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All in the Family (song)
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Wikipedia article
"'All in the Family'" is a song written and recorded by American nu metal band Korn and Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst for Korn's third studio album, 'Follow the Leader'. The demo version was released as a "radio teaser" shortly before the release of the album's second single, "Got the Life".
Music and structure
The song is a rhyme duel between Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst, mixing elements of hip-hop beats, distorted 7-string guitars, and Fieldy's signature bass sound. The song begins with Jonathan and Fred insulting each other on hygiene, sexual orientation, family roots, and other things. At the ending, both say they will perform sexual acts on each other in an ironic way, in fact giving the song a confusing twist. There are lyrical references to each other's songs, including Limp Bizkit's "Counterfeit" and Korn's "Blind", "Shoots and Ladders", and "No Place To Hide". Parts of the riff from "Blind" can also be heard during Jon's insults. Musical acts Vanilla Ice, Hanson, and Winger are also tossed around as insults along with references to the 1993 Waco siege, Buffalo Bill, Jerry Springer, Austin Powers, Raggedy Ann, Zingers, Fruity Pebbles, Funkdoobiest, the Confederate flag, and the opening lyrics to Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems".
Concept
KoRn lead singer Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst thought it would be funny if they put out a track where they just shoot insults back and forth at each other, like a good old schoolyard brawl. This was the result. Davis recalled: "Fred was at the studio one day after a Korn-TV taping, and we said, 'Let's do a song together. Hey, man, let's go back and forth and rip on each other like an old-school battle.' I don't know who's idea it was. I can't remember if it was mine, or Fieldy's, or Fred's, but we came up with the idea and we started writing and we worked on it together. I even came up with some bags on myself for Fred to say. It was all in good-natured fun".
Davis and Durst would often offer suggestions for each other's lyrics; a lyric written by Durst as "tootin' on your bagpipe" was changed to "fagpipes" by Davis, who stated "I helped him bag on me better". In 2015, Davis would refer to the song as "the dumbest fucking track Korn ever did", attributing the song to the excessive drugs and alcohol consumed during the album's production.
Media response
In an otherwise positive review of the album, 'Rolling Stone' wrote about the song:
Similarly, Steve Appleford of the 'Los Angeles Times' called the song "a duet of cheap insults with Bizkit's Fred Durst that only diminishes one of Korn's strongest albums",Steve Appleford (December 7, 2003). "In defense of Korn: Look into this mirror: Listening to the band's rages and rants can't be called a pleasant experience, but it sure can be rewarding", 'Los Angeles Times', p. E57. and the 'Winston-Salem Journal' wrote, "one wonders how [Davis] could stumble so badly with 'All in the Family' a scatological song crammed with crude jive and anti-gay jibes that severely undercuts an otherwise potent disc."Ed Bumgardner (August 28, 1998). "Korn's Follow the Leader rides the maelstrom", 'Winston-Salem Journal', p. 4. The 'Austin American-Statesman's critic wrote that the song's "pulsating rhythms... are undermined by countless references to guys' private parts, the f- word, 'faggots' and incest."Chris Riemenschneider (August 25, 1998). "'Follow the Leader': Korn", 'Austin American-Statesman', p. E2.
Mike Boehm, commenting in the 'Los Angeles Times', attempted to consider the band's motivations in writing the lyrics:
He goes on to write, "The ugliness of 'All in the Family' doesn't stem from overt homophobia; let's take Davis at his word that he harbors no ill feelings toward gays. Instead, it embodies the ingrained, unthinking homophobic bias that runs strong in our culture."
About the homophobia accusations directed at the song, Fred Durst said: "I called Jon [Davis of Korn] a fag, he called me a fag. We were just poking fun at each other. We didnt mean it in any homophobic way".
In 2021, Kerrang! magazine, placed the song on its list of the band's top 20 songs.
Track listing
Track 2 was remixed by DJ Clark Kent, tracks 3 and 4 were remixed by Level X, and track 5 was remixed by Scarecrow Adams.
References
'Other sources'
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Category:Songs about families
Category:Korn songs
Category:1998 singles
Category:1998 songs
Category:Songs written by Reginald Arvizu
Category:Songs written by Jonathan Davis
Category:Songs written by Fred Durst
Category:Songs written by James Shaffer
Category:Songs written by David Silveria
Category:Songs written by Brian Welch
Category:Immortal Records singles
Category:Obscenity controversies in music
Category:Rap metal songs
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