What is the most disappointing thing Linkin Park has ever done to you?

The only disappointing things they've done for me are their music videos. The majority of them are not great, except for "Breaking the Habit" and "Faint".

But it's only a minor gripe, since I don't really watch their videos. I just listen to their music.

 

I'm very inclined to believe every video in the ATS cycle is great, or interesting to say the least. GTM is at their best when digitalizing Josh's work; not sure about the LT cycle and them trying to digitalize James Jean's fantastic painting.

 

I've seen it a few times and don't like it. It's corny.

I like the "Final Masquerade" video too, actually. That one's a bit corny too but it's shot really well. There's a shot with Chester jumping around in circles, that's really weird but exhilarating to see. I'm sorry if I come off as pretentious. I really don't think my opinion is above anyone else's. I just care too much about visuals, when it comes to any medium - album art, music videos, films, commercials, video games & video game art, fashion, magazines, etc.

I think that Living Things has the best album cover next to The Hunting Party. I think A Thousand Suns and Hybrid Theory had the best artwork for singles.

 

Speaking of Drawbar, I'm disappointed they've never played it live. Wake, The Requiem and Tinfoil were all used as concert openers, I would have thought Tinfoil into Final Masquerade would be the most logical way to start the encore during the THP tour. Especially if they played it live live (as in, Brad, Rob, and Mike playing the parts, and not just playback), the band have never had an almost "jam" slot on a setlist probably since Be Yourself during the HT tour. I just think it would have been really cool to see live, most rock bands have instrumental jams at some point or other during the set and Drawbar would have been a perfect opportunity for the band to try something new out live.

 

ATS definitely has the best album artwork though. Not necessarily the cover as it's been addressed already.

 

I think ATS has the best album artwork too. I really enjoy going through the album booklet. I'm still trying to understand the cover though - not saying or implying that it's bad. I just don't know how to interpret it. The headshots of the band members that were used as promo photos for ATS were also nice.

 

The style of the cover reminds me of Rothko's late paintings. How there's an absence of a clear and concrete statement. Rothko's paintings feel spiritual to me in the same way the ATS cover does. I think of the symbol in the cover as a representation of the final glimpses of real life just moments before death. The blur of a bird in flight. Birds are considered often to be the freest of living things and their flight through the skies can represent a person's soul ascending to heaven.

I know that was annoyingly philosophical and pretentious, but I guess that sums up my interpretation of the ATS cover, since so much of the album is about mortality, spirituality, sin, and regret. Not in a religious way, more in the way of how mysterious life is. I sound like a complete idiot right now so I'll stop. This probably only makes sense in my mind

 

Oh wow, I did a lot of shitposting then, still do. I still agree with some of this though, but in a less angsty way. Recharged is still awful. I don't think THP lived up to what the band built it up to be. It was an energetic effort, but I still find it in many ways to be boring despite being labeled a "visceral" hard rock album. I never listen to it, yet I still come back to all of their other studio albums from time to time. Hell, I even listen to certain LPU albums more than THP. I feel like a jerk to say that because they worked hard on it and all I have to say is that it was boring to me, but the album still sold well and I'm just one opinion out of thousands so it doesn't matter I guess.

No longer agree about The Messenger, I think the studio version is great. I've come to appreciate Chester's more unfiltered raspy voice in this version, it just fits the theme of the album more. Though I still prefer the softer live version overall, the crowd singing with Chester is so good.

 

Ugh Recharged..

The thing about THP though, is that I always feel like they were trying to accomplish something very ambitious (for themselves), but failed to do so. I truly believe it is Rob that really gives the album its aggressiveness and the visceral album they kept referring too.

 

Oh but is it?

 

Yeah, Rob and Brad's work on that album is more than they've ever given us up to that point, which is why I feel so conflicted towards THP. On one hand
it's instrumentally more impressive in certain aspects than their previous work, but lyrically and as a whole is weaker than some of their previous work imo. It was like one step forward, two steps back. Still, it makes me more excited for their next album if they can bring that energy along with the bigger focus on lyrics and melodies.

I like it as a closer. ATS takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. From love, hate, hope, power, desperation, dealing with loss and sadness, etc

Then, The Messenger raps it all up by saying to never give up hope, that you're not alone.

It bottles up the tenseness of ATS and lets it all go (Wait, doesn't Iridescent do that too? (Maybe that should've been the closer)). I guess the Catalyst is a more powerful song, but The Messenger is a satisfying ending to me. It's not my favorite song on the album, but I love it's message.

 

I always thought it would be both. You know, a dying sun, whose shapes at the same time form a dove, a symbol for hope.
This would fit very well with the overall message of the album, imo (the dove is the messenger of hope, love lets the hope live through all the sins we've done).

This would also explain "The Catalyst" not marking the end of the album. Here, the symbolic sun collapses from all the sins we've done (oceans bleed into the sky), but at the same time it makes room for hope, the dove from the cover becoming vivid in "The Messenger".

 

I saw Nicholas dig up his own post from a while ago in this thread so I went to see what I'd posted before... Nothing special, but, I came across this post and it's fucking hilarious. !

I wonder what the poor kid saw... He should watch NIN's "Broken" film.

EDIT: My 10,000 post is a Tocaraca quote from years ago.

I ain't even mad.