LP: Live In Texas
Disclaimer: This is not a detached review for I am an LP fan, I just love every picosec of their's ... so dun expect anything critical from this ... and secondly I dun njoi music with dispicable stuff ... if you share the same do proceed ... and if you love profound lyrics then do trust me on it ...
in the making but just to be broken ...
To many music enthusiasts the name Linkin Park rings bells of alarm :( ... easily succumbing to the cynic in them blindly ... its their name that scares them right away ... okie yet another heavy-metal boy band ... I'v seen metallica, limpbizkit and deftones n all so whatz spl with these ... well I'd say these guys are the quintessential in their class ... purity defined ...after taking the market by storm with their stonking debut album "Hybrid Theory" and a late followup "Meteora" ... the band has not pulled much ... in contrast to all the bands flooding the market with scores of albums every quarter ... these guys have sat down to bring in quality stuff ... at least with their 1st two ...
this album has nothing new but for some spectacular remixes bound to leave any LP fan stupefied ... so as such the audio-cd doesn't pack anything at all but the accompanying DVD does ... a must in every LP fans rack ... no spectacular stuff on stage ... but just to see the band sweat their lives to bring out a good performance ... so with metallica endorsement and invite the guys make it at houston and dallas ...
why my penchant for the band? to "Free My Mind" ... there are times when I got on a high and times when I hit a low ... and not a soul to reach r8 then for a solace ... thats how LP stuff helps me ... in quest for the momemt of calm when nothing at all goes in my mind ... to vent all the pressurized anger (I dun express my anger at people coz I get too stinging) ... n other time to calm me from excessive frivolity ...
I'll get started with the band (not its history) and my favourites ... buckle you seatbealt folks:
Chester Bennington: VOCALS
I'v known people who would give their life out to sing it perfect ... this guy is the pinnacle ... a strong vocalists who raised the bar of the band ... gentle yet aggressive is the operative clause ...many dispise artists who sing such ... "jeez why scream like that" ... well if u share tempestuous moments as I do ... then u'd understand ... commensurate to my equanimity otherwise ...
just to mention ... hez got an amazing voice ... if u wud ... listen to him sing melodiously n u'll go bonkers @ his voice's caps ... right from grunt to a pleasing voice (not sweet though) ... and always in perfect control ...
n as for this concert ... he wud'av sweat proly 20 gallons ... no joke ... and hes changed from his blond hair as well ... n I love the red and green fiery tatoo in his arm emanating from his fist :) ... suave it is ... btw I like Graffitti as well :D
his passionate singing is what really enthralled me ... be it melodious ... or be it when he is air-borne ... or screaming with fire in his heart ... he is just goood ... n btw in normal outfit ... he actually looks geeky ...
Mr. Joseph Hanh : RECORDS / SAMPLING
"ladies and gentlemen, we'v got a very spl guest for you tonight ... I'd like to introduce ... Mr.Harrrnnnnnnnhhhhhh" ... where from my love goes ...
the virtuoso at the turn table ... he just rocks without cessasion ... I njoi gud techno stuff ... this guy makes amazingly non jarring techno music ...
extremely nimble ... u shud just see him play @ the turn table and the fervor with which it is done ... the ardor just makes sure it is the best ...
both the pure techno tracks - "Cure for the itch" and "Session" (sound track of Matrix Reloaded) are my favoutires ... but luks like the guyz got more interests as well
I find him as the coolest customer of the band and the gadgets he has and toys around with are nice ;) ... I esp like that touch sensitive keyboard instrument ... and the ting sound that it can make @ different freq ... sound like those chineese porcelain with water ...
meteora I presume had him work out a lot ... tho not very involved in creation of the songs ... his rendition of the composition is just F.A.B!!!
Rob Bourdon : DRUMS / BACKING VOCALS
he is the striker behind the amazing music ... giving it life with the moving rhythm ... the pauses ... and the silence before the strike ... just amazing ...he proly one of the youngest and does pretty neat job ...
he's just cool without the usual drummers associated presumptuousness ... and tawry showdown ...
this guys got the right mix of all :) ...
n the best part was unlike the other instrumentalists who just break em after the show ... this guy just tosses the Drum Sticks as a souvenir for the lucky in the crowd ... now that a mark of respect for the instrument ... which unfortunately the other dont share ...
Mike Shinoda : EMCEE (??) / RAPPIST / BEATS / SAMPLING
hez Mr. RAP ... just amazing ... the best part of LP is the singing bouncing b/w chester and mike ... the interlacing of the rap and regular singing leaves the audience breathless ...
and no its not the regular rap ... its top notch ... and yes he does makes the rap moves but just those that match with Hanh's movements at his table ...
I hated rap in ALL ... until I listened to these guys ... realized how much tarnished was those rendered by the rest ...
If I really start digging into the spectacle of his work in the songs ... its gonna take me a long time so I'll stop here ... n just to mention .. hez behind a lot of concepts of the band ...
this guy redefines rap in a way ... I personally thank him for I'd have hated rap otherwise all along ... n I dun listen to anything but for mike's rap :D ... and of course it was around his house that LP grew from at its nascent stages ...
Brad Delson : GUITAR / BASS / BACKING VOCALS
Lead Guitar'ist ... hav't observed much of him on stage or on video ...
the grudging sounds he made in one of the remix in this album was fantastic ...
the sad part I should say was that he breaks the guitar at the end of the concert ... just as Hanh breaks the turn table :( ...
he's got a ruddy looks befitting a heavy metal band ... bridging the gap ...
I dun listen to much of guitar so I'll reserve from any comments on that ... guess he puts in quite a bit of improvisation with the compositions ... more of him on stage ...
one of the other starter's of the band along with Mike ...
Phoenix : BASS
he re-joined the LP band after their first album ... I dun know much about this person ... coz the music videos I'v seen are mostly from the 1st album ... and a few from the second where pretty much no one is discernable ...
from what I know hez been quite a bit into the making of their second album Meteora ...
hez not got the on stage charisma ... no wonder the camera did not concentrate much on him ... well for music artists their glamour and appeal to the public is vital ... hopefully he should catch those up from his peers ...
so apart from this what is the quality of the band? ... their "Hybrid Theory" released on oct 2000 was smashing ... earned em a huge fan base and 8x platinum ... as with any band their 1st album was years of work rendered at its best ... n for many such as I it was instant love ... n the best of all ... the guys r so principled that they decided to be sticklers of swear-free lyrics ... belive me they are one of the most versatile bands I'v seen to date ... neat, clean, gentle, aggressive, emotional, passionate, variegated music, layering and whot not ...
if you are one of those who love heavy-metal but find most of them abusive n all and it annuls the whole point of listening to music ... then this is definitely your piece of cake ... they get as hard as the best ... they get as soft as one could ... and to top it all, neat lyrics ... tho you might find the motif of many songs bit depressive ...
their "Meteora" album came after quite a while ... 3 years in the making ... released on march 2003 ... again with plenty of Smash-Hits ... personally excepting for maybe one track I luv'd all of theirs ... many of the songs underwent transformation, re-sampling, flipping em (backwards), cut em, pep up the beat period of the troup's initial pieces ... some made @ home, at their tour bus ... some songs lyrics free written (without the music in place) ... some songs took 6 years in the making from concept to realization
and to the best of my knowledge the guys have worked on the music and lyrics by self ... @ least till now ...
I have no more words to describe it ... "No one can simply be told what this music is about ... u have to feel it for yourself" is all I have to say ... an open mind and perspicacity to observe the beautiful patterns behind all the screams and seeming noise ... is all u need ... mind is amazing for it can find patterns even in so called noise (watch at a T.V. screen with static for a long time and u'll know what I mean) and obscurity ...
understanding LP is not that hard ... u just require a good acumen for music ... nuthin more ...
been compiling this in fits and starts for like 3 days ... think I'll take a short break from here ... do pour in your thoughts on this ...
Labels: Music
3 Comments:
Quite an elaborate review :) LP is lucky! Keep them coming.
dude ! nice post man.. if i was a girl, i dont know what I would do to Chester...:)
dont know if u have tried this, but I do all the time - singing along (killing the song) with Chester... 'Numb', 'The End', 'Somewhere I Belong', 'Points of Authority' are my favourites to do that.. and once the song is over I feel so ......exhausted and ..RELIEVED ! :)
LP RULES man !
cheers!
ha ha ... believe me ... when I'm @ emotional extremes I shut the door ... turn the volume up ... n shout it along with chester and mike ;) ... it leaves me totally drained ;)
like its said in gladiator "the thunder before the strike and the silence after it"
one session of LP n I can clear my mind of every thought ... I come out in complete calmness ... like a sage who had a revelation ;) ... every emotion tamed down :) ... all set for the task ahead
glad to know an LP commrade :) who shares the same ...
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