Right Now

“Everything hangs on one’s thinking.”

Seneca

In October of 2003, Korn released “Right Now” as the second single from Take a Look in the Mirror. It has often been used as an opening to the band’s concerts and has been a fan favourite since its release. It was as heavy as anything Korn had created, with a focus on raw and heavy grooves without much in the way of polish.

Originally, the band intended for fans and aspiring filmmakers to submit their own created videos via an online contest, but none of these ever aired, so I don’t know if the contest was a success in any way. An alternative treatment, directed by Nathan Cox (Disturbed, Linkin Park) and titled the “Mirror Mix,” was featured on a bonus DVD on a limited-edition digipak when the album was released that November.

But the most memorable of all these treatments would have to be the video featuring some short animations by Gregory Ecklund, originally created for Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation. It was initially only available on the band’s website, but also received some decent airplay on MTV2.

The relationship between Korn and Spike and Mike goes back to the Issues era. In 2000, Korn headlined the highly successful Sick and Twisted tour, with Staind as the opening band, and animated short films between their sets. In late 2003, however, Korn would perform “Right Now” on the Back 2 Basics tour with Limp Bizkit as co-headliners and Xbox Live-sponsored gaming contests between sets.

As for the single itself, Jonathan Davis would say in an interview with MTV News:

“It’s about basically me waking up pissed off at the world, hating everyone and everything around me. I think everyone’s had one of those days when you wake up and you don’t want to talk to no one and you’re just pissed. I had one of those days and I wrote about it. I was venting out all of my frustrations towards everyone.”

Been there.

I mean, I don’t know what experience(s) Davis is referring to specifically, but I can tell you that I have those days when I have to take a train replacement bus in Melbourne.