NASHVILLE |DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2004
FROM: KRISTINE ASHTON-MAGNUSON/MARCEE RONDAN/ MITCH SCHNEIDER
KORN DELIVER POTENT WAKE-UP CALL
WITH NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO,
“Y’ALL WANT A SINGLE”
“It’s an anti-single.”
That’s how KORN lead singer JONATHAN DAVIS describes the band’s newest release–“Y’All Want A Single”–from their current platinum-selling album TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR. It’s a sardonic, frank statement from a band whose focus has never been to create “radio singles.” As the song’s chorus goes: “Y’all want a single/Say ‘fuck that’!”
KORN–JONATHAN, MUNKY, HEAD, FIELDY and DAVID–intensify this sentiment with a startling, button-pushing video that finds the band demolishing a record store while unflinchingly questioning the practices and state of the music industry.
Conceived by the band and director Andrews Jenkins, the video was shot at a record store in Los Angeles that was going out of business (a sign of the times). The enraged band storm through the aisles, violently smashing more than 20,000 CDs and display cases with crowbars. The record store staff and fans join the frenzy as windows are broken and the store is ultimately destroyed. “It’s fun to bust shit up for a good cause,” said one of the fans involved in the melee.
This raw intensity is balanced with potent messages constantly flashing on the screen (see below) that add up to a giant wake-up call. At the core of the song and video is KORN’s love for the music itself.
“Music Monopoly?”
"One corporation owns the 5 major video channels in the U.S."
“Only 4 songs are added to the average radio playlist each week.”
“Hit songs on Top 40 are often repeated over 100 times per week.”
“Is that all you want to hear?”
“90% of all singles get to the ‘hook’ within 20 seconds.”
“Why is a song worth 99 cents?”
“Do you download songs?”
“Steal this video.”
“This is a single.”
“We love making music.”
“Love, KORN”
“There’s always all this pressure from the record company and management saying ‘we need a single for radio,’” reflects DAVIS. “We were sitting around in the studio looking at each other and said, ‘I guess we gotta write a single.’ We just started laughing and wrote this song. It was like a ‘fuck you’ to singles in general. This is us doing things our way, doing what we want to do.”
To view the “Y’All Want A Single” video, go to www.yahoo.com or www.launch.com.
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