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Cody RuddMusic 104011:30 A.M.Linkin ParkLinkin Park is an American rock band. They are originally from Agoura Hills, California and they formed in 1996. The original members at the time were: Mike Shinoda, Mark Wakefield, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Rob Bourdon. They have millions of fans all over the world and have continued to make music to this day. They have won two Grammy awards for their music, billboard nominations and awards, and have helped out with natural disasters. The band became a face of the genre called nu metal and continues to add fans. They have released 8 albums, 3 of which they have remixed songs and collaborated with other artists such as Jay-Z. The songs that will be analyzed are: “In the End,” “What I’ve Done,” and “Waiting for the End.” The name of the band at the time was Xero. Then later changed it to Hybrid Theory when Mark Wakefield left just three years later and his replacement is the current member Chester Bennington. They have had few new members for a short period of time, throughout their career. But the current members consist of all of those listed before, but with Chester Bennington, and not Mark Wakefield. (Linkin Park. Wikipedia).Mike Shinoda, born February 11, 1977, is the bands rapper, pianist/keyboard, guitarist and songwriter. Chester Bennington, born March 20, 1976, is the bands current lead singer and songwriter. Brad Delson, born 1, 1977, is the bands current guitarist who gives Linkin Park one of the essential elements of their unique style. Rob Bourdon, born January 20, 1979, is the band’s drummer. Joe Hahn, born March 15, 1977, is their musician on the turntables, samples, programming, keyboards, backup vocals, and director of their music videos. Lastly Dave Ferrell, born February 8, 1977, is the bass player. Interesting fact is that Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson all went to high school together; they are the original creators of the band. (Linkin Park. Wikipedia).The band has a unique genre that has captured the attention of millions of people. It is called nu metal; according to wiki, it is a sub-genre of heavy metal and a mixture of hip-hop. It is characterized by the metal guitar riffs, the syncopation of rhythms, and the hip-hop/rap and regular style of singing (Nu Metal. Wikipedia). Chester Bennington also adds some screaming and growling effects in many of their songs that come from heavy metal. The absence of guitar solos helps separate the sound from heavy metal. But where did this style derive from?Nu metal has many different predecessors, ranging from heavy metal to funk to jazz. As many know metal music is sub-genre of rock music. The singing styles come from a more rock based background, while the guitar and bass rhythms come from funk which I believe from jazz. Linkin park is also unique for incorporating piano motifs to the beginning of their songs, which is not heard in heavy metal. The use of piano can originate from ragtime, jazz, or even classical dependent upon how it is played. Linkin Park didn’t have much competition in this style of music, not to downplay other bands; but they really blew up because of this. Other bands consisted of Limp Bizkit and Korn (Linkin Park. Wikipedia). Both were commonly known, but neither remained as popular as Linkin Park has to this day. Nu metal can be easily heard in their albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora. Hybrid Theory was released in 2000 and they sold 4.8 million copies in the first year (Linkin Park. Wikipedia). This album was the bands beginning to their rise in international fame. They followed this album just a few years later in 2003, with Meteora. But in the first album they created “In the End” which displays their unique style of music. In the beginning there is a piano playing. After that introduction Bennington leads them in with regular singing and then immediately following, Shinoda does his hip-hop/rap style of singing. This much like the lining out we heard in early gospel music, but this isn’t near that sort of genre. As the singing goes on, the drums bass play to give the more rock beginning. While Chester is singing he uses a growling style in his voice which is also a characteristic of metal and funk influences. In the chorus’ the electric guitar riffs become more prominent as they create the metal sound. This is definitely an example of the great sound Linkin Park can create. It also charted as #2 in Billboard’s Hot 100 list during the albums rise (Linkin Park Biography. Billboard).The following years Linkin Park created another album, Minutes to Midnight in 2007. This album is where they experimented with new sounds and gradually moved away from the nu metal sound. But that style can still be heard in this album. The song from this album that will be analyzed is “What I’ve Done.” This track was also used in the movie Transformers. This song also begins with a piano introduction and it has a more upbeat tune to it. The piano is successfully followed by the drums that are more hip-hop sounding, then with a strong guitar sound. In this song notably, Bennington is the only singer; Shinoda played the rhythm guitar in this song. Although he did not sing, he did do some vocalizations toward the end with repeated “Na-na-na’s.” While this style is not strongly nu metal sounding, it can still be identified in the guitar playing and syncopation.Their sixth album A Thousand Suns, released in 2010. This album was where they were extremely experimental with their music. Mike Shinoda was quoted on saying that this album is “genre busting” (Linkin Park. Wikipedia). This album is unlike their first two albums that had the extremely noticeable nu metal sound. This album had much more digital layers on top of the already existing sounds. A song that displays this is the albums second single “Waiting for the End.” In this song the music starts out with a guitar riff that is digitally emitted. Then the percussion sounds fill the melody alongside what sounds like a simple piano key. Mike Shinoda comes in and starts his hip-hop/rap which is then followed by Bennington’s softer voice, lacking the growling and screaming effects in heard in their earlier albums. During the chorus in the middle of the song, the two singers harmonize themselves instead of trading out lines like most other songs. Towards the end of the song, Bennington has vocalizations that are digital affected to syncopate with the melody. While the music does retain the similar metal sound in the guitar, the sound altogether is not the same as the first song, “In the End” that was analyzed. The digital affects are minimal in this song/album; but in their latest album RECHARGED they have much more digital sounds. Linkin Park has a unique sound that has captured the attention of millions of people. They still attract more and more as they experiment with new sounds. They started with a sound that was more rugged and edgier and moved towards a lighter side in the music. They still remain true to the Linkin Park sound. They have just added more sounds and have made their music adapt to the times. The music they make cannot be isolated to just one genre; they use elements from all other styles. Bibliography:Andrew Leahey, Rovi. Linkin Park. Biography. 2014. Web. May 2, 2014. Wikipedia. Nu Metal. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2014. Web. May 2, 2014. Rolling Stone. Linkin Park. Biography. 2014. Web. May 2, 2014. Wikipedia. Linkin Park. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. May 2, 2014. Web. May 2, 2014. ................
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