Limp Bizkit Have Taken On The Saddest, Most Sensual INXS Hit

On the face of it, there’s not much that connects Limp Bizkit and INXS.

Of course, both bands are massive, internationally-dominating musical propositions that managed to score mainstream success without ever sanding off that which made them unique. But the circles that the two groups move in are distinct — the former is an American rap rock group, the latter is a sensual, smooth-as-silk pop powerhouse. Fred Durst and Michael Hutchence are as far from each other in musical style as chalk and cheese, both content to create a very specific mood and then nail the listener to it.

But Limp Bizkit have changed as of late. It’s not that they’ve mellowed, exactly — their new album, Still Sucks, is awash with songs titled things like ‘You Bring Out The Worst In Me’ and ‘Dirty Rotten Bizkit’. They’re still as content as ever to thumb their nose at tradition, making art that walks the very line between good and bad taste. It’s that they’ve gotten, dare we say, older. They aren’t the young upstarts anymore. They’re a goddamn institution, a piece of musical history.

So yeah, Limp Bizkit covering INXS might have once seemed unthinkable, but it’s much less so now. This is a band that is content to settle into their place in the canon, to surround themselves with their fellow old-timers and do what they do best, effortlessly.

Indeed, the INXS cover in question — a stripped back, surprisingly tender version of ‘Don’t Change’ — is one of their most accomplished songs in years, the standout of Still Sucks. It’s recognisably Bizkit-esque — Durst couldn’t hide the contours of his voice even if he wanted to. But it’s also a trembling, heartfelt paean to the original song, one that doesn’t stray from what made Hutchence and his band of fellow troubadours quite so special.

Listen to the song in full right here, and let the smoking stylings of the thing wash over you: