Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Wateris the third studio album by Americannu metalbandLimp Bizkit. Released a year after the success ofSignificant Other, the album saw the band attempt to capitalize on their newfound mainstream success. It was released on October 17, 2000, throughFlipandInterscope Records, setting a record for the fastest-selling rock album upon release at the time. The album debuted at No. 1 on theBillboard 200Album chart in the United States, selling 1,054,511 copies in its first week alone. The album ultimately sold over 6.7 million copies in the United States alone and would also go onto receive platinum certification in 13 countries, selling a further 10 million copies worldwide.
It was the band's last album to feature guitaristWes Borlanduntil the 2011 albumGold Cobra.
In January 2000, Limp Bizkit sought to return to the studio in an effort to capitalize off of their mainstream success stemming fromSignificant Other's release the previous year. The band initially hiredRick Rubinto produce the record, though creative differences culminated in him abandoning the project after less than a week, culminating inTerry Datereturning to produce the record.Through multiple interviews,Fred Durstand guitaristWes Borlandoften expressed that they had very little material prepared for the writing sessions, with Borland claiming during an interview in January 2000; "I don't think that we entered the studio with a method, or there's like 17,000 methods and we used all of them".Recording sessions took longer than expected as the band regularly experimented with newer material whilst simultaneously touring as headliners inNapster's Back-To-Basics tour.The longtime working title for the album had been "Limpdependence Day", but this was abandoned after the band failed to meet the deadline for their original intended release date of July 4.Despite numerous delays; the band managed to compose most of their new songs by August 2000; debuting the track "Livin' It Up" at that year'sMTV Video Music Awardsin a duet performance withChristina Aguilera.
The band appeared at the2000 MTV Video Music Awardsin September 2000 due in large part as they were nominated for multiple awards; and in conjunction with their performance alongsideChristina Aguilera. In a mashup of the two artists following Aguilera's performance of her 1999 single "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", the band played an excerpt of the song "Livin' It Up" possibly hinting at the song being a future single, though this never materialized for unknown reasons.The following weekend, the band announced a radio-broadcast listening party on New York's92.3 WXRKlive fromElectric Lady Studiosin New York City while they answered questions from callers, and the station played several songs of the album.
To generate further attention for the album's release; the band's management groupThe Firmhosted a large scale party at thePlayboy Mansionin Southern California on the night of the album's release. The band aired a full hour-long special onMTVwith numerous celebrities present; such asChino MorenofromDeftones,David SilveriafromKorn,Mark McGrathfromSugar Ray,Brandon BoydfromIncubus,Xzibitand more.Durst had initially approached MTV producers with his proposal for the special, in which they later allowed him to cohost per his own request.
They also embarked on a fall co-headlining tour withEminemcalled theAnger Management Tourthrough North America in late 2000,  withPapa Roach,XzibitandD12acting as support during the first leg through November 21st, 2000. On the 2nd leg from November 24th to December 19th, 2000.Godsmack,DMXand Sinnistar took over. The tour was unique for its approach to bridging the gap between rock and hip hop and merging them with the ultimate experience of a tour with sounds likeNu Metal,Rap RockandHip Hopall merging together for the first time.
"Chocolate Starfish" is a slang term for thehuman anus.Hot Dog Flavored Wateris based on anin-jokestarted byWes Borlandat a truck stop while the band was on tour during the summer of 2000, in which Borland saw bottles of Crystal Geyserflavored water, and made a joke about having meat orhot dogflavored water.
Durst himself refers to the album name in three songs. First, "Livin' It Up", where he declares that, "The chocolate starfish is my man Fred Durst." (Wes Borland has stated in an interview when questioned on the naming of the album that, "Fred calls himself Chocolate Starfish, because people call him an asshole all the time.") Second, "Hot Dog", where he tells his detractors to, "Kiss my starfish, my chocolate starfish," and "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" where he mentions "Chocolate Starfish" in the introduction.
Numerous critics and fans speculated that the name was a humorous parody ofSmashing Pumpkins' 1995 albumMellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
The song "Hot Dog" features the word "fuck" 47 times; Durst points out in the lyrics "If I say "fuck" two more times, that's forty-six "fuck"s in this fucked up rhyme". The chorus references theNine Inch Nailssongs "Closer", "The Perfect Drug" and "Burn". Durst said he was a big fan of Nine Inch Nails, who inspired his music, although Nine Inch Nails frontmanTrent Reznorhad made negative remarks about Durst during that period.Reviewers have often interpreted Durst's lyrics in "Hot Dog" as an insult to Reznor.The lyrical references to Reznor's music led to him getting a co-writer credit, which Reznor said he approved as the record was going to print as not to hold up the release."Livin' It Up" samples "Life in the Fast Lane" by the American rock bandEagles. The lyrics of "My Generation" reference "My Generation" byThe Whoand "Welcome to the Jungle" byGuns N' Roses.
The track "Getcha Groove On" used an uncredited sample of music that is played during the Aerial Trapeze Act of Cirque Du Soleil's Cirque Reinvente. In the September 2008 issue ofKerrang!, Wes Borland told the magazine: "We actually got sued over this piece of shit. There was some sort of sample used in it that someone didn't get full clearance for, so we ended up getting into some serious trouble for a little while."When the album was later released onto streaming services, the track "Getcha Groove On (Dirt Road Mix)", from their remix albumNew Old Songs, replaced the original version.
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Waterdebuted at number one on theBillboard200.The album sold 1,054,511 copies in its first week of being released,with 400,000 of those copies being sold in the album's first day of release—thelargest first-week sales debut for a rock album in the United Statesever sinceNielsen SoundScanbegan tracking album sales in 1991. It was also the fifth highest-week debut sales of 2000, behindEminem'sThe Marshall Mathers LP,'N Sync'sNo Strings Attached,Backstreet Boys'Black & BlueandBritney Spears'Oops!... I Did It Again.In its second week of being released, the album sold 392,000 copies,and remained at number 1 on theBillboard200.The album also went to number 1 on theCanadian Albums Chart,selling 98,707 copies in its first week in the country.Two months after its release date, the album was certified 4× platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and almost seven months after its release date, it was certified 5× platinum by the RIAA. In April 2002, the album was certified 6× platinum by the RIAA.It also was certified 6× platinum byMusic Canadain October 2001.
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Waterreceived mixed reviews from critics, asMetacriticgave it a 49 out of 100.AllMusicwriterStephen Thomas Erlewinewrote, "Durst's self-pitying and the monotonous music give away that the band bashed Chocolate Starfish out very quickly – it's the sound of a band determined to deliver a sequel in a finite amount of time."The Rolling Stone Album Guideawarded the album three out of five stars,whereas the magazine itself gave the album a 3.5 out of 5. Readers ofKerrang!voted it as the worst album of 2000, with the band andFred Durstalso being voted the worst band of 2000 and "Arse of the Year", respectively.
Even so,Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Waterwas listed in the book for1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but later removed in recent editions of the book.
In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 byMetal Hammermagazine.
Adapted from the album's liner notes.
Limp Bizkit
Additional personnel
Production