"Counterfeit" is a song 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...

 from their debut album 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...

. The song can be traced back to one of the band's early demo tapes in 1996, but it could have been written as early as 1995, when 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...

 first joined.

Cover art

The cover art for the Counterfeit Countdown single was produced by Christopher Karl Salat "BeZerk" and M. Figueroa "GONZO247" of the Aerosol Warfare graffiti crew from Houston, Texas. The sculpture was created by "BeZerk" using spray paint cans, clock parts, colored tape and white/red audio cords. The piece is entitled "Aerosol Warfare 2" (US Copyright: VA0001131224) and was displayed by Christopher in many art galleries all over the U.S. before appearing on the single used to promote Limp Bizkit’s song "Counterfeit". The photograph of the sculpture used on the single was taken by "GONZO247" at the “Worship Center”, in Houston’s downtown metropolitan area. Aerosol Warfare was also an underground video documentary about hip hop culture that circulated the underground during the 90's golden age of hip hop. The video kept up with current underground subjects such as; MC/Beatbox battles, graffiti marathons, graffiti artist interviews, breakdancing, and the new styles of the current graffiti movement.

Music video

There were several music videos of the song and its remixes. The original video portrays a teenage boy with bleach

Bleach

Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...

ed hair who is harassed by others. Wanting to fit in, he starts by cutting his hair short. He then takes his shirt off, and starts to cover himself with a black tar

Tar

Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...

-like substance. He puts on a fly

Fly

True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...

 mask, as he continues to cover himself with the tar, with Fred Durst suddenly watching him in the background with a disgusted look on his face. The boy then exits his room and comes down the stairs, now mutated into some sort of human fly. He enters the kitchen, where his family simply ignores him. He jumps onto the kitchen table, and begins to throw around the food on the table, while rubbing some into his face. The band plays the song in a musty basement throughout the video.

Legacy

There were two single releases. The first was Counterfeit/Nobody Loves Me in 1997, and the second was Counterfeit Countdown in 1999, when the group suddenly broke through into the mainstream. Counterfeit Countdown contained a collection of remixes of the song. DJ Lethal

DJ Lethal

Leor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...

's Extreme Guitar Remix of the song later made it onto New Old Songs

New Old Songs

- Album chart positions :...

, the band's remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

 album.

Big Dumb Face

Big Dumb Face

Big Dumb Face is a band formed by Wes Borland shortly before he left Limp Bizkit. The style hails to Frank Zappa and Ween as their primary influence...

 recorded a version of this song on one of their demos.

The song was later part of the band's 2005 Greatest Hitz

Greatest Hitz

Greatest Hitz is Limp Bizkit's 2005 greatest hits compilation album. Along with the group's most successful singles, the album also features three new songs. "Why" and "Lean On Me" were left-overs from Results May Vary, which were dropped due to Mike Smith joining the band and new "heavier" songs...

compilation.

Counterfeit / Nobody Loves Me (1997)

1. Counterfeit (Radio Edit) - 4:14
2. Nobody Loves Me - 4:01
3. Counterfeit (Album Version) - 5:08

Counterfeit Countdown (1999)

1. Counterfeit (Lethal Dose Extreme Guitar Mix) - 3:32
2. Counterfeit (Lethal Dose Remix) - 3:24
3. Counterfeit (Phat Ass Remix) - 3:04
4. Counterfeit (Radio Edit) - 4:15