Linkin' Park

I enjoy angry music. You would assume I enjoy it when I'm angry, but that isn't necessarily the case. I enjoy it pretty much always. Once in awhile I prefer moody, dark music or just plain sad stuff, but generally, I like screaming and self-deprecating laments. This is probably why Linkin' Park is my favorite band ever. They've even topped U2, who, along with Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, was my favorite when I was in high school. I know, I know, my age is showing. I'm old, people. 

Over the years Linkin' Park's musical style has evolved and changed dramatically. The first three albums rock and are filled with anger. In the especially poignant songs, the lyrics center around a very dysfunctional relationship, which resonates with pretty much everyone on the planet. 

Linkin' Park's musical style is, in my opinion, the most successful example of the rock/rap combination. The back and forth dynamic between the Chester Bennington, who sings/screams, and Mike Shinoda, who raps and plays piano, is performed flawlessly and sets them apart from other (and I hate this term) "screamo" bands. 

Their last few albums are much more mellow, which is a sore point for many original fans, but I've enjoyed all their music, and I mean all of it, and I never get tired of it. My children have been indoctrinated as Linkin' Park fans by sheer proximity (they never had a chance). When my twins were babies they had colic, and we would play Meteora to startle them out of their crying so they would go to sleep. More recently, I had Minutes to Midnight in my car CD player for over a year and listened to it each and every time we drove anywhere. 

I have a few favorites of their lesser known songs, one of which is The Little Things Give You Away. The lyrics combined with the melody is heart-wrenching. I also really grew to love the Reanimation CD, which is just a remix of Hybrid Theory, but many of the songs are actually better, which you don't often see with remixes. P5HNG ME A*WY is one.

I've been lucky enough, even though I live at the ends of the Earth, to see them in concert twice, and it was just awesome. By using the word awesome, I'm dating myself again, aren't I? Well, as my mom likes to say, it is what it is. I have no apologies about being a geeky old Linkin' Park fan. 

Jess

P.S. I realized my affinity for angry music is probably why I still rock out to Limp Bizkit. "Break Stuff," "Rollin'" and "My Way" make me oh so happy when then pop up on Pandora.


Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I’m about to break
I need a little room to breathe
Cause I’m one step closer to the edge
And I’m about to break
Shut up when I’m talking to you
Shut up, shut up, shut up
Shut up when I’m talking to you
Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up
I’m about to BREAK

-One Step Closer, Hybrid Theory