I took a two year break from the Linkin Park "fandom" soon after ATS released, but not because I grew out of them. I actually love ATS and thought it was really innovative - like Grammy worthy. So when I heard about Living Things this year, I started revisiting sites and reading articles to get updated on LP news. To my displeasure, I was surprised to find out that most of their fans hated ATS since the album was lauded by many critics early on before its release. Even more surprising was that it took several months to reach gold status in the US while MTM is 3x platinum. I understand the decrease in album sales because of the loss of fans from MTM, but I didn't think ATS would put even MORE people off. I was probably more pissed off at the ignorant fans at that point... But after getting over the inital shock, I was verrrry happy to see Living Things top the billboard charts over Maroon 5, considering the latter has gotten so much media exposure and radio singles nowadays. But with that said, Maroon 5's album is still in the top 10 while Living Things has fallen to the 20's... I fully accept the fact that change was necessary for the band since the first day I heard Meteora back in 2003 as a teenager. It was so watered-down and cookie-cutter compared to the albums that preceded it (HT and Reanimation). Even with the album's success, I didn't think the band would last too long by staying in that musical "box", but then again, they could've maintained success the lazy way like Nickelback (What I've Done and New Divide anyone?). I still don't think they've topped Hybrid Theory, but I strongly feel that their efforts in the last three albums have been highly under-appreciated by much of their former fanbase. They are still more relevant than the rest of the nu-metal bands today, especially comparing their situation to Evanescence who seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth with only their third album out. But the dramatic drop in their fanbase from MTM to ATS is really shocking. While the band members themselves, with the exception of maybe Mike and Chester, are nowhere near as technically talented as other huge bands who have maintained a long and successful career, I thought their gift for hooks, melodies, mixing of styles, and emotional connection would be enough to keep people begging for more... So does anyone else feel a bit let down by where the band sits in the music world today? I know many of you are going to tell me that commercial success shouldn't matter, but it hurts me more than it should when I hear people refer to them as has-beens. I know they are the most popular band on facebook with 45 million likes, but after reading some of the comments there, I'm pretty sure a great amount of those 'fans' only know or like their earlier work. Anyone else think they could've taken a different approach in their musical evolution? Maybe the evolution of the music world just didn't work out in their favor? Or would have sticking with the same signature style kept them relevant in many people's eyes? I hope they make a huge comback someday and regain their popularity, but judging how content the band seems to be in their current position, I don't know if that's possible. I do miss having LP on top. The amount of hate they get now is even worse than when they used to be the most overplayed band on the radio. I feel like banging my head against the wall everytime I see an article refer to them as a band from the "90's" instead of as current relevant artists.
Honestly, I think what did it was a combination of Meteora (pegging themselves as a one trick pony) combined with the big gap sort of hiatusish thing between Meteora and Minutes To Midnight. Meteora pegged them as an exclusively nu-metal band, so that's what people who followed the band expected. Then a long wait, followed by an album that was anything but nu-metal. It pissed a lot of fans off, and they'd taken enough time off where other music fans may have started to forget about them. And a lot of people thought Mike left Linkin Park for Fort Minor (lawl).
Honesty, I don't care if they are popular or not. I know it sounds selfish, but, they continue to make music that I love, as long as that keeps up, I will still listen to and support them. They have a damn good record of pleasing me as they've made songs for over 10 years that I love, so I don't see that support going away anytime soon, if at all. I still promote their music not giving one fuck if someone else likes it or not. Their music speaks to me and that makes me happy. You won't find a fan more loyal than me.
Well, I don't feel the band have made any mistakes in trying to do what they wanted to do. So, yes, it sucks to see "fans" not understanding it, but the band is still experiencing success, one way or the other :*
It's been well over a full decade since they've really been the big rock band, that they're still as big as they are now is still really impressive. It didn't hurt that back then, whether most of you will admit it or not, their sales were in no small part due to the fact that the style of rock they were doing was the biggest thing around at the time. When they released the album had almost as much to do with it's popularity as what songs were on it.
Well, the hiatus could have been forgiven if M2M was actually a good album. In any sense. Whatever genre. Echoing other sentiments, I don't really care how popular they are. I think they deserve recognition, but not the sort of recognition they had in the some of the early days (OMG ITE I LOVVVVVVVVVE LINKIN PARKK KK OK DD:!11). But they deserve any of the worthwhile accolades they get, because they are a hardworking band. It also doesn't hurt that they are great human beings. That's all. P.S. Not all. ALBUM SALES DON'T REALLY MEAN ANYTHING ANYMORE. Look at digital purchases, ticket sales, etc. These are the things that matter, and I know digital sales could well be more casual listeners and ticket sales could be crazy uberfans from 2000-2004 buying multiple shows/seats. But, people just really don't buy albums anymore. Plus it's cool to hate on LP online. It just is.
I'm so emotionally invested in this band, at this point I'm incapable of making unbiased arguments here. For 12 years, this band has made music I could escape in, connect to, and feel content listening to. It's been a remedy, a motivation, and source of entertainment for most of my life. They're the ones who got me into rock music. Beyond the music, I feel like I know THEM. Between the LPTV episodes, all their charity work, and the concerts I've attended, I feel connected to them as people as well. Linkin Park have made songs I don't like (Shadow of the Day, In Between, By Myself to name a few), but I owe this band so much, and love their music so much, that despite what their social ranking among other artists is, or whatever shit my friends may say about them, they will remain my favorite band. Again, I understand that this forces me to relinquish any credibility towards making valid arguments one way or the other, but my point is that it shouldn't matter what anybody thinks of a band besides you. I'm absolutely positive that me blasting Faint through my college campus parking lot has some people looking over their shoulders like "what the fuck is that shit?" but do I care? Fuck no. And neither should you. If you still enjoy their music, and respect them as musicians, people, or both, then fuck their popularity, and fuck where they stand among other artists. The quality of their music can only ever be interpreted by you, regardless of what others say.
if it makes you feel any better, they did just win the VH1 Artist of the Decade. I've also noticed the decline in popularity, but really it's just among the general public. Most of my coworkers weren't even aware that the band is still making music and touring. The band still has a shitload of die hard loyal dedicated fans. As long as they keep making music and touring I will follow this band til the end.
I'm not too sure that the decline in their fame is really that drastic. Songs like 'What I've Done', 'New Divide', and 'Burn It Down' have aided in the band's relevance. Though, I really think that the band shot themselves in the foot with how 'Lost In The Echo' had been handled as a single. It would most definitely have been the track to propel the band back into extreme commercial success. From my perspective; in a perfect world, Linkin Park would have continued the 'Reanimation' trend. For a time I felt that they were headed in a path that would have better appealed to what the general public would have deemed 'respectable'. Tracks like 'Handsome Boy Modeling School - Rock And Roll' and 'Young Buck ft. Chester Bennington - Slow Ya Roll' were great examples for what the band had an ear for at a time; undoubtedly genuine, and heartfelt.
I agree with Ben. I (been a fan for about 4/5 years, since I was a kid) feel like I know the band. And I haven't even seen them. The closest I've got to them was being in London at the same time as them. And those people that hate LP's newer stuff, they were probably die hard fans of the old LP, and they still listen to only metal, and despise everything else. (That's how I see it, correct me if I'm wrong) Personally, I'm more disappointed that people my age know every fucking Rihanna song, but nothing by LP. It gets worse. Some of them don't even know anything besides Croatian folk music. (Just to give you an example of how horrible it is, here.) You tell them something about LP, and they're like: ''Oh, yeah, Burn It Down is a brilliant song''.
I'm disappointed that their popularity dropped after Meteora, especially now that they're making innovative music. I'm irritated whenever I see people say that "they NEVER change" even though songs like "Waiting for the End", "What I've Done", "Shadow of the Day", "New Divide" and "The Catalyst" are blasting radios and events worldwide. They only got to notice LP again when LT came out, which was bad timing, since it was a "back to roots" and I've been seeing many complaints saying they never change.
Hmmm I actually never care whether a band is popular or not. As long as I enjoy the music... However I don't think their popularity dropped. Some people might not like them anymore due to the change in sound after Meteora, but that doesn't make them any less popular. Leave that aside they also gained some new fans with their newer albums, who maybe hadn't heard of them before.
2 years before when i started listening to LP I asked my friends if they know them.The answer was NO.Then i asked them if they know In the end or Numb cause are their most popular songs and the answer was No again.Finally I asked them if they know Fort Minor's Remember the name and the answer was YES. That shows everything I guess.
As for the subject of people our age, 62 of my friends on Facebook like Linkin Park. 4 of them have listened to them on Spotify recently. As far as friends I talk to LP about I have 2. Two semi- Legit fans. One of them hates ATS but likes all the other albums including LT. One of them only likes HT, Meteora, and MTM. (You'd be surprised how many people like the first three albums and nothing after that.) There is another guy who I used to talk to LP about, this was before ATS came out. I think I might have commented on his facebook once to see if he liked ATS, and I think he did but I don't remember. He liked HT, Meteora and MTM. But like Meteora the least, like most of you guys. As far as the popularity, They are still just as popular. You can see that by their concerts. As for radio, radio has just changed a lot. As for sales in their music, people just don't buy albums as much anymore. Piracy leads to less sales. Some people still sale as much as the used to or better than ever (Eminem, Lil Wayne, Adelle, Taylor Swift) but amost artists don't because of Music piracy