Disappointed by Living Things?

Discussion in 'Linkin Park Chat' started by Dj-Jay, Aug 27, 2012.

  1. #81
    Gman2887

    Gman2887 Well-Known Member

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    I suppose I can understand this. The songwriting is passable, despite its overuse of things burning, or suns rising or falling. (It kinda reminds me of the Meteora overage on feel, pain...etc...) But it just never shook me like the previous two albums. Nothing surprised me and I became bored quickly. As it stands, I actually think Minutes to Midnight is a better album-- Which is really mind blowing even to me because I prefer the type of sound utilized in Living Things.
     
  2. #82
    Geki

    Geki >.

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    A lot of people are saying that New Divide (2009) sounds like a song that could easily fit on LIVING THINGS. So I think people should actually consider imaging that the album, along with New Divide, came out BEFORE A Thousand Suns. You cannot compare LIVING THINGS to A Thousand Suns, and it actually is kind of strange because LIVING THINGS does a good job of merging the gap between Minutes To Midnight and A Thousand Suns because it has radio friendly songs, along with some electronic influences. Kind of cool concept, IMO.
     
  3. #83
    Hybrid

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    In my opinion, LT feels like a progressive step away from ATS. It sounds, to me, like a natural "next step."
     
  4. #84
    Wizardofozil

    Wizardofozil Well-Known Member

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    Me too
     
  5. #85
    Arjun

    Arjun Comin' at you from every side!!!!

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    The bad thing about living things is that it sounds too electro rather than rock and what's even worse is that it sounds awesome!!
     
  6. #86
    Hybrid

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    :dafuq:
     
  7. #87
    Atticus

    Atticus Bullets lance the bravest lungs

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    That's essentially what I was tempted to say, but I didn't want to point fingers. But now that you've brought it up in full let me just say that the people who are suddenly too "pretentious" for the more straightforward music that dominates most of Living Things have begun to irritate me as much if not more than the Hybrid Theory fanboys. Most seem to act as though A Thousand Suns revolutionized the landscape of music, or reached this higher form of music, and anything that doesn't follow in it's path is deemed underwhelming.

    Don't get me wrong, I love A Thousand Suns as much as the next passionate fan. Nothing on Living Things quite reaches the scope of Blackout or The Catalyst, or is as serenely beautiful as Waiting For The End. But in it's own rights, Living Things is a force to be reckoned with.
     
  8. #88
    Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

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    What force is there to be found in the album? The neutered pseudo-punk of Victimized? The bog-standard radio rock of In My Remains and I'll Be Gone? The regurgitated style found in Lost in the Echo and Burn it Down? The limp closer Powerless? Again, I don't hate this album but it's pretty hard to see it as praiseworthy. Hell, that's probably what I find most condemning. It's so milquetoast.
     
  9. #89
    Bam!

    Bam! One by One

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    I understand what you are all trying to say... But IMO nothing will ever out do ATS. Before LT came out I thought it would be the best in the world! And when it came out it was the best in the world! But so many of the songs just lack everything LP is known for (i.e. IBG)! Now I only find myself listening to UIB Tinfoil and Powerless and that's it!
     
  10. #90
    Hybrid

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    I know you're going to come at me with the fury of a lightning-bolt wielding Zeus, however, I have a problem with saying the album is not praise worthy. I get that musical taste is based on opinion, and to each their own, I just don't get your views on the songs you posted. You said that Victimized was "neutered pseudo-punk." Here's the thing, I see more than just "pseudo-punk" in the song. Everyone wants the band to expiriment. That's how I look at Victimized as. It's something that they've never dabbled in before. Yes, the general complaint of the song is that they wished it was longer, however, I think that it was put there to see how the fans would react to it.

    You said that In My Remains and I'll Be Gone is "bog-standard radio rock." Yes, these two songs sound a bit like what would be found on Minutes To Midnight, even though I'm not calling MTM "Bog-standard" by anymeans, but here's the thing; they're still the same band. Now comes the part for me to get to the point and say what I like about these songs. Firstly, I'll Be Gone has been described by some as "whiny" with the "lies" and "pain" lyrics. The vocal melody in the song is amazing in my opinion. The way the cadence from the end of the verse builds up the chorus is something that still puts a smile on my face even after the repeat of plays the song has been on. The "Catalyst-esque" style bridge in the song is something that amazes the hell out of me, especially noting the metaphor in the lyrics in comparison with the rest of the song. Now for I'll Be Gone.

    I'll Be Gone is a modern day folk song with a "What I've Done" twist. What I'm about to say might piss some people off, but fuck it... I look at "I'll Be Gone" as "What I've Done, pt. 2." I say this not in the sense that it sounds similar, but as an addition to a story. I see this kind of like how Coheed and Cambria has a story that intertwines their music. This is just my interpretation not based on any fact. To move away from that, I know the biggest complaint I hear from this song is the mixing and the collaboration with Owen Pallete. I honestly that the strings were put on the back-burner on purpose for this song, like if the strings were any louder in the mix, it would ruin the way the song was supposed to sound. I've never been a Neon Trees fan in the least bit, so I didn't mark out and assume the tack was going to be something it wasn't. With Owen's addition, I fully trusted the band with what they thought would sound good. Needless, I still think it is a good song.

    Now to my favorite part of what you said. How Lost In The Echo and Burn It Down was "Regurgitated style." Here's the thing, to me, Burn It Down, doesn't sound like any one song that Linkin Park has done. It's a "dancey/proggy" combination that works well. When I first heard it, I described Burn It Down as if New Divide had a baby with all of A Thousand Suns. It has that driving beat like New Divide, yet this alluring electronic feel found in A Thousand Suns.

    As far as Lost In The Echo is concerned, it follows that similar song structure in Hybrid Theory, but it also brings in newer elements such as the sampling of Chester in the bridge being front and center. I don't have much to say about Lost In The Echo except for that feeling of emotion that I get while listening to it. I get different emotions listening to every song on the album which is why calling it spineless and timid seem ridiculous.
     
  11. #91
    Geki

    Geki >.

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    I honestly don't think IN MY REMAINS or I'LL BE GONE sound like anything from MTM. I think they have their own unique sound, the LIVING THINGS sound. The only tracks on the album that I think are unoriginal are LOST IN THE ECHO and BURN IT DOWN because they sound like the old nu-metal LP.
     
  12. #92
    Hybrid

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    I don't think BURN IT DOWN sounds anything like how "old nu-metal LP" sounds. Both Burn It Down and Lost In The Echo have a fresh new twist on them. I gave MTM as an example because that is the closest thing LP has done to a "rock album."
     
  13. #93
    Qwerty19

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    Well, LITE and BID are more electro rap rock than anything else. They're very far from the nu metal standards...You have the rap/rock mix, but that's it. You don't have the same agressivity, and you don't have the big distorded guitars you can find in Korn or Limp Bizkit music. I can see where you're coming from with LITE, but calling BID nu-metal is like calling Britney Spears punk rock.
     
  14. #94
    Hybrid

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    :lol: Fixed that for ya.
     
  15. #95
    Brandon

    Brandon I was Ree's 100th follower on Twitter.

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    So I haven't really this whole thread and I'm not really sure where to start, so I chose this post to respond to.

    First, I fully admit that in the past I've sometimes come across as one of the more pretentious douche-y posters on this forum. The reason for this is that Linkin Park is one of my most favorite bands, and the band I've connected with the most in my life (I'm in a junior in college now, I started listening to them when I was in 4th grade). Because of that, I want to hold them to a very high standard. I want Linkin Park making beautiful, timeless art, something I can really dive into and experience. But, that probably isn't fair. I also love Foster The People, OneRepublic, The Beatles, fun., and Passion Pit. So I really shouldn't act like I have a problem with pop music, and to hold Linkin Park to a different standard isn't right, so I've definitely made a conscious effort to dial that back.

    I do think Living Things is a good album in its own right. A very good album. Is it disappointing to get an album like this after A Thousand Suns? Yes. I can't pretend like this came out first, because it didn't. And no, I don't think A Thousand Suns revolutionized music, but god damn it was an impressively diverse, atmospheric, experimental, layered piece of art that I am still in love with and am considering buying the deluxe edition this year. The fact is, following up an album like that with a very poppy album less than 2 years later IS underwhelming, there's almost no way it couldn't be. I don't think ATS is a "higher form of music," I'm not sure what that would even mean, but I do think it IS more creative, and art obviously thrives on creativity.

    You also mentioned the "more straightforward music that dominates most of Living Things." My problem with that is this: that poppy, "straightforward" music doesn't just dominate most of Living Things, it dominates most of Linkin Park's discography. Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and Living Things are all incredibly polished, sleek, ready to be promoted albums. Minutes To Midnight, while definitely more raw and organic sounding than those three, is still a very alternative rock/pop album. A Thousand Suns is the only album they've put out so far that seems to go beyond that.

    In other words: In the 12 years that Linkin Park has been putting out major studio albums, they have made one album that isn't mostly or all radio music. Just one. Think about that for a minute. Was another pop album really necessary? That is why even though I do think Living Things is a very good album, I'm kind of disappointed by it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012
  16. #96
    Apop

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    In the time that it took them compared to the breaks between previous albums, I'm actually quite impressed. Now, of course, if you start comparing Living Things to albums that the band spent much more time on (i.e. A Thousand Suns (3 years)) then obvious flaws will be present. All in all, I think this album more than any other Linkin Park album is better in a live setting.
     
  17. #97
    Qwerty19

    Qwerty19 Well-Known Member

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    Ahah, yep, seems more appropriate :lol:


    Well, I can see why you're disappointed with LT, and I can totally understand it. I just want to add something. You're talking like it was a fact that LT is a dissapointing album, after ATS. Sure, it's a fact that it is disappointing to you (and to others). But, a poppy record after a more experimental one isn't necessarily disappointing to everyone, it depends of what you're searching in music.

    For example, as I'm concerned, I was hoping for a more energetic record after ATS. I didn't wanted it to be super experimental, I simply wanted songs that had balls. And in that regards, I was not disappointed. I've falled in love with LP because I loved the sound of their songs, but also because I loved the amount of energy the band had. To me, it was disappointing to see this energy go away in ATS, even if at the same time, it was encouraging to see the band experiment.
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2012
  18. #98
    Brandon

    Brandon I was Ree's 100th follower on Twitter.

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    Right, I was speaking just as far as I was concerned, in reference to the quote about how "anything that doesn't follow in [ATS]'s path is deemed underwhelming." I'm saying, as someone who appreciated the experimenting above all else, a pop album following the only experimental album of their career is, for me, pretty much set up to be underwhelming. No way around it really.
     
  19. #99
    SecondCityKids

    SecondCityKids Hey John, What's Your Name Again? LPA Super Member

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    I was semi disappointed with LT. I really like some songs and others I just say meh too. I wouldn't label it a bad album. Its ok. Better the MTM for sure. I listen to Lost In The Echo daily. Until it Breaks as well.
     
  20. Geki

    Geki >.

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    I just thought everything about MTM was raw and organic, something LP has not done on any other album. I honestly feel that aside from Meteora (Carbon copy of HT), every album has been very unique and different. I think LT songs sound like LT, just have a touch of the old LP style to some songs, and when I say old, I mean prior 2004.
     

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