10 Years Later: 'Nookie'

Ten years ago, McDonald's introduced the McVeggie. An attempt at drawing in the increasingly popular vegetarian clientele, the idea was novel. The appeal was congruous to when McDonald's retooled their salad menu post-Fast Food Nation. People wanted to try them--No really, they are good. But like new Coke before it, consumer have proven that change isn't always what they want. A marketing failure. America's fast food chain can pretend to be veggie-friendly, but McDonald's is for meat*.

And much was the same with Nu Metal. Championed by KoRn, the sub-genre exploded in the late 1990s alongside the Latin invasion and a hearty revitalization of bubblegum pop. How these musical styling co-existed is a mystery. An even greater mystery? How 16 million people thought Fred Durst, armed with a DJ and a creepy-eyed guitarist, shouting that he "did it all for the nookie (c'mon) the nookie (c'mon)/so you can take the cookie/and stick it up your (yeah)/stick it up your (yeah)" was worth $12.99 at Tower Records.

"Nookie" epitomizes the paradoxical nature of Nu Metal, a seemingly brilliant idea of combining punk, rock and rap, and is perhaps the sub-genre's most anthemic tune. Like a bar band on steroids, Durst belts out the lyrics; the song is strangely catchy--you hate to love it it's so plainly horrific. It represents a great idea gone wrong. But after too many listens, it's clear that Nu Metal is a bad idea with grave consequences (see: Woodstock '99). Run DMC and Aerosmith? Great. Rap and rock? Not great. Fred Durst and singing?Almost as bad as a McVeggie.