Band:	Limp Bizkit
Album:	Significant Other
Style:	Alternative metal, Nu metal
Release date:	June 22, 1999
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Intro
02. Just Like This
03. Nookie
04. Break Stuff
05. Re-Arranged
06. I'm Broke
07. Nobody Like You [feat. Jonathan Davis and Scott Weiland]
08. Don't Go Off Wandering
09. 9 Teen 90 Nine
10. N 2 Gether Now [feat. Method Man]
11. Trust?
12. No Sex
13. Show Me What You Got
14. A Lesson Learned
15. Outro [includes hidden tracks "Radio Sucks" featuring Matt Pinfield, and "The Mind Of Les" featuring Les Claypool]

People, it's time to grab your skateboards, put on your baggiest shorts and turn those red baseball caps backwards because Limp Bizkit are serving up what is oft regarded as their triumph. Is Significant Other a good album or just a victim of the "he said she said" that has haunted their career?

The album mostly plays along with competent and good musicianship that puts itself at the higher end of the nu-metal scale. It is an enjoyable listen, but one often overshadowed by Durst, who hogs the spotlight for the most part; when you are able to listen around him you can hear a group of musicians who gel well together and deserve more credit than they have received. They provide a soundtrack that is creative and, for the most part, avoids the pitfalls that befell most of nu-metal. Creating soundscapes through Borland's guitar mixed with DJ Lethal's contributions, you have an album that can shift between atmospheric and hard hitting as and when it wants to.

There is one song on this album which is a stone cold classic; if you have managed to avoid hearing "Break Stuff" up until now, I would recommend fighting against your instincts and actively look up the song. The song is concentrated catharsis and fits Durst's confrontational approach well, with the band's style nicely clicking. "Don't Go Off Wondering" is a track that mixes both sides of their sound well, laid back but punchy in places to provide a welcome change of pace.

The bad moments mostly stem from when Durst is let loose, throwing out rap clichés that would make Vanilla Ice think twice; it seems to be Durst who gives the band their bad reputation. From his awful lyrics to poor delivery, he offers little sonically that benefits this album. "9 Teen 90 Nine" is a prime example of a song that is ruined by Durst; he is given prominence over what is a solid track and drags it down with a delivery that is ill fitting and unwanted. That isn't to say he has no redeeming qualities; he fits well in the mellow moments of this album, dialing down his intensity and delivering okay lines on these passages.

It is when you bring both elements back together after looking at them separately (that being the musicianship and Durst's contributions) that you come to realize the dichotomy. Is this album well remembered because of Durst and not despite him? Honestly ask yourself, what do you remember more: the music or Durst? Do you remember the composition of "Nookie" or do you remember Durst shouting that he "did it all for the Nookie, the Nookie, so you can take that cookie"? For all the flak Durst drew upon the band, is it that negativity that turned this album into something that gets remembered rather than lost in the shuffle? For me? Probably.