Song · Ben Folds
“Rockin The Suburbs” by Ben Folds
“Rockin The Suburbs” by Ben Folds appears on 19 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 2001 and 2025. Its best result is #12 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2001. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #73 alternative song of 2001 and #3,638 alternative song of all time.
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Ben Folds opened his solo career with a joke that has teeth. "Rockin' the Suburbs", the title track of his first album without Ben Folds Five, released on April 17, 2001, sends up nu metal, and the grudge behind it is personal. At Japan's Summer Sonic festival in 2000 he clocked some hecklers at the side of the stage, then spotted the same guys on the cover of Spin: members of Korn, who had some unprintable things to say about Ben Folds Five.
Folds gave their records a fair hearing, even enjoyed them, but found them emotionally one-note, and he started mocking the style in his live sets with a metal falsetto scream. That bit grew into this song, though he kept names out of it, figuring it hit harder aimed at nobody in particular. It got to number 28 on Billboard's alternative airplay chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 38 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2001 | 91 |
| 2001 | 89 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2001 | 100 |
| 2001 | 18 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2001 | 101 |
| 2001 | 12 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2001 | 191 |
| 2001 | 27 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001 | 103 |
| 2001 | 17 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1981 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 144 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) | 500 |
| 2002 | 1964 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 267 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) | 500 |
| 2003 | 1892 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1892 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1881 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2010 | 800 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) | 885 |
| 2016 | 258 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2022 | 346 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2023 | 312 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2025 | 661 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 560 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
Also listed as: Rockin' the Suburbs; Rockin the Suburbs; Rockin' The Suburbs.
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