Well, while I’m waiting for Panda Hat Girl to get out of her film class so we can d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel, I’ve decided that there are many topics that deserve my rage, not just movies. Music, too, can piss me right the fuck off when done poorly, and the greatest band from the early 2000s is the topic of today’s conversation: Linkin Park.
Now, just in that last sentence, I’ve probably alienated a good chunk of people who may read this article. Before I begin, let me make something clear: there are many, MANY awful songs out there. Rebecca Black’s Friday is worse than anything just about anyone has ever done. But if you want to make fun of pop music, you should watch Todd in the Shadows from ThatGuyWithTheGlasses. If you want to make fun of rap, watch the Rap Critic from the same site. I can’t do anything they haven’t done, and they have more love for those genres then I do.
What I do love is alternative rock, which I admit is a very loose term and probably encapsulates more than I mean. To give you an idea of my music taste, here are the top ten bands to which I’ve listened in the past month, in no particular order:
Panic! at the Disco (not Pretty. Odd.)
Skillet
Three Days Grace
Bullet for My Valentine
Thrice
Senses Fail
10 Years
30 Seconds to Mars
My Chemical Romance
Lostprophets
(Quick note: I actually looked up my most played songs from the last month to come up with this list. Muse should be on here, and I’m kind of ashamed that I haven’t been listening to it. I love Muse. Oh and Rise Against kicks ass too. And Evanescence. And Angels and Airwaves…I’ve got to stop now, but there are more. Trust me.)
As you can tell, there’s plenty of variation in my music taste, ranging from metal to emo rock to an emo/pop blend that’s simply sublime as far as I’m concerned. I understand that many of you aren’t going to like that style of music, or perhaps you even see it as a phase from which you’ve moved on after the tumultuous teenage years that tend to bring the angst that many of these bands tend to bring, but I haven’t. Maybe that means I’ve still got some angst to settle, but I choose to believe that I’ve simply fallen in love with the guitar and drums, and I simply refuse to settle for that fake pop rock shit.
So why am I talking about Linkin Park? Well, for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past ten years, Linkin Park was the greatest rock band from 1999 to 2006, and my favorite band until they were diagnosed with “selling out” syndrome.
Let’s take this apart bit by bit.
What makes me think they were the best rock band of the last decade? Well, they sold more albums than any other rock band (no, Nickelback is not a rock band) and that’s just in the U.S. They were even more popular abroad, as they sold more albums in the 2000’s than any other band that was active during that time by a lot (50 million albums sold worldwide). Their first album, Hybrid Theory, took the world by storm, getting a Diamond rating (10x Platinum) while also selling 24 million copies worldwide. Clearly, these guys knew what they were doing.
The amazing part of their success is that they never had to defer to any previous conventions to get there. They made music unlike anything anyone had ever heard. Hybrid Theory, the name of their first album, was the phrase by which they defined themselves, as they were a hybrid of the best of rock and rap. Combine that with some of the most talented musicians capable of playing multiple instruments really well and creating a unique sound that you couldn’t help but appreciate, and you have one hell of a band. Whether you liked their music or not, there was no denying that they were good at what they did, and what they did was make good music.
Their music was a mixture of rock and rap that came together seamlessly. Chester Bennington handled the singing and mixed a powerful voice utilizing voice breaks to convey emotion instead of pretending to be a singer he wasn’t. Mike Shinoda did the rapping masterfully while also playing keyboard, rhythm guitar, and whatever else they happened to need. The rest of the band was built on being musicians more than stars and they knew how to make music that sounded good over being conventional. Listen to Nobody’s Listening. No other rock band could have done this song, but they did and it easily became a favorite among fans. And they were just as good live as they were in studio. How many bands can say that anymore?
Hybrid Theory was the first album I ever bought with my own money when I was around ten. I still know every word to every song on that album, and I can predict every guitar riff and even point out the subtleties of each song despite the fact that I haven’t listened to the album in months. Papercut was intense (my friend and I would each jump into the air and air strum the first big guitar riff of the song), Points of Authority was empowering, Crawling was passionately emotional, Place for My Head was easily relatable and perfectly executed, Forgotten was the embodiment of righteous anger, and I haven’t even comment on In the End, which is probably the most famous song they’ve ever done. The album was, from start to finish, awesome, and it took the rock world by storm, changing the Nu-Metal genre forever and opening the door for bands like Evanescence to enter our world later on.
Nothing I explain here can fully explain the impact this album had on the music band. Remember that the land of music was pretty much a wasteland of crappy boy bands that weren’t even as good as the Backstreet Boys (reread that last sentence and realize how far music had fallen). Linkin Park provided something no one had ever done before and was so good that it took over the entire popular conscious. There hadn’t been a distinguishable rock band in years, but now rock fans had something to get behind. Linkin Park mattered more than any rock band had in a long time. No wonder I was captivated as much as I was since they hit their stride at that perfect preteen phase of my life.
While Hybrid Theory was easily the most recognizable and popular album Linkin Park ever made, my favorite was probably their second album, Meteora. Did it have as many popular singles? No. Numb hit it big (and is easily their most popular music video), as did Breaking the Habit (both great songs), but the rest of the album was just so damn good. It flowed together as a cohesive album without necessarily being a thematic one. Looking for some deep, meaningful, emotional musics? Just listen to Somewhere I Belong, Easier to Run, and From the Inside. Want a fast-paced anthem or simple rock out music? Go for Hit the Floor, Faint, or Figure .09. Seriously, everything that album did was wonderful and it came together perfectly. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent listening to that album.
I’ve already gone on too long, but I should mention their wonderful Reanimation album, where they did a whole bunch of remixes that were as unique as the songs they remixed. Enth E Nd becomes a powerful anthem, and My<Dsmbr became even eerier. Seriously, it’s the best remix album to which I’ve ever listened.
So what happened? How did such a popular, unique, and beloved band fall so far in the last four years? Come back on Wednesday to find out.
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