Totally because you guys asked for it, and totally not because I have no time to write up for two songs, we're doing "Jornada Del Muerto" alone. "Jornada Del Muerto" is the seventh track on A Thousand Suns, which leads directly into the album's second single, "Waiting For The End". It is one of the six interludes on the album, and it clocks in at about a minute and a half. The lyrics of the song were taken from the lead single "The Catalyst" (as was the case with "The Requiem"). The only lyrics in the song are the words "Mochiagete. Tokihanashite". Those two Japanese words translate to "Lift me up. Let me go.", the anthemic lyrics from the bridge of the aforementioned "The Catalyst". The title of the song is in Spanish, and it translates to "single day's journey of the dead man" or "route of the dead man". In the real world, "Jornada del Muerto" is a desert located in the US state of New Mexico. The name of the desert comes from a legend about a German man who died in the desert while fleeing the Inquisition in the later 17th Century. The desert is mostly known for the event that took place there on July 16, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity nuclear test site. With A Thousand Suns being an album dealing primarily with nuclear warfare, it's quite obvious why the band chose it as a song title for this interlude. As for the sound, "Jornada Del Muerto" is probably the smoothest, most song-like interlude on A Thousand Suns. Even with it's short lenght, it manages to feel like a complete song. It begins with the synth that ended "Robot Boy" with short samples similar to those in "The Requiem" appearing. The main pad used in the song was later on reused for the "The Requiem" aswell. Another important sample from another song appears, the sampled heartbeat from "Burning In The Skies". Shinoda soon starts singing, this time with his normal voice. The quiet, passionately sung lyrics, while being calm and atmospheric, still manage to feel a bit chaotic, which certainly adds to the atmosphere of the entire album. Soon enough, Shinoda is backed up by even more synths and a quiet sampled drum line consisting solely of hi-hat drums. The song then gets it's most important element, which goes on for about a minute. A synth solo similar to the one used in "Robot Boy", and it works remarkably well. With the synth solo taking the lead role, the other hundred synths in the background provide an interesting atmosphere and truly create a special feeling. Through the solo, a quiet but deadly guitar line appears in the back aswell. When the synth solo is done, the song finishes with a fade out effect, while that main synth, still ringing, appears at the very beginning of the next song, "Waiting For The End". Really gotta give A Thousand Suns some praise for being so flawlessly connected. Even with being a short interlude, "Jornada Del Muerto" was an incredible live experience. It was always performed live as an introduction to "Waiting For The End". The band played it through the entire A Thousand Suns touring cycle, but retired it for the Living Things and The Hunting Party tours. It was played in it's original album form, without any significant changes. It had it's live debut during September 14, 2010 A Thousand Suns promotional show along with three other interludes from the album, "The Requiem", "The Radiance" and "Fallout". Below I embedded a performance captured at Moscow's Red Square during the band's June 2011 performance for the Transformers: Dark of the Moon premiere. Just like the rest of the set, the performance was essentially flawless. Chester sang the lyrics along with Mike which provided a very interesting vocal harmony similar to the album version. The synth solo was a very emotional moment, with Chester standing calmly with his eyes closed, truly experiencing the music. The last performance of the song ever happened at the very end of the A Thousand Suns tour, during the band's September 25, 2011 show in Singapore. What do you think of the song and it's live performances?
I appreciate the separate post for "Jornada del Muerto." I think considering its ability to really stand alone as an interlude, it was worthy of the post. I think it is the best of the interludes, without a question. The song's use of samples that are placed elsewhere on the album, and really just the build from beginning to end, makes it the most interesting and exciting of the interludes. I love the use of the lyrics, "Lift me up, let me go" in Japanese to carry the theme forward and really reinforce the historical context that the album brings forth. It's a well done harmony (and I think it is both Chester and Mike who sing on the track, not just Mike, right?). Either way, it is quite good. I love the layering of sounds at the end, especially with the guitar coming in to reinforce what the synths were doing. I really love the way it builds into "Waiting for the End," too, once again pushing forward the continuous rise and fall of volume that takes place on this album. It's just a fantastic interlude overall.
Definitly a great interlude to WFTE, like the way Robot Boy end in it. Finally i know what Mike is singing in it One point i love on ATS. YOu can find on each song something, that is somewhere else on the album (well, The Messenger is something special in this way). The synths are pretty cool here in the song and the "guitar-solo" makes it just more "atmospheric". Perfect way to end in WFTE.
Jornada is a cool, atmospheric interlude which adds its contribution to what is in my opinion the best segue on the album (Robot Boy -> Blackout). Nice synths, in particular.
I win, haha! Jornada del Muerto is my third-favorite interlude, second if you don't count The Requiem as a transitional piece (I don't, I consider it a full song), succeeded only by Wisdom, Justice, and Love. From the minute I heard the Japanese lyrics, the song has always been so intriguing, especially because the title is in Spanish. JDM is the perfect way to transition from the crazy atmospheric synth solo of Robot Boy to Waiting for the End, which is much calmer for the most part. I especially love how many synths keep building up as the song goes, and with each time Shinoda sings "Mochiagete, tokihanashite", the synths become even louder and more prevalent until the climax of the song in another synth solo like that of Robot Boy. We're nearing my favorite Linkin Park song of all time, prepare yourselves. And it's not Waiting for the End.
The band have used a number of unusual time signatures in their music throughout the decades but "Jornada Del Muerto" is still the only Linkin Park song so far to feature 9/8 time. "Jornada" and "The Requiem" both foreshadow "The Catalyst", and I think that they each give you hints about the two halves of the song (so to speak); "The Requiem" foreshadows the darker, more aggressive part and "Jornada" the more optimistic part at the end. I've always found it kind of funny that the song has a Spanish title but Japanese lyrics
Jornada's placement in the album + it's meaning of being done entirely in Japanese is genius. Waiting For The End is my favorite song off of the album - maybe (I'll talk more about that later). I know every single word in the song, and I have since 2010/11. Amazing song, and the transition into it from Jornada is fantastic. I love everything about the song, it has some of the best lyrics the band have written, the spacey atmosphere is amazing... It also begins my favorite chain of songs (this song until Iridescent). I can't really formulate anything besides "amazing" or "beautiful", so that can just summarize my feelings for this song. EDIT: Didn't realize WFTE wasn't in the post until now. I'll transfer it to a new post later on, haha.
JDM is probably the best interlude on the album. I didn't think about it until now, but the lyrics are in Japanese because the bomb was dropped on Japan. Also the name connects the whole concept of the album. I really like how Mike's voice builds every time he sings the phrase again. Synth solo is nice too.
Really sorry guys, but I had to put real life and school ahead of this this weekend. Had too much to do, and I'll be busy for a few more days. I'm really sad that this is the first delay ever, as the thread has been running flawlessly through the past month and a half, so I'm sure you guys can forgive me. We'll stay on "Jornada" until Tuesday, when I'll (hopefully) be able to post WFTE. Apologies. BOOOOOOO. BURN THE TRAITOR! amirite guys?
Sorry to go off topic here, but I have a message for Sujana (if he happens to see it). You need to delete some of your messages. Because I cannot send you any more as you don't have enough space. I will delete this post after he has seen it.
I skipped Jornada for the first few times I listened to ATS, because I thought that it would only be composed of the Japanese lyrics and the pulsating noise from The Requiem. Then I accidentally skipped to about one minute in and fell in love with it :3 Live however, I prefer Until It Breaks over Jornada as an intro to WFTE, as played live recently.
Boooo. As an avid ATS fan, I will never like the UIB intro over the good old Jornada del Muerto to Waiting for the End transition. JDM just carries out of Robot Boy and changes the pace enough from that almost chaotic synth outro to a more tranquil one, and even with the drums and everything in the beginning of WFTE it's still a very calm song in the beginning.
Best interlude by far. I love the ad-lib changes to the synth in some of the live performances like itunes festival. Robot Boy -> Blackout is my favorite section as well, I wish everything else flowed as smoothly.
Sorry for the delay, guys, moving on to "Waiting For The End" now! "Waiting For The End" is the eighth track and second single off A Thousand Suns. The single version was released on October 1, 2010, less than a month after the album release. The digital single contained the "Guitarmagedon DIOYY?" remix of "The Catalyst" while the CD single contained the remix of "Waiting For The End" itself from The Glitch Mob. The demo version of the song was titled "Meadowlands", but it hasn't seen the light of day (yet). While being probably the poppiest track on the album, the track is essentially flawless. It combines the catchy melody of their previous singles like "Numb" and "What I've Done" with experimentation and matureness the band has only shown on A Thousand Suns. The critics obviously loved it just as much as I did, as it was one of the tracks off the album to recieve an almost unanimously positive reception. Chester Bennington also noted "Waiting For The End" and "Iridescent" are tied for his favorite song on the album, although later on, in 2012, he chose "When They Come For Me" instead. A music video for the song was made, directed by Joe Hahn. Just like the song itself, the video recieved praise from both fans and critics, proving to be one of Linkin Park's darkest, yet most visually interesting videos. The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #96, but it kept moving forward to #42, staying on the chart for a total of 23 weeks. It also reached #2 on the Rock Songs chart and #1 on the Alternative chart. In an interview with MTV, Chester spoke on the song's success, saying: Another working title was suggested for the song, "Chicken Basket". I don't think it was ever confirmed "Chicken Basket" tured into "Meadowlands" or "Waiting For The End", but if it was, correct me. I'll drop a quote from Mike on his blog about "Chicken Basket" just in case. "Waiting For The End" starts off with a fast, glitchy guitar riff, similar to the one that appeared later right on the beginning of Linkin Park's newest album, "The Hunting Party". The guitar riff is joined by a loud, smooth synth that is repeated through the rest of the song and helps build melody. After not even ten seconds, a smashing drum line from Rob Bourdon appears, joined by A Thousand Suns' signature synths. This drum line is virtually repeated through the entire song. Mike starts his reggae-like hip-hop verse as the song gets a new element, an incredibly powerful guitar tone from Brad Delson. This is only repeated a few times during the song. And you'd expect the song to just keep building, because that's what basically every Linkin Park song does, but "Waiting For The End" is an exception. As Chester begins his slow, nostalgic, quiet verse, all that's left of the instrumental is a high pitched synth and that synth from the beginning. This doesn't go on for long, as he's soon accompanied by that loud drum line once again. He's also backed up by Mike's "ooh"'s in the background. In the second verse, a loud bass line from Phoenix appears. The drums also continue to build as the song seems to be speeding up. As he begins the pre-chrous, he's joined by Mike once again. After over two and a half minutes, Mike begins his second rapped verse, backed up by one of the best beats the band has ever made. The entire song builds towards the hypnotic breakdown, holding small samples of Bennington's vocals through the song, something that Linkin Park hasn't done before that or after. The ending, or as Mike called it, "the payoff" is a classic moment in Linkin Park's discography, holding almost every element that the song has, aswell as Mike rapping and Chester singing simultaneously. The making of LPTV episode for "Waiting For The End" detailed the recording process of the vocals, and the band creating the melody. It's embedded above for your viewing pleasures. In an interview after the album's release, Chester mentioned that the inspiration for the melody of the song were The Beatles, specifically Paul McCartney. It worked, Chester, it worked. The lyrics of the song are, once again, open to interpretation. The simplest way to see it, and my personal favorite, is once again - relationships. Whether you're thinking of your significant other, parents, friends... "Waiting For The End" applies to all of it. It captures the denial a person is going through when a relationship is over - "it's hard to let you go" and "holding on to what I haven't got". This concept goes on and on, saying "the hardest part of ending is starting again", so a person just waits until the feelings are completely gone before ending a relationship, hence the "we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear" line. Another way of interpreting the lyrics, the one that would fit the album more, is humanity's co-existance with technology, as we seem to have completely forgotten what it's like to live without computers and mobile phones, and we feel like we couldn't live without them. Once again, what the song is about depends on you. I'll drop some quotes from Chester about the song's meaning below. He also spoke on the chorus, saying: A music video for the song, as I previously stated, was directed by Joe Hahn. It was produced by Ghost Town Media, who have often collaborated with Joe Hahn and Linkin Park. The video relies heavily on special effects, as band members are seen individually playing their instruments, while rotating. The video also explores the concept of time, and how it changes things, which is shown as band members morphing into each other. What's fun to note about the video is that Rob can be seen playing drums, but his kit wasn't there. He was just pretending to be playing, while the kit was added in post-production. Many of the effects used in "Waiting For The End" reappeared later in the video for the third single off the album, "Burning In The Skies". The video, while eye-catching, was one of the easiest for the band to film, as Mike spoke: "...I thought "Breaking The Habit" was the bar... but this one is easier". The atmosphere on the video shoot was very nice, as the band seemed to be joking and having a good time. You can view the Making Of LPTV Episode above. Speaking of the video shoot, director Joe Hahn said: As I previously mentioned, a remix of the song by The Glitch Mob was included on the CD single. The remix is astonishing, turning "Waiting For The End" into a dark, wubby, 5 minute banger. It also heavily altered the vocals from Mike and Chester, even changing the melody, and centers around banging kick drums. All in all, it's pretty diddly awesome, fellas! For the sake of not crashing your Flash player, instead of embedding the video, I'll just post a link. You can listen to the remix here. When performed live, "Waiting For The End" is a banger that really gets the crowd going. It's really hard to write this paragraph because the song has been performed at virutally every Linkin Park show since it's release. It had it's live debut on the first of the three promotional shows for A Thousand Suns, on September 7, 2010, when the band also debuted "The Catalyst" and "Iridescent", the other two US singles from the album. Through the years, a lot of memorable performances happened. The version embedded above is embedded purely 'cause it's official, not necessarily good. The band asked the fans to reocrd their performance of the song in Chicago on January 28, 2011 and later released it as an official video o their YouTube channel. But, because in 2011 not everyone had their brand new iPhone 6's with the incredible 8MP iSight camera which has 1.5µ pixels and ƒ/ 2.2 aperture [/Apple advert], the quality of the video is quite poor, with the highest resolution avaliable being 360p. The audio in the video also comes from the show. The band also performed the song on February 5, 2011 during their SNL performance. It was a very good performance, but due to poor recordings and Vimeo embed not working, I won't post it. There are tons of great pro shots from basically every festival the band has headlined through the past 4 years. During the A Thousand Suns tour, the track usually had "Jornada del Muerto", it's album intro attached to it. Through the most of the Living Things era, Mike rapped a verse from the then new track "Until It Breaks" over the "Waiting For The End" beat, before the band started playing the song. Because I love this version I'll embed it below. Through The Hunting Party era, the band continued to do this. When performed live, the track has an outro titled "Wall of Noise outro" attached to it. It features a rapid drum beat from Rob accompanied by Chester singing the key lyrics of the song and the band purely... rocking out. What do you think of "Waiting For The End" and it's live performances? I'm in school until December 23, so I apologize in advance if there are any other delays.
I waited for this to come , wished i had strength to stand Seriously, one of my all time favorite songs. The beginning with Mikes reggae-rapping and CHesters "natural" voice combined are so damn amazing. "All i want to do , is trade this life for something new , holding on to what i havent got" and "What was left when that fire was gone? / I thought it felt right but that right was wrong / All caught up in the eye of the storm / And trying to figure out what it's like moving on / And I don't even know what kind of things I said / My mouth kept moving and my mind went dead / So I'm picking up the pieces, now where to begin / The hardest part of ending is starting again" are also one of my favorite lines the band has ever written. Chesters line is so emotional and Mike is just damn catchy and powerful. Rob did as always a great job. The verses are just perfect to sit somewhere down (maybe in a empty room ) and think about something. The build up after the second "Chorus" is just perfect , the transmission of Chester and Mike is perfect. And the bridge So funky. The way the song ends with Chester singin over Mike rapping , Mike rapping over Chesters singing is so chaotic but at the same time powerful. That means: amazing. ANd how you said Filip , i like to connect the lyrics with relationships. Thats why this song (or maybe the whole album) is a really personal one to me (all later in Irdescent) Live: I am blessed that i was able to see both WFTE performances, the one with JDM and the one with the UIB Intro and the Wall Of Noise Outro and both are purely lovely. The Outro is just amazing, because it ends with a "Sound Explosion" , atleast it feels so One of my favorite live songs , because its "quite" and also full of energy. The UIB intro makes it much more catchy in my opinion , the JDM intro more "emotional". Both ways the played it are great. The way Mike wants all FISTS UP IN THE AIR is just cool How i said earlier , this song goes into a chaotic direction. At the highlight of the chaotic it ends and turn into the next song ,called "Blackout".