Last week, Linkin Park's latest release, "Thousand Suns" debuted at number one in album sales in Canada and the United States. This was their second straight number 1, as their "Minutes to Midnight" album debuted at number 1 as well. This is also their second straight album produced by Rick Rubin, although Mike Shinoda received a co-production credit.
In 1996, high school friends Mike Shinoda (the guy who raps in the band) Brad Delson (Lead Guitarist) and Rob Bourdon (Drums, Percussion) got together and started recording demos in Shinoda's bedroom studio. After recruiting additional members and several unsuccessful attempts to gain a record deal over the next three years, Chester Bennington was referred to the band. With his unique vocal style complementing the rap/metal sound the band was aiming for, their first album Hybrid Theory was released in 2000. The album went on to sell nearly 5 million copies, won a Grammy for best hard rock performance, and it became the best selling album in 2001.
I remember seeing the video for One Step Closer (second single released from Hybrid Theory) and I was struck by the contrast between Shinoda's rapping and Bennington's gritty singing. The song also had a strong melody, a characteristic not very common among songs in this genre at the time.
The secret to most bands' early success is and generally will be, touring. Between 2000 and 2001 when their career was taking off, the band performed over 300 concerts in this year period. What a grind! Many "pop" stars who have a meteoric rise to fame followed by a tremendous fall either have not learned this lesson, or they are terrible live. Touring with a great live show is the key to longevity in the music business. Another secret to success, is a good producer.
I never purchased any of Linkin Park's music until they released "Minutes to Midnight," and this was solely based on the fact that I was a fan of producer Rick Rubin's work at the time.
Rubin, if you may recall, put mash-ups between rap and rock on the map when he produced "Walk this Way", the collaboration between Run DMC and Aerosmith. He was also the Beastie Boys first DJ. Rubin has a very unique process, much more psychological than musical. He has either cemented or revitalized so many successful careers for artists such as Johnny Cash for his work on American Recordings, The Dixie Chicks return after the "we're ashamed that George Bush is from Texas" phase, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers huge 15 million copies sold comeback, Californication.
Back to the album "Minutes to Midnight," Linkin Park members decided to have a democratic process where each and every song that made it onto the album had to be voted for by everyone in the band. Throughout therapy-like sessions with Rubin where the band would just get together and talk without a single note being played, the direction of the album was formulated and reinforced with the help of Rubin's collective wisdom. (One can see a great example of Rubin's process in the movie "Just Shut Up and Sing" featuring the Dixie Chicks.) This new way of creating music also included analysis of the lyrics to the songs. In the album's liner notes, Bennington and Shinoda indicated that it was incredibly challenging for themselves to have their lyrics critiqued by the other members for the first time. Over time these activities created more unity within the band.
My fellow classmate John Gaudes wrote a review of Linkin Park's "Thousand Suns" on his blog called Hypebusters, I suggest you check it out. In the meantime, I'm going to check out Linkin Park's new album, and also track down a copy of "The Sound of Music" so I can finally listen to "Dark Side of the Moon" while watching it to see what Nick Mason was talking about, its just really hard to find.
See ya later,
j
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