Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World

1999

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Around The World (1999) Director: Stéphane Sednaoui Era: Post-Grunge Alt-Rock Ascendancy / Late MTV Era (1999) - The cultural peak of Californication-era RHCP, marking a global mainstream breakthrough fused with psychedelic performance aesthetics and late-analog/early-digital production values. High curatorial value as a confirmed-director artifact from one of the defining alt-rock albums of the 1990s, representing the convergence of an auteur music video director at peak form, a band at commercial apex, and the late-MTV broadcast era. The HD upgrade version adds a secondary archival layer, documenting modern remastering practices applied to late-analog source material. Essential for any collection focusing on 1990s rock visual culture or the Sednaoui directorial canon. Context: Released in the summer of 1999 as the second single from Californication, 'Around the World' arrived at the apex of RHCP's commercial and cultural resurgence following a period of internal turmoil. The video encapsulates the late-MTV golden era's visual language: rapid editing, experimental camera work, and the elevation of the performance video to near-abstract art form. Sednaoui's direction channels the song's globe-spanning lyrical bravado, Anthony Kiedis has stated the verses recount his personal journeys and the extremity of band life, into a visceral, disorienting visual experience. The video's broadcast on MTV's Making the Video also situates it as a document of the network's peak cultural authority over rock music promotion. Director notes: Directed by Sednaoui and released September 14, 1999, the video is a high-intensity experimental performance piece consistent with his signature aesthetic of rapid montage, abstract body fragmentation, and kinetic camera work. Wikipedia notes that the video shares visual DNA with Sednaoui's earlier RHCP video 'Give It Away' and his contemporaneous R.E.M. video 'Lotus,' employing similar chaotic visual techniques. The video was featured on MTV's Making the Video. It was later edited into Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Videos (2003). Editor credited as Chris Hafner (per IMVDb).