Dredging across the endless wastespace that is the internet, I stumbled across a song I really liked in the oasis that is Youtube. But we all know that youtube is no mere oasis, it carries within it the addictive drug, the related list. And once you are on that list, you just have to keep going. So I went down that rabbit hole, clicking from song to song until I ended up on a recently launched Linkin Park number. Naturally I clicked play to check out their music.
Now I know for most of you, that will not be the natural choice to make. After all, not all of you came through the ghetto of music, as I like to call it, that was a defense brat's life in the 90s. Allow me a moment to elaborate. I come from a time of awkward get togethers/parties held in the Officer's institute for the amusement of the bacchalog. Where shy gangly kids mingled with the opposite sex despite fear of cooties and got their first taste of asking a girl to a dance. (And then following it up with the best/worst dance solo imaginable)
Groovy baby
Regular music for me for the longest time involved either old forgotten disco (Daddy Cool made a big impression on me in an impressionable state of mind.) or the cream of the 90s pop scene. Such classics as "Alice", "Push the Feeling" and "Oh Mickey, you are so fine" jarred the sound-waves, interspersed by my personal favorites, The Backstreet Boys. Boyzone was pretty popular too, but everyone knew only girls could like that super girly band and we shall not sully this post by referencing them again. So when I graduated to College and found this strange new band called Linkin Park, falling in love with their angsty and edgy sound was almost destiny. I adored Linkin Park. After that, every single time Linkin Park played anywhere I would sing out the rap parts, try and sing out the screaming parts (and fail miserably) and then dance like Joe Haan beating down his robotic slave machines from the future...That is what they are aren't they? My Point is, I was a big fan of Linkin Park. A friend of mine who also listened to the band got me started on more of this strange magical music called Rock. Eventually I moved onto heavier stuff like Limp Bizkit (yeah, Im gangsta like that) and Korn. Realizing soon that there was a whole world of music out there and I needed to devour it all.
Over the years as my musical binge continued, good old Linkin Park was neglected. Sure I bought a tape of Meteora, but things just weren't the same. Their music was clearly evolving into something different and my tastes had certainly changed a lot. Chester's screaming paled in front of Cobain's lyrics. Soon after I would discover Pink Floyd and forget the entire world losing myself in the Dark Side of the Moon. But karma is funny like that. Not all that is forgotten is lost. My little karma angel frustrated at my lack of respect shown to the band that started my rock that kept rolling had brought Linkin Park back into my playlist after nearly a decade. And so, after a tense moment of indecision, I pushed play. I swear I tried to keep an open mind. I tried to run through the whole song, but then Chester started to sing really high and not scream like he was born to and the melody became way too upbeat. It all just sounded awful, so I switched to another LP song. Hoping against hope that maybe I would like this one.
Nope.
The song was shit, the band was shit. Clicking through a few more songs I realized that all of them sounded nearly the same. Even worse, they sounded like one of those fancy party numbers that are popular in the clubs. Something from Avicci or Afrojack. I was mortified. The nostalgic rock baby inside me was screaming in indignant rage. What had happened to them? What had happened to me? Were they always this terrible? Could it be my taste in music absolutely sucked back then? So I found my favorite Linkin Park album (Reanimation)and gave it a listen. Ah sweet relief, flooding my veins. No they were not always this terrible, No my music taste even in its nascent stage did not suck. If they had been this terrible they would have never become a big act in that hyper evolving era of music. As proof ladies and gentlemen , I present exhibit A.
How does a band go from that to safe generic shitpop? "Kyur 4 th ich" embodies everything I loved about Linkin Park. A badass DJ spinning that record, a groove you can bob your head and move your body to and the feel of the future spewing out from your speakers. Granted it can be argued that Reanimation was a remixed version of Hybrid Theory and the creative space was shared by more than just LP. But dammit they inspired all those artists around enough to collaborate and create this awesome album. How could an act that had created such quality music be satisfied with the the crap they are putting out now? For shame Linkin Park, For Shame.
Then it dawned on me in a thought flash. I was no longer their target audience.
I had grown older and and was no longer the Youth of the Nation, no longer young and free and careless as careless should be. Which was apparently the sole bracket they were aiming for. How else do you explain their blunt edgeless music. They were definitely not catering to any LP fans (If there are any). And it was clear to me that this was music tailor-made for kids, teens, preteens. Because kids these days love this sound. Love it? Hell they worship it. It allows them to dance all fancy like and doesn't bother them with too many twists and turns in their trip. Making them look good while they groove to that extra loud bass. Linkin Park, the band I had once loved obsessively had sold out so hard that they had forgotten where their own awesome origins lay. An instant after that I had a new found respect for Limp Bizkt, which despite sucking dragonballs and having zero relevance to this time have still stuck to their original sound. No matter how terrible the result might be.
So is that the natural cycle for all art? Must we wait constantly for the artists we love to either sell out or simply lose relevance because of their inability to evolve? Is there no way to break this vicious circle? Or is there a better path? A way beyond those two choices. An evolution beyond the constraints of your own art and it's audience. A path where you constantly strive to create something new, something unheard of. Something that has never existed before.
Is it possible to walk the unknown road and all it may entail?
I don't know, why dont you tell me.
Now I know for most of you, that will not be the natural choice to make. After all, not all of you came through the ghetto of music, as I like to call it, that was a defense brat's life in the 90s. Allow me a moment to elaborate. I come from a time of awkward get togethers/parties held in the Officer's institute for the amusement of the bacchalog. Where shy gangly kids mingled with the opposite sex despite fear of cooties and got their first taste of asking a girl to a dance. (And then following it up with the best/worst dance solo imaginable)
Groovy baby
Regular music for me for the longest time involved either old forgotten disco (Daddy Cool made a big impression on me in an impressionable state of mind.) or the cream of the 90s pop scene. Such classics as "Alice", "Push the Feeling" and "Oh Mickey, you are so fine" jarred the sound-waves, interspersed by my personal favorites, The Backstreet Boys. Boyzone was pretty popular too, but everyone knew only girls could like that super girly band and we shall not sully this post by referencing them again. So when I graduated to College and found this strange new band called Linkin Park, falling in love with their angsty and edgy sound was almost destiny. I adored Linkin Park. After that, every single time Linkin Park played anywhere I would sing out the rap parts, try and sing out the screaming parts (and fail miserably) and then dance like Joe Haan beating down his robotic slave machines from the future...That is what they are aren't they? My Point is, I was a big fan of Linkin Park. A friend of mine who also listened to the band got me started on more of this strange magical music called Rock. Eventually I moved onto heavier stuff like Limp Bizkit (yeah, Im gangsta like that) and Korn. Realizing soon that there was a whole world of music out there and I needed to devour it all.
Over the years as my musical binge continued, good old Linkin Park was neglected. Sure I bought a tape of Meteora, but things just weren't the same. Their music was clearly evolving into something different and my tastes had certainly changed a lot. Chester's screaming paled in front of Cobain's lyrics. Soon after I would discover Pink Floyd and forget the entire world losing myself in the Dark Side of the Moon. But karma is funny like that. Not all that is forgotten is lost. My little karma angel frustrated at my lack of respect shown to the band that started my rock that kept rolling had brought Linkin Park back into my playlist after nearly a decade. And so, after a tense moment of indecision, I pushed play. I swear I tried to keep an open mind. I tried to run through the whole song, but then Chester started to sing really high and not scream like he was born to and the melody became way too upbeat. It all just sounded awful, so I switched to another LP song. Hoping against hope that maybe I would like this one.
Nope.
The song was shit, the band was shit. Clicking through a few more songs I realized that all of them sounded nearly the same. Even worse, they sounded like one of those fancy party numbers that are popular in the clubs. Something from Avicci or Afrojack. I was mortified. The nostalgic rock baby inside me was screaming in indignant rage. What had happened to them? What had happened to me? Were they always this terrible? Could it be my taste in music absolutely sucked back then? So I found my favorite Linkin Park album (Reanimation)and gave it a listen. Ah sweet relief, flooding my veins. No they were not always this terrible, No my music taste even in its nascent stage did not suck. If they had been this terrible they would have never become a big act in that hyper evolving era of music. As proof ladies and gentlemen , I present exhibit A.
'Chea
How does a band go from that to safe generic shitpop? "Kyur 4 th ich" embodies everything I loved about Linkin Park. A badass DJ spinning that record, a groove you can bob your head and move your body to and the feel of the future spewing out from your speakers. Granted it can be argued that Reanimation was a remixed version of Hybrid Theory and the creative space was shared by more than just LP. But dammit they inspired all those artists around enough to collaborate and create this awesome album. How could an act that had created such quality music be satisfied with the the crap they are putting out now? For shame Linkin Park, For Shame.
Then it dawned on me in a thought flash. I was no longer their target audience.
I had grown older and and was no longer the Youth of the Nation, no longer young and free and careless as careless should be. Which was apparently the sole bracket they were aiming for. How else do you explain their blunt edgeless music. They were definitely not catering to any LP fans (If there are any). And it was clear to me that this was music tailor-made for kids, teens, preteens. Because kids these days love this sound. Love it? Hell they worship it. It allows them to dance all fancy like and doesn't bother them with too many twists and turns in their trip. Making them look good while they groove to that extra loud bass. Linkin Park, the band I had once loved obsessively had sold out so hard that they had forgotten where their own awesome origins lay. An instant after that I had a new found respect for Limp Bizkt, which despite sucking dragonballs and having zero relevance to this time have still stuck to their original sound. No matter how terrible the result might be.
So is that the natural cycle for all art? Must we wait constantly for the artists we love to either sell out or simply lose relevance because of their inability to evolve? Is there no way to break this vicious circle? Or is there a better path? A way beyond those two choices. An evolution beyond the constraints of your own art and it's audience. A path where you constantly strive to create something new, something unheard of. Something that has never existed before.
Is it possible to walk the unknown road and all it may entail?
I don't know, why dont you tell me.
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