10 February 2001
In February 2001 Fred Durst was 30 years old and the Senior Vice President of A&R at Interscope Records. He was also the lead singer-rapper of Limp Bizkit, in which role he shouted whiny, moronic, aggressive lyrics while wearing the sort of red baseball cap now permanently sweat-stuck on the Neanderthal crania of whiny, moronic, aggressive American men. I’d say there are more than a few Limp Bizkit fans of yore who’ve gone on to see the inside of the US Capitol uninvited.
‘Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)’ is a horrible listening experience and a particular low point in the history of recorded sound. The non-Durst parts are just pro forma metal riffing. The rest is worse. “Back up, back up!” barks Durst like some obnoxious gun-lovin’ proto-incel. Remember, this guy is actually a privileged record company senior executive in his thirties cosplaying as a US frat-boy rockstar and making money hand over fist in doing so. So, he’s the Vanilla Ice of nu-metal and also its Donald Trump. I don’t know who’s the bigger asshole: him for doing this stuff or you if you like it. Either way, you’re both assholes – or as per the Limp Bizkit idiolect, chocolate starfish.
The video for Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin” was filmed at the top of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in September 2000. (I’ll refrain from making the obvious quip.) We’ll come back to that location later this year.
