there will always be some nu-metal nostalgia festering inside of me, and while that does extend to Limp Bizkit to a certain extent, that advantage can only go so far. Fred Durst has one of the worst voices of all time, this is unbearably long, and at the end of the day, it's just not that interesting. the kind of hybridization that nu-metal and rap-rock is built on and was much maligned for will always be interesting to me, but Limp Bizkit feels like much less than the sum of its parts. practically anybody could rattle off a neverending list of better rappers, better metal bands, better hard rock, better etc etc. I can't really imagine any reason to reach for them besides nostalgia. the main appeal at the time was the kind of vaguely apolitical, directionless rage and anti-establishment sentiment, the provocativeness of it all, but in retrospect it's easy to see how other bands of every era much more genuinely, meaningfully, powerfully and most importantly entertainingly communicate anti-establishment and anti-authority ideas. Fred Durst just comes off as a whiny, effete poser when compared to the likes of Rage or Public Enemy or NWA
to also briefly engage with the most common arguments in the favorable reviews here, despite my personal dislike, i do agree this deserves its spot on the list just for the cultural relevancy, how well it captured the contemporary zeitgeist. but the other thing that seems to come up is the classic bristly "you're a pussy if you don't like this" bullshit, and to ignore the obvious misogynist and nonsensical aspects, is just stupid on the face of it. this is radio friendly, super accessible rock with metal and hip hop elements where he says "fuck" a few more times than we were used to in 2000, if you think this is "abrasive" or "tough" or "confrontational" or whatever, you seriously need to broaden your horizons and listen to some Blood Incantation or Backxwash or something
