I never really bought into MTV or TRL as a teenager, but looking back, I can remember how big of a deal Limp Bizkit was. These days, at least among people I know, they are considered one of the biggest jokes of the past decade. Fred Durst was an absolute turd and yet was arguably the biggest rock star around the turn of the millennium. The problem was that he was almost entirely a manufactured product of MTV. His music was produced, packaged, and promoted as cool; he ruled the air waves. The great irony is that he became a victim of the cycle himself, becoming so cool that he was eventually uncool. As for his record-breaking album? When is the last time you heard "Nookie" or "Break Stuff"?
Now I'm sure Fred Durst and the rest of Limp Bizkit laughed all the way to the bank, but their status in pop culture 10 years later is non-existent. If their music and videos were good enough to own MTV for 3 years, why don't they have staying power? Shouldn't the same kids that voted over and over for their songs still have a soft spot in their hearts for "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog-Flavored Water"? Now granted, taste changes constantly (after all that was kinda the point), but I think the saddest part to me was the fact that kids don't even really care about what the cool thing is as long as they can fit in with it.
In closing, consider these lyrics from the immortal Limp Bizkit.
"You think you're special You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me
Just one more fight
About your leadership
And I will straight up
Leave your shit
Cause I've had enough of this
And now I'm pissed"
LOL.
This is so true. It's pathetic how people can buy into these kinds of things and so easily let them go only to find something else supported by the media to replace it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree, Limp Bizkit is total trash.
I never watched TRL either and I remember so many of my friends would always talk about it. I also find it entertaining that I haven't thought about Limp Bizkit at ALL in the past few years until the "Merchants of Cool" episode reminded me.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about the "staying power"... and I agree, it's sad that it simply doesn't exist in teen pop culture. Something is cool for 5 minutes, and it passes, and no one really misses it. I think that is a core way to identify a type of trend that is created to be cool vs. a trend that was not based in marketing. Any trend manufactured for a particular response is going to fade; a trend that springs up out of sheer popularity and creativity tends to last.
ReplyDelete