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Life Is Peachy

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For the South Korean film, see Ashamed (2010 film).

Life Is Peachy
Korn-LifeIsPeachy.jpg
Studio album by
Korn
ReleasedOctober 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
RecordedApril–July 1996
StudioIndigo Ranch Studios, Malibu, California, U.S.
GenreNu metal
Length48:14
LabelImmortal/Epic
ProducerRoss Robinson
Korn chronology
Korn
(1994) 		Life Is Peachy
(1996) 		Follow the Leader
(1998)
Singles from Life Is Peachy
  1. "No Place to Hide"
    Released: September 14, 1996
  2. "A.D.I.D.A.S."
    Released: March 4, 1997
  3. "Good God"
    Released: November 7, 1997

Life Is Peachy is the second studio album by American nu metal band Korn. It was released on October 15, 1996 through both Immortal Records and Epic Records. After the release of Korn's 1994 self-titled debut album, the band asked Ross Robinson to produce and went back to Indigo Ranch to record. Life Is Peachy has fourteen tracks, excluding the hidden track after "Kill You". Korn released three singles from Life Is Peachy: "No Place to Hide", "A.D.I.D.A.S.", and "Good God". All three singles went on the UK Singles Chart. Life Is Peachy features such themes as drugs, social encounters, sex, and revenge. The album's cover art was designed by Martin Riedl and its name is credited to Korn's bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu.

Life Is Peachy was certified gold on January 8, 1997, and platinum on December 9. Following the success of Korn's 1994 self-titled debut album, Life Is Peachy was certified double platinum in the United States and 6.5 million copies worldwide. Life Is Peachy debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number one in New Zealand. In its first week of being released, the album sold 106,000 copies. Critical reception for the album was mainly mixed, but the album's songwriting and sound quality was praised.

Before the release of Life Is Peachy, Korn toured with many bands. Initially, Korn joined the Sick of It All Tour. Following the Sick of It All Tour, Korn joined the Danzig 4 Tour. Korn also toured with Megadeth, Fear Factory, and Flotsam and Jetsam. After the release of Life Is Peachy, Korn toured solo, and headlined and often sold out shows. Korn also toured in the Lollapalooza summer tour.

Writing and recording[]

Writing for the band's second album started immediately after touring their self-titled debut. Guitarist Munky described the writing process as, "we didn't write nothin' for two years then we had creativity build up, like blue balls of creativity." Doug Small, author of The Story of Korn (ISBN 0825618045), said that "the band's songwriting method — a sort of collective building process wherein four instrumentalists, with the input of Jonathan [Davis], develop each other's ideas until they've created a monster — is truly a group effort." The album's lyrics — for the most part — were primarily written by lead singer Jonathan Davis. Drummer David Silveria told Modern Drummer, "somebody will start playing something and the rest of us will work around it and see where it goes."

After playing at a few gigs with Deftones in California, Korn went back to the studio to start recording Life Is Peachy in April 1996. Korn asked Ross Robinson to produce, and wanted to begin recording at Indigo Ranch,[1] mostly because their first album had been recorded there and was a success.[2][3] Authors Jason Arnopp and Doug Small, insisted the album was rushed when it was put together. Silveria explained, "We went in really fresh, and we wanted to get it done quickly to capture that moment. So it was probably about sixty percent knowing what I was going to play and forty percent just playing whatever came to mind at that moment, It ended up really good, and it has a kind of energy I probably wouldn't have gotten if I'd worked everything out beforehand." Korn's bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu said, "We wanted that same energy and inspiration we found up in the Malibu Hills."[2]

Jonathan Davis said regarding the writing of the album "Right after we got done touring with Ozzy Osbourne, Ross [Robinson] hooked up with us. We went into a rehearsal studio and started writing. It was faster and thrashier. It was us reacting the vibe that we had to hurry up and get this done. We thought, "Let's do something great, but let's not take a year on it." James "Munky" Shaffer elaborated "Some of the songs and riffs from the first record had been lingering around for years. When it was time to write Life Is Peachy, we went back into the rehearsal studio and we wanted to take the elements that the fans liked and we liked about Korn and elaborate on some of those like Jonathan freaking out. "Twist" came to life. There was that dissonant guitar playing. There was more of a punk rock feel and attitude that the band had. I think a lot of that came from touring so much and the energy of the crowds. We wanted to create a really angry album."[4]

Booklet[]

A square, white paper, with black words asking several questions.
Card in Life Is Peachy

Korn's bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu came up with the title Life Is Peachy. The name came from Fieldy's Pee Chee folder. Fieldy often wrote the words "Life Is" in front of the brand name, which he found amusing.[5] Fieldy said, "I used to doodle all over it [the file folder]. I drew long hair on the character and put guitars in their hands. I used to sketch stuff all the time. I eventually knew my scribbles might someday pay off. I thought that visual would make a really cool album cover."[5] Korn contacted the Pee Chee file folder company and asked for permission to use the file folder's image for an album cover, offering twenty thousand dollars (US$20,000), resulting in the company turning the offer down. The name Life Is Peachy was agreed by band members to be a "great" name for the album, and kept the name but didn't add Fieldy's file folder cover.[5]

The front cover of Life Is Peachy depicts a boy looking in the mirror, seeing a much larger person behind him. The photo was taken by Martin Riedl. The design and concept were by Scott Leberacht. Other pictures in the booklet were taken by Stephen Stickler.[6] Doug Small said that it "continued the threatened child theme as depicted on Korn's artwork." The cover is mostly black and white, with a little boy, hair combed, straightening his tie in a gilt mirror; behind him looms a larger, shadowed presence." Life Is Peachy is, to date, the only album by Korn to feature their name spelled in a different font.

The booklet, along with every other album by Korn, does not feature printed lyrics to the songs. The band has explained that the reason the booklets do not feature this is because Davis believes fans should not rely on printed lyrics because it limits the experience in listening to the music. As Davis told MTV's Serena Altschul, "I think music is something that every individual has their own meaning to the song. They can come up with whatever the hell I'm saying and that's the beauty of it and that's what I wanna keep there."[7]

Touring and promotion[]

Cover of a cd sampler
Life Is Peachy Tour Sampler
A concert ticket
Original ticket for the concert at Le Zénith in Paris on February 22, 1997

Korn resumed intensive touring immediately after recording sessions for Life Is Peachy ended. The band released a promotional disc in 1997 called Life Is Peachy Tour Sampler, with Incubus and The Urge, as both bands supported Korn on their headlining European tour in early 1997. The album featured 3 tracks, "Chi" (live) by Korn, "All Washed Up" (live) by The Urge, and "Hilikus" (live) by Incubus. The promo was released after Life Is Peachy, and lasts for twelve minutes and seventeen seconds.[8] Korn toured solo in 1997, and headlined at often sold-out shows.[9] The Life Is Peachy Tour featured live performances of Davis wearing customized sequined Adidas tracksuits.[10] Helmet and Limp Bizkit also toured with Korn to promote Life Is Peachy in 1997.[11]

In mid-1997, Korn played in the Lollapalooza summer tour with Tool, Snoop Dogg, Jane's Addiction, The Prodigy, and others.[12] Korn secured the Lollapalooza slot at the beginning of the year.[13] During the prior year's Lollapalooza, there was controversy over the inclusion of marquee, big name artists such as Metallica and Soundgarden, which founder Perry Farrell considered a "bastardization" of Lollapalooza, leading him to walk out on the tour.[13] Davis said "Last year... wasn't like a real Lollapalooza vibe. Because it seems to me that Lollapalooza's been about cutting-edge bands, ones on the underground, and that's what I think he [Perry Farrell] based that whole thing on and last year really just wasn't all about that. And this year, now that he's back on, you can tell, there's so many different, diverse music groups here." [13]

On July 18, not even a month into the tour, the group was forced to cancel the remainder of their Lollapalooza appearances due to guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer recent diagnosis with viral meningitis. Jonathan Davis issued a written statement about Shaffer's illness saying, "We love our fans. This is the last thing we want to do, but it's the only decision to make at this time. It just doesn't feel right without [Shaffer]."[14] The statement also acknowledged fans that "there is no suitable replacement for [Shaffer] during his recuperation."[14]

Aside from touring, Korn also released three singles following the album's release. "No Place to Hide" was the album's first single. The single features "Proud", a song that would later be included on the soundtrack for I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).[15] Other versions include both original and remixed versions of songs featured on Korn.[16] The song "A.D.I.D.A.S." was released as a single on March 4, 1997.[17] The song's music video was directed by Joseph Kahn in Los Angeles during January 1997.[5][18][19] Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu said that "It was one of the hardest videos we ever made because we all had to lie still on cold metal slabs for hours, pretending to be dead. We wore dirty blue contacts in our eyes that made us partially blind while they were in."[5]

Music and lyrical themes[]

The tenth track, a cover of Ice Cube's "Wicked", features Deftones frontman Chino Moreno on vocals, which is the first time Moreno had made a guest appearance.[20]

Life Is Peachy opens with the forty-nine second prelude "Twist", which is made up of improvised scat singing done by Davis. Doug Small described the singing as "spitting out the twisted rantings of a madman", and said that it was fit for the album's introduction.[21] An a cappella version of "Twist" is included as a hidden track after "Kill You".[22] "Chi" is named after former Deftones bassist Chi Cheng. Davis said that the song "Chi" is "about a lot of alcohol and drug abuse". The song was named after Cheng for the sole reason that Cheng liked reggae and had taken it into his head that the song "Chi" was actually a reggae song.[23] "Swallow" is about drug-induced paranoia.[24] "Mr. Rogers" is about Fred Rogers.[23] Davis said: "As a kid, he told me to be polite, and all it did was get me picked on. I fucking hate that man. Thanks for making me polite and trusting everyone, and easy to take advantage of."[23] "K@#Ø%!" is about women who have hurt Davis. The song is noted for its heavy use of vulgarisms throughout all the lyrics, because of this Munky said that band had intended to jokingly submit it to rock radio stations as a joke because they "knew they wouldn't play it, then follow up about a week later with the real thing".[25] "A.D.I.D.A.S." is an Acronym for "All Day I Dream About Sex".[26] Davis explained the background behind "Good God":

"It's about a guy I knew in school who I thought was my friend, but who fucked me. He came into my life with nothing, hung out at my house, lived off me, and made me do shit I didn't really wanna do. I was into new romantic music and he was a mod, and he'd tell me if I didn't dress like a mod he wouldn't be my friend anymore. Whenever I had plans to go on a date with a chick he'd sabotage it, because he didn't have a date or nothing. He was a gutless fucking nothing. I haven't talked to him for years."[26]

"Ass Itch" is about Davis' difficulty with songwriting.[26] "Kill You" is about Davis' ex-stepmother.[27] Davis explained:

"It's about a relative I first met when I was 12. I fucking hate that bitch. She's the most evil, fucked up person I've met in my whole life. She hated my guts. She did everything she could to make my life hell. Like, when I was sick she'd feed me tea with tabasco, which is really hot pepper oil. She'd make me drink it and say, 'You have to burn that cold out, boy'. Fucked up shit like that. So every night when I'd go to sleep, I'd dream of killing that bitch. In some sick way I had a sexual fantasy about her, and I don't know what that stems from or why, but I always dreamt about fucking her and killing her."[28]

Considered nu metal,[29] the album features a more prominent hip hop influence than the band's self-titled debut, with James "Munky" Shaffer recalling "We were listening to a lot of hip hop, I was probably listening to a lot of Mr. Bungle, hip hop like early Outkast and The Pharcyde, Sepultura records, and Rage Against the Machine, just to name a few."[4]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[30]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[31]
The New York Times(favorable)[32]
Q3/5 stars[33]
Chronicles of Chaos8/10[34]
Robert Christgau(dud)[35]

Life Is Peachy received mainly mixed reviews from critics. Q Magazine said the album is "Harsher and harder than their groundbreaking debut."[1] AllMusic wrote: "Korn add enough elements of alternative rock song structure to make the music accessible to the masses, and their songwriting has continued to improve."[30] iTunes commented that "Regardless of the musical textures, Life Is Peachy is unified in its focus."[36] Entertainment Weekly said that the album left the "impression that frontman Jonathan Davis is turning his well-publicized childhood traumas into a cheap marketing device". They gave it a C- and said that it "may be of interest to mental-health professionals."[31] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote: "Korn has learned more than a few tricks from Nine Inch Nails, and it's not above using invective for simple shock value. But the chip on its shoulder sounds genuine."[32] Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club panned Life Is Peachy, calling the album "nothing but plain old, ham-fisted, butt-stupid heavy metal".[37] Adrian Bromley of Chronicles of Chaos wrote that he was "impressed with the strength and sound quality" Korn "has been able to magnify with 'Life Is Peachy'".[34]

In 2000 it was voted number 869 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[38]

Commercial performance[]

"No Place to Hide" earned the band a second Grammy nomination in the Best Metal Performance category in 1998. The single peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.[39] The album's second single, "A.D.I.D.A.S.", peaked at number 72 on the UK Singles Chart,[39] while also making an appearance at number 45 in Australia.[40] In April 1997, "A.D.I.D.A.S." went to number 13 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[41] "Good God", the album's third and final single, peaked at number 25 on UK Singles Chart,[39] and number 81 on the Australian ARIA Charts.[40] The album peaked at number one in New Zealand.[42] It also peaked at number three on the Billboard 200,[43] and number 32 on the UK Albums Chart.[39] The album sold 106,000 copies in its first week of being released.[44] Released on October 15, 1996, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 8, 1997. On December 9, 1997, it was certified platinum by the RIAA. On November 10, 1999, it was certified 2× platinum.[45]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Korn unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Twist" 0:49
2."Chi" 3:54
3."Lost" 2:55
4."Swallow" 3:38
5."Porno Creep" 2:01
6."Good God" 3:20
7."Mr. Rogers" 5:10
8."Kunts!" 3:02
9."No Place to Hide" 3:31
10."Wicked" (featuring Chino Moreno; Ice Cube cover)O'Shea Jackson3:58
11."A.D.I.D.A.S." 2:32
12."Lowrider" (War cover)Sylvester Allen, Harold Brown, Morris "B.B." Dickerson, Leroy Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard Scott; Jerry Goldstein0:58
13."Ass Itch" 3:39
14."Kill You"
"Twist A Capella" (hidden track)		 8:37
Total length:48:14
  • Kunts! is censored on most releases as "K@#ø%!" also written as "K@#¿%!" on the cover of the disc.
  • The song "Kill You" ends at 5:04. After two minutes and 30 seconds of silence [5:04 – 7:34] a brief reprisal of "Twist" in a cappella form called "Twist A Capella", starts.[22]
Tour sampler
No.TitleMusicAlbumLength
1."Chi" (live)KornLife Is Peachy4:31
2."All Washed Up" (live)The UrgeReceiving the Gift of Flavor4:31
3."Hilikus" (live)IncubusFungus Amongus3:55
Total length:12:17

Charts[]

Notes[]

  • A ^ "A.D.I.D.A.S." did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 13 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[41]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[63] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[65] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[66] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel[]

Credits taken from the CD liner notes.

Korn

Technical

  • Ross Robinson – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Chuck Johnson – engineer, mixing
  • Richard Kaplan – mixing, additional engineering
  • Rob Agnello – assistant
  • Jamie Leavitt – assistant
  • Eddy Schreyer – mastering

See also[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ a b c Music: Life Is Peachy (CD) by Korn (Artist) Archived August 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Tower Records. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Arvizu 2009 p. 78
  3. ^ Music: Korn (CD) by Korn (Artist) Archived June 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Tower Records. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Retrospective Rewind: Jonathan Davis and James "Munky" Shaffer of Korn talk "Life is Peachy" Archived January 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine artistdirect.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Arvizu 2009, p. 79-80
  6. ^ Allmusic (((Life Is Peachy > Credits))). Allmusic. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  7. ^ Small 1998 p. 30
  8. ^ Various - Korn: Life Is Peachy Tour Sampler Archived April 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Discogs. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  9. ^ Arvizu 2009 p. 92
  10. ^ Paquet, Sebastien (2002). Prélude et fugue (ed.). Korn de A à Z [Korn from A to Z]. MusicBook guides (in French) (1st ed.). Paris: L'Express éditions. p. 16. ISBN 978-2-843-43101-2. OCLC 470426200.
  11. ^ Arvizu 2009 p. 97
  12. ^ Arvizu 2009 p. 105
  13. ^ a b c Furman 2000.
  14. ^ a b Small 1998 p. 42
  15. ^ No Place To Hide. Amazon. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  16. ^ Korn [Audio CD, Explicit Lyrics]. Amazon. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  17. ^ A.D.I.D.A.S.: Korn music. Amazon.com. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  18. ^ "Site Maintenance".
  19. ^ Billboard March 1, 1997
  20. ^ "Wicked by Korn". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  21. ^ Small 1998.
  22. ^ a b Davis, Jonathan, James Shaffer, Brian Welch, Reginald Arvizu, and David Silveria, perfs. Kill You. Korn. Ross Robinson, 1996. CD. Hidden track
  23. ^ a b c Furman 2000, p. 89.
  24. ^ "California Screaming". Spin. Vol. 12 no. 9. SPIN Media LLC. December 1996. p. 40. ISSN 0886-3032.
  25. ^ Furman 2000, p. 93.
  26. ^ a b c Furman 2000, p. 90.
  27. ^ Suehs, Bob (August 30, 1996). "KORN (Jonathan Davis) – Interview". Rock N Roll Experience. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016.
  28. ^ Furman 2000, p. 11.
  29. ^ "Discographie, filmographie, photographies metal" Archived March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (In German). Cairn.com. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  30. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 15, 1996). "Allmusic Review". Allmusic.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  31. ^ a b David Grad (October 25, 1996). "Entertainment Weekly Review". Ew.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  32. ^ a b Pareles, Jon (November 5, 1996). "The New York Times Review". New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  33. ^ Q. January 3, 2002. p.137.
  34. ^ a b Bromley, Adrian (November 18, 1996). "Korn – _Life Is Peachy_". Chronicles of Chaos. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  35. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Korn". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  36. ^ Life Is Peachy by Korn. iTunes. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  37. ^ Thompson, Stephen (March 29, 2002). "Korn: Life Is Peachy". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 21, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  38. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 268. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  39. ^ a b c d e "Chart Log UK: Alex K – Kyuss". Zobbel.de. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  40. ^ a b c "Australian albums chart". australian-charts.com. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  41. ^ a b c "Chart Search". Billboard. December 1996. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  42. ^ "New Zealand albums chart". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  43. ^ "Life Is Peachy – Korn". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2010.
  44. ^ Arvizu 2009, p. 79.
  45. ^ "American album certifications – Korn – Life is Peachy". Recording Industry Association of America.
  46. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  47. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Korn – Life Is Peachy" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  48. ^ "Ultratop.be – Korn – Life Is Peachy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  49. ^ "Ultratop.be – Korn – Life Is Peachy" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  50. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9813". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  51. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Korn – Life Is Peachy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  52. ^ "Korn: Life Is Peachy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  53. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Korn – Life Is Peachy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  54. ^ "Charts.nz – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  55. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  56. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  57. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  58. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  59. ^ "Korn Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  60. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  61. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1999". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  62. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  63. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Music Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  64. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  65. ^ "British album certifications – Korn – Life Is Peachy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 10, 2020.Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Life Is Peachy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  66. ^ "American album certifications – Korn – Life Is Peachy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 10, 2020.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

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