by d.orkin
It was just one of those days, everything was fucked, everybody sucks. Instead of going to the epic Limp Bizkit set at the 2021 Lollapalooza, I had to spend time with my family. Not very rock & roll. Little did I realize I would be missing out on the rebirth of Limp Bizkit. Now that their new album is out and about, it’s time to summarize the events that lead to this piece of art, and how Fred Durst and the gang still stay on top of the Rap-Rock scene, despite the overwhelming wave of haters that think they know better.
Lollapalooza day 3: I was not there, of course, but if you’re wondering I did watch the video of the entire performance because it was the responsible thing to do. The crowd is cheering, ready for the greatest show since the pandemic, waiting for Fred to stand above them and blow their minds. But this time it’s different, the man that emerges is not the Fred we knew. No backwards hat, no goatee, no oversized t-shirt, tattoo sleeves covered. Who is this person that claims to be Fred Durst? The aviators are blood red, the windbreaker is unzipped, wavy silver hair blowing in the wind. This is a dad. Fred redid his entire image, you see. The old Fred Durst was out the door, this was a new era of Fred Durst. He taunts the crowd, “You like these dad vibes?” He asks for validation as if he doesn’t know. This makeover is exactly what this screwed up world needed. All this came along with the new single, “Dad vibes”, which at its core sounds classic Bizkit. Nothing could have made it a greater return.
How does the public react to such a left turn. The band itself says it best in one of their new songs “Love the Hate”: Joke’s on you, you missed one clue, we don’t give a fuck. They really are expert lyricists, masters of the language. They have heard your criticism and your complaints, and they simply do not give a fuck! The trick to making a successful and respectable music act is clearly self-awareness. If they were going to cry about every pretentious pitchfork critic bro, we would not have the pleasure of eight studio albums from this powerhouse band. What really keeps me with the band is their humor, and their ability to not take themselves to seriously, and I honestly think that this song is an example of that. We need bands like Limp Bizkit. Sure, they will never cause us an existential crisis or leave us crying at 3 am, and it probably won’t show up on the dj’s banger playlist next halloweekend, but it’s right in the middle. I appreciate Limp Bizkit, and especially after this new iteration, I think more people should as well.