Ya'll want a single? **** That!

March 13, 2004 12:02 AM

A Korn video that definately gets the message across about the music industry. (direct link to windows media, nsfw i believe)
posted by spidre (49 comments total)

Ooof, bad link and *definitely

3rd strike anyone?
posted by Mach3avelli at 12:12 AM on March 13, 2004

Ooof, bad link and *definitely

FPPsucksfilter.
posted by McBain at 12:22 AM on March 13, 2004

huh?
posted by spidre at 12:26 AM on March 13, 2004

The link works, and woops about the definitely.
posted by spidre at 12:26 AM on March 13, 2004

Ummm, Korn is with Epic Records. Isn't Epic/Sony one of those big bad record companies?

I guess being "anti-Music Industry" is the cool new image this year.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 12:29 AM on March 13, 2004

>I guess being "anti-Music Industry" is the cool new image this year.

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about Korn.

There is a tradition of using the system to change it. Look at say Rage Against the Machine, they're were on Sony, but knew full well they couldn't compete for meme-space on an indie label.

Its a compromise that may or may not be hypocrisy, but considering the radio waves are 0w3nD by big media I would cut them some slack on the hypocrisy charge. An indie band complaining about the industry in a twenty person gig off Lincoln ave isn't the same thing as having a video on MTV with the same message.
posted by skallas at 12:42 AM on March 13, 2004

and I don't think they are going to be playing the video on MTV or anything of the sort anytime soon. i don't think the record label can stop them from making this stuff, but they probably can stop them from spreading it on "legitimate" distribution networks.
posted by spidre at 12:53 AM on March 13, 2004

That they spent 150,000 dollars to make that video is ridiculous.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:02 AM on March 13, 2004

not big on korn.. but.. *sweet*
posted by MrLint at 1:06 AM on March 13, 2004

a decent chunk of the 150 grand was probably damaged property expense...

good for them, though, for a nice, albeit impotent, attempt to make a difference
posted by quaeler at 1:49 AM on March 13, 2004

The link is indeed down for me, but I think LAUNCH.com has it (assuming it's the one I think it is.
posted by abcde at 2:13 AM on March 13, 2004

i love the bit at the end, where after they've spent 3 minutes and 20 seconds lampooning the music industry as a whole and major labels and then it comes up with...

Copyright 2004 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

sweet
posted by triv at 2:20 AM on March 13, 2004

For the record, i like Korn and this is a good thought provoking video.
posted by triv at 2:21 AM on March 13, 2004

Change can never come from within. Korn are hypocrits. EOD.
posted by McBain at 3:11 AM on March 13, 2004

change can never come from within? what about hitler?

yeah yeah, godwin, i know...
posted by joedan at 3:22 AM on March 13, 2004

Gee, thank you KORN for informing me of the sham that is the music business!
What the major labels do is pretty messed up!

Almost as messed up as . . . having a serial killer museum!
posted by cinderful at 3:27 AM on March 13, 2004

Too bad the song sucks
posted by Outlawyr at 4:11 AM on March 13, 2004

Change can never come from within.

Yeah, sure, tell that to any country that ever had a revolution...including the United States.

Guess we should just give up on Democracy too, while we're at it, huh?
posted by terrapin at 5:10 AM on March 13, 2004

Maybe El Korno could have flashed some independent radio stations on the screen, offering the kids a solution.

But fucking up the music store looked pretty fun.
posted by the fire you left me at 6:38 AM on March 13, 2004

Now, I just hated watching that. I always get this queasy feeling in my stomach when I see people destroying stuff. It feels so... so... wasteful and unfair. Yeah, I know it was all staged, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head that they'd just stormed into some poor guy's little CD store and trashed it.
posted by chrismear at 7:09 AM on March 13, 2004

I discussed this with friends earlier this week, and we came up with two possible solutions:

1) Korn is a bunch of hypocrites posturing as "independent" to expand their fan base. Likely.

2) Korn truly believes in what they're doing. They've realized that what they did (sign with a Major) is wrong, and are now using their public pulpit to attempt to compensate for their wrong, which is a noble act. This would assume that they're under contract for not much longer. This scenario is less likely, but definitely possible, and if true, commendable.
posted by The Michael The at 7:09 AM on March 13, 2004

It seems the gentlemen were trying to convey some sort of message, but I can't for the life of me parse through their clever wordplay to decipher it.

Having said that, it's silly for them to have a song that says "fuck" over and over and then say, "I bet the corporate whoredogs won't even play this." Yeah, my local McDonalds refuses to sell the homemade burgers I bring up there every day. STOP THE BURGER MONOPOLY! (plus, I use TWO types of cheese. I guess that blows their corporate minds!)

Plus...the song is awful.
posted by ColdChef at 7:10 AM on March 13, 2004

For the record....they are not saying "fuck"

They are saying "suck that".....leaving a slight possibility that it could be played on the radio (and it is actually getting played...at least in Dallas)
posted by Benway at 7:26 AM on March 13, 2004

From what I understand, the music store that they trashed was going out of business and they paid for the ability to trash it... and some of the employees/owners of the store trashed it with them.
posted by psychotic_venom at 7:30 AM on March 13, 2004

That's even sadder.

"Suck you, mothersucker!"
posted by ColdChef at 7:31 AM on March 13, 2004

fuse plays the video, with the "suck" replacement.

local radio might be playing it, if they are it's definantly got the "suck" replacement.
posted by y0bhgu0d at 7:32 AM on March 13, 2004

There's a remix of this song featuring Howard Stern here.
posted by Miyagi at 7:39 AM on March 13, 2004

Next week on...

When Millionaires Attack!
posted by fullerine at 7:51 AM on March 13, 2004

"The new groups are not concerned
With what there is to be learned
They got Burton (Adidas?) suits, ha you think it's funny
Turning rebellion into money"

The Clash
-White Man in a Hammersmith Palais
posted by black8 at 9:05 AM on March 13, 2004

could have flashed some independent radio stations

Great point. It's cool and fun to destroy but to rant and bitch without offering an alternative action is pretty pointless. They should have put some hardcore porn in the video and then released a 'explicit' version on the Kazaa/Emule.
posted by ao4047 at 9:24 AM on March 13, 2004

Korn has been suckling at the major-label teat for the past decade. It's hard to take this seriously.
posted by punishinglemur at 9:26 AM on March 13, 2004

So, of course, following that same logic and assuming that it's not a publicity stunt, then people can never change their opinions on things?
posted by Samizdata at 9:43 AM on March 13, 2004

Never heard that band before. They're not very good. And that guy is definitely saying Fuck, not Suck, regardless of what the lyric sheet might say.

Look at say Rage Against the Machine

Yeah, look at them on the cover of SPIN (or whatever it was), modelling for Calvin Klein. Sorry, but RATM changed zip. If you disagree, I'd love to know how they changed anything except their bank account balance.
posted by dobbs at 10:26 AM on March 13, 2004

SPIN (or whatever it was), modelling for Calvin Klein. Sorry, but RATM changed zip. If you disagree, I'd love to know how they changed anything except their bank account balance.

frankly, it's not about changing anything except minds. it's about education. music can't do anything but be listened to, and hopefully RATM educated some and made some people think.

now, i've heard some stories that whenever tom wanted to talk about issues during the concert, drunken fratboys usually drowned him out with cries of "shut the fuck up! play music!", so....they prolly didn't do much changing of minds either.

but it's the thought that counts.
posted by taumeson at 10:34 AM on March 13, 2004

What's "mms://" and why doesn't OS X recognize it?
posted by hammurderer at 10:54 AM on March 13, 2004

hammurderer:
its multimedia stream.

os x doesnt recognize it because you dont have a mimetype set up for it. worked fine for me.

anyway..

the irony presented here amuses me. big corporations are bad, and they gave us $150,000 to make this video to let you know. now they're going to play it because its "edgy," "raw," and "will sell advertising on mtv."
posted by onedarkride at 11:03 AM on March 13, 2004

I was being sarcastic. Of course change can come from within. I think the arguments that they are hypocrits are stupid.
posted by McBain at 11:29 AM on March 13, 2004

Pop star George Michael is abandoning the music business to release his songs online for free instead.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:30 AM on March 13, 2004

now, i've heard some stories that whenever tom wanted to talk about issues during the concert, drunken fratboys usually drowned him out with cries of "shut the fuck up! play music!", so....they prolly didn't do much changing of minds either.

The fact that their audiences were filled with fratboys should tell you something: that their music was incredibly pedestrian and derivative and their politics were generally a lot of posturing and cant rather than any real original thought.
posted by jonmc at 11:32 AM on March 13, 2004

I'll agree, change can come from within, and it must come from withing, and maybe Korn, and George Michael are some people on the inside who will make some changes. Korn obviously needs to do more than make a video more, and because they're on Sony doesn't make them automatically make them hypocrits, probably makes them more useful, since they are the rare band the majors do make money off of. Say what you will about the music, but they're popular, and in a position to change things, or begin a change in the system I suppose.
I can't believe I just used Korn, and George Michael in the same sentance
posted by Blake at 12:12 PM on March 13, 2004

" F@!k the music industry! F@!k the music industry! The music industry made me rich! Oh, look at me, destroying someone's place of business! I'm rich, from the music industry, and now I can destroy someone's shop! Brittney is evil, and I am not so evil! STICK IT TO THE MAN! STICK IT TO THE MAN! I AM THE MAN!"

Did I miss the point all together? Because that's what I got out of that video.... and Korn STILL sucks... what's the deal with that?
posted by bradth27 at 1:00 PM on March 13, 2004

I like the fact that the song is under three minutes and thirty seconds long.
posted by Mo Nickels at 1:38 PM on March 13, 2004

I think the idea with all the bands rebelling against major labels from within them is that major label distribution is the only way to get to the most people.
posted by abcde at 4:00 PM on March 13, 2004

Also, even if Korn suddenly wanted to go indepdent they're still in contract (unless it just expired with this album etc.). Not that that they would (and don't think they claim they would
posted by abcde at 4:01 PM on March 13, 2004

What I think is funny....the line in the video about a song having a hook in the first 20 seconds....

If you know Korn...you know that is every single one of their songs is about the hook. They will be the James Brown of dance in the next 10 years.
posted by Benway at 4:58 PM on March 13, 2004

Ironic that the song was only 3:21 long, and the 'hook' was 23 seconds in.
posted by kfury at 5:08 PM on March 13, 2004

is that dork still wearing the same adidas top?
posted by ArcAm at 7:29 PM on March 13, 2004

I like the video, but I just like to see stuff destroyed, especially things which are symbolic of my perceived enemies, such as the RIAA.

Anyway, Koran is as much a pop band as Britney is a pop singer. So whatever. I’m sure they sincerely believe that they are edgy, outsider-y and relevant.
posted by delmoi at 10:18 PM on March 13, 2004

Koran?
posted by kevspace at 12:25 AM on March 14, 2004