Limp Bizkit: Greatest Band Ever?

There was a time, in the late 90s and early aughts when one band seemed to reign supreme. That was Limp Bizkit. But, it didn't take long before they fell out of fashion to become one of the most despised bands in the world. Lead singer Fred Durst became, well, probably the most hated man in music. In fact, more often than not, when you hear the name Fred Durst it seems to be accompanied by the not-so pleasant descriptor... douche. He is seen as an overly aggressive frat boy in a goofy backwards red cap who says obnoxious and offensive things. And it caused people to grow tired of him pretty quick.

But, deep down, this is one darn good band and no amount of douchery on the part of Fred Durst can change that. I've been revisiting Limp Bizkit as of late, watching videos of concerts on YouTube and listening to their stuff on Spotify. And I have been reminded of why they became big in the first place. And the reason is because they are actually very good.

Back in the day, as the kids say, when I was quite a bit younger, had a lot less grey hair, and not such a pronounced belly, I saw the video for Limp Bizkit's cover of George Micheal's "Faith" on Much Music—the Canadian version of MTV. At that point they were still a music video station. That's another thing that has changed. Anyway, the rendition blew me away: Aggressive, high energy, fun, intense, and loud. Fred Durst's guttural screams, the ripping guitars, the humour, the scratching by DJ Lethal... these were all enough to make me stop and go, "Wow, that was something else!"

So, I bought Three Dollar Bill Y'all—their first album. I loved it. Intense, moody, heavy, and interesting. I played it a lot and made everyone I could hear it as well.

Then came Significant Other—their second release. The first single was "Nookie" and that was the song that seemed to push them into the big time, which I don't really get because to me that was one of the band's WORST songs... and I still don't like it.

The song that I DO love, however, is "Break Stuff," which I still think is brilliant. It is an angry and angsty song... yet they still are able to make it fun! To me, it still defines Limp Bizkit. And it is the song that, when played live, just rips the roof off of any venue—even those without roofs.

The first time I saw Limp Bizkit was at Woodstock '99 where the band was propelled into the spotlight. They had played Ozzfest '98, which I went to near Minneapolis. Unfortunately, I missed them playing because at the same time Van's Warped Tour was happening on the same grounds. So, at that time I was watching the Deftones. I came back to the Ozzfest side only to find out that I missed them. Fortunately, however, when I went to Woodstock, I was in the right place at the right time.

And what a time it was. Their Woodstock performance would become one of the band's most epic, legendary shows to date. They blasted through their songs to a crowd of a quarter million people and the place went absolutely nuts. People started to tear everything apart and crowd surf on wood ripped off of temporary structures... of some kind. I don't even know where they came from. I was at the back, out of the mayhem. And it was definitely mayhem. Their set was stopped a few times because things were getting out of hand and they were afraid someone would get hurt.

Their music resonated with that crowd, as it has for hundreds of other crowds. The hard, angsty rage of the songs encourages people to let loose, swear, and slam into each other and generally have fun. And that is what the band has always represented to me—a fun release.

"Break Stuff" has to go down as one of the great "F U" songs of all time, and it does it while being cheeky and funny, as well as violent and aggressive.

Second on that list is "My Generation," which is another "F U" song directed at an older generation who doesn't get a younger generation. Not exactly a new concept in rock music, but this one does it in a particularly effective way, much with the constant use of the F word.

Overall, what made Limp Bizkit great, and still does, is the power they have over an audience. I would even hazard to guess that a whole pile of Limp Bizkit's many, many detractors would secretly be buying tickets to a show if they came to town, because people know it will be nuts. People know it's a good release regardless of how they feel about Fred Durst or how they have jumped on the "I hate Limp Bizkit" bandwagon. It's fair to say that the band has probably more closet fans than out in the open fans. They are just too good to be ignored and TRULY hated.