Golden Mixtape

It appears to be a crime to still like bands whose CDs littered your bedroom floor. “You still listen to them?” is what I hear when I mention bands I still go out and see. “I liked that when I was a kid,” is what I heard when Linkin Park was brought up. Well thankfully not all of us are pretentious and listen to music regardless of when it came out. And if those haters “grew up” as much as they thought, they’d realize Linkin Park’s sound has matured has much as they have. Yeah, the rap and rock is still intertwined, but over the years, LP has found a way to refine where they began to end up where they are…for the most part with LIVING THINGS.

Over a month ago I got to sit in the actual studio LIVING THINGS was recorded with 8 other folks and Mike Shinoda. We only got half the album then, and after hearing the whole product, it’s clear we got what had to be the single contenders. We listened to the single “BURN IT DOWN” which is clearly a LP song from the get go. It’s catchy and has a good balance of Chester and Mike taking the reins. More on those future hits in a second…

First the songs that were new to my ears. “ROADS UNTRAVELED,” “SKIN TO BONE” and “POWERLESS” we’re all soft tracks that are good for listening to in between the rest, but for anyone wanting energy, these ain’t it. They show the calm side of the LP spectrum. They’re those songs that you’d like to hear live, but once.

Speaking of different. “VICTIMIZED” is the most unlike LP. The beginning is straight up MCR “I’m Not Okay” but then that rock energy stopped quick. It’s picked back up with the chorus that plays like a punk song. So you have rock, punk, Hip Hop all morphed into this mash up. It’d be stupid to say it’s like a DJ mashing up something at a club since hello, Mr. Hahn. The smorgasbord made it seem not unfinished, but a kind of raw in a gritty way.

That’s all the songs that stood out from the other half of LIVING THINGS. When it came to the six pack from a month ago, they still reigned supreme. LP knows how to make music that will lead them to KROQs leader board. “LIES GREED MISERY” and “UNTIL IT BREAKS” take the silver and gold. “LIES GREED MISERY” offers Hip Hop that won’t leave level one rhymers like myself tongue tied, but also has a chorus that has this electronic dance to it. But in the end with this one, again, they’re anger has matured. “You did it to yourself” there’s that pissed Chester that runs Chester’s vocal chords dry. “UNTIL IT BREAKS” is this 90’s sounding track that sounds like it escaped a cop blow horn. The only odd this may be Chester’s part. It takes numerous listens to get used to, but Hip Hop part outweighs anything strange.

Linkin Park used to be the only “rock” song played at lunch when I was in middle school and I would’ve never guessed they’d still be making music as I hit the quarter of a entry birthday, but I’m glad they are. They fail with style consistency because they didn’t want to get clumped in with other bands who blew up when they did, but have since faded like a put of old jeans. Seems Linkin Park had the right idea. And to all those people my age who “grew up” and stopped listening to Linkin Park, your loss.

LIVING THINGS is out June 26th and they’ll be out with Incubus on one of the best Honda Civic Tours ever this summer.