So I purchased the new Linkin Park album, Minutes to Midnight today (well really yesterday now), and I have a few thoughts I'd like to express. It's definitely different for one. But that's not bad. They have a mellow mood and experimentation in the album. I didn't like the fact that they suddenly started swearing in this album tough. Also the political connotations may skewer the music a bit. In a nutshell, it's a good album, but not exactly the Linkin Park we all know and love.
2 comments:
Hmm.. I actually listened to meteora on the way home from the gig last night. I forgot how much I liked Linkin Park. Its impressive that they could put so much pure aggression and adrenaline into their music without cursing. It reminding me of working out back in high school. Really awesome music. I need to hear this new album but I do agree.. very dissapointing that they are cussing now.
Actually, they used to curse in their underground stuff. Thankfully, they cleaned up their act once they signed onto their label. However, it is unfortunate that a band that has paved a path of success without the need of an uneducated vocabulary dumbed themselves down in this album. The f-words (if I remember correctly, that's the main word they use with the occasional s-word) are in completely unnecessary places too. "Tell me what the *&@# is wrong". A complete lack of lyrical imagination from such a talented artist. Look at the full context, it still doesn't fit.
Also, the jump into the liberal political realm is difficult for me to stomach. Honestly, though, I can only go so far with that because if they were conservative, it probably wouldn't bother me as much. It's just irritating that they choose such pathetic topics as "going green" and "down with Bush". Hands Held High is such a shamelessly ignorant bash on Bush's character that I can't listen to it. I don't agree with everything Bush has done, but he's not the monster the media depicts him to be. The line where Mike says something about the rest of the world laughing at us because Bush trips over his words especially irritates me for two reasons: 1)sorry he can't speak like you can rap - flawless and perfect every time without error and 2)what do you think the world was doing when Clinton was on trial for an affair with Monica Lewinsky or when he was selling our weapons secrets to China? I doubt their hearts were filled with admiration for our "leader". Both of those sins would have been grounds for capital punishment in the media's eyes if Bush had done them (which contradicts the liberal view of capital punishment, but since when are they consistent with their views when the law actually becomes inconvenient for them?).
The last thing that bothers me is the fact that Linkin Park completely changed their style, but act like they've sacrificed nothing in the process. Almost every song feels like at least one of their 6 members is chilling in the corner drinking water while the rest are playing. Their older albums (Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the only two that count) brought in a fresh new sound that seamlessly barraged the listener with aggression in one instant, then soothed them the next. It was a nearly perfect amalgamation (new word, had to use it) of normally paradoxical musical elements. Their music really amazed me. Minutes to Midnight really failed in that respect, so I was sorely disappointed with where they went on this album.
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