LIVING THINGS a letdown?

[hahninator]

Do you think LIVING THINGS was a letdown coming after A Thousand Suns?

 

I feel like the frustration for some LP fans with LT is that it came after LP's concept album ATS, which after a while grew significantly on people. With LT, I feel like the band didn't spend nearly enough time on the songs, leaving some to feel really incomplete. Imagine a longer and stronger VICTIMIZED or SKIN TO BONE, both of which are shorter than average songs (unless you're talking about The Beatles). Why did Rick Rubin allow the band to get away with such short, undeveloped songs? On my iTunes, I'LL BE GONE has 6 plays in the last year. TINFOIL has 58. On A Thousand Suns, Blackout has 124 since 2010 and When They Come For Me has 116. Why is that? I like ATS much more than LT, but I do like POWERLESS a lot. The rest of the record, besides CASTLE OF GLASS and maybe IN MY REMAINS, I feel is a letdown. I thought BURN IT DOWN was much weaker than The Catalyst as a lead single and I felt like ROADS UNTRAVELED, SKIN TO BONE and UNTIL IT BREAKS all in a row was a really weak run of songs. LOST IN THE ECHO to me seems like a weak attempt to sound like they did on Meteora, with combining some electronic New Divide elements.

 

A Thousand Suns took quite a while for me to "get" and to appreciate but I absolutely love the album start-to-finish now, even Robot Boy (my least favorite song). Waiting For The End, Blackout, and Wretches & Kings in a row is fucking great and the best 1-2-3 punch in the middle of an album for Linkin Park since Figure.09, Breaking The Habit, and From The Inside in my opinion. I "get" A Thousand Suns, even though it took a very long time, and I think it's an incredible album that took a LOT of effort, time and work for the band to perfect. LIVING THINGS I feel like took almost no time and the work that the band put into previous albums isn't shown on it at all. Outside of a few songs mentioned above, the record feels short, incomplete and almost demo-ish to me.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

[itworkedforkurt]

I loved LT back when it came out, but now, I think it's quite overrated.

[Skipees]

the real problem in LT, that it's missing connecting line between the songs. every LP album had one:

 

Hybrid Theory - how many times you said about songs from other bands that they had "Hybrid Theory Vibe" in 2000-2002? how many impostors songs had the exact HT sound? a lot.

 

Meteora - this is the best LP album production-wise to this date. the instruments, the mixing, the vocals.

 

Minutes To Midnight - you want one more nu-metal album? rock album in yo face. from stadium anthems to ballads, from 17 seconds screams to Mike sings.

 

A Thousand Suns - so now you want another rock album? alternative album in yo face. the concept album surprised almost everybody for good or not.

 

Living Things - well, it's hard to describe this album. almost all the songs can be done better, some of them even unfinished in my opinion. i've never heard any song that i can say "it sounds like LT style", this album has no style. it's looks like they just take some random demos and improved them. you know what, you're asking what i'm thinking about LT? it's the best LPU CD ever. this is the only album that i'm almost always listen to the songs randomly and not in chronologically order. it's not a bad album but it's definitely not good like the others.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Skipees

[ChuckCheese]

Agree with everything you said and everything we talked about last night. It's the fact that LT followed up experimental and jamtastic stuff from MTM and ATS that makes it feel much weaker when compared. Skin to Bone has an awesome sound and could have been much more than it is had it been a bit longer. The end of the song is when it feels like it's about to pick up into this awesome finale of sorts but then just falls flat and ends. I'll Be Gone suffers from the same issue. Powerless is perfect, the over 4 minute time gives it what it needs to fully flesh out and build up into the epic song that it is. Had a few other songs been done this way, I think the record would be A+. LITE is fine for what it is, the bridge for IMR makes the whole song, and I've grown to appreciate BID a lot more recently (a lot of cool layering going on in the song). CoG is great as well.

 

I understand what the band (or maybe just Shinoda) was trying to do with this record, they said time and time again they were going for that "firecracker" sound for these songs. The problem is that we now know that LP is capable of mid length, bombastic shit with songs like Catalyst, WTCFM, and so on. We don't need another ATS, I think we just want the energy and fun of LT combined with the effort and creativity of ATS.

[RogueSoul]

Why am I alone in this world?

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

You guys pretty much said everything, all want to add is:

 

-Roads Untraveled is such an amazing song, except that they ruined it with the WHOA chorus, it needed a real chorus...

 

some Whoas at the end would be ok, but in every chorus it sucks so hard.

 

-The album had a lot of mid tempo songs, it needed more variety.

 

BTW i think that even the band doesnt like it, that might be the reason of why they didn't played the full thing live.

[GlassCastles]

-Roads Untraveled is such an amazing song, except that they ruined it with the WHOA chorus, it needed a real chorus...

 

some Whoas at the end would be ok, but in every chorus it sucks so hard.

I always imagined the 'Too Late' chorus in place of the whoas. It just seemed to fit rather well.

[[AndOne]]

It is the mix for me. Burn it down is extremely popular, I learned to like it seeing the song live, the whole vibe about it. I even sing it unwilling sometimes haha, the song is burned into my brain. I'd like the studio version a lot more if the guitar wasn't so buried in the mix, that's what's better in the live version.

 

Lies Greed Misery didn't deliever live. It always seemed more quiet than the other songs. And Chester didn't scream the end like it is in the studio version. It has to be the first song they did not right / differently from the very beginning. The live version also sounded a lot better with the more audible guitars at Rock in Rio for example.

 

Powerless had a huge potentional that they somehow laid to waste with the Lincoln movie. It should have become a real single wolrdwide. The video was awesome.

 

Overall it's a good album but it was definitely overhyped. It is imperfect unlike the others, a couple of goofs that the album has can't be unheard once you know them.

 

What is it with the 12 song rule they always seem to stick to? (I know ATS had "more" songs but in the end it was even less real songs). 2 or 3 more tracks wouldn't hurt. MTM had a couple of great finished b-sides.

[Skipees]

What is it with the 12 song rule they always seem to stick to? (I know ATS had "more" songs but in the end it was even less real songs). 2 or 3 more tracks wouldn't hurt. MTM had a couple of great finished b-sides.

this. especially in MTM case. i'm also wondering what's the real story with the delay of the Meteora b-sides.

[Numbrocker]

I think that was a really good point Skipees brought up. LT didn't have a "sound" to it like all the other albums. The songs were obviously Linkin Park, but to me a lot of them felt more like Demos then actually songs.

 

I was VERY harsh on Victimized when it was released, and I had hoped it would grow on me, but the only good thing about it was when I heard it live, and even then I just wanted more QWERTY. I do really like COG, POWERLESS, and I'LL BE GONE. ROADS UNTRAVELED could have been SO EPIC if they had just given it more time. Still not a huge fan of UIB, In My Remains, Skin to Bone, and the rest. And I flat out don't like Burn It Down. It got way overplayed and I didn't like it live.

 

So yeah hoping for more unique style with the next album, or at least or more finished product.

[LinkinMark]

I've been thinking this for a while too. The album was quite disappointing apart from the last 3 tracks. I think my expectations were too high after ATS.

Edited July 3, 2013 by LINKINMARK

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

how STB should have sounded

 

https://www.google.com.mx/url?sa=t&rct=....48705608,d.eWU

[GlassCastles]

I agree completely with what Skipees said. LIVING THINGS seems like a collection of demos from other albums, with the exception of CASTLE OF GLASS.

 

LOST IN THE ECHO feels like a demo off of Hybrid Theory or Meteora.

IN MY REMAINS feels like it could have been a revamped MtM demo.

BURN IT DOWN sounds like a demo for New Divide.

LIES GREED MISERY feels like a combination of Hybrid Theory/Meteora and A Thousand Suns.

I'LL BE GONE also could have been a revamped MtM demo.

CASTLE OF GLASS feels really unique, and I can't find a different album it would fit on.

VICTIMIZED definitly feels like an incomplete Hybrid Theory or Meteora demo with an extra verse of Mike singing.

ROADS UNTRAVELED feels like it would fit on MtM or ATS.

SKIN TO BONE reminds of ATS.

UNTIL IT BREAKS feels like a Fort Minor demo with Chester and Brad thrown on.

TINFOIL/POWERLESS also feels like a mixture of MtM and ATS.

 

It was very clear what they were going for with this album, they were trying to combine elements from all their previous albums into one, but it just wasn't executed as well as it could have been. I wouldn't say it was a "letdown", but it definitely wasn't their best.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Castle of Glass

[FearOfTheDuck]

I prefer ATS to Living Things, but I don't consider the latter a letdown. It was for the most part Linkin Park doing what they're good at, and while on the one hand more experimentation could have been interesting, on the other the restraining of it did mean we got a good, consistent album out of it.

 

And it didn't have The Messenger on it.

 

Also, concerning Skin to Bone, I don't think making it any longer would have improved it, it works being short and sweet. It's my second favourite song on LT, but my opinion doesn't seem to be widely shared lol. The album maybe could have been a couple of tracks longer, without the attention wavering, but then the same argument could be made of the first two records, so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

Final thought-

I think we just want the energy and fun of LT combined with the effort and creativity of ATS.

Nailed it.

[Papercutz]

I don't think it was a letdown. For me personally, I love LIVING THINGS!!!

[DecanoLP]

Do you think LIVING THINGS was a letdown coming after A Thousand Suns?

 

I feel like the frustration for some LP fans with LT is that it came after LP's concept album ATS, which after a while grew significantly on people. With LT, I feel like the band didn't spend nearly enough time on the songs, leaving some to feel really incomplete. Imagine a longer and stronger VICTIMIZED or SKIN TO BONE, both of which are shorter than average songs (unless you're talking about The Beatles). Why did Rick Rubin allow the band to get away with such short, undeveloped songs? On my iTunes, I'LL BE GONE has 6 plays in the last year. TINFOIL has 58. On A Thousand Suns, Blackout has 124 since 2010 and When They Come For Me has 116. Why is that? I like ATS much more than LT, but I do like POWERLESS a lot. The rest of the record, besides CASTLE OF GLASS and maybe IN MY REMAINS, I feel is a letdown. I thought BURN IT DOWN was much weaker than The Catalyst as a lead single and I felt like ROADS UNTRAVELED, SKIN TO BONE and UNTIL IT BREAKS all in a row was a really weak run of songs. LOST IN THE ECHO to me seems like a weak attempt to sound like they did on Meteora, with combining some electronic New Divide elements.

 

A Thousand Suns took quite a while for me to "get" and to appreciate but I absolutely love the album start-to-finish now, even Robot Boy (my least favorite song). Waiting For The End, Blackout, and Wretches & Kings in a row is fucking great and the best 1-2-3 punch in the middle of an album for Linkin Park since Figure.09, Breaking The Habit, and From The Inside in my opinion. I "get" A Thousand Suns, even though it took a very long time, and I think it's an incredible album that took a LOT of effort, time and work for the band to perfect. LIVING THINGS I feel like took almost no time and the work that the band put into previous albums isn't shown on it at all. Outside of a few songs mentioned above, the record feels short, incomplete and almost demo-ish to me.

 

Does anyone else feel this way?

Really good post, that's exactly how I feel.

I can totally see what they wanted to do with Living Things, namely mixing their old and new sound. Their interviews and some song descriptions before the release made me really excited for it, but the final product is a huge letdown in my opinion. IN MY REMAINS, LIES GREED AND MISERY and I'LL BE GONE are the only songs I like, not even LOST IN THE ECHO which everybody seems to love. What I don't like about songs like SKIN TO BONE, UNTIL IT BREAKS (best example) or VICTIMIZED is that they feel rushed. It seems like they didn't really put much effort into the songs for being finished with it in a shorter amount of time.

 

I'm not really looking forward to the next album since they want to continue making albums every 18 months. They should definitely take more time, A Thousand Suns was great although it contained so many different styles and many fans thought it was a letdown. But they put much effort in it and that's what counts.

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

I'm not really looking forward to the next album since they want to continue making albums every 18 months.

I'm happy with them taking less time making a new album, i think it doesnt really affects their creative process, the other albums took almost a similiar time to make them, the difference is the time they toured for ATS & LT which are short periods considered to the other ones.

[hahninator]

Is everyone happy with the fact they are taking less time between albums? I personally would rather have more touring and less albums, which is the opposite of what the band is doing, but I think my opinion is reflected in how I feel about LIVING THINGS. The MTM cycle was great, with THREE USA tours. However, with ATS and LT, there was just one USA tour per album. Ouch. I'd rather travel around and see them live more often, playing whatever, than see them tour here once every year and a half or so.

[Skipees]

Is everyone happy with the fact they are taking less time between albums?

like i always say, i prefer to wait and get a great album.

 

the biggest gap is between Meteora to Minutes To Midinght - 4 years. i know they didn't make the album in all those years, but maybe because it takes so long they became more creative. we have at least half an album from the leftovers of MTM.

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

Well you all know that i loved the LT touring cycle, lol

 

so as long as they come here 1 time every 10 years im happy LOL

[leftshoe18]

After the way everything was structured and fleshed out on A Thousand Suns it was a little disappointing for them to go back (for the most part) to the traditional/simpler songs and structures that dominated their earlier work. While I don't dislike Living Things, it definitely failed to deliver the same experience as A Thousand Suns or even Minutes to Midnight.

 

I will say that my personal favorites on Living Things (Until it Breaks and Victimized) are among my all-time favorite Linkin Park songs and the album is still one that I enjoy listening through all the way (which is more than I can say for Meteora or even Hybrid Theory at this point).

[Skipees]

another thing.. when LT instrumentals and acapellas released, it was so weird because the band never released nothing from the studio albums. it makes me think that maybe they're doing it because they want a lot of remixes, because they think the final product is not satisfy them, us or both, so they let other people to improve it.

 

besides that, LT have 17(!) official remixes (three version of Paul Van Dyk and two of Killsonic makes it 14), most of them released in the six months after the album was released..