"Got the Life" is a song by American nu metal band Korn. It was released in 1998, as the second single from their third album, Follow the Leader (1998). The song was recorded in April 1998 at NRG Recording Studios. The band decided they would release the song as a promotional single after each member found that there was something "special" about the song. The single had "phenomenal success", and its music video was requested more than any other video on MTV's TRL, making it the first officially "retired" music video.
"Got the Life" was recorded in April 1998 at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California.[4] After recording the song, the group's members each felt that there was something "special" about the song.[5] Lead vocalist Jonathan Davis claimed that it reminded him of "something you might hear at raves", which were very popular at the time.[5][6] Even though they thought that many fans would not appreciate the song, they released it as a promotional single in early August 1998, before the release of Follow the Leader.[6] "Got the Life" was said by Leah Furman to be "revolved around the mixed blessings of fame."[7]
The single was sent to radio stations on July 24, 1998, and has been released five times.[8] The single's first release was on August 10, 1998,[9] where it was released with two versions in the United States.[9][10] The single contains different mixes of the song, including "Deejay Punk-Roc Remix" and the instrumental "D.O.S.E.'s Woollyback Remix."[11] The single also apprehends B-sides and remixes to earlier songs.[12]Stephen Thomas Erlewine reviewed the single, giving it two out of five stars, and noting that "the 'Deejay Punk-Roc Remix' is pretty good, but the instrumental is of negligible worth. The second part of the single is backed with 'I Can Remember' plus 'Good God (OOMPH! vs. Such A Surge Remix)'.[13] The single was also released in Australia,[12] and in the United Kingdom twice.[14][15] The single was considered to have had "phenomenal success".[16]
Composition
"Got the Life" music sheet.
"Got the Life" is three minutes and forty-five seconds long.[17] It is the shortest song on Follow the Leader, and like the album the single was produced by Steve Thompson and Toby Wright,[18][19] and was mixed by Brendan O'Brien.[18] "Got the Life (Deejay Punk-Roc remix)" was mixed by DeeJay Punk-Roc (Jon Paul Davies), and was recorded at Airdog Funk Research Department and Liverpool, England. The D.O.S.E.'s Woollyback remix was mixed by D.O.S.E. in courtesy of Mercury Records.[18]
The song starts off with a single percussion beat, leading into the refrain riff, with a triple guitar overdub. When the verses emerge, lead singer Jonathan Davis begins singing with the lyrical line "Hate, something, sometime, someway, something kicked on the front floor."[20] Korn performed the song with the following members: Jonathan Davis performing vocals, Brian "Head" Welch and James "Munky" Shaffer performing guitars, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, performing on the bass guitar, and David Silveria on the drum kit.
In a 2013 interview with Scuzz, Jonathan Davis revealed that "Got the Life" originally contained an audio sample at the very beginning - a piece of dialogue spoken by actor Dom DeLuise in the 1974 film Blazing Saddles. Warner Brothers would not allow its usage, however, so it was removed prior to the song's release.[21]
Music video
"I would give my car to a bum. I thought Tre from Pharcyde could play the bum. I wanted to blow up cars and other fancy material things in the video as a way to show that we didn't care about those things. We could end the video with a shot of a big backyard party with all of [their] friends. In Addition, I wanted to put two lowrider bikes in the scene and make it look like we were all down in Mexico, partying and having a good time."
Korn decided to shoot a music video for "Got the Life" after the reception from fans and employees at NRG Recording Studios was very positive.[6] The music video's concept was by the band's bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu.[6] Their managers advised them to request Joseph Kahn to direct the video.[6] Kahn also was the director for "A.D.I.D.A.S." music video in 1997.[22] After asking Kahn to direct their video, he responded saying "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."[23]
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the single 2/5 stars, although he stated that the song "rivaled such previous masterworks as 'A.D.I.D.A.S.' and 'Shoots and Ladders'. Their fusion of metal and rap was stronger than ever, boasting their best rhythm tracks to date. Which is good, since the B-sides of the 'Got the Life' singles were devoted to remixes."[12]
"Got the Life" is widely considered to be one of Korn's best songs. In 2019, Loudwire ranked the song number ten on their list of the 50 greatest Korn songs,[32] and in 2021, Kerrang ranked the song number seven on their list of the 20 greatest Korn songs.[33]
"Got the Life" became Korn's first entry on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs and Alternative Songs charts, peaking at number fifteen and number seventeen, respectively.[34] The song peaked at number twenty-six in Australia, and shipments of a CD single have surpassed 35,000 units.[35] "Got the Life"'s music video debuted at number eight on MTV's Total Request Live, on September 17, 1998.[36]
^Unterberger, Andrew (September 10, 2004). "Top Ten Nu-Metal Bands". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on October 9, 2004. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
