Limp Bizkit may be the band that best represents the culmination of the 90’s hard rock excess, the proverbial “jumping of the shark” moment for guitar-driven music that went too far and eventually pushed mainstream listeners into the arms of pop and hip hop, elevating those genres to achieve commercial domination.
That’s a helluva legacy to leave.
But even if Fred Durst may be achingly cringy and may have singlehandedly destroyed rock and roll’s credibility, I also may have enjoyed this album and the subsequent walk down memory lane more than I really should have. There’s some decent material on Significant Other— tracks like “Nookie”, “Break Stuff”, and “Rearranged” all managed to get my head bopping like I was 12 years old again and skateboarding after middle school.
There’s no sense denying the impact Limp Bizkit and their brand of nu metal had on the music industry. It was massive. At one point there was a moment when Durst, clad in a red baseball cap defiantly flipped back backwards, was everywhere and absolutely owning the airwaves of MTV.
I hate to say it but it was honestly kinda fun to go back.
Standout Songs: “Nookie”, “Break Stuff”, “Rearranged”
