Fair enough. Meteora just has an entirely different vibe as an album, so it's not as easy to compare as one might think.
Yeah, I remember watching IMX on Fuse one day waiting for them to premiere the video for the new Linkin Park single. And then they played Lying From You (Live in Texas) and I was all disappointed as I could be listening to Lying From You. Early on, From The Inside was one of my favorite LP tracks. Definitely Top 3 during the Meteora era. MILK!!
Chester singing softly over an atmospheric beat interrupted by Mike rapping before leading into the chorus? [video=youtube;cI59cpkFxPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI59cpkFxPo[/video]
What if the riot broke out because of a milk shortage? What if that's why the kid was hesitant to drink the glass of milk?
Tony asks the tough questions. I've always liked "From the Inside" musically, largely because the 6/8 time was refreshing. 6/8 is fairly common in music, but not necessarily in contemporary rock music - so I do like that aspect. My only problem with that song is that it contains the exact same chord progression as "Faint." I do like how Mike's vocals overlay with the 6/8 time. The interplay with him and Chester is nice in this song.
That was basically what I was going to say about the song. Mike sounds completely different in the live videos above, he doesn't always do very well when it comes to rapping "passively". On another note, the transition that they used on it from " Figure.09" during the Meteora tours was pretty cool. Good thing they didn't use that name for the transition as anything else, that's a god awful name to use. But anyway, I really like the song and hope they keep playing it live. It would be great on Carnivores even though it has soft chorused. Its like the verse and chorus/bridge are a completely different song, which is nice.
Next up is "Nobody's Listening"! There isn't really a proshot video of this song anywhere online so I'll embed somebody's AMV instead. "Nobody's Listening" sees the band exploring their hip-hop influences in that it's a straight-up hip-hop track, albeit with muted guitars in the choruses. As is the case with several other songs on "Meteora", Linkin Park had never done anything like it in terms of production and sound, even as they had made other hip-hop oriented tracks in the past. The band have always taken a lot of pride in creating their own sample elements, which appear in virtually every song. Here, the most prominent feature of the beat is the shakuhachi loop which the band had someone record for them and which basically runs throughout the entire track. However, despite that person having been credited on the album for playing the flute, Shinoda told Shoutweb something else: Additionally, the song's intro and outro feature Joe Hahn scratching a vocal sample from "High Voltage"; not the first instance of the band opting to sample their own previously-released songs. Obviously, "Nobody's Listening" is a world apart in terms of its sound and vibe compared to all of the other songs on "Meteora". The band realised this, and "Meteora"'s liner notes say that, in the end, Chester's singing put it in line with the rest of the album. Lyrically, the verses in this song seem to explore Shinoda's perspective on songwriting, maintaining a band in the face of adversity, and the frustration often involved in both. These are themes that Linkin Park would revisit on their third album. Chester's chorus parts and the lyrics therein talk about being ignored, much like his chorus and bridge in "Faint". "Nobody's Listening" was played live regularly throughout 2003 and 2004. At certain shows during the Projekt Revolution tour in 2003, the second verse of the song was followed up with another rap verse by Shinoda taken from "Standing In The Middle"; at other shows on the same tour, a third verse was performed by tourmate Xzibit instead, who pulled from his song "Say My Name". And, of course, during various tour legs throughout 2004, including the Projekt Revolution tour, "Nobody's Listening" was used as part of a medley which also included "Step Up" and The X-Ecutioners' track "It's Goin' Down". A recording of this medley being performed in Los Angeles on the Projekt tour was included on the Linkin Park Underground 4.0 CD.
"Nobody's Listening" is my least favorite song off Meteora. I still like it, but it sounds rushed and weak compared to the rest of the album. The Japanese Flute was a neat addition that gave the song some identity. However, I wish they would have done more with the rest of the instrumental to compliment it. Lyric wise, it's solid. No major complaints in that compartment, although Mike's flow again seems a little "uninspired", so to speak.
"Nobody's Listening" is ok. I like the flute and the emphasis on hip hop, but I don't feel the chorus. The rap verses, especially in the bridge, are pretty solid.