Linkin Park Minutes To Midnight

When I hear about a band or an album that gets slammed critically, I am immediately skeptical. This is because I tend to be a bit contrary when it comes to music. I got into hair bands in the 90s because I got tired of alterna-rockers whining about how much life sucked and doing pretentious things like going towards techno(Smashing Pumpkins), killing themselves(Nirvana), not doing videos(Pearl Jam), and not touring and fighting ticket companies(Pearl Jam again). Critics hated Led Zeppelin-look how that one turned out. Critics hate Linkin Park as well, and what kills me is that they killed their first two albums for being formulaic rap-metal. Now that they have branched out and done something different, these same critics are chiding them for not doing what made them such a successful band. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. All this being said, let us get into the album.

Wake-There is not much to say about this little two minute intro, other than it sets a tone for the album that means that it will be different than other Linkin Park albums.

Given Up-This is a very good song, a transitional song, if you will. This bridges the gap between the Linkin Park we know and love and the new one. Yes, there is Chester Bennington's trademark screaming, and the song flat-out rocks, but instead of wall-to-wall power chords that sound the same, even these chords have a punk feel. There is also no hint of hip-hop. And, for the first time, Linkin Park swears in a song. Shocking! Overall, though, this is a great up-tempo song to start the album with.

Leave Out All The Rest-This is a slower song where Chester actually sings rather than screams. This type of song has worked really well in their previous albums, and it works well in the multiple songs like this on this album as well. Chester can sing, my friends. Not only that, unlike the rest of the album, I love the lyrics here. It talks about being remembered for the positive things in your life, and leaving a legacy behind. I think this song speaks to everyone, as we all would like to be remembered positively when we are through here. This is a well-written and executed song.

Bleed It Out-In contrast to the serious tone of the first two songs, this is F-U-N! Not only that, Mike Shinoda raps on this song for the first time on the album. As much as I appreciate the new direction that Linkin Park went in this album, I miss the interplay between Chester and Mike, and I miss Mike's rhymes in general-he has great flow. There is a reason that all of the hip-hop fans I know like Linkin Park, and you hear why on this song.

Shadow Of The Day-There are some songs you hear and know they are going to be known as classics right when you hear them. This is one of those songs. Also, I have a theory that you can tell when an album is great(at least musically). On great albums, every single song, or at least most of them, sound like important pieces of music, like they absolutely MUST be heard. This song is an important piece of music. The vocals and melody are letter-perfect. The chorus is compelling. The lyrics are vague but somehow universal. It reminds me of "In The End," and "Breaking The Habit," which is a great thing. It is an absolutely awesome song that gives me chills. It may be their best song yet.

What I've Done-This song was a perfect choice for a first single, because it is the song that sounds the most like the old Linkin Park(the guitars in particular), and is the most similar to the old Linkin Park thematically in the lyrics. Yet it is still different-there is still no rapping, and it has an almost imperceptibly different feel. Just like Given Up, it is a good song that is a transitional song, a bridge between the old and the new.

Hands Held High-This is one of the most interesting songs, musically, that they have ever done. Mike Shinoda lays down three really great-sounding verses over some sparse guitars and a keyboard loop, two opposites. It works, too, musically, very well. Unfortunately, though, we get treated to the first political anti-Bush rant of the album. Get over yourselves-you are rich rock stars. You will never know what it is like to not be able to fill up your gas tank. You will never know what it is like to be a child in a third-world, war-torn country. Furthermore, do not be one of these rich, pretentious "artists" that started speaking out against the war and Bush after 2005. That is cowardly and makes you look ignorant.

No More Sorrow-I loved the use of an ebow at the beginning of this song, and then they thump you over the head with killer drums and loud guitars that get you going. They play this song with authority, and Chester screams it with authority. Yet again, though, we have another anti-Bush rant. Yeah, you guys have paid dearly for his mistakes. Let's see, your first album was released in 2000. Hmmmm. That sounds like the same year Bush got elected, and you guys have had nothing but success since then. What a price to pay! Yeah, there is a lot of fear instead of freedom for you guys. You get to write songs that demean the leader of our country regardless of how well he has done his job and nothing happens to you. In fact, you get more popular, because the unthinking, media-brainwashed masses eat that sh*t up. If that is sorrow, I wonder what happiness is like-it must be unreal!

Valentine's Day-This is probably the most bland song, musically and lyrically, of the album, and yet it is eminently listenable still. The story of a relationship breakup and feeling alone is a familiar one, yet it makes it interesting to talk about the fact that Valentine's Day is in the dead of winter, when the weather is gray and cold all the time. So, it is a depressing time of year for most people, and when you couple that with a breakup on a romantic holiday, it is a recipe for disaster that makes the song interesting.

In Between-This is one of my favorites on the album, where Mike Shinoda sings and acquits himself fairly well. This song is a reversal of most of their songs in that the subject is not being wronged by someone else, but is wronging someone else. Not only that, some of the better songs musically on the album have the most sparse arrangements. Just like Shadow Of The Day, it has some sparse guitars, a keyboard loop, and some strings. It works, though, and does not sound overproduced.

In Pieces-This song is a fun one, one that has a bit of reggae in the start, and an urgent beat that seems to speed up as the song goes along even though it does not. Also, there is a guitar solo from Brad Delson at the end of it. It is not overdone, though. The more I play guitar, the less I have enjoyed furious fretwork. I appreciate solos that showcase some skill, but they fit in within the melody and framework of the song-they are not the centerpiece of the song, but still an important part of it. This is a very good song.

The Little Things Give You Away-Hey, it's yet another rant against Bush and the government! How original, courageous, and conscience-driven! This was supposedly written after they visited Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, and is about how the government abandoned them. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying our government has been good in this situation-far from it. We ignored the warnings from engineers from years that the levees were bad(which go back far before Bush was president, by the way-he was not the only one), and the clean-up has been unbelievably disorganized. It is so easy, though, to throw stones, criticize, and look back in hindsight when you have no responsibility in the situation. It is so easy to pile on an unpopular president and government when they are unpopular. It is also easy to pretend you understand the plight of the New Orleans people when you do not live there and are rich as God. The kicker of this is that the music is again spectacular with some great acoustic guitar and a wonderful vocal from Chester. The message ruins it somewhat , though.

Overall, the music is different than any of their other albums, and is terrific. Their mixture of different styles from punk to industrial to reggae to rock to a host of other things is well-done and creative. Rick Rubin did a wonderful job of making an already creative and innovative band even better by working harder and encouraging them to do the same. If this were a largely instrumental album, it would be a five. Yet it is not, because Linkin Park has jumped on the "Let's all pile on Bush," bandwagon by pretending to put themselves in the shoes that they will never be in. I am not saying that life is easy as a rich rock star, and in some ways it may actually be more painful. I have no problem with musicians talking about their emotional problems, by and large, as long as it is not all you talk about. Rich people have pain, too. Just do not pretend to speak for working stiffs who will never sniff the amount of wealth you have materially. All of this stuff is a shame, because it partially ruins a great album that could have been a classic, but is instead just a good one.