Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

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For a band that got it’s “big break” from it’s front man giveing a member of Korn a poorly done tattoo Limp Bizkit has stretched it out a long way in a short period of time. The band’s fan base exploded with the cover of the George Michael song “Faith” and sent their debut album “Three Dollar Bill Y’all” sales skyward. The band followed that with the multi-platinum selling Significant Other. Limp tries to keep the momentum going with Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Coming about 18 months after Significant Other, Chocolate Starfish was obviously cobbled together in a relative hurry to capitalize on the band's momentum, and it shows. Lead singer Fred Durst even goes as far as comparing the new Limp Bizkit album to the classic Beatle LP “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. "I love how the Beatles used to make records and satisfy their fans, like when they started gettin' all trippy and changed their name for a record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club [Band]," frontman Fred Durst told MTV Radio. "So you sort of can see that in Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water." Slow down a bit their Fred, while the album is a minor improvement over their previous outings I wouldn’t go comparing them to the Beatles anytime soon, probably never to be more precise. Even Limp Bizkit's plan to promote the album with two simultaneous singles the hip-hop-flavored "Rollin' " and the more rock-oriented "My Generation” was inspired by the Beatles' double A-side singles.

The album kicks off with a synthesized voice announcing that “this is not a test, this is reality” and it is; because I know for damn sure Limp Bizkit will never be in any of my dreams...nightmare maybe, but no dreams.

The second track “Hot Dog” apparently is nothing more than an attempt to piss just about anyone and everyone off or an attempt to set some kind of record for the using the word fuck in a song, Durst even thoughtfully keeps a running totally of how many times he uses the expletive during the song. The song also takes aim at Nine Inch Nail mastermind Trent Reznor. In the Nine Inch Nail video for “Star Fucker Inc.” Reznor and protégé Marilyn Manson destroy plates with Dursts’, and various other musicians, likenesses on them. Apparently Mr. Durst took offense to the video and blast Reznor on this track, imitating Reznor and rearranging some of the chorus from the NIN classic “Closer” Durst implies not so tactfully that the NIN frontman wants to have intercourse with him. As for me I will never be able to listen to “Closer” again without getting very disturbing mental pictures.

Unfortunately that’s one of the very few interesting bits on this album. Durst does decide to take swipes at other artists like Eminem and Christina Aguilera however less forcefully and not quite as clever. The following track is the aforementioned “My Generation” which positions Durst as someone deeply concerned about the "Youth of Today", with the lyrics "You don't give a fuck about me and my generation" even though up until now Durst has never seemed to either. The song also on first listen seems to musically have a LOT in common with Limp’s last big single “Nookie," coincidence? Doubtful. “Full Nelson” and “My Way” follow the standard Limp drone-into-thrash formula and don’t stand out in any way.

Next up is the other lead off single “Rollin”, which appears twice on the album as an “Air Raid Vehicle” all Limp version and as a “Urban Assault Vehicle” version which features rappers Redman, Method Man, and DMX, and almost manages to suck as much as the air raid version, but gets points for somehow working in a dig at Hootie and the Blowfish of all bands. Next up in this house of horrors is “Livin’ it up” which according to the opening line is dedicated to Ben Stiller, samples “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles, and manages to take another swipe at Reznor.

What’s this? Could it be? A love song on a Limp Bizkit album? That would be “The One” which caught my attention because of it’s subject matter and the fact that it’s the only song that manages to go expletive free and is one of the few songs that didn’t irritate the hell out of me. “Take a look around” is the same track that graced the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack and served as the theme for the movie. “It’ll Be OK” starts off slow and sounds like it might be another decent offering from the band but quickly digresses into the same drone/trash sound.

The best track on the album by far is the ballad “Hold On” which features Durst harmonizing with Stone Temple Pilot's frontman Scott Weiland. The two worked together on the track “Nobody Like You” from the Significant Other album. Weiland visited Limp Bizkit in the studio several times and is loosely serving in the capacity of a creative executive producer for the album and though not explicitly credited, Weiland offered similar guidance on Bizkit's "Significant Other" LP.

The outro features the same voice and beats as the intro, before segueing into Ben Stiller ripping on the band and it’s music, certainly the best part of the album. I really can say that I really dislike this album, but I guarantee it will out sell the previous Limp Bizkit albums and probably everything else out their, which is a very depressing fact.


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The band’s fan base exploded with the cover of the George Michael song “Faith” and sent their debut album “Three Dollar Bill Y’all” sales skyward. The band followed that with the multi-platinum selling Significant Other. Limp tries to keep the momentum going with Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Coming about 18 months after Significant Other, Chocolate Starfish was obviously cobbled together in a relative hurry to capitalize on the band's momentum, and it shows. Lead singer Fred Durst even goes as far as comparing the new Limp Bizkit album to the classic Beatle LP “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. "I love how the Beatles used to make records and satisfy their fans, like when they started gettin' all trippy and changed their name for a record Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club [Band]," frontman Fred Durst told MTV Radio. "So you sort of can see that in Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water." Slow down a bit their Fred, while the album is a minor improvement over their previous outings I wouldn’t go comparing them to the Beatles anytime soon, probably never to be more precise. Even Limp Bizkit's plan to promote the album with two simultaneous singles the hip-hop-flavored "Rollin' " and the more rock-oriented "My Generation” was inspired by the Beatles' double A-side singles. The album kicks off with a synthesized voice announcing that “this is not a test, this is reality” and it is; because I know for damn sure Limp Bizkit will never be in any of my dreams...nightmare maybe, but no dreams. The second track “Hot Dog” apparently is nothing more than an attempt to piss just about anyone and everyone off or an attempt to set some kind of record for the using the word fuck in a song, Durst even thoughtfully keeps a running totally of how many times he uses the expletive during the song. The song also takes aim at Nine Inch Nail mastermind Trent Reznor. In the Nine Inch Nail video for “Star Fucker Inc.” Reznor and protégé Marilyn Manson destroy plates with Dursts’, and various other musicians, likenesses on them. Apparently Mr. Durst took offense to the video and blast Reznor on this track, imitating Reznor and rearranging some of the chorus from the NIN classic “Closer” Durst implies not so tactfully that the NIN frontman wants to have intercourse with him. As for me I will never be able to listen to “Closer” again without getting very disturbing mental pictures. Unfortunately that’s one of the very few interesting bits on this album. Durst does decide to take swipes at other artists like Eminem and Christina Aguilera however less forcefully and not quite as clever. The following track is the aforementioned “My Generation” which positions Durst as someone deeply concerned about the "Youth of Today", with the lyrics "You don't give a fuck about me and my generation" even though up until now Durst has never seemed to either. The song also on first listen seems to musically have a LOT in common with Limp’s last big single “Nookie," coincidence? Doubtful. “Full Nelson” and “My Way” follow the standard Limp drone-into-thrash formula and don’t stand out in any way. Next up is the other lead off single “Rollin”, which appears twice on the album as an “Air Raid Vehicle” all Limp version and as a “Urban Assault Vehicle” version which features rappers Redman, Method Man, and DMX, and almost manages to suck as much as the air raid version, but gets points for somehow working in a dig at Hootie and the Blowfish of all bands. Next up in this house of horrors is “Livin’ it up” which according to the opening line is dedicated to Ben Stiller, samples “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles, and manages to take another swipe at Reznor. What’s this? Could it be? A love song on a Limp Bizkit album? That would be “The One” which caught my attention because of it’s subject matter and the fact that it’s the only song that manages to go expletive free and is one of the few songs that didn’t irritate the hell out of me. “Take a look around” is the same track that graced the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack and served as the theme for the movie. “It’ll Be OK” starts off slow and sounds like it might be another decent offering from the band but quickly digresses into the same drone/trash sound. The best track on the album by far is the ballad “Hold On” which features Durst harmonizing with Stone Temple Pilot's frontman Scott Weiland. The two worked together on the track “Nobody Like You” from the Significant Other album. Weiland visited Limp Bizkit in the studio several times and is loosely serving in the capacity of a creative executive producer for the album and though not explicitly credited, Weiland offered similar guidance on Bizkit's "Significant Other" LP. The outro features the same voice and beats as the intro, before segueing into Ben Stiller ripping on the band and it’s music, certainly the best part of the album. I really can say that I really dislike this album, but I guarantee it will out sell the previous Limp Bizkit albums and probably everything else out their, which is a very depressing fact.