Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CXdjSQcsGHq/</ref> | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Significant Other1999New Old Songs2001studioChocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored WaterLimp Bizkit Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water.jpgLimp BizkitTemplate:Start date<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CXdjSQcsGHq/</ref>January–August 2000* NRG Studios (Hollywood)

• Westlake Audio (Hollywood)
• Larrabee (Hollywood)
• Studio Litho (Seattle)
• Long View Farm Studios (Brookfield, Massachusetts)
• The Hit Factory (New York)
• Olympic Studios (London)
• South Beach Studios (Miami)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>* Nu metal<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• rap metal<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Interscope* Terry Date
• Limp Bizkit
• Swizz Beatzx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water is the third studio album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit. In the wake of Significant Other, it saw the band capitalize on their newfound mainstream success. Released on October 17, 2000,<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CXdjSQcsGHq/</ref> through Flip and Interscope Records, it set a record for fastest-selling rock album that it holds to this day.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, selling 1,054,511 copies in its first week. It ultimately sold over 6.7 million copies in the United States alone and earned platinum certifications in 13 countries, selling a further 10 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source?

It was the band's last release to feature guitarist Wes Borland until the 2005 EP The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1).

Background and recording

In January 2000, Limp Bizkit returned to the studio to capitalize on their mainstream success stemming from Significant OtherTemplate:'s release the previous year. The band initially hired Rick Rubin to produce the record, though creative differences culminated in him abandoning the project after less than a week, resulting in Terry Date returning to produce the record.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Through multiple interviews, Fred Durst and guitarist Wes Borland often 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".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Recording sessions took longer than expected as the band regularly experimented with newer material whilst simultaneously touring as headliners in Napster's Back-To-Basics tour.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite numerous delays, the band managed to compose most of their new songs by August 2000, and debuted the track "Livin' It Up" at that year's MTV Video Music Awards in a duet performance with Christina Aguilera.<ref name="Loudersound">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Promotion

The band appeared at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000 due in large part as they were nominated for multiple awards, and in conjunction with their performance alongside Christina 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.<ref name="Loudersound"/> The following weekend, the band announced a radio-broadcast listening party on New York's 92.3 WXRK live from Electric Lady Studios in New York City while they answered questions from callers, and the station played several songs of the album.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

To generate further attention for the album's release; the band's management group The Firm hosted a large scale party at the Playboy Mansion in Southern California on the night of the album's release. The band aired a full hour-long special on MTV with numerous celebrities present, such as Chino Moreno from Deftones, David Silveria from Korn, Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray, Brandon Boyd from Incubus, Xzibit and more.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Durst had initially approached MTV producers with his proposal for the special, which they later allowed him to cohost per his own request.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

They also embarked on a fall co-headlining tour with Eminem called the Anger Management Tour through North America in late 2000, with Papa Roach, Xzibit and D12 acting as support during the first leg through November 21, 2000. On the second leg from November 24 to December 19, 2000, Godsmack, DMX and Sinnistar took over. The tour was unique for its approach to bridging the gap between rock and hip-hop.Template:Citation needed

Title

"Chocolate Starfish" is a slang term for the human anus. Hot Dog Flavored Water is based on an in-joke started by Wes Borland at a truck stop while the band was on tour during the summer of 2000, where Borland saw bottles of Crystal Geyser flavored water, and made a joke about having meat or hot dog flavored water.<ref name=borland>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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."<ref name=borland/>) 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 of Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.<ref name="Christgau"/><ref name=Allmusic/>

Music and lyrics

The song "Hot Dog" features the word "fuck" 47 times. The chorus references the Nine Inch Nails songs "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 frontman Trent Reznor had made negative remarks about Durst during that period.<ref>Interview with Fred Durst by K-Rock New York. 2000.</ref> Reviewers have often interpreted Durst's lyrics in "Hot Dog" as an insult to Reznor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Livin' It Up" samples "Life in the Fast Lane" by the American rock band Eagles. The lyrics of "My Generation" reference "My Generation" by The Who and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.

Lawsuit and sample removal

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 of Kerrang!, 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."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> When the album was later released onto streaming services, the track "Getcha Groove On (Dirt Road Mix)", from their remix album New Old Songs, replaced the original version.

Commercial performance

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.<ref name="billboard200" /> The album sold 1,054,511 copies in its first week of being released,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> with 400,000 of those copies being sold in the album's first day of release<ref name="ew.com">Template:Cite magazine</ref>—the largest first-week sales debut for a rock album in the United States ever since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking album sales in 1991. It was also the fifth highest-week debut sales of 2000, behind Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP, 'N Sync's No Strings Attached, Backstreet Boys' Black & Blue and Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In its second week of being released, the album sold 392,000 copies,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and remained at number 1 on the Billboard 200.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album also went to number 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart,<ref name="canadian bb" /> selling 98,707 copies in its first week in the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two months after its release date, the album was certified 4× platinum by the Recording 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.<ref name="RIAA" /> It also was certified 6× platinum by Music Canada in October 2001.<ref name="CRIA" />

Critical reception

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water received mixed reviews from critics, as Metacritic gave it a 49 out of 100.<ref name="metacritic" /> AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "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."<ref name=Allmusic/> The Rolling Stone Album Guide awarded the album three out of five stars,<ref name="RSAlbumGuide" /> whereas the magazine itself gave the album a 3.5 out of 5. Readers of Kerrang! voted it as the worst album of 2000, with the band and Fred Durst also being voted the worst band of 2000 and "Arse of the Year", respectively.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Even so, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was listed in the book for 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but later removed in recent editions of the book.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by Metal Hammer magazine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Limp Bizkit

• Fred Durst – vocals, art direction, liner notes, photography
• Wes Borland – guitars, cover art, vocals on "Snake in Your Face"
• DJ Lethal – turntables, samples
• John Otto – drums, vocals on "It's Like That Y'all"
• Sam Rivers – bass

Additional personnel

• Scott Borland – keyboards on tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12 & 13
• Xzibit – vocals on "Getcha Groove On"
• Scott Weiland – vocals on "Hold On"
• DMX, Redman, Method Man – vocals on "Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle)"
• Rich Keller – bass on "Rollin' (Urban Assault Vehicle)"
• Stephan Jenkins, Ben Stiller, Mark Wahlberg, Rob Dyrdek – spoken word on "Outro"
• Run – vocals on "It's Like That Y'all"

Production

• Producer – Terry Date and Limp Bizkit (all tracks but 9 and 14); DJ Lethal and Fred Durst (track 9); Swizz Beatz (track 14)
• Additional producer – Scott Weiland and Josh Abraham (all tracks but 9 and 14)
• Executive producer – Eve Butler
• Assistant executive producer – Peter Katsis
• Production coordination – Erin Haley
• Editing – Domenic Barbers, DJ Premier, Carl Nappa
• Editing assistant – Cailan Mccarthy
• Engineers – Eric B., Joe Barresi, Barney Chase, Terry Date, Jesse Gorman, Kevin Guarnieri, Scott Olson, Ted Reiger, Dylan Vaughan, Darren Venbitti, Rakim
• Assistant engineers – Barney Chase, Steve Conover, David Dominguez, Jaime Duncan, Fran Flannery, Kevin Guarnieri, Femio Hernández, Matt Kingdom, Carl Nappa, Pete Novak, Ted Reiger, Doug Trantow, Alex Morfas
• Mastering – Vlado Meller
• Mixing – Andy Wallace (all tracks but 9, 10 and 14), Rich Keller (track 14), Brendan O'Brien (track 10), Michael Patterson (track 9)
• Assistant mix engineers – Steve Sisco, Josh Wilbur, Ryan Williams, Karl Egsieker
• Art coordinator – Liam Wars

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Chart (2000–2001)	Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	8
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	11

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	99

Year-end charts

Chart (2000)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	24
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	19
Canadian Albums (Nielsen Soundscan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	29
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	45
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	38
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	48
South Korean International Albums (MIAK)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	34
Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	49
UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	63
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	34

Chart (2001)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	5
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	55
Canadian Albums (Billboard)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	33
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	96
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	24
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	12
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	14
Irish Albums (IRMA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	19
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplsitan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	52
Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	70
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	36
UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="auto"/>	21
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5
Worldwide Albums (IFPI)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	22

Chart (2002)	Position
Canadian Alternative Albums (Billboard)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	132
Canadian Metal Albums (Billboard)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	69

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–2009)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	93
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine Digit page 166 on the PDF archive.</ref>	18