When Linkin Park decided to 'write music that we feel like writing,' a new sound was born – and Projekt Revolution took a detour
By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
July 26, 2007
After surviving the trials and tribulations of a decade in the music business, Linkin Park is edging away from hip-hop in favor of radio-friendly emo pop. So is the festival they created.
Along with bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit and the Deftones, the six-piece rock outfit emerged from the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills amid the nu-metal movement of the late 1990s, melding rhythms and rhymes of rap with the fierce guitar riffage of metal.
Led by Chester Bennington's charismatic vocals and the rhymes of Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park unleashed its debut disc, “Hybrid Theory,” in 2000. That catapulted the band into the spotlight, selling 4.8 million records in 2001 and earning Bennington and crew three Grammys along the way.
After releasing three more studio albums from 2001-2004 (including “Collision Course,” the interesting collaboration with Jay-Z), Linkin Park enlisted producer Rick Rubin in 2006 and headed into uncharted territory.
“On this record we went back to ground zero and really just decided that we're not going to write music that we think people want to hear from us,” said Bennington during a recent phone interview. “We're just going to write music that we feel like writing.
“I think that once we got out of that box we put ourselves into, it was very easy for us to just start writing music. We discovered that no matter what kind of song we wrote, if we all loved it, then it became a Linkin Park song.”
The result is “Minutes to Midnight,” 12-tracks released this year shifting from hard-edged rap rock to a radio-friendly, pop-oriented sound. Shinoda provides rhymes on only two tracks (“Bleed It Out” and “Hands Held High”), and the single “What I've Done” features Bennington on vocals surrounded by a softer overall sound.
While hip-hop still plays a small role in Linkin Park' sound, the shift away from rap is palpable in the latest album and the band's summer touring festival Projekt Revolution.
In past incarnations, rap artists like Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill and Xzibit have shared the stage with Korn, Adema and The Used. In Projekt Revolution version 2007, the rock quotient has grown (My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday and Placebo) while the hip-hop contingent has shrunk to one: Styles of Beyond.
Bennington explains the change: “I personally noticed in the past – with the exception of maybe Cypress Hill and Snoop Dogg – there was enthusiasm of the hip-hop artists, but there really wasn't a lot of overall excitement. I personally felt like the show kind of went into a lull in some cases. I want the band to be able to feed off of the crowd. I don't want to have to warm them back up after a show.”
So this year's 28-date tour, which lands at Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista Tuesday, comes loaded with emo-rock (My Chemical Romance), light Goth rock (H.I.M.) aggressive nu-wave (Mindless Self Indulgence) and accessible industrial (Julien-K).
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
FIVE STALWARTS OF THE REVOLUTION
When Projekt Revolution rolls into Coors Amphitheatre Tuesday, most kids will plunk down $14 for lawn seats to see tour organizers Linkin Park. But come early and get your money's worth. Spanning two stages, a total of 11 bands will play.
Here's a rundown of five Projekt bands worthy of your time:
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
Formed: 2001 in Jersey City, N.J.
Latest album: “The Black Parade” (2006, Reprise)
Why bother? Complete with lush strings, full horn sections and rocking songs, “The Black Parade” is one of the best concept albums created in the past decade.
TAKING BACK SUNDAY
Formed: 1999 in Amityville, N.Y.
Latest album: “Louder Now” (2006, Warner Bros.)
Why bother? With fierce guitars and Lazzara's emo-croon, these Long Islanders sit on the verge of mainstream stardom.
JULIEN-K
Formed: 2004 in Los Angeles
Latest album: “Death to Analog” (due in 2007)
Why bother? This electronic side project of Orgy creates slick infectious industrial music. Chester Bennington has collaborated with these guys, so look for a cameo.
MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
Formed: 1995 in New York City, N.Y.
Latest album: “Another Mindless Rip Off” (2006, Metropolis/Uppity Cracker)
Why bother? Devo on steroids. Need I say more?
STYLES OF BEYOND
Formed: 1994 in Los Angeles
Latest album: “Megadef” (2003, SpyTech Records)
Why bother? Keeping hip-hop alive at Projekt Revolution – Mike Shinoda will probably step onstage to share the mic on “Second to None” (“Transformers” soundtrack).
– CHRIS NIXON
TREE-HUGGERS SPREADING THE WORD – AND THE WEALTH
Linkin Park has made millions since the day its members first picked up their instruments in 1996, but Chester Bennington and his bandmates haven't been hoarding their earnings.
They've managed to spread the wealth to worthy causes. Along with helping people struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Katrina, the band started an organization called Music for Relief to help victims of the 2004 tsunami.
Recognizing the possible link between environmental causes, global warming and the recent crop of violent storms, Bennington and company have turned to helping raise awareness about global warming.
Through this year's Projekt Revolution and Music for Relief, Linkin Park has been working hard at making this event an environmentally conscious effort. Besides making the tour a “green” tour, Projekt Revolution and Music for Relief will be donating $1 from each ticket to give to American Forests for their Global ReLeaf program to plant trees to help reduce global temperatures.
“By raising awareness as much as possible, encouraging people to make simple changes in their life and showing them how by offering information at the tour, I think we can make a difference,” said Bennington. “If, at the end of the day, all we did was plant a bunch of trees, that's cool with me.”
– CHRIS NIXON
