Xero21

Okay thanks for explaining what you meant. But to be honest, defining something by "pop sound" is really too vague, because what "pop sound" is can and does change with time. The structure and composition, however, stays the same. That's why I refer to the sound of the music as a red herring, because it can really be anything.

And this is where you've fallen into the trap. I'm going to take a wild guess - you aren't a musician are you? Well I am a bit of one, I've played guitar for about six years now, so I know a thing or two about musical theory and writing music. Let me explain something to you: Hybrid Theory was a POP album. And no, I do not mean "pop" as in "popular." I mean it was pop music. What are some of the characteristics of a Katy Perry song? A beat you can nod your head to, simple relatable lyrics, catchy choruses, and a formulaic song structure and chord progression. It has to be short enough and catchy enough to attract the ADD attention of the masses when its played on pop radio, so that it can sell a bunch of copies and make a lot of money. Let's think about Hybrid Theory and Meteora, shall we? Fun music you can nod your head to (headbang to)? Check. Simple lyrics that anyone can find a way to relate to in one way or another? Check. Catchy choruses? SUPER check. Formulaic song structure? Triple check, every song is about 3 minutes long and every heavy bridge comes in at the 2 minute mark. Like clockwork. Easy chord progressions? Check. "But OMG! Hybrid Theory is so hardcore because of teh screamz and teh rapz and teh guitar so kewl!" Can I tell you a secret? All the screaming and the rapping and the cool distorted guitar is nothing but a red herring. Hybrid Theory is pop music for the teenager who is "too cool" for Britney Spears. There's a reason Serj Tankian described System of a Down's music as pop. Perhaps you need to broaden your musical horizons a bit more. Let me be clear: no one should be bashing you for simply enjoying Meteora/MTM more than ATS. You're allowed to like whatever you want. That's what subjectivity is. However, let me also make something clear: There is objectivity, meaning fact, in art too. You're allowed to like whatever you want, but there are things about art that are not up for interpretation. For instance, A Thousand Suns is the least pop Linkin Park album. That is an objective fact. There are a ton of reasons for this, whether or not you choose to accept these facts is up to you. I cannot speak for anyone else, but as for myself, I do not defend ATS as Linkin Park's best work because its full of synthesizers and pro tools plug ins. All of that stuff only effects how the music sounds, and as I said in response to Bliss, all that is is a red herring. It's not about how it sounds, its about how the music is constructed. And THAT is where A Thousand Suns is far beyond Linkin Park's previous work. It is simply more creative. The songs on this album dare to go beyond the song-writing techniques of a pop star. No one should be saying that A Thousand Suns was a revolutionary album. If someone actually believes that, their standards are much too low. But, it is a very important album for the band, because it shows that they are willing to write music as an art, rather than as a way of having radio hits.

I guess this is where we disagree most. Linkin Park consist of grown men. Artists. Their evolution doesn't have to be "natural." I see nothing wrong with an artist doing something intentionally different for the hell of it. They can do whatever they want. I find that exciting.

I can't argue if you think stuff like Fallout is lame filler. But you're oversimplifying the song structure thing a bit. Blackout is not simply pop structure with something tacked on the end. That's a three movement song. The first third is pop, the second is a breakdown/solo as opposed to a bridge, and the third is a completely new movement. Robot Boy has no structure, it's just free-flowing. The Catalyst is similar to Blackout. The Messenger really isn't a pop structure per say, it's just a short acoustic ballad. So that's 4/9. That's not bad for a band who, prior to ATS, had done nothing but churn out potential singles (with the exception of TLTGYA). I'm not saying ATS is a revolutionary album in the grand scheme of music, I don't think it's Kid A or Sgt. Pepper. But for the band themselves, it was a game changer because they evolved out of making simple pop music. You don't have to like it, and I completely understand if a bunch of layered electronics isn't your thing. But where ATS took the band as artists is beyond their previous albums for sure.

So what you're saying is, going from heavy pop music to alternative pop music is "evolution," but going from alternative pop music to some electronic pop, trip-hop, acoustic/alternative songs with non-pop structures is not? How do you figure that? The jump from MTM to ATS was way more of a jump than the jump from HT to MTM. You're confusing your subjective opinion on the quality of the music with objective fact.

http://lplive.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7779 Was the old thread you made with pretty much the same thoughts in it not sufficient? SomedudeRemix gets it.

As far as the band is concerned, I don't think album sales had anything to do with any change in sound that might have happened. All artists now-a-days know that low sales are a sign of the times (piracy), and that simply changing your sound isn't going to magically get people to buy your music. People just don't buy music like they used to. However, as far as the geniuses at Warner are concerned...I don't know how they might feel.

From the LPUnderground homepage: (where you to have to be a member to view the news...) "We’re excited to announced a new membership tier. Now, for just $25, you can become an Annual LPU member and receive an LPU11 membership laminate and lanyard which will give you early entry to Linkin Park shows. You’ll also get all of the other LPU benefits for a whole year including opportunities for meet & greets, pre-sale tickets, LPU-TV episodes, exclusive music, access to the online community and more. These members will also be able to purchase passes to International LPU Summit events for an additional fee. LPU11 PLUS Membership tier is still available for $60 and includes the full membership package and FREE pass to Summit events. The $10 monthly pass is no longer available for purchase. If you haven't renewed from LPUX, you can check out this new membership option at LPUnderground.com. For those of you who purchased the $60 LPU11 Annual Membership up until this point, we'd like to thank you for your dedication by guaranteeing that you will be selected for ONE meet & greet during the upcoming Linkin Park tour cycle. If a tour date is announced that you will be attending and you would like to be on the meet & greet list, email lpuhq@lpunderground.com with the subject "LPU11 ANNUAL MEET & GREET: (CITY)". Tickets for the show are NOT included." So now these are the two memberships: -$25.00/year "LPU11 laminate and lanyard for early entrance to Linkin Park Shows Chances for Meet &Greets at Linkin Park concerts Access to concert Presale Tickets and Best Seats for LPU(additional fee required for Summit pass) Live Video Chats with members of Linkin Park Monthly LPU Auctions and Giveaways of LP gear and fan experiences Access to entire LPU-TV and LPTV Downloadable Archive Online Community Access and Connections to LP fans from around the world" -$60.00/year "Entire limited edition LPU11 merchandise package: T-Shirt Earplug case with earplugs LPU11 Flag Lanyard and membership laminate Access to LP events including International LPU Summits (no additional fee for Summit pass) Also includes all LPU11 Pass benefits" EDIT: Q&A questions from Adam can be found HERE. Thoughts?

I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Granted, I still intend to listen to the entire album because I did love Death To Analog, but these two songs are pretty meh.

Not to put anything indelicately.

SPOILERS: "one of the biggest bands of the past decade, Linkin Park is wasting no time getting to work on their yet-to-be-named 5th studio album. The band members are not saying much about the new music, except that it will once again be a change in direction from their last album, A Thousand Suns. Mike: (quotes about how hard they are working and how they definitely plan on the album releasing some time this year). Look for Linkin Park on tour this summer at Rock Am Ring and other soon to be announced dates." I bet that'll be the gist of what the preview says. But hopefully I'm wrong.

This seems to be the answer, because Adam just tweeted a similar picture. http://instagr.am/p/gBN6M/ "LP Team Summit, round 2." So basically the LP team has been getting together and planning out the year.

http://instagr.am/p/f1Aid/ well, there's a slightly more reliable source.

None of the 2012 album talk has come from a reliable/knowledgable source yet. Until it does, I'm still thinking 2013.

They aren't though. Mike confirmed that through his tweets.

99.5 is the TMZ of D.C. radio. Garbage.

You don't have an album almost completely mastered a year before it's released. Mastering happens in the weeks leading up to a release. So either the band is far from being done with mastering, or the album is just going to randomly come out in a month. I'd like to know what "sources" Hot 99.5 has.

This is just the Scoop Deville/Get Busy Committee remix. It's been out for a while.

True story. He sounds like he just blurts out anything that comes to his mind, which is unfortunate because he doesn't seem like a very intelligent person either. Also, I'm not even going to get started on the few people here who have said that Limp Bizkit is better than Linkin Park now-a-days. I'll just sit here and laugh silently to myself instead.

I should clarify, I know *who* he is. my point was more that the guy just seems to enjoy pushing people's buttons by saying stuff like this, so I feel like we should just stop mentioning every little thing he says. how many times does a guy have to contradict himself before we just call him a douche and leave it at that?

To be honest, I don't think there are really any good bands that were inspired by Linkin Park's older stuff. Which should say a lot about their old stuff.

Okay, so first the guy says his problem is with Mr. Hahn because he isn't a real DJ. Then, he starts talking about how Mike isn't a real rapper. THEN, he says that CHESTER IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE BAND HE LIKES, and that the rest of the band is "Pro Tools" And now, he says his problem is exclusively with Chester. Who is this asshole, and why the hell do we keep talking about him here?

as would I. Dubstep is so overblown.

yo...I could fuck with shoegaze.

They've been saying that since 2008. Just wait until the side projects start creeping up. Mike's scoring a film now. Something else will come up. Then another. It always does, you just have to be patient.