This is a very silly question, so I need to warn you before I ask it. Still, it's something that I wonder about and something I need to be sure about. I'm trying to make a list of all the covers that Linkin Park has done, but here's my problem. If LP play a song they wrote as Xero, is it a cover of a Xero song? Or is it still LP. The reason I wonder is because of mark wayfield and such. Also does the same thing apply to when they where Hybrid Theory? Once again, it's a silly question and it may be common sense. Still I'm curious.
They aren't covers because Xero, Hybrid Theory, and Linkin Park are all evolutions of the same band. And for the sake of technicalities, I wouldn't consider anything LP wrote the majority of to be a cover either. For example, I don't consider It's Goin' Down to be a cover because the lyrics are all Mike's writing, and lyrics are the largest portion of songwriting royalties. Despite the album it's on, IGD is essentially a solo Mike Shinoda song that features Joe and the X-Ecutioners. We Made It isn't a cover played live either, since the Linkin Park name is actually on the track credits, plus they perform it with Busta live anyway. Same goes for the Jay-Z stuff and Yesterday, they were always performed with the artists involved in the originals. And finally, the bits of Fort Minor songs (plus Second to None by SOB) that Mike's done at live shows aren't covers either because they've always been incorporated into other LP songs.