-date=November 28, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> It features minimal orchestration, and Frusciante's vocals have a "fragile, wispy quality" as described by [[AllMusic]].<ref name="amgreview" /><ref name=Pop/> ''[[CMJ|CMJ New Music Monthly]]'' called it "probably the most fucked-up album ever released by someone who had once played in stadiums."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Wolk|first=Douglas|title=Reviews|magazine=[[CMJ|CMJ New Music Monthly]]|date=October 1997|page=42|issue=50|issn=1074-6978}}</ref> Frusciante recorded, mixed, produced and mastered the entire record by himself on a [[Multitrack recording|four-track tape]], and released it on [[Rick Rubin]]'s label, [[American Recordings (record label)|American Recordings]].<ref name="Guitar Player">{{cite magazine|last=Perna|first=Alan Di|title=Stone Free|magazine=[[Guitar Player]]|date=January 1995|page=17}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], the Red Hot Chili Peppers' label, originally held the rights to the album because of the leaving-artist clause in Frusciante's Red Hot Chili Peppers contract. Because he was living as a recluse, the label gladly handed the rights over to Rubin, who released the album under his label.<ref name="pnt">{{cite web|last=Wilonsky|first=Robert|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/1996-12-12/music/music3.html|title=Blood on the Tracks|website=[[Phoenix New Times]]|date=December 12, 1996|access-date=June 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050907083433/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1996-12-12/music/music3.html|archive-date=September 7, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Cover art and title==
The cover art of ''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' is a sepia photograph of Frusciante in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]]. According to Toni Oswald, Frusciante's partner at the time of the album's making, this choice was inspired by [[Rrose Sélavy]], the feminine pseudonym of [[Marcel Duchamp]]—the French painter and writer whom Oswald and Frusciante both deeply admired. Frusciante devised the name "Niandra LaDes" as his own feminine [[alter ego]], an anagram of the David Bowie album [[Aladdin Sane]]. The phrase "Usually Just a T-Shirt" meanwhile derives from a clothes-exchanging ritual that Oswald and Frusciante often took part in when Frusciante was away on tour; after Frusciante asked what Oswald would wear with his clothes, she would reply, "Usually just a t-shirt." The phrase "To Clara" in the lower right refers to Clara Balzary, the first daughter of Flea.<ref>{{cite web | last=Karemo | first=Tuomas | date=January 10, 2018 | url=https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2018/10/01/theres-no-more-me-the-history-and-love-story-behind-john-frusciantes-niandra | title=There's no more me – the history and love story behind John Frusciante's Niandra LaDes | work=[[Yle.fi]] | publisher=[[Yleisradio Oy]] | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001145622/https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2018/10/01/theres-no-more-me-the-history-and-love-story-behind-john-frusciantes-niandra | archivedate=October 1, 2018}}</ref>
==Release, reception, and aftermath==
{{Album reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="amgreview" />
| rev2 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev2Score = B−<ref name="EW">{{cite magazine|last=Zogbi|first=Marina|url=http://ew.com/article/1994/11/11/album-review-niandra-lades-and-unusally-just-t-shirt/|title=Album Review: Niandra Lades and Unusally Just a T-Shirt|date=November 11, 1994|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=July 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105910/http://ew.com/article/1994/11/11/album-review-niandra-lades-and-unusally-just-t-shirt/|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev3Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name=rollingstone />
| rev4 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Cross">{{cite book|last=Cross|first=Charles R.|author-link=Charles R. Cross|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter=John Frusciante|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/314 314]}}</ref>
}}
''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' was initially previewed by ''Billboard'' magazine, who said that "Chili Peppers fans might be daunted by the album's elusive experimentalism."{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}} A representative of American Recordings did not foresee the album as being viable in any mainstream music stores, and some retailers went as far as to ban it from being sold.{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}} After the album was released, Frusciante played three small performances, and participated in a few magazine interviews to promote the album, explaining in one interview that people would be able to understand his work only if "their heads are capable of tripping out".{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}} At one point shortly after release, Frusciante began searching for a string quartet to play the album with him on tour. The idea was eventually discarded when he could not find a band that "understands why [[Ringo Starr]] is such a great drummer, can play [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and also smokes pot".{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}} The concept of a tour was ultimately abandoned as well, due to Frusciante's diminishing health.{{sfn|Apter|2004|p=279}}
''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' was met with general confusion and a mixed response from fans and critics.<ref name="Vice"/> David Wild of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wrote: "All in all, [the album is] a mess{{snd}}but definitely a fascinating, often lovely mess. As one might expect of an album titled ''Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-shirt,'' this is twisted, cool stuff."<ref name=rsreview1>{{cite magazine|last=Wild|first=David|date=December 1994|title=As If We Needed One, Here's A Reminder of Dylan's Power|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> Marina Zogbi of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described Frusciante's guitar play as "hauntingly lovely," and said: "There's a fine line between brilliant and unlistenable, and Frusciante squarely straddles it here."<ref name="EW"/> The ''[[Boston Herald]]'' noted that while the album was "a stark display of Frusciante's acoustic guitar virtuosity" and "eerily beautiful", the singing was "terrible; his high notes will drive the neighborhood dogs into a frenzy".<ref name=bherald>{{cite news|author=Anon.|title=Music Discs Dionne Farris' arresting vocals bloom into|newspaper=[[Boston Herald]]|date=December 9, 1994}}</ref>
Retrospective appraisal is generally more positive. In a 2003 review by ''Rolling Stone'', critic Christian Hoard wrote: "[the album] sounds like a string of four-track demos. The first part of the album is slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section [...] Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings."<ref name=rollingstone/> Steve Huey of [[AllMusic]], who rated the album four out of five stars, said that "[the album was] an intriguing and unexpected departure from Frusciante's work with the Chili Peppers [and that] the sparse arrangements of the first half help set the stage for the gossamer guitar work later on."<ref name=amgreview/> He went on to say that ''Usually Just a T-Shirt'' (the latter half of the album) contained "pleasant psychedelic instrumentals with plenty of backward-guitar effects".<ref name=amgreview/> Ned Raggett, also of AllMusic, noted that "there's nothing quite so stunning as [Frusciante's] magnificent remake of [[Bad Brains]]' 'The Big Takeover'."<ref name=smileamg>{{cite web|last=Raggett|first=Ned|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/smile-from-the-streets-you-hold-mw0000238205|title=''Smile From the Streets You Hold'' – John Frusciante|publisher=AllMusic|date=n.d.|access-date=January 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214092053/https://www.allmusic.com/album/smile-from-the-streets-you-hold-mw0000238205|archive-date=December 14, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Adam Williams of ''[[PopMatters]]'' said the album "fall[s] somewhere between madness and brilliance". He went on to compare Frusciante to [[Syd Barrett]], and felt it was a "hint at a deeply cerebral artist looking within for inspiration and creativity".<ref name=Pop>{{cite web|last=Williams|first=Adam|url=https://www.popmatters.com/frusciantejohn-niandra-2495911711.html|title=John Frusciante: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt|website=[[PopMatters]]|date=November 3, 2003|access-date=December 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812070617/https://www.popmatters.com/frusciantejohn-niandra-2495911711.html|archive-date=August 12, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
Frusciante's drug addiction worsened as the years progressed. An article published by the ''[[Phoenix New Times]]'' described him as "a skeleton covered in thin skin".<ref name="pnt"/> He participated in an interview with Dutch public broadcast station [[VPRO]], the first media appearance he made since leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers.<ref name=VPRO/> In the interview Frusciante speaks of the positive effects drugs have had on his mind and proudly admits to being a "[[Substance dependence|junkie]]". He went on to confess addictions to heroin and crack cocaine, but ultimately described himself as being in the best health of his life.<ref name=VPRO/> ''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' sold 15,000 copies by 1996; two years later Frusciante rehabilitated and rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers.{{sfn|Todd|2012|p=322}} In 2017, record label Superior Viaduct [[reissue]]d ''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' on [[Phonograph record|vinyl]].<ref name="Vice">{{cite web|last=Scott|first=Tim|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/john-frusciantes-1992-solo-album-is-getting-a-vinyl-reissue/|title=John Frusciante's 1992 Solo Album Is Getting a Vinyl Reissue|website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=October 11, 2017|access-date=February 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203052201/https://www.vice.com/en/article/yw37pb/john-frusciantes-1992-solo-album-is-getting-a-vinyl-reissue|archive-date=February 3, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Track listing==
All tracks are written by [[John Frusciante]], except "Big Takeover", written by [[Bad Brains]].<ref name="amgreview" />
'''''Niandra LaDes'''''
#
#
#
#
#
#
#"Mascara" – 3:40
#
#
#"Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire"{{snd}}3:17
#"Blood on My Neck from Success" – 3:09
#"Ten
'''''Usually Just a T-Shirt'''''
#<li value=13>"Untitled #
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#"Untitled #10" – 0:25
#"Untitled #11" – 1:51
#"Untitled #12" – 5:27
#"Untitled #13" – 1:52
'''Note:''' Cassette versions of the album include the additional tracks "Ants" as track seven on side one (''Niandra LaDes'') and "Untitled #0" as track one on side two (''Usually Just a T-Shirt'').
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book|last=Apter|first=Jeff|title=Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story|date=2004|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|___location=London|isbn=1-84449-381-4}}
*{{cite book|last1=Kiedis|first1=Anthony|author-link1=Anthony Kiedis|last2=Sloman|first2=Larry|title=Scar Tissue|title-link=Scar Tissue (autobiography)|date=2004|publisher=[[Hachette Books|Hyperion]]|___location=New York City|isbn=1-4013-0101-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Todd|first=David|title=Feeding Back: Conversations with Alternative Guitarists from Proto-Punk to Post-Rock|date=2012|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|___location=Chicago|isbn=978-1-6137-4059-0}}
==External links==
*[https://archive.org/details/cd_niandra-lades-and-usually-just-a-t-shirt_john-frusciante_0 ''Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt''] at the [[Internet Archive]], with options to stream the album from licensed platforms
*{{Discogs master|type=album|30172|name=Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt}}
*{{MusicBrainz release group|mbid=2a52f6e3-0622-3d60-947a-a75b0673f096|name=Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1994 debut albums]]
[[Category:American Recordings (record label) albums]]
[[Category:John Frusciante albums]]
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