YOu did it understand in the wrong way. In my opinion, Minutes to Midnight was the best musically work of them, and besides ATS the best lyrically work. Meteora was the greatest sound they ever did. But thanks for respecting my opinion
I'm a bit confused, you say MTM was best "musically", but that Meteora was the best sound? I'm not entirely sure how that would work. I can see Meteora perfecting a techno rap rock genre that you preferred (and I actually agree about Meteora being superior in a lot of aspects), but I'm curious as to how Minutes could have been better if Meteora was already them at their peak.
Shit ^^ Let me explain this in a couple of simple equations: Good Lyrics+ great sound= Minutes to Midnight Great sound+bad lyrics= Meteora Great Lyrics+audible Sound=ATS
That works better. Agreed, though I'd say Minutes lyrics were just a step above Meteora as opposed to genuinely great. Giving Up and No More Sorrow might be fun, but lyrically they're as bad as anything on Meteora.
In all truth, I did also explain to the interlude haters what purpose the effect of interludes had on the album, just not responding to you alone (I should have multi quoted -.-)
Oh, are we gonna break down albums like that? That'd be interesting. Hybrid Theory = Good lyrics + Great sound Reanimation = Great lyrics + Great sound Meteora = Bad everything + Bad everything else Minutes to Midnight = Good lyrics + Great sound A Thousand Suns = Great lyrics + Great sound
Yes, it is their best album so far. The elegance, design, and thoughtfulness surpasses anything they did before. I think this album is mostly Mike's musical voice though, which was actually a good thing for that time. The execution and writing is their most honest and uncompromising. Living Things seems to be more of a fun and uptempo album. The combination of all their albums before.
Hybrid Theory = Good lyrics + Great sound Meteora = Great lyrics + Great Sounds Minutes to Midnight = Great lyrics + Great sound A Thousand Suns = Great lyrics + Good sound
lol I love how "Baby Minus" just blows everything I said out of proportion. Tried working for the propaganda department yet? Nice try but I was specifically talking about Linkin Park, not the Red Hot Chilli Peppers nor Nine Inch Nails. If you can't tell the difference between the styles Linkin Park used in HT and the style of music they use now then I think something is very wrong with you. Both musically, lyrically and in structure their music is no longer the same style and genre. I don't see what it so hard for you to grasp... Afterwards - whether one likes their new style or not, is up to personal interpretation. I personally do not and hence continue to say that ATS is for the most part a shitty album, and it's a shame they didn't make another record resembling their first two. Nevertheless, it isn't so much the fact they're not "Old LP" that's the problem, it's just that the new music doesn't sound good. Also, who the fuck said concept albums are bad? Look how you completely blew what I said out of proportion. I said it is useless to artistically moan and whine about nuclear weapons. We are not in the cold war anymore. I never said concept albums, whether about politics or not were useless and shouldn't be made. Stop misquoting me and having a fit on a forum dude, wtf? And you know what, maybe I was wrong to say that LP's old albums were better lyrically. Now that I think about it, it's also about the delivery. Making fun of "Easier to Run"'s lyrics doesn't mean anything.. Of course the rhymes were banal, but the way Mike delivered them, coupled with the music itself made all the difference. In ATS and afterwards I can't pick out what exactly it is that ticks me off about his rapping but it's like he's moved away from anything emotional (like sorrow.. which you find a lot on the old albums) and now he's rapping like he's some pissed off teen. Maybe he was before too, but now it isn't working (e.g. When they come for me). I personally think it shit for an artist to just completely flip 180 on their old stuff and what got them into you. That's just wrong and I don't like it. On ATS in specific, it's the sound itself that I don't like. Waiting for the end and Burning in the Skies aren't old LP but I still love those songs. However, the rest are just crap I find.. The MLK skit is nice for example, but the crickets.. wtf? Yea it might fit into the story and concept but it doesn't have to be a track by itself lol how useless. Anyway, to each his own. I will always like LP and admire their work (at least partially), no matter how far it deviates from their roots, but HT and Meteora are where it's at. Anyone can bullshit all they want, you ain't changing history.
A lot of what you're saying is contradictory. The Chili Peppers and NIN comparisons were incredibly accurate because those bands did exactly what Linkin Park did (albeit with far more success) in terms of radically changing their style. And a good case can be made that ATS isn't that drastic from elements of HT and Meteora anyway, just because you focused on screaming, rapping and guitars doesn't mean that made up the entirety of their catalog before 2007. The "It's not the cold war!" thing, I'm not even sure where you're getting at.
I think A Thousand Suns was a step in the right direction. It's a really good album and I listened to it very frequently. It's something they've never done before and very experimental, and that's why it's a great album musically and lyrically. What is with the hate for Minutes to Midnight? That's my second favorite Linkin Park album!
This is my opinion so don't bash but for me it's: Hybrid Theory --> great lyrics + great sound = awesome album Meteora --> great lyrics + great sound = awesome album Minutes to Midnight --> great lyrics + good sound = great album A Thousand Suns --> great lyrics + mediocre sound = good album Therefore, I believe ATS is probably the best lyrically but the worst musical-wise. I guess it's because I'm not entirely into their electronic rock without some oomph which is why I admire LGM so much and I felt like that's the missing piece of the puzzle which could've made ATS much better musical-wise. I like the album but my opinion has been kept the same since the first time I listened to it - the sound has always bugged me. In fact, I hate to say it but Living Things for me is already better than ATS. LGM nailed it for me, that's what I've been waiting for for years now
I love how everyone ranks LP's albums and claims to hate this album or that album, it's incredibly intriguing to hear the varied opions of their fanbase. That being said, I would never be able to tell who prefers what at a concert. Actually, it's very funny to me. I have seen LP several times in concert and I have yet to see a single person reject LP when they perform a song. For example, I hate "No More Sorrow", I even go out of my way to skip it if it comes on when I shuffle my ipod. However, during a concert, you can bet I'll be there screaming, "thieves and hypocrites!". Everyone can say what they want, but when it comes down to it, if you're at an LP concert, you're going to be into the song no matter what. Why? Because as we all know, LP is the shyt.
I've seen that happen at a Linkin Park show but I totally get what you mean. When I went to see the band play in 2010, I was totally not looking forward to hearing "Numb" live ... but they played the song and I was still pretty into it. Just goes to show how different an experience it is to actually attend a show as opposed to listening to a live recording on your computer or whatever
I guess it's because while it was a decent enough transition, the songs don't really stand out that much on their own. The production renders everything sterile and the songwriting is very uneven. This is an album with songs like "Given Up" and "What I've Done" sitting next to "Valentine's Day" and "Hands Held High". Also, there's hardly any fucking rapping on it. Sometimes I wish half the album was comprised of the various b-sides from that cycle.
I love the way the tracks are sequenced on "Midnight", personally - to me, the songs still fit together despite the contrast between each one - but I must agree that the production and mix make the songs kind of uninteresting in terms of sonics. "A Thousand Suns", though, most certainly did not fall short in that department.