Counterfeit (song)
| "Counterfeit" | ||||||||||||||
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| Single by Limp Bizkit | ||||||||||||||
| from the album Three Dollar Bill, Y'all | ||||||||||||||
| B-side | Nobody Loves Me | |||||||||||||
| Released | August 26, 1997 October 21, 1999 (Counterfeit Countdown reissue) |
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| Format | CD | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | May 1997 at Indigo Ranch Studio in Malibu, California | |||||||||||||
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| Length | 5:08 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Flip/Interscope | |||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Ross Robinson | |||||||||||||
| Limp Bizkit singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic ("Counterfeit") |   |
| Allmusic ("Counterfeit Countdown") | |
"Counterfeit" is a song by the American nu metal band Limp Bizkit from their debut album Three Dollar Bill, Y'all (1997). Notable for showcasing guitarist Wes Borland's experimental playing style, the song was written by Borland, DJ Lethal, Fred Durst, John Otto and Sam Rivers as a response to local bands that copied Limp Bizkit's style.
The song was released as the album's first single in 1997, prior to the album's release. "Counterfeit" was the subject of controversy when Interscope Records paid a Portland radio station to play the song fifty times as a paid advertising, sparking payola accusations and criticism of the band and label. In 1999, the song was reissued as another single under the title "Counterfeit Countdown". It also appears on multiple compilations.
The song originated from the band's frustrations at the fact that other bands were copying Limp Bizkit's style. According to Borland, "They saw this little thing we built [...] and they were like, 'Oh, let's get baggy pants and dress like kind of hip-hoppy and, you know, play heavy metal and rap.' [...] five or six bands just popped up out of nowhere that became these, you know, groups that were trying to sound like us. It was ridiculous. That's where the song 'Counterfeit' came from."
On the recorded version, Borland played without a guitar pick, performing with two hands, one playing melodic notes, and the other playing chord progressions. Borland's playing featured octave shapes, and choppy, eighth-note rhythms, sometimes accompanied by muting his strings with his left hand, creating a percussive sound. Borland also made use of unevenly accented syncopated sixteenth notes and hypnotic, droning licks to create a disorienting effect.
"Counterfeit" was released as a single in 1997 after to the release of Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, and was the first single released from the album. It featured the album versions of the songs "Counterfeit" and "Nobody Loves Me", and a shorter edit of "Counterfeit" intended for radio airplay. A second single of the song was released in 1999 under the title "Counterfeit Countdown", containing three remixes and the album and radio edits of the song.
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