A.D.I.D.A.S. (Korn song)

"A.D.I.D.A.S." is a song written and recorded by American nu metal band Korn for their second studio album, Life Is Peachy. It was released as the album's second single in March 1997.

"A.D.I.D.A.S."
Single by Korn
from the album Life Is Peachy
ReleasedMarch 4, 1997
Recorded1996
Genre
Length2:32
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Korn singles chronology
"No Place to Hide"
(1996)
"A.D.I.D.A.S."
(1997)
"Good God"
(1997)

Background

The title is an acronym for the statement "All Day I Dream About Sex" and does not refer directly to the popular sportswear brand, Adidas, although Korn was known for frequently wearing the sport brand in their early years. The whimsical backronym from the brand name dates to the 1970s.[4] In 1998, Korn took up a six-figure endorsement deal with Puma, a rival of Adidas.[5]

Live performances

The song was played at Woodstock 1999 to a crowd of 275,000. The song was a staple of the band's live setlist up until about 2007, when it started to be played far less frequently.[6] As of 2020, the song has not been performed live in over a decade, with its last performance being in 2009.

When guitarist Brian "Head" Welch rejoined Korn in 2013, it was one of the songs he requested the band never play again. In 2003, there was an incident where Welch saw his daughter Jennea, then aged 5, reciting the explicit lyrics to the song, which was a contributing factor to him leaving the band and finding Christianity. He later recalled, "She was five years old, and I'm sitting there watching her sing "All day I dream about sex". That's not right. I don't care if she didn't know what she was singing. It still freaked me out. It's just not right for her to see her dad strung out on drugs, and it's not right for her to sing that song. It's like I was stealing her childhood or something."[7]

Music video

"A.D.I.D.A.S." is the only official video from Life Is Peachy. It was filmed in Los Angeles with director Joseph Kahn[8] and released in March 1997. The plot revolves around a car accident which causes the death of all Korn members at the hands of a pimp and his prostitutes. The police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics secure the crash site. The corpses are placed in black body bags, where they appear to come alive and move violently. After that, they are transported to a grotesque morgue where a pathologist examines their corpses. When the band members are undressed, it's revealed that singer Jonathan Davis is wearing girls' underwear. This is the only video where singer Jonathan Davis can be seen wearing one of his customized sequined Adidas tracksuits. The radio mix of "A.D.I.D.A.S." is used for the video.[9]

When asked about the video in a May 1997 interview with Australia's The Buzz, Fieldy remarked "The director....it was his idea. He just did the Shaq video with the helicopter and he did the Westside Connection video. He has had pretty much all hip hop crap. Then he came to us with his idea, he knew that Jon used to work for the morgue in the coroners office and all that crap so...We liked his idea and we're like - lets do it."[10]

Appearances in other media

It was featured in a season 1 episode of Daria titled "Road Worrier", which originally aired on July 7, 1997.[11]

That same year, the video for the song also appeared in an MTV program titled 12 Angry Mothers, which featured a group of mothers who judged different music videos by giving them a "yes" or "no". The "A.D.I.D.A.S." music video received a "no" from all the mothers.[12]

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised the song. He writes ""A.D.I.D.A.S."—a kinetic funk-metal track allegedly built around the schoolyard acronym "All Day I Dream About Sex"—was Korn's breakthrough single, and deservedly so—it was arguably the best moment [on Life is Peachy].[3]

Accolades and legacy

"A.D.I.D.A.S." ranked 24th on Australian radio station Triple J's annual "Hottest 100" list for the year of 1997.[13][14] 91X also ranked it 18th on their "Top 91 of 1997" list.[15]

Noisecreep ranked "A.D.I.D.A.S." as the 4th best Korn video in 2013. They state "Pimps, hookers and Korn perishing in a car accident? That's not why 'A.D.I.D.A.S.' is one of the best Korn videos. It's the deft way that the band explored the seedy underbelly of a city and pushed shock value to the limit that makes it so."[16]

"Direct a Korn video contest" winner Sean Dack took inspiration from the "A.D.I.D.A.S." video when directing Korn's "Alone I Break" in 2002.[17]

Track listing

Australian release

  • CD 6641 77 2
  1. "A.D.I.D.A.S." – 2:37
  2. "Chi" (live) – 4:47
  3. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (The Wet Dream mix) – 3:37
  4. "Wicked" (Tear the Roof Off mix) – 3:46
  5. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (Synchro dub) – 4:28
  6. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (video) – 2:32

US release

  • CD 49K 78530
  1. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (Synchro dub) – 4:27
  2. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (Under Pressure mix) – 3:55
  3. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (The Wet Dream mix) – 3:35
  4. "Wicked" (Tear the Roof Off mix) – 3:47

UK release No. 1

  • CD 664204 2
  1. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (radio mix) – 2:32
  2. "Chi" (live) – 4:46
  3. "Ball Tongue" (live) – 4:56
  4. "Lowrider/Shoots and Ladders" (live) – 6:15

UK release No. 2

  • CD 664204 5
  1. "A.D.I.D.A.S." – 2:33
  2. "Faget" – 5:51
  3. "Porno Creep" – 2:03
  4. "Blind" – 4:19

Austrian and Swedish release

  • CD 664053 2
  1. "A.D.I.D.A.S." (radio mix) – 2:35
  2. "Ball Tongue" (live) – 4:56
  3. "Lowrider/Shoots and Ladders" (live) – 6:14
Tracks 2 and 3 were recorded live at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, Texas on November 23, 1996.

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 45
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[19] 22
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard) 13

See also

References

  1. Wiederhorn, Jon (July 1, 2013). "NOISEY VS. METALSUCKS - THREATEN MY FAMILY IF YOU MUST, BUT I STILL SAY KORN RULES". Vice.
  2. "Paolo Gregoletto: Nu-Metal - Revered or Reviled? The Top Ten". All Axess. (January 5th, 2015). Retrieved on September 23rd, 2015
  3. "A.D.I.D.A.S. review". AllMusicGuide. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
  4. "FACT CHECK: What Does Adidas Really Stand For?". Snopes.com. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  5. "A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  6. Korn Concert Setlists setlist.fm
  7. Waliszewski, Bob (2011). Plugged-In Parenting: How to Raise Media-Savvy Kids with Love, Not War. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. pp. 77–78. ISBN 9781604828085. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  8. Billboard March 1, 1997
  9. Korn - A.D.I.D.A.S on YouTube
  10. "KoRn Articles & Interviews". members.tripod.com. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  11. "Outpost Daria Reborn - Song List: Season One". outpost-daria-reborn.info. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  12. "Korn Facts". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  13. "The Hottest 100 of 1997: the full list". Double J. Jan 25, 2018. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  14. "The Most Popular Hottest 100 Of All Time Is Being Replayed This Month". Music Feeds. Jan 17, 2018. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  15. "Top 91 of 1997". Jan 20, 1997. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  16. Sciarretto, Amy. "10 Best Korn Videos". Noisecreep. Retrieved Jul 19, 2020.
  17. "Treatment: Korn". MTV. 3 November 2002.
  18. "Discography Korn". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  19. Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: Alex K - Kyuss". Zobbel. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
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