I didn’t hear real cursing in music until Limp Bizkit’s Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$ in 1997. That was when music changed for me. I was already exposed to the band Korn, but hearing Limp Bizkit was a whole other level for me.
It seemed like a lot of bands with the parental advisory sticker were coming out nowhere in the late ’90s. Limp Bizkit was one of them. They were unlike anything I had heard before. It had aggressive hip hop vocals with funk grooves that used punk and metal tenancies. Limp Bizkit had a great rhythm section that included a DJ that scratched and used samples. Each member was a character on stage. It was quite the ragtag group of misfits. They got big real quick, and for good reason.
After I got into Metallica in 1999 I stopped listening to Limp Bizkit, and I never shared their music with anyone. When I look back to Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$ the opening track is still a crusher of a song. That’s what we are going to talk about.
Note the parental advisory logo. This song contains explicit language that some may find offensive. I always wanted to say that. Alright, check it out.
Pollution by Limp Bizkit
The opening riff is gigantic. It’s in a dropped tuning to make it heavier. The riff is also in a minor key and uses the open string, second and third frets with a bending technique. It’s a slick melodic figure that a lot of bands use to construct an aggressive riff. A notable song that uses this type of melodic figure is New Noise by Refused.
The guitar tone is pretty gnarly on this song. It has trashy qualities combined with tight high-end distortion. I couldn’t tell you how they did that in the studio, but I am sure they played with a lot of different amps.
One thing you may notice is that the tab from the songster is for 6 strings. Wes Borland was usually seen playing a 7 string guitar in the late ’90s. What’s up with that? Hard to say. It would surprise you how much you can do when you adjust the tuning. It’s possible that Borland tuned the low B up to C# so he could have the same note as his down-tuned E string. He could have also omitted the low B and played the song as is shown in the tab. Whatever Borland does with the guitar I imagine he is choosing the easiest way possible.
The Vocal Production
We started talking about vocal production in the last article with the Barenaked Ladies, and it applies here too. Listen to how the background vocals are on Pollution. Fred Durst performs all the vocal parts.
The chorus uses a call response musical figure. Durst sings the main vocal line and then sings the response: POLLUTION! It’s super badass, and sounds heavy. But there is a problem with it. There is only one Fred Durst in the band. He can’t sing both parts live. Bassist Sam Rivers and guitarist Wes Borland sing the response during the chorus when they perform Pollution live.
It doesn’t sound the same live. Borland and Rivers should have sung the response on the album so it would translate live. That’s only my opinion. Check it out live for yourself. What do you think?
Limp Bizkit – Pollution – 10/18/1998 – UNO Lakefront Arena (Official)
See what I mean. It’s not quite the same. When the lyric “pollution” is sung by Durst on the album it’s like nasal throat screech. It sounds killer. When Borland and Rivers sing it live it’s a deep growl. It works, but it isn’t the same.
Performance versus Production
This brings up an interesting topic of music production. Do you record something that can’t be done live for the sake of making a good recording? Or do you record only what can be replicated live? This is a tough one. I am sure Ross Robinson and the band considered this.
The answer exists in a gray area. Some bands are strict with this concept. They will only record what they can reasonably perform live. This allows them to have a consistent sound in the recording and live.
Some bands have a revolving door of musicians that come and go. This allows many interpretations of a song. In those cases, the recording is the blueprint for the live show.
My Take on Recording
Having been in the studio I can tell you that doing what’s best for the song is the best way to go. Figure out the rest later when you do it live. For our band, we did a lot of pre-production and knew exactly what parts we were going to record. This allowed us to perform the music with a pretty good approximation to what we recorded.
This may not always be the case for all recording artists. Sometimes it’s better to have a recording that is different from the live performance. Doing that creates a clear distinction making the live product unique. This can make the live performance more valuable because it’s availability is more scarce.
In the end, you have to make the right choice for the music. If you are lucky enough to have a great producer, they will know what to do. Listen to your producer.
Much thanks to my dear friend who got showed me Limp Bizkit in our youth. It was quite a trip. This is still a great song that kicks me in the teeth every time.
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