"Twisted Transistor" is a song written and recorded by American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

for their seventh studio album, '' See You on the Other Side''. It was released as the album's first single in September 2005.

Chart performance

The song has become Korn's second most successful single to date on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number sixty-four, and became their highest charting single on ''Billboards

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, peaking at number three, until it was surpassed by " Never Never," which reached number one in 2013. Its success was continued overseas, where it charted in many countries, including number twenty-seven in the UK, number twenty-four in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and number six in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Charts

Music video

The video for the song was directed by Ryan Ratajski and features a '' Spinal Tap''-esque

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

produced by "documentary filmmaker Rob Piner" (a reference to ''This Is Spinal Tap'' director

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performanc ...

) where four rappers play the parts of Korn:

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

as Jonathan Davis,

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

Fieldy Reginald Quincy Arvizu (born November 2, 1969), also known as "Fieldy", is an American musician, best known as the bassist for nu metal band Korn. He is also the guitarist/bassist for rock band StillWell. Musical career Prior to Arvizu's tim ...

David Banner Lavell William Crump (born April 11, 1974), better known by his stage name David Banner, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Banner's family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was raised. Ban ...

David Silveria David Randall Silveria (born September 21, 1972) is an American drummer, best known as the original drummer for nu metal band Korn from 1993 until leaving the band in 2006. He then became the drummer for Infinika, which was formed in 2012 and d ...

, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

James Shaffer James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He has cited Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads as some of hi ...

. The real Korn appears at the end of the video as representatives of "Fony Music", complaining about how the music video isn't going to sell because it lacks "bling-bling" and "booty shakin'". There is also a section in the video featuring 'Jonathan' recording vocals in "Big Rick's Studio", a reference to metal and hip-hop producer

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

, as Big Rick himself as he appears in the video bears a resemblance to Rick Rubin. The rappers have jokingly noted in interviews that "It might be a ewband coming towards you".

Track listing

UK release

* 7" VUS316, CD VUSCD316 #"Twisted Transistor" (radio edit) #"Too Late I'm Dead"

Australian release

*CD 3474592 #"Twisted Transistor" (radio edit) #"Appears" #"Twisted Transistor" (Kupper's Elektro-tek radio edit)

US promotional release

*12" VUSTDJ316 #"Twisted Transistor" (Dummies Club Mix) #"Twisted Transistor" (album version) #"Twisted Transistor" (Kupper's Elektro-tek Klub Mix) #"Twisted Transistor" (Josh Harris Fuck the Club Mix)

References

{{Authority control 2005 singles Korn songs 2005 songs Songs about music Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs written by Reginald Arvizu Songs written by Lauren Christy Songs written by Jonathan Davis Songs written by Graham Edwards (musician) Songs written by James Shaffer Songs written by David Silveria Songs written by Scott Spock Virgin Records singles Song recordings produced by the Matrix (production team)