Exactly what I was getting at, couple with them needing something "new" after 2 electronic-heavy albums.
For those people who feel like LP is wasting their potential, I think it may be because LP are the kind of band that write songs that are fun for them to play and listen to. They don't feel the need to make something technically complex or have some really clever experimental rhythms in each song they make, that's why you end up with songs like Wastelands or Until It's Gone. They're fun songs, but have their short comings and it's obvious that LP could have taken ideas from those songs and made something much better. Wastelands had an interesting rhyme pattern but it's structure was quite generic (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, however the song could be better with a more experimental rhythms like WTCFM). Mike could have made that track into a modern hip-hop masterpiece (as far as his skills go), yet the band may have felt that the song was good enough how it is now. UIG also had a really nice instrumental, the lyrics could have been deeper and explored more themes, yet LP may have just felt that the song sounds good enough naturally with the repetitive lyrics it has now.
You obviously weren't part of the fanbase during the pre-album hype phase for Minutes to Midnight. If you were, you'd be calling that a "gimmick album" to because they did just as much buzzword big-talk leading up to the release of that one too. Chester's "I fucking hate nu metal" quote comes to mind... Apparently settling on a unifying theme for an album automatically invalidates it as a "gimmick," regardless of the quality of the music contained within. The more you know...
The problem I think he's trying to expose is that is album is reactionary to today's music. As he says, they boxed themselves in to have a much harder sound when they are capable of creating (and fuck, they're the only band where both vocalists can sing, rap and scream, and on top of that they're FUCKING GOOD AT THAT) a much more diverse palette of sounds. (ATS is the prime example)
I remember. Chester said that although they could make a thousand(million?) more iridescents,but it would bore them down. He wasn't putting iridescent down, he meant he wanted variety. I think the band is very proud of ATS. Although, I'm kinda sure Chester insulted LT in an interview. Also, wasn't it during ATS that Mike said that 'he wasn't on some what I've done shit' or something like that? Also, THP bashing. THP is a huge step up for the band. It also had the band stepping out of their comfort zone. They produced it themselves, recorded it to tape, had guest collaborations, stepped up in terms of instrumentation and stayed in vein of linkin park having variety in their albums. I don't think I phrased it very well but there. And to everyone who didn't like the genre of the album, LP always seems to try make something different every album so there's a chance you'll like their next album. And whatever LP7(if there is one) is, it will be better thanks to everything they learnt and got better at while making THP. So whether or not THP matches upto Bleed it out's mighty 'I bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away' times infinity chorus, it has helped push the band forward in a positive direction.
It was "a thousand", and he was talking about how the band wanted to add more energetic songs the live set, which "Iridescent" x 1000 would probably not achieve.
I think you might be thinking of the fact that Chester has expressed how some of those songs kill the energy live, particularly "Iridescent." Thank you. I think it's interesting that everyone here is willing to throw around the word "gimmick" here to describe what Linkin Park does. By anyone's standard, I feel like anything and everything can be gimmicky - but I also think that's the point, and that it's not a bad thing. Gimmicks, in and of themselves, are intended to attract attention and business. With that in mind, hasn't every single album post-Hybrid Theory with the exception of A Thousand Suns (and even that cycle had its gimmicks) been gimmicky? The fact that you are all sitting here debating the idea of whether what Linkin Park is doing is gimmicky is silly because, really, almost every album has been. Whether it be the Meteora album cycle in which the band were trying to prove they could still do what they became famous for, or whether it be The Hunting Party where the band (e.g. Mike) became frustrated with the landscape of "rock" music and wanted to do something "visceral" or whatever, every album had its selling point. And obviously, albums have to live up to those gimmicks. Now, there is a difference in the quality of gimmicks. Like, yeah, I wouldn't have liked Joe to where a fucking labcoat and be the scientist. But I am okay with the band using certain selling points to draw attention to their records. What this is boiling down to is that everyone has different opinions, and everything that people seem not to like just ends up falling under this category of "gimmicky," and I'm kind of fucking tired of it. It's okay to like some things and not to like other things. It seems like during this album cycle, everyone is very quick to label the music as something - and on top of that, everyone is quick to criticize other's musical tastes. Seriously, lay off of one another. It's getting annoying.
1. The band is proud of all of their albums, they have said that many, many, many, many times. 2. Chester never insulted LIVING THINGS. He actually praises the album, most recently saying that it had great songs on it. 3. Mike was never dissing What I've Done at all. He was saying that he couldn't just go home and write a hit single in one night like he did with What I've Done for Minutes To Midnight in 2007. Re-watch the film and maybe you will understand. Linkin Park writes whatever they want to write. Mike said that whenever they release an album, it's the very best they can do at that point in time and that is all we really ask for as fans. If you don't like the music, go listen to something else, there is tons of stuff out there to listen to.
Yikes, I don't think I insulted the band in my post. I'm one of the people who stick up for almost everything the band does. I love LT. I wasn't trying to be rude or anything. I was just pissed off at all the people bashing THP for being lazy or whatever. Seriously, where in my post did I insult the band? I wasn't meaning to.
Putting the genres and whatnot aside for a moment, I really feel like THP was a step in the right direction of making what they please. Most songs on the record feel pretty natural and simply not forced, as a lot of Living Things felt. Sure, the songs still feel a tad rushed, but they're getting there. Still, "they're getting there" isn't a justification for the music. It's great, but not excellent. A step in the right direction, but not the whole walk (some metaphors, for ya). I still feel like they're holding out on us. "Here's to hoping", I guess.
Sorry. I wasn't trying to make it seem like you didn't like Linkin Park or anything like that. I have just seen a very large amount of hate for LIVING THINGS recently and I also have seen a lot of Linkin Park fans acting like they know how each of the band members feel, etc. Trust me, if Linkin Park says that they love and are proud of whatever they release, they mean it. Linkin Park were never release something that they weren't proud of. Whether the fans like it or not, that is up to them, but Linkin Park has never been a band to make music for what the fans want.
I think while everyone says they hate LT, but they mean only a few songs. Because almost everyone seems to love UIB, RU, Victimized, COG and Powerless. I know LP is proud of what they do. My point is they tend to ramble a lot in interviews without thinking much. Brad and Phoenix really think and talk, Joe and Rob rarely talk so it's only Chester and Mike who are guilty. You're forgetting that a few years back everyone hated ATS so much and before that everyone hated MTM. The band changes direction every album. Not everyone is going to be pleased. People have different taste in music?
Oh man, I feel lucky I didn't saw this thread before, because I definitely would have over-reacted to this. Let me just say this. How do I have to take this kind of "OMG LP NEED TO WRITE GREAT MUSIC AGAIN" when I consider the music they have written recently as pretty awesome, and when most of the music the op consider as "GREAT" is average in my book?