Rockin' the Suburbs (song)
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| "Rockin' the Suburbs" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Ben Folds | ||
| from the album Rockin' the Suburbs | ||
| Released | 2001 | |
| Format | CD Single | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 4.58 | |
| Label | SBME | |
| Writer(s) | Ben Folds | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
#28 Modern Rock Tracks |
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| Ben Folds singles chronology | ||
| Ben Folds Five "Don't Change Your Plans" (1999) |
"Rockin' the Suburbs" (2001) |
"Still Fighting It" (2002) |
| Rockin' the Suburbs track listing | ||
| "Not the Same" (9) |
"Rockin' the Suburbs" (10) |
"Fired" (11) |
"Rockin' the Suburbs" is a song by Ben Folds on the album of the same name. It is Ben Folds' biggest solo hit so far, gaining radio and MTV airplay (though "Landed" and "Bitches Ain't Shit" achieved higher chart positions on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., this was mostly due to their popularity on the iTunes Music Store rather than radio airplay). It was written by Ben Folds as an attack on Nu-Metal, which stemmed from his long-time conflict with the Nu-Metal band KoRn. The song alludes to Michael Jackson, Quiet Riot and Bon Jovi. There is also a brief commentary about reparations for slavery.
The song's simplistic guitar part (played by Folds) separates the song from much of his work with Ben Folds Five, who famously shunned guitars in their music (using them only on a single studio recording, "Emaline").
The lyrics for a portion of this song are often changed during live performances. In the refrain of the song, "I'm rockin' the suburbs, just like ______ did", Ben inserts the name of a musical artist. In the album version, the order for the names is: Michael Jackson, Quiet Riot, and Jon Bon Jovi. For live performances Ben has inserted other names, such as Bryan Adams. On the Songs for Goldfish version, he mentions William Shatner (for whom he produced an album, Has Been) and Henry Rollins (who he worked with on Shatner's song "I Can't Get Behind That").
The short section on slavery mentions Preparation H, a hemorrhoid ointment recommended to heal newly tattooed skin; around this time, each emerging nu-metal act appeared to be more tattooed than the last, and the comment seems aimed at this fact.
When performing the song live, especially on television, Folds has been known to change some of the lyrics around for comic effect. Most famously, while on the David Letterman Show inserting "Girl we couldn't get much higher," a reference to The Doors song "Light My Fire," where a profanity was supposed to be uttered. The reference parodied The Doors' 1967 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which took place on the same Ed Sullivan Theater stage as Letterman's show.
Contents |
[edit] Single track listing
- "Rockin' the Suburbs" [Radio Edit]
- "Girl"
- "Make Me Mommy"
- "Rockin' the Suburbs" [Video]
Japanese EP:
- "Rockin' the Suburbs" [Radio Edit]
- "One Down"
- "Girl"
- "Make Me Mommy"
- "The Secret Life of Morgan Davis"
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Rockin' the Suburbs" was directed by friend "Weird Al" Yankovic, who also plays the role of a producer who fixes Folds' "shitty track," directly riffing on one of the song's lyrics.
The video, which closely reflects the joke-heavy style of Yankovic's own videos, parodies the Nu-Metal scene, with Folds playing multiple members of an angry white rock band in a suburban den and in front of a white background.
After the song's bridge, Folds is shown outside in a suburban neighborhood wearing a black T-shirt and a knockoff red baseball cap, a riff on the personal style of Fred Durst of the band Limp Bizkit. During this part of the video, Folds does suburban things such as jumping in pools and flipping burgers.
Near the end of the video, Folds can be seen playing a keytar. On occasion, he also plays the keytar for live performances. The make and model he uses is a red Roland AX-1.
At the end of the video, the "band" (all Ben again) plays in front of a black background with holes punched in it, a style that matches the live-action parts of the KoRn video for "Freak on a Leash."
[edit] Over The Hedge remake
In 2006, Folds rewrote this song for the animated movie Over the Hedge, with film co-star William Shatner providing vocals during part of the song.
While the new version features none of the swearing and Nu-Metal parodies of the original, Folds makes some very pointed barbs at the concept of suburbia in the song, including jabs at homeowner associations and driving long distances to work.
Shatner plays Bill, a conflicted, ranting homeowner who has issues with the protagonist's unmowed lawn and stack of newspapers on the curb, and with the protagonist's dog, whom Bill threatens to use black belt-level karate on for emptying the neighbours' garbages across the street. During the film's credits, this section was replaced with a skit of the film's characters being introduced to the ironic "glories" of television.
As mentioned previously, Shatner had collaborated with Folds a few years before on Shatner's Has Been album.
