"Rockin' the Suburbs" is a song by Ben Folds on the album of the same name.

Music and lyrics

Folds said of the inspiration for the song:

"I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a joke to scream in a heavy metal falsetto. I found myself saying things like: Feel my pain, I am white, feel my pain. I was going to write this song about Korn. I don't know, it wasn't as funny when I directed it at somebody. So I thought I would write it not directed to anybody. I mean, I would be happy to tell the guys from Korn that I wrote a song about them, but I think, when people listen to it, it is a better song when it is not directed to anybody."

The song parodies Korn and

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

. Folds stated of the song "I am taking the piss out of the whole scene, especially the followers."

Single track listing

#"Rockin' the Suburbs"

adio Edit Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs * "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 *"Adio", a 19 ...

#"Girl" #"Make Me Mommy" #"Rockin' the Suburbs"

ideo IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, enviro ...

Japanese EP: #"Rockin' the Suburbs"

#"One Down" #"Girl" #"Make Me Mommy" #"The Secret Life of Morgan Davis"

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 features Folds playing multiple members of an angry 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 backwards red

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

cap, the trademark of Limp Bizkit's

Fred Durst William Frederick Durst (born August 20, 1970) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and director. He is the frontman and lyricist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He ap ...

, while singing the lyrics, "girl give me something I can break", which were a riff on the Limp Bizkit song "

Break Stuff Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

". During this portion of the video, Folds engages in "suburban" activities such as skateboarding, jumping in pools and flipping burgers. At the end of the video, the "band" (all played by Folds again) plays in front of a black background with holes punched in it, a style that deliberately matches the live-action parts of the Korn video for "

Freak on a Leash "Freak on a Leash" is a song by the American nu metal band Korn, featured on the group's 1998 studio album, '' Follow the Leader''. After ''Follow the Leader''s release, the song was released as a single on February 25, 1999, and since then, it ...

." A subliminal message reading "Korn Sucks" briefly appears.

''Over the Hedge'' remake

In 2006, Folds rewrote the song for the animated movie ''

Over the Hedge ''Over the Hedge'' is an American syndicated comic strip, written by Michael Fry, and drawn by T. Lewis. It tells the story of a raccoon, a turtle, a squirrel, and their friends, who come to terms with their woodlands being taken over, by su ...

'', with film co-star

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

providing vocals during part of the song. Shatner does the voice for Ozzie the Opossum, who encourages his teenage daughter Heather (voice by Avril Lavigne) to play dead in threatening situations. While this version features entirely new lyrics intended to be more family-friendly than the original, Folds maintains the song’s satirical edge. The rewritten lyrics focus more on the institution of suburbia, and include jabs at

homeowner associations A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either ''ipso jure'' in a building ...

tract housing Tract housing is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found in suburb developments that were modeled on the " Levi ...

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...

, and developments built on Native American burial grounds. This version of the song was also featured in the film ''

Marley & Me ''Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'' is an autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan, published in 2005, about the 13 years he and his family spent with their yellow Labrador Retriever, Marley. The dog is poorly be ...

'' during the montage of Marley growing up in a year from a small puppy to a big dog for the rest of the movie.

References

External links

"Rockin' the Suburbs video on official sonyBMG site
{{Authority control 2001 songs 2001 singles Ben Folds songs Songs written by Ben Folds Music videos directed by "Weird Al" Yankovic Epic Records singles Satirical songs Songs about rock music Songs about musicians Works about suburbs