Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Commercial performance

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water went to number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 1,050,000 copies in its first week of being released, with 400,000 of those copies being sold in the album's first day of being released. In its second week of being released, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water sold 392,000 copies. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was at number 1 on the Billboard 200 for two weeks. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water also went to number 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. Two months after its release date, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Almost seven months after its release date, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA. In April 2002, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water also was certified 6x platinum by Music Canada in October 2001.

Music and lyrics

The first part of the title is a scatological reference to the appearance of the human anus (Chocolate Starfish). However, Hot Dog Flavored Water is an inside joke started by Wes Borland at a truck stop while the band was on tour, where Borland saw bottles of Crystal Geyser flavored water, and made a joke about having meat or hot dog flavors.

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"), "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.

The song "Hot Dog" is notorious for featuring the word "fuck" 46 times as pointed out by Durst himself in the lyrics "if I say fuck 2 more times thats 46 fucks in this fucked up rhyme". The chorus parodies 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. Reviewers have often interpreted Durst's lyrics in "Hot Dog" as an insult to Reznor. "Livin' It Up" samples "Life in the Fast Lane" by the American rock band The Eagles. The lyrics of My Generation reference "My Generation" by The Who and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.

Critical reception

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water received mixed reviews from critics, as Metacritic gave it a 49 out of 100. 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." The Rolling Stone Album Guide awarded the album three out of five stars, whereas the magazine itself gave the album a 3.5 out of 5. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was listed in the book for 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Fred Durst, except where noted; all music composed by Wes Borland, John Otto, and Sam Rivers, except where noted.

Notes