build to burn

So.

I have been thinking of writing about Linkin Park for some time.  They have a new song called Burn it Down that actually got me thinking this is the time.

They are the band I should hate but I love.

I should hate them because they scream a lot <instead of singing> and the music is not the most well written music.

But I love them because, first and foremost, they captured the voice of a generation.

Old people probably call it angry music. Old people call it noise.

I tell old people that it is the voice of their children.

When they began they were about self doubt, self esteem, fear, pain, and insecurity … all typical things found in teens.

Their songs captured how young people felt. While others may have written about love and heartache they wrote about love and insecurity. They wrote about “why don’t you listen to me.” They wrote about growing up and the dance between “I know what I am doing” and “I don’t know what I am doing.”

And their music captured the feeling of “I have something to say” in every note and chord.

I am not sure any band of that time captured the softer “I am talking to you” and the angrier “you are not listening to what I have to say and it is important to me” sense better.

Somewhere I belong, In the End, Numb, One Step closer … if you wanted to know what your teen was thinking they were saying it.

In the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4&ob=av2e

Numb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU&feature=relmfu

One step closer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qlCC1GOwFw&feature=relmfu

Now?

As older more thoughtful young men … they are the voice of a generation’s social conscious. They began with personal issues and have evolved into social issues <without ever losing sight of the personal aspect>.

Their music is questioning the why and what aspects of all that is happening in the world today. And they continue to do it in their powerful rock riff chords balancing the talk rap and Chester singing thoughts and screaming questions.

Burn it Down is all about building it … only to burn it down. And trust … and the failures of the ones you trusted. And the power to burn down what you have enabled to build. The power of a generation to … well … actually do something. The power to build. And the power to burn it down.

The thing I love? It could be social awareness. It could be personal awareness. And that is life these days. What is personal is also part of what is happening socially.

Their new song “burn it down” is the best of what Linkin Park is best at. It is powerful to listen to … musically and lyrically.  And while the message is good, and interesting, the way the song is put together is superior. In the chorus they drop in a bone shivering lower octave synthesizer/organ just as Chester goes up vocally to sing “bring it up … to burn it down.” The combination of the low low and high melody makes for great listening. The video is one of their typical ‘lots of post production’ videos … they are always good for slowing down film to intensify movement and reversing film to give a surreal feel to some basic movement. Anyway. Really well put together song.

Burn it Down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxytyRy-O1k

Old people ignore Linkin Park as noise.

And because of that they don’t listen.

And that is a mistake <if they want to understand this generation>.

Linkin Park has something to say.

They had something to say ten years ago. They have something to say today.

Their music is not for everyone … but their message is worth everyone listening to.