Nookie (song)
Encyclopedia
"Nookie" is the first single released from the album Significant Other
by Limp Bizkit
. It was nominated for "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 2000 Grammy Awards.
One of the reasons Fred Durst
attributes to the song becoming a success is that it's sung slower, and in a fashion where his lyrics are easier to understand, in contrast to his style in Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
, where the lyrics in some songs are indistinguishable due to the fast screaming style Fred uses on the album.
The song features an interlude at the end, which features Fred Durst breaking a couple of items with the band laughing, leading into "Break Stuff
".
for "Nookie" is a 1 bar sample
(starting at 1'05) from the song "You're Getting a Little Too Smart" by early 70's R&B act The Detroit Emeralds. It however does not appear on the song credits. Guitarist Wes Borland
used a custom built baritone guitar
with only four strings: tuned nearly an octave downward from standard tuning
, the string's pitches were F#, F#, B and E. For the lowest F# string (which is one octave lower than the higher F# tuned string), Borland made this string a bass guitar string. Borland also plays this particular guitar in the music video for the song.
Scott Borland, Wes Borland's brother, plays keyboard on the song. Scott Weiland
of Stone Temple Pilots
and Velvet Revolver
fame sings the sampled "hey" in the "like a chump" prechorus.
In a 2008 interview with British rock magazine Kerrang, guitarist Wes Borland
had the following to say about how the lyrical content turned out: "The music was cool, but I didn't like the lyrics at all. The funny thing is that Nookie was actually the working title. When we were in the studio there was a porn magazine that had the word 'nookie' on the cover, so I was like, 'This song's called Nookie!', I never thought someone would actually run with it. I suppose it's all my fault."
.
The song was performed live on the first day of programming of MTV
's "Isle of MTV", their summer 1999 promotion. At the conclusion of the song, Durst detonated a ship sitting out in the water a few hundred yards from the stage. The video was directed by Fred Durst.
covered this as a Lounge
version on his 2000 album called, Lounge Against the Machine
and his 2006 album called, The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese
. Girl Talk
sampled the song, on his song "Friends 4-Ever" from his album Secret Diary
. Texan metalcore
band Sky Eats Airplane
released a cover of this song on their MySpace profile in 2009. Christian comedy rock
band Apologetix
recorded a parody entitled "Simp Lizkut", which appeared on their album Keep the Change
.
Hed PE guitarist Wes Geer said that "Nookie" is "cheesy and is not as good as [Hed PE's song] 'Bartender'. ['Nookie' has] a catchy hook, but at least in my opinion, it's just kind of dumb. But somewhere along the way the business decided to support that one harder than they did 'Bartender', you know.". Pharrell Williams
, while recording N.E.R.D.'s 2008 album Seeing Sounds
cited this song as part of the band's incentive and drive to record more energetic music, noting it as the last energetic hit single before the album's release.
On September 7, 2010, Nookie became a downloadable song in the game Guitar Hero 5
(Rock 1 Track Pack). On September 11, 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
ranked the song at #23 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating that Fred Durst "did it [all] for the nookie, huh? We hope he got it, 'cause he's clearly going home without artist respect today."
Significant Other
Significant Other is the second album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, released on June 22, 1999. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 834,000 copies in its first week and received a Grammy Award nomination later in the year of its release. The RIAA certified it 7x platinum in...
by Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
. It was nominated for "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 2000 Grammy Awards.
One of the reasons Fred Durst
Fred Durst
William Frederick "Fred" Durst is an American musician, director, producer and actor, well known as the frontman of the band Limp Bizkit.-Early life:...
attributes to the song becoming a success is that it's sung slower, and in a fashion where his lyrics are easier to understand, in contrast to his style in Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ is the debut album by American nu metal band Limp Bizkit, released July 1, 1997 through Flip/Interscope. It was produced by Ross Robinson and was certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA in July 2001 in the US...
, where the lyrics in some songs are indistinguishable due to the fast screaming style Fred uses on the album.
The song features an interlude at the end, which features Fred Durst breaking a couple of items with the band laughing, leading into "Break Stuff
Break Stuff
"Break Stuff" is a song by the nu metal band Limp Bizkit. Break Stuff is the band's fourth and final single that resulted from their studio album Significant Other. The single was released alongside "N 2 Gether Now".-Music video:...
".
Music
The intro and verse beatBeat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
for "Nookie" is a 1 bar sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
(starting at 1'05) from the song "You're Getting a Little Too Smart" by early 70's R&B act The Detroit Emeralds. It however does not appear on the song credits. Guitarist Wes Borland
Wes Borland
Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
used a custom built baritone guitar
Baritone guitar
The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
with only four strings: tuned nearly an octave downward from standard tuning
Standard tuning
In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument.-Bowed strings:...
, the string's pitches were F#, F#, B and E. For the lowest F# string (which is one octave lower than the higher F# tuned string), Borland made this string a bass guitar string. Borland also plays this particular guitar in the music video for the song.
Scott Borland, Wes Borland's brother, plays keyboard on the song. Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
of Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
and Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
fame sings the sampled "hey" in the "like a chump" prechorus.
Lyrics
The song is about Fred Durst's relationship with a past girlfriend, in which she used him for his money, and cheated on him with his friends, and yet he continued to stay with her despite the emotional distress this caused. The hook reveals his reason for staying in the relationship, which was because of the sex. "Hey, what the hell, what you want me to say?/ I won't lie, that I can't deny/ I did it all for the nookie".In a 2008 interview with British rock magazine Kerrang, guitarist Wes Borland
Wes Borland
Wesley Louden Borland is an American musician and artist, best known as the guitarist for the band Limp Bizkit. He has been in several other bands as well including: Black Light Burns, The Damning Well, Goatslayer, Big Dumb Face, and Combichrist...
had the following to say about how the lyrical content turned out: "The music was cool, but I didn't like the lyrics at all. The funny thing is that Nookie was actually the working title. When we were in the studio there was a porn magazine that had the word 'nookie' on the cover, so I was like, 'This song's called Nookie!', I never thought someone would actually run with it. I suppose it's all my fault."
Music video
In the song's music video, the band allowed hundreds of fans to participate, playing the song in front of the large crowd. All the men went to one side of the stage, and the women on the other side. When Durst sang the chorus, at certain parts he would hold out his microphone to the crowd, getting that particular side to sing. This was, according to Durst, to show that "guys go off hard, but girls go off even harder". The audio from this plays during the music video. At the end of the music video, Durst is arrested and taken away by police officers, leading into the beginning of the video for Re-ArrangedRe-Arranged
"Re-Arranged" is a song by nu metal band Limp Bizkit from their second studio album, Significant Other. It was released as the band's second single from the album and was the band's only #1 single on the Modern Rock chart, as well as the first nu metal song to reach number one on that chart.The...
.
The song was performed live on the first day of programming of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's "Isle of MTV", their summer 1999 promotion. At the conclusion of the song, Durst detonated a ship sitting out in the water a few hundred yards from the stage. The video was directed by Fred Durst.
Tracklisting
- "Nookie" - 4:28
- "Counterfeit" (Lethal Dose Remix) - 3:21
- "Counterfeit" (Phat Ass Remix) - 3:05
- "Nookie" (video)
- "Faith" (video)
Legacy and influence
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the MachineRichard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Mark Jonathan Davis , known by his stage name Richard Cheese, is an American musician and comedian. He was born in New York...
covered this as a Lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
version on his 2000 album called, Lounge Against the Machine
Lounge Against the Machine
Lounge Against the Machine is the first album of Richard Cheese, released October 17, 2000. The album title is a play on the name of the band Rage Against the Machine....
and his 2006 album called, The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese
The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese
The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese is the fifth album from Richard Cheese, released February 7, 2006. The album title and artwork are spoofs on Pink Floyd's album, The Dark Side of the Moon as well as the jazz standard On the Sunny Side of the Street...
. Girl Talk
Girl Talk (musician)
Gregg Michael Gillis , better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an American musician specializing in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on 333 and 12 Apostles....
sampled the song, on his song "Friends 4-Ever" from his album Secret Diary
Secret Diary
Secret Diary is Girl Talk's first album, released in 2002 on Illegal Art. The album can be purchased at a pay-what-you-want price through Illegal Art's website.-Tracklisting:* 1. "Let's Start This Party Right"* 2. "I Want You Back"...
. Texan metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane was an American electronic post-hardcore band, formed in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2005. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008....
released a cover of this song on their MySpace profile in 2009. Christian comedy rock
Comedy rock
Comedy rock is rock music mixed with comedy, often satire and parody.-History:Early USA examples include Stan Freberg, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and The Platters, and Sheb Wooley whose "Purple People Eater" reached No...
band Apologetix
ApologetiX
ApologetiX is a Christian parody band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The band was founded in 1992, and since then, has played in 44 states, released 17 studio albums, and built up a fan club that includes 45,000 people. The band is currently composed of J...
recorded a parody entitled "Simp Lizkut", which appeared on their album Keep the Change
Keep the Change (album)
Keep The Change is the 7th album by Christian parody band ApologetiX. 4 songs from the album were later featured on the band's greatest hits album, while another 3 were included on the band's first live album.-Track listing:# "Story of A Squirrel" - 2:56...
.
Hed PE guitarist Wes Geer said that "Nookie" is "cheesy and is not as good as [Hed PE's song] 'Bartender'. ['Nookie' has] a catchy hook, but at least in my opinion, it's just kind of dumb. But somewhere along the way the business decided to support that one harder than they did 'Bartender', you know.". Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
, while recording N.E.R.D.'s 2008 album Seeing Sounds
Seeing Sounds
Seeing Sounds is the third studio album by American funk rock band N.E.R.D released June 10, 2008 on Star Trak Entertainment and Interscope Records in the United States. After ending their contract with Virgin Records in 2005, the band felt their previous album Fly or Die was too consistent. Using...
cited this song as part of the band's incentive and drive to record more energetic music, noting it as the last energetic hit single before the album's release.
On September 7, 2010, Nookie became a downloadable song in the game Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5
Guitar Hero 5 is a music video game and the fifth main entry in the Guitar Hero series. The game was developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision, and released internationally in September 2009 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, 3 and Wii consoles...
(Rock 1 Track Pack). On September 11, 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
ranked the song at #23 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating that Fred Durst "did it [all] for the nookie, huh? We hope he got it, 'cause he's clearly going home without artist respect today."