By the Way is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released July 9, 2002, on Warner Bros. Records.

[4] By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers.

[9] Kiedis recalled of the situation: "We started finding some magic and some music and some riffs and some rhythms and some jams and some grooves, and we added to it and subtracted from it and pushed it around and put melodies to it.

[11] Rubin had, in the past, granted the band creative freedom on their recording material; this was something they thought essential for the album to be unique, and could only occur with his return.

[12] According to the 2010 book, An Oral/Visual History by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante had originally intended for the album to be very different from how it was eventually completed.

These new styles as well as Frusciante being especially prolific during this era came to alienate bassist Flea, who had wanted the band to return to its earlier funk-influenced sound.

[13] While speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Frusciante mentioned that he listened to guitarists such as John McGeoch for his work on the Magazine's and Siouxsie and the Banshees' albums including Juju, Adrian Fisher of Sparks for Kimono My House, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Vini Reilly of the Durutti Column and Keith Levene of Public Image Limited.

[8] Drawing influences from musicians such as Reilly and McGeoch, Frusciante made use of textured and multilayered guitar progressions on By the Way, using tools such as the mellotron and various effects pedals throughout.

[8] In 2006, while promoting the band's subsequent studio album, Stadium Arcadium, Flea reflected on the composition of By the Way, stating: "John went to this whole level of artistry.

[17] Songs written for the album such as "By the Way", "I Could Die for You", "Dosed", "Warm Tape" and non-album tracks "Someone" and "Body of Water" all digressed into the many sides of love.

[20][21] "Throw Away Your Television", while not having any rapidly sung lyrics, also contained a funk-oriented bass line, though hinted at experimental rock due to the heavy use of distortion throughout the verse and chorus.

Technically, By the Way saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers employing several devices to distort and alter guitar and vocal sequences.

"Don't Forget Me" utilizes a mellotron, wah pedal, and echoing techniques to convey an emotive atmosphere, while Frusciante uses a Big Muff for the solos on "Minor Thing".

The single for "Can't Stop" also features an alternate mix of the song with higher harmonies and a clearer bass line.

The song was re-recorded with a different chorus and was released as a single to promote the Greatest Hits album and featured the B-side, "Eskimo", another By the Way outtake.

Many of the songs on By the Way also had different working titles (which prior to release were also mentioned in various interviews): Soul Train ("By the Way"), Coltraine ("The Zephyr Song"), Choppy Funk ("Can't Stop"), I Would Die, The Most Beautiful Chords Ever ("I Could Die For You"), Wolverine, Drone ("This is the Place"), A Minor One ("Minor Thing") Television, Trash Your Television and Throw Away ("Throw Away Your Television"), Don't Forget ("Don't Forget Me"), Lemon Trees on Mercury ("On Mercury"), The Loop Song ("Dosed"), Epic, Gloria's Epic ("Venice Queen") and New Wave ("Rivers Of Avalon").

The majority of the booklet's artwork are various scenes of replica grass and plants, stars and indistinguishable objects, which appears to be a miniature pole, placed in dirt.

[24] Feeling extremely confident in the album, the Red Hot Chili Peppers issued the statement, "Greetings from the dimensions of invisible shapes and colors.

[27] Over 150 radio stations participated in broadcasting the band's new daily material, along with MTV, VH1, and digital music retailers like iTunes, as well as cell phone companies.

[27] By the Way was released on CD and LP on July 9, 2002, under the Warner Bros. label, selling 281,948 copies in the United States in its first week and 1.8 million worldwide.

[34] In March 2006, all Red Hot Chili Peppers' albums were made available for download from the iTunes Music Store and other online retailers.

AllMusic's Zac Johnson said that the album was "sophisticated ... the Peppers have not sacrificed any of their trademark energy or passions for life, universal love, and (of course) lust".

"[46] Kimberly Mack of PopMatters commented on how the album "... showcases a more sophisticated, lush sound that only today's Peppers could have conceived", and that "Anthony Kiedis' lyrics are more personal than ever.

"[6] Frusciante was, in his eyes, "a musical talent to be reckoned with and is the undeniable X factor in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound.

[37] Jaime Lowe of The Village Voice panned Kiedis' lyrics as "absolutely baffling" and commented that "it's as if he picked up a rhyming dictionary and arbitrarily strung some phrases together.

"[44] Entertainment Weekly praised By the Way for being well refined and a superb collaboration, but criticized the Chili Peppers for playing it safe and keeping the album's energy mild; for being "more fascinating for what it symbolizes than what it is.

"[28] The location was chosen in order to reinvigorate lower Manhattan after the September 11 attacks and all proceeds were donated to pertinent charity organizations.

[56] The Red Hot Chili Peppers played at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 20, 2003, to a sold-out crowd and an enthusiastic response from critics.

Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times reported that "on Tuesday night, the [Red Hot Chili Peppers] came to Madison Square Garden for an extraordinary two-hour performance ... On 'Don't Forget Me', [Flea] strummed chords, while Mr. Frusciante contributed a gorgeous guitar line that bubbled and hissed like some sort of chemical reaction.

Following several Japanese and Australian performances, the Red Hot Chili Peppers planned three nights at London's Hyde Park.