“Linkin Park shows are hardcore!” was the first mention of this band that I remember. They came out of nowhere in 2000 as a screaming, rapping, fusion group which had a little something for almost every young music fan. My first impression of them was “Wow, they have 2 lead singers?! They have a DJ?!” Then I thought, “What do the DJ and Rapper do during the metal songs? What does the metal singer do during the hip-hop portions of the songs?” These competing interests seem like they would create problems within the band. Remember Axel vs the rest of Guns n’ Roses during the time of November Rain? The reason why there is no conflict within the band regarding their musical direction or member involvement is because the band doesn’t even control itself. This may sound like a hybrid conspiracy theory, but let me explain.

So where did Linkin Park come from? The band came straight out of nowhere with the debut album Hybrid Theory. I was kinda thinking that a band’s first album should have a very rough garagey feel to it, but this thing was polished! It seemed a bit fishy that a “nu-metal” band’s first album had the production which is typically associated with the Back Street Boys.  Whoever bankrolled this project definitely had a large stake in these guys’ success and they weren’t about to hit the streets selling copies of Hybrid Theory.

Even if I could look past Linkin Park’s first record, they are still just too well balanced to be natural. They balance hip-hop, metal, blockbuster-style alternative rock , and pseudo ballads. I do enjoy some of their songs, but I have been known to hum some catchy N’Sync lyrics too. What N’Sync and Linkin Park have in common is that they don’t push any limits. It’s probably because they aren’t allowed to. They’re not allowed to cuss or have political lyrics. Not allowed to break the hip hop to rock song ratio which was probably discovered through intensive market research. They even have a good ethnic mix in their group.

It’s all business though. Attract the angry suburban kids who yearn for another Rage Against the Machine. Attract their parents who don’t want to buy their kids CDs with the Explicit Lyrics Warnings on the cover. Get all of the Asian-Americans who can finally identify with a mainstream music group. They are definitely taking hold of the music DVD market. There are more Linkin Park DVDs available than albums. I watched one of their live shows on DVD and their DJ is engrossed in mixing and scratching on his turntables. Little does he know, that the turntables aren’t even being played on the loudspeaker. Why? Because it looks cool to have a DJ in the background…even during a rock song. 

Well Linkin Park may not be very “hardcore” after all, but how can you stay mad at a group that screams this lyric repeatedly. “Shut up when I’m talking to You!” 

Tags: Music ·