Linkin Park

Music

The music of Linkin Park is a mix of Nu metal metal, rap, electronic, and hip-hop sounds. Like others in the nu metal genre, their sound has been criticized as being overly commercial and mainstream-friendly.

Band History

Linkin Park began in the surroundings of Mike Shinoda's bedroom studio, where he and friend Brad Delson recorded the band's first material in 1996. The two had attended high school together in Agoura Hills, where they met the band's drummer, Rob Bourdon. Shinoda met up with DJ Joseph Hahn while studying illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Meanwhile, attending UCLA, Delson shared an apartment with bassist Dave Farrell, who left the band after college and returned a year later. At this point, along with vocalist Mark Wakefield, they named themselves Xero (after revising the former name Super Xero) and recorded several demo tracks. They were never signed and the project floundered.

Shinoda advertised for a vocalist, choosing Chester Bennington, a transplanted Arizona native who started making records when he was 16. They immediately started to write and record music.

At first they called themselves 'Hybrid Theory' after the addition of Bennington (the idea being that they were a hybrid of hard rock and rap), but due to a trademark issue with a band called Hybrid they were forced to change their name. Some discarded ideas were Clear, Probing Lagers, Ten PM Stocker and Platinum Lotus Foundation. Eventually, they settled on Lincoln Park, suggested by Bennington because after band practice he would have to drive past Lincoln Park in Santa Monica to get home. However the domain "lincolnpark.com" cost more than the band could afford, so they changed the spelling to Linkin Park.

Working with an independent label, the band recorded the album Hybrid Theory EP, which featured "Carousel", "Technique", "Step Up", "And One", "High Voltage", and "Part of Me".

After being signed to Warner Brothers in 1999 their first album, Hybrid Theory, was released in 2000. It was the top-selling album in the United States and New Zealand in 2001, with the hit singles "One Step Closer", "Crawling", "Papercut", "In The End" and "Points of Authority". The album was notable for its absence of profanity, in contrast to many other nu metal bands' songs.

Linkin Park were part of the Ozzfest in 2001, touring along side Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Crazy Town, Papa Roach, and Disturbed. Linkin Park also created their own tour - Projekt: Revolution, and on it have toured with Cypress Hill, Adema, DJ Z-Trip, Xzibit, Mudvayne and Blindside.

In 2002, they released a hip-hop remix album of their Hybrid Theory album, called Reanimation, featuring many underground hip-hop figures, with an artistic direction mainly dictated by Shinoda and Hahn. They also released a remix version of their song, "Points Of Authority".

In 2003 their new studio album was released, titled Meteora, which debuted at #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia. It contained the singles, "Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Numb", "From The Inside" and "Breaking The Habit". Later in the year, they joined forces with fellow nu-metal band Limp Bizkit and Metallica for the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003. From this tour, Linkin Park released a new CD/DVD set called Live in Texas. This set contains tracks from their three previous records, and was filmed on location at their Summer Sanitarium performances in Dallas and Houston, Texas .

In 2004, Linkin Park created the Meteora World Tour. This tour included Linkin Park, P.O.D., Hoobastank, and Story of the Year.

In 2004, Linkin Park was touring with Snoop Dogg, The Used, Korn, and Less Than Jake on the main stage, and No Warning, Ghostface, Funeral for a Friend, M.O.P., and Downset on the second stage as part of Projekt Revolution 2004. They also had a travelling DJ, Z-Trip with them, along with Irvin the Urban Action Figure.

On November 30, 2004, Linkin Park released Collision Course, a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z featuring rap-style remixes ("mash-ups") of songs from Meteora and Hybrid Theory using lyrics from Jay-Z's repertoire. Collision Course debuted at #1 in the US, but peaked at #17 in the UK. In the Netherlands Collision Course topped the charts at 7th place. Their first Collision Course hit single, Numb/Encore, reached #1 at the Free Record Shop Download Charts in the Netherlands.

On the eve of its initial public offering in May 2005, Linkin Park demanded to be released from its contract with Warner Brothers Music on the grounds of a lack of confidence. The band is in negotiations with the label over a new record contract. Linkin Park still has four albums outstanding on its 2000 record contract. [1] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/07/AR2005050700449.html)

Linkin Park is currently writing and recording a new album, set to be released in 2006 (although work has been stopped due to the contract re-negotiations). Mike Shinoda is also in the process of releasing a hip-hop side project under the moniker Fort Minor. It reportedly features several well-known underground rappers, include Gift of Gab.

Members

• Chester Bennington (vocals / guitar)
• Mike Shinoda (alias: Fort Minor) (vocals / sampling / rhythm guitar, keyboard)
• Joe Hahn (aliases: Chairman Hahn, Mr. Hahn) (turntables / samples)
• Brad Delson (guitar)
• Rob Bourdon (drums)
• David 'Phoenix' Farrell (bass)

Discography

Albums

• Hybrid Theory EP (1998) US Sales: 1000 (only 1000 printed) [Released independently in 1999.]
  • This album was reprinted for the members of the LPU who joined in the first year. The first 500 copies were autographed by the band.
• Hybrid Theory (2000) #1 US, #4 UK, US Sales: 10,000,000 [Released on Warner Brothers Records on October 24, 2000.]
• Reanimation (2002) (remix album including tracks from Hybrid Theory and Hybrid Theory EP) #1 US, #3 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000 [Released on Warner Brothers Records on July 30, 2002.]
• LP Underground v2.0 (2002) Unedited songs [A.06, Dedicated (Demo 1999) & My December (previously on import versions of Hybrid Theory)], Pts.Of.Athrty (The Crystal Method Remix) & With You & High Voltage live (Gift to join LPU)
• Meteora (2003) #1 US, #1 UK, US Sales: 4,000,000 [Released on Warner Brothers Records on March 25, 2003.]

  Meteora was released as a combo pack including a 'behind the scenes' DVD disc,
  The Making Of Meteora, as well as the Meteora album. This deluxe package
  is blue, whereas the normal version is green.

• Live in Texas (2003) #23 US, #47 UK, US Sales: 500,000 [Released on Warner Brothers Records on November 18, 2003.]
• LP Underground v3.0 (2003) Audio Tracks of DVD Live in Texas (Gift to join LPU)
• LP Underground v4.0 (2004) Sold My Soul To Yo Mama [Mr. Hahn's Instrumental (with partials of Papercut)], Standing In The Middle, Live versions of Breaking the Habit, 1Stp Klosr (featuring Jonathan Davis of Korn) & a mix of Step Up/Nobody's Listening/It's Goin' Down (Gift to join LPU)
• Collision Course (2004) - (Mash-up album featuring rapper Jay-Z's mixes of songs from Meteora and Hybrid Theory) #1 US, #15 UK, US Sales: 1,000,000

Band members have said that a new CD is expected in 2006, but as of May 2005 work has been temporarily stopped due to contract renegotiation.

Hit singles

• from "Hybrid Theory"
  • 2001 "One Step Closer" #75 US, #24 UK
  • 2001 "Crawling" #79 US, #16 UK
  • 2001 "Papercut" #14 UK
  • 2001 "In the End" #2 US, #8 UK
  • 2002 "Points Of Authority"
• from "Reanimation"
  • 2002 "High Voltage/Points of Authority (remix)" #9 UK
• from "Meteora"
  • 2003 "Somewhere I Belong" #32 US, #10 UK
  • 2003 "Faint" #48 US, #15 UK
  • 2004 "Numb" #11 US, #14 UK
  • 2004 "From The Inside"
  • 2004 "Lying From You" (airplay only) #58 US
  • 2004 "Breaking the Habit" #20 US, #39 UK
• from "Collision Course"
  • 2004 "Numb/Encore" (with Jay-Z) #20 US, #14 UK

Videos

• One Step Closer
• Crawling (at the Dragon Festival)
• Crawling (The Brothers Straus)
• Papercut (International)
• In The End
• Points Of Authority Live footage (International)
• Pts.OF.Athrty (Points Of Authority Remix), computer-generated imagery
• Enth E Nd (In The End Remix)
• Kyur4 Th Ich( Cure for the Itch Remix)
• P5hng Me A*wy (Pushing Me Away Remix)
• FRGT/10 (Forgotten Remix), computer-generated imagery
• Wth>You (With You Remix), photographic animation featuring fans
• Somewhere I Belong - live-action plus CGI. surrealistic creatures moving from a painting that may have been inspired by Salvador Dalí's works - possibly The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1946) or The Elephants (1948).
• Faint - monochrome concert-like footage, directed by Mark Romanek
• Lying From You (Live in Texas)
• Numb
• From The Inside (International)
• Breaking The Habit, traditional anime
• Numb/Encore (live)
• Izzo/In The End (live)
• Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer (live)
• High Voltage (live from the Docklands)
• Papercut (live from the Docklands)

Awards and nominations

• Won Favorite Artist - Alternative Music; 31st Annual American Music Awards; Sept 16, 2003
• Won Best Group, Best Hard Rock; 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards. Nominated for Best Website.
• Won Best Foreign Rock; Swedish Hit Music Awards; November 17th, 2002.
• Won Best Rock Video; 2002 MTV Video Music Awards (In The End). Nominated for Best Video of the Year (In The End), Best Group Video (In The End).
• Won Best International Nu-Metal/Alternative Artist; ECHO 2002 awards in Germany.
• Won Best Hard Rock Performance (Crawling); 2001 Grammys. Nominated for Best Rock Album, Best New Artist.
• Won Best Foreigner Artist of The Year; Finland's 2001 Emma Awards.
• Won Best International Newcomer; 2001 Kerrang Awards. Nominated for Best Video, Best Album, Best Band in the World.
• Nominated for Favorite Artist - Alternative Music; 30th Annual American Music Awards; Sept 1, 2002
• Won Best Rock Video (Somewhere I Belong); 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Nominated for Best Rock Video (Breaking The Habit); 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Won Viewer's Choice Award (Breaking The Habit); 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
• Won Song of the Year — Rock Alternative Radio (Numb); 2004 Radio Music Awards
• Won Artist of the Year — Rock Radio; 2004 Radio Music Awards

External links

• Linkin Park's official web site (http://www.linkinpark.com/)
• The Linkin Park Association (http://www.lpassociation.com/)
• Linkin Park's official fan club (http://www.lpunderground.com/)
• Linkin Park Forums (http://www.linkinparkforums.com/)
• Linkin Park Merchandise (http://www.linkinparkmerch.com/)
• Linkin Park Lyrics (http://www.linkin-park-lyrics.com/lyrics.htm)
• Forfeit The Game (http://www.forfeitthegame.com/)
• The Linkin Park Times (http://www.lptimes.com/)
• Fort Minor official web site (http://www.fortminor.com/)bg:Linkin Park

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