The usual contents were much the same as any alternative music mag-news on various bands, reviews, features and all that, but the style of writing employed was filled with sarcasm and dark humor, as well as trying to deify Trent Reznor at least once an issue. Handy there were only 4, since the Catholic Church might have gotten a bit uppety.
The first issue was a bit of a confused mess not knowing where to go, as well as a lack of content, but the second issue is where ittook off-partially as it was also part of my Media coursework folder-although it could be frowned upon for stating the effect of listening to Gravity Kills was wanting to shoot yourself, complete with accompanying picture of someone doing just that. It was a screenshot from Disturbing Behaviour, not R. Budd Dwyer, so that's OK. And if I got an 'A' grade for slagging off Kerrang! and eMpTV (as I constantly called it), complaints: none, just like the semi-mythic Children of the Korn video I also produced a few months later for the same reason.
The third issue is where things picked up significantly, complete with a bumper reviews section (without promoting suicide) featuring Ministry, Ultraspank and the re-released Tool back catelogue, Misery Loves Co. gig review (thanx again, Sean), more features, film (rather late for the re-release of The Exorcist by several months) and game reviews and more web sites than you could shake a stick at. So where would issue 4 be heading? Well, September 20th 1999=The Fragile, so a half-assed Nine Inch Nails tribute was produced online to be printed off, rather than the original Pagemaker & color printer format that cost a lot to produce, so the price for issue #3 was £2.50-a bit overpriced considering there was only 8 pages. And the readership was usually via mates giving word of mouth to those interested. Bit of a downer to end on, there. Back to the CofK video, then. Still, could improve with the new web-based incarnation, LoR&H OnLine...
Deciding that they'd be the worst band ever that everyone would hate, they decided that an appropriate name would be needed. After Gimp Biscuit was meantioned, it was swiftly upgraded to Limp Bizkit, and that's where we start.
This 5-piece were set to take the music world by it's throat and shake it up. If only they could decide on their style. Frontman Fred Durst (b. Frederick Allen Mayne-he was later adopted and rechristened William Frederick Durst-1971) was into rap in a big way (looking rather out of place at that time. Well, it is the Deep South), whilst drummer John Otto (b. 1978) was educated in jazz drumming. One early incarnation saw Otto joined by childhood friend Sam Rivers (b.1978) on bass, with Fred reading poetry on top. Arty? Nah, they admit it was as bad as it sounds.
Guitar help was enlisted when Wes Borland (b.1975)-after the original guitarist was deemed 'too metal'-joined the crew, so they could now go forth and jam until they had their heads straight. They even pulled off a major coup when supporting House of Pain (they of Jump Around fame), and managed to snap up DJ Lethal (b. Leor Dimant, 1973), so they could rock and rap at the same time, complete with breakbeats.
So into the studio they went with Ross Robinson, fresh from making Korn just about the biggest thing on the planet, and recorded their debut, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, which arrived in 1997. At first they didn't get much attention for it (MTV didn't look twice at the clip for Sour), but then they got HUGE, mainly thanks to their livewire cover of George Michael's Faith, which only got onto the album because of how it came over live. There were also rumors that radio stations were being paid to play Counterfeit.
Having gone platinum, which many cynics pinpoint to Faith only (mad 80's covers to get into the limelight, pioneered by Marilyn Manson's cover of Sweet Dreams...), and with covers all over their live set, which includd Ministry's Thieves, Jump Around and, not helped by the Korn wannabe claims, Blind, although they did happen to work their asses off to get this recognition, and were thankful to many that got them there.
Meantion should be made to them bringing bands to greater attention, with both Cold and, more notably, Staind getting big pushes from Durst, especially on his Flip label.
But as 1999 rolled up, Durst was dropping hints that their follow up would be even bigger than anything before them, fcomplete with a list of guest artists that made jaws drop. Surely they wouldn't all be on one album? And without a hint of 80's revival gone mad? Orgy just got big covering New Order's Blue Monday, what next?
When Significant Other hit the shelves, the doubters were proved well and truly wrong. With slots from Method Man, Jonathan Davis and Scott Weiland to name but a few, better than a quick intro to one track by Fear Factory's Christian Olde Wolbers on 3DB..., they were buzzing, whilst Nookie reduced TRL to it's knees. They topped the album charts, holding off Backstreet Boys and Ricky Martin, so medals should be given, not the usual '$ell out' jibes.
However, it got ugly rather quickly. A month after the release of Significant Other, they played the Main Stage on the second night of Woodstock '99. And a situation known as a 'riot' broke out, with cladding being torn off from the speaker/MTV towers and hurled by the crowd-Durst literally crowd surfed performing Faith-which they were promptly blamed for by the Scapegoat Committe of America. and they came back parodying this notion with the video for Re-Arranged. Especially the Spin 'journalist' that decided to start a hate campaign against 'mooks', which also includes Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Offspring and Eminem.
They also went from openers to headliners of Family Values in the space of a year, taking with them the likes of Filter, Staind, Crystal Method, Run DMC and Method Man & Redman, with Korn on a few select dates. Durst also became vice-president of Interscope. This time also didn't have them emerge from a toilet.
2K has brought more challenges to the Bizkit. As well as Durst directing videos (which he has done for the band since the beginning, and also for Korn's Falling Away From Me, among others), they have been approached to record the theme to Mission: Impossible 2 (Take A Look Around), as well as contributing a track to the End of Days soundtrack, as well as Durst appearing on the Methods of Mayhem CD, and Strait Up, the Snot tribute album. This all pales beside the new album. Problems have meant that the scheduled 4th July release (Limpdependence Day) had to be changed, and so did the title. So, a quick name change to Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water, and it arrived later in the year.
Of course, it did have the bandwagon clamoring to have a go at them because Jo Whiley said so, but it sold by the bucketload-even managing the feat of almost topping the UK album charts (if All Saints didn't interfere), which was a remarkable effort since no trendy radio station acknowledged they existed.
The content was more angry with all the mindless criticism that had assaulted the band since Woodstock '99, even an article in The Guardian over a year afterwards taking plenty of cues from the Spin article, as well as validating the term 'mook'.
Even Nine Inch Nails couldn't escape criticism, since the video for Starfuckers Inc. ended up an attack on Durst, since Marilyn Manson decided kissing Trent Reznor's ass was the only way he could sell records. So, the track Hot Dog appeared, which is about as subtle as an orgy in an abbotoir-it manages to fit 48 "fuck"s around the rest of the lyrics. A lot of the album rallies against the critics, in fact, including Full Nelson and the aforemeantioned Take a Look Around, as well as a few introspectives, such as I'll Be Okay and Hold On, with Scott Weiland providing vocals, which almost seems to be a statement they are musically gifted, which is the biggest finger-flip to the critics they can give.
Method Man, Redman and Xzbit also appeared on various tracks, for various reasons. Even the hip-hop element was brought out more on certain tracks, such as Getcha Groove On and the second version of Rollin', with both Method Man and Redman, possibly to show their detractors they aren't white boys that can't rap, but white boys that know what they're doing. Although when Fred jumped on stage at the MTV Awards and started rapping over Christina Aguilera, there might be some who would argue. Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine, for example...
2001 started in explosive style, with Limp Bizkit going from being seen as a minority band for losers in the UK to having the Number One single with Rollin' on January 21st, knocking off Jennifer Lopez in the process. Jamie Theakston and Jo Whiley were unavailable for comment, but were probably speachless from the shock anyway. They even hung on for another week with Usher and Dr. Dre held off-scoring the #1 album as well, which is a rare feat for a band that write their own songs and play their own instruments, before losing the Top Spot to Atomic Kitten. There really is no justice...
Next phase, who knows? Even Fred admitted they could be unemployed in the next couple of years. But for sure it'll make interesting viewing. Or not, since after the UK leg of their Anger managment tour, Fred threatened to stop talking to the press because of the current witch hunt they're running against him.
Upon returning to the US for more tours, as well as planning a new album, the band were suddenly struck down by Borland quitting the band to form his own, Eat The Day, leaving them sans-guitarist, although it didn't matter for theior remix album, New Old Songs, released at the end of 2001. The following tour in early 2002, entitled Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is, aimed to find a fan who could fill the breach (they wanted an unknown, after being linked to just about everybody), although this drew the usual petty criticisms, to the extent thy were accused to ripping off fan's riffs. However, a new album is on the drawing board, with the slightly unexpected rumours that Trent Reznor might produce, as per Fred's request.
Official Site/ BizkitWeb/ LimpBizkitFan/ Bad Ass Page/ Ryan's Limp Bizkit Page/ PrYdEri'S LiMp bIzKiT PaGe/ Limp Bizkit 2000.
Born in Missoula, Montanna, the same kind of small town that Lynch features in his films, Lynch spent large amounts of his childhood moving between States as his father, a research scientist, was repeatedly relocated. By the time he was 21, he had attended numerous art schools, married Peggy Lynch in 1967 (divorced in '74), and fathered Jennifer Lynch (b. 1968), who went on to direct Boxing Helena in 1993. The Lynch we are interested in, however, took part in several art exhibitions, before starting out in filmmaking with the short The Grandmother, a surrwal, disturbing short if ever there was one. However, his first full length feature didn't appear until 1977 (with another short, The Amputee, in 1974), inspired by attending art school in a violent and run-down area of Philidelphia: Eraserhead. The film took up 5 years of Lynch's life, including him getting married again in 1977, but went on to achieve cult status and get his name on the map.
His next feature was The Elephant Man, which was as far removed from the strange and unusual world of Eraserhead as you could get, a sad, yet captivating tale. It also received numerous nominations at The Oscars that year, winning none, same for the Golden Globes, but at least picked up some BAFTAs (including Best Film) for it's trouble. Each time Lynch was passed over for Best Director, losing out to Robert Redford both times in the US (unexpected, I'm sure...), and Akira Kurosawa at the BAFTAs.
However, this led to what could have made Lynch a huge household name, when he was offered the job of directing Return of the Jedi. However, he refused, before deciding to go on to do sci-fi his way with Dune (based on Frank Herbert's novel) in 1984. However, the film flopped, as well as attracted criticism from the Lynch die-hards wanting a return to the weird. However, he should be given credit for making such an uncinematic book into such a spectacle, although the TV cut has been disowned by Lynch. It also marks the first time he worked with actor Kyle MacLachlan, who went on to appear in a lot of his following work.
After this, Lynch came back fighting in 1986 with his most popular work to date, Blue Velvet. This warped film noir appealed to the die-hards, as well as the usual cinema goers. Once more MacLachlan was on hand in the central male role (although originally offered to Val Kilmer). The film also featured Dennis Hopper in one of his more noted roles, with which he won numerous awards. However, Lynch still didn't get the Best Director or Screenplay awards (he was up against Platoon that year, whaddya expect?), although he did at both the Los Angeles and National Society critic's awards, so at least some people can see sense.
His next stop is the most notable of the lot, when in 1990 he and mark Frost were approached to write and direct seminal TV series Twin Peaks, which led to a further raise in Lynch's stock, as well as countless bar debates over who really killed Laura Palmer. Rather than all-out weird (although the later episodes certainly were), the series was armed with a quirky sense of humor, an involving plot compiling numerous characters, and a high quotability content. The 29 episodes combined to give viewers the escape from reality that TV promises, but never delivered in such a fashion. The finale did more than enough to shock the viewer down to the soul, after building up the eerie tension so much. I say no more, go and buy the videos, stupid. This time The Golden lobes got it right, awarding it Best Drama Series, as Lynch finally had something notable on his mantlepiece. rost and Lynch returned to TV in 1992 with On the Air, but with less impact, but that had to be expected only a year after Twin Peaks wrapped up. It only lasted 7 episodes.
Once more, however, the following material failed to live up to the legacy, with Wild at Heart also following in 1990, winning the Palm d'Or at cannes in the process. Many people went to see it as a result of Twin Peaks, and many were ultimatly disappointed. The next feature, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me also suffered, since it was seen as little more than a cah-in, although it gave a lot of backstory to Laura Palmer, and also wnet for weirdness, since the entire cast couldn't be expected to fit into it.
After a break, in which he directed a few commercials and the 3-segmented TV movie Hotel Room (allegedly his worst work to date), he finally returned in 1997 with Lost Highway, perhaps one of the most complicated films ever made due to it's dual schizophrenic plots wrapping together in a disturbing fashion. This time he was using the art film as a base for the first time in nearly 20 years, and it paid off, even though it was never going to fill cinemas due to the content being as far removed from the usual popcorn fodder as you can get, not being released in the UK outside of London, for example, since it was on the tail end of the Summer Season.
His next project was a return to the territory of The Elephant Man, with the not at all weird, yet quirky, The Straight Story. Again the American heartland was the scene, yet it was portrayed as being a warm, welcoming place, rather than a dark place with horror bubbling under the surface. At several points you had to remind yourself that this was a Lynch product, since there were none of the usual stars, no slow-mo photography (scenes of violence or otherwise), no singers (Sting, Henry Rollins and Chris Isaak all feature in past Lynch productions) and the typical fade to black didn't appear until an hour into the film. Although many thought Lynch had sold out (distributed in the US by Disney, who would expect that?), but they didn't get it. This was Lynch proving his worth as a director, and that he can do a family film, and do Normal, with some style to boot. A nomination at Cannes proved his worth to the artistic side as well.
Lynch's next project was a TV follow-up to Twin Peaks, namely Mulholland Drive. However, he ran into problems and had to ditch it, until one day he had a stroke of luck. Receiving new funding, he decided to make it a feature, adding new scenes and a fresh ending. And to prove he was right, he picked up the Best Director honour at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, as well as Joel Cohen for The Man Who Wasn't There. Considering the fact Billy Ray Cyrus features, this really should be a feat for the ages. Especially since, in true Lynch fashion, it confused the Hell out of everybody. However, once it qwas released, Mulholland Drive seemed to be a dit of a diversion from his usual work. Yes, it was weird and almost impenitrable in places, but at the same time, the most of it seemed to be an absurdist comedy. Maybe he realises he can have a laugh at his own expense after all...
Official Site/ The City of Absurdity.
