Alright, partners. Do we know what time it is…?
Rollin’, by Limp Bizkit (their 1st and only #1)
2 weeks, from 21st January – 4th February 2001
Time for the UK’s first and only nu-metal number one, that’s what time it is. And on one level, any sort of metal chart-topper is to be celebrated. There haven’t been many… Iron Maiden, for sure. Stiltskin? The head-banging bit from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’? The Kinks inventing the genre with ‘You Really Got Me’?? So, yeah, any number one this heavy is worth a moment of appreciation.
And yet, most fans of heavy metal would want nothing to do with this song. Many metal heads want nothing whatsoever to do with nu-metal as a genre, and even if they did, grudgingly, then they might accept Linkin Park, or Slipknot. Korn, maybe. But not Limp Bizkit. Not Fred Durst, with his backwards Yankees gap and his douchey goatee.
Not these processed guitars, which you could easily believe were completely computer generated. And not the rapped lyrics, which reach spectacularly moronic levels. In the space of three chart-toppers we’ve gone from ‘Stan’s Shakespearian tragedy, to: So where the fuck you at, punk? Shut the fuck up! And back the fuck up, while we fuck this track up… (And if you think that’s bad, then don’t google the etymology of the album this single appeared on: ‘Chocolate Starfish and the Hot-Dog Flavoured Water’. Or, for that matter, where the band’s name itself allegedly comes from…)
So, yes, on one level this is a God-awful number one. An offensive new nadir for the new millennium. And yet… and I’m sure you know what I’m about to say… I love this song. I love how dumb it is. I love how processed and fake it is – the rock music equivalent of a Big Mac – and I love the fact that it somehow made number one. Not only that, but ‘Rollin’ was on top of the charts for my fifteenth birthday, which I’m sure you’ll agree is the prime age for appreciating garbage like this.
But also, it feels musically relevant that at least one nu-metal song appears on this countdown. It was one of the touchstones of the millennial teenage experience. Between 1999 and 2002, my high school playground was a sea of black Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Korn hoodies. Like it or not, grandad, this was the sound of a generation.
The rock version of ‘Rollin’ is technically the ‘Air Raid Vehicle’ remix, the original ‘Urban Assault Vehicle’ mix being a purely hip-hop version featuring rappers DMX, Redman and Method Man. And we have to mention the video, which is a time capsule of early 2000’s nonsense, featuring Ben Stiller and some faux boy-band dance moves. Plus, it also has one of the very last pop culture appearances of the World Trade Centre in New York, on top of which Fred and his gang filmed just a few months before 9/11. (I tried out a couple of edgy closing sentences, but I think they all went too far. Please insert your own tasteless jokes here.)
(Or if you’d prefer it swears intact…)
The UK Number Ones Blog 
Not gonna lie, I’ve been waiting for this moment since this blog reached the mid-90s. The moment Limp Bizkit got a UK No. 1. They managed a feat even Linkin Park, who would become far more popular than them, could not achieve. The fact that this was able to go to No. 1 in the UK for two weeks when Limp Bizkit weren’t even able to get a Top 40 single in the US despite their massive popularity. in their native country…and here I thought the UK had the superior rock taste.
I don’t hate Limp Bizkit. They’ve got some good songs, mainly “Nookie” and “Break Stuff” and “Take a Look Around”. Wes Borland is a very talented guitarist, and Fred, while a terrible rapper, is a pretty good metal screamer. And I don’t even hate “Rollin'”. It’s a stupid, fratty, jocky and trashy song, but it’s catchy. The band can get really annoying though, and a lot of their music is just repetitive. I was a baby when this song came out so I can’t really say I was aware of it, but I had older cousins who were into Limp Bizkit and nu metal and this is the type of music 14 year old boys would be into.
It’s so weird seeing Limp Bizkit getting an actual reappraisal in opinion in modern times. Creed and Nickelback are also getting a reappraisal too (though I like both those bands much more thna Limp Bizkit). I dunno if it’s ironic or unironic with Limp Bizkit, and I dunno which scares me more. And it’s weird seeing teenagers even like these bands – I guess they’re hungry for any type of rock. I guess it proves my theory that every popular act will get a reappraisal once the audience that enjoyed them as teenagers enters their 35+. Millennial nostalgia is a thing.
MadTV did an amazing parody of this song called “Posin'” with Will Sasso playing our lord and saviour Fred Durst.
On the one hand it does feel strange that Limp Bizkit managed a number one but, like I said in the post, nu-metal bands were the sound (and the fashion) of my high school playground. The genre was massively popular, and a fixture in the Top 10 from 2000-2002, and so maybe what’s surprising is that only one nu-metal song got to #1.
The fact that it got 2 weeks is pretty surprising too, though I’d put that down to the January factor and a lack of competition. I dug deeper and saw that it sold less than 50k both weeks, which was very low for the time, considering most #1s in 2001 managed at least one week of over 100k sales.
Oh, and controversial opinion maybe, but I’m glad it was Limp Bizkit and not Linkin Park that got nu-metal’s sole #1. I’ve always found LP overbearingly earnest, and that is not something I particularly want from my rock music.
As I was def not of the age to appreciate Nu-metal, I was mystified at all the slagging off Limp Bizkit got at the time as Rollin’ was fine in the non-sweary version – it’s not as classic as Linkin Park’s best tracks, but I’ll happily take this over Korn or Slipknot which I find unlistenable. Or as I see most US bands of the era, Nirvana wannabies underneath it all and ignoring 2000’s frills with Red Hot Chili Pepper vibes.
I think the critical slagging that they got can be put down to Fred Durst coming across as a bit of a moron, surely. Whereas most other nu-metallers were all pretty po-faced, serious musicians or at least wanted to be.
I was only reading Music Week by this time so I didnt really know much about who was saying what in interviews, but Fred certainly did seem to be topping that chart from what I gathered!