Living Things vs A Thousand Suns

Discussion in 'Linkin Park Chat' started by Money Maker Mike, Jun 16, 2012.

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Living Things or A Thousand Suns?

  1. Living Things

    68.7%
  2. A Thousand Suns

    31.3%
  1. #81
    Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    I like Living Things more. Hybrid Theory was my favourite album and A Thousand Suns was very close to it. Living Things has a couple of songs that sound like a mix of them, but it sounds much more like a higher energy A Thousand Suns. I don't rate an album for how unique it is, or how experimental the artist got on it, I rate it by how much I like the songs, and the only things that's on my mind other than the song itself is is it going to be boring in a month or two.

    To me: Hybrid Theory>Living Things>A Thousand Suns>Meteora>Minutes To Midnight

    But, I haven't heard anything but Living Things in 5 days, so this baby could change rapidly after a week, but then again, I doubt it.
     
  2. #82
    Catalyst94

    Catalyst94 New Member

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    I just got done listening to the iTunes live stream of Living Things and i think that the album just nothing short of amazing. It just has so many elements of the past albums. Its truly amazing. I have to go with Living Things being the better album. I do love A Thousand suns but Living Things gets my vote.
     
  3. #83
    AkirraKrylon

    AkirraKrylon LPA VIP LPA VIP

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    After listening to LIVING THINGS for a good couple of days and what I consider a substantial number of times through to make a fair judgement, I would like to adjust this.

    LIVING THINGS is not only ahead of ATS, but I think it is ahead by a good amount overall.

    I'm emphasizing overall because from an unique/experimental/psychedelic point of view, ATS is untouchable. I don't think they will ever make another album close to it again.

    Approachability/enjoyment/overall value - I take LIVING THINGS 9/10 times if I had to choose which album I'd rather listen to.

    ---------------------------------------


    LIVING THINGS is the daily music you love to listen to, the best friend you see everyday, the favorite food you eat more than once a week.

    A Thousand Suns is the holiday every few months, the long time childhood friend you see once in a while, the special favorite restaurant you go to with your significant other on noteworthy occasions.

    Both are very important and significant in LP's discography, but in very different ways.

    Best way I can explain it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2012
  4. #84
    mastae

    mastae Some Honky

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    A better analogy is simply ATS is an art house film like... Dancer In The Dark, whereas LT is some summer blockbuster like Transformers or Avengers.

    You may watch Transformers or Avengers a lot because they're fun and easy to digest, but when it comes down to it, Dancer in the Dark is the better film.
     
  5. #85
    Blake

    Blake Leave a Trace LPA Super Member

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    Disagree with this completely. Because there is no objectivity when it comes to this. I think LT is better than ATS and when it comes down it no, ATS is not the better album. I still think LT is better and there is nothing that establishes that ATS is technically better, it's all opinion.
     
  6. #86
    Avo

    Avo Don't Stop Running

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    Totally agree with this. Although now that it's been a few days, I'd say it's more like Transformers 2.
     
  7. #87
    Shadester

    Shadester (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

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    Like it or not, LT is experimental enough and brings many new sounds to LP's repertoire. The songwriting is also on par, and in some cases better than ATS. A better analogy would be Alien and Aliens. The first being a technical marvel, a heavily atmospheric thriller, and an all around great film, with the second being just as well-crafted of a film but produced with a different vibe: bolder, louder, and ultimately more rewatchable. This analogy works for me because Alien/Aliens are two of my favorite films and I can't choose between them, despite their creative approach being very different.
     
  8. #88
    Rocky

    Rocky Well-Known Member

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    And with that said....

    A Thousand Suns beats the shit out of LIVING THINGS because it was a piece of art as a whole and not just songs.

    LIVING THINGS is an album made to sell and rebel at the same time. Half the lyrics are as repetitive as Meteora and they were written to be catchy, but the lyrics are about their career woes and it's done in folk fashion. It was a badass thing to do, but it's kinda just an album that they had to make because Linkin Park were signed as a rock act under a major label that they wanted to piss off. I'm more excited for the next album, and really hope that they put out a more in-depth documentary for this one.
     
  9. #89
    travz21

    travz21 Muscle Museum LPA Super Member

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    That's how I feel. I've listened to the album about 5 times now, and the songs sound great. There's a lot of really good stuff in there. But they lack the structure, depth, and musicianship that ATS has. Obviously what you like comes down to opinion, but music can definitely be composed with greater skill than something else. That isn't opinion. Some stuff is just technically harder to compose and requires more time and effort/skill. That is where ATS outdoes anything they've put out.
     
  10. #90
    Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

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    A bigger scope, more advanced songwriting, a larger palette of sounds, and a sense of continuity. All of that's pretty damn objective. Again, if it was all opinions, Revenge of the Fucking Fallen would be as good a film as Terminator. Since by all accounts it's not, allow me to disregard all of that shit about everything being subjective.
     
  11. #91
    Gman2887

    Gman2887 Well-Known Member

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    Ouch. Not a fan of Living Things, eh?
     
  12. #92
    Shadester

    Shadester (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

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    Fair to say that music can have objective quality, but without elaborating on why the "structure, depth and musicianship" of ATS songs is superior, this is still a baseless comment.

    As for Spitz, I'll give you scope and continuity because ATS was intended to be sort of a concept album, but again, songwriting and larger sonic palette, you'll have to prove.
     
  13. #93
    Blake

    Blake Leave a Trace LPA Super Member

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    Really, you really think this way? I hate getting into this discussion because of a 50+ page thread on a different forum arguing.

    If i think revenge of the fallen is better than the terminator, who is to tell me that I am wrong? It's my opinion
     
  14. #94
    lilj4425

    lilj4425 Well-Known Member

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    So Hybrid Theory is Transformers 1 and A Thousand Suns is Transformers 3 then right? ;)
     
  15. #95
    travz21

    travz21 Muscle Museum LPA Super Member

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    Why are songs with varying lengths and structures superior in quality compared to songs that are 3:20 long with verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus? Why are songs with melodic value and harmonies superior in quality to songs with power chords and simple riffs? Why are songs with dynamic levels in the stereo field superior in quality to a wall of sound that's super compressed? Why is an album with a theme that runs throughout superior in quality to random singles?
     
  16. #96
    Rocky

    Rocky Well-Known Member

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    Eh, people get riled up sometimes because for some reason it actually matters that someone doesn't like something that you do...
     
  17. #97
    Avo

    Avo Don't Stop Running

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    I do like it, but it's nowhere near as good as I thought it was before. Once I got over the "new LP hype," the safeness of most of the album became impossible to ignore. Even the more experimental tracks felt relatively safe.
    Hybrid Theory is the Barbie Princess movie and A Thousand Suns is Spirited Away.
     
  18. #98
    Blake

    Blake Leave a Trace LPA Super Member

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    Music doesn't have to be this crazy experimental thing. If you start hoping for that with every new album you listen to, you will be dissapointed 90% of the time. And I do not find this album safe at all.

    On a happier note, I just watched Spirited Away this week for the first time. Amazing movie! One of the best animated movies ever!
     
  19. #99
    mastae

    mastae Some Honky

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    There is objectivity when it comes to this train of thought. Let's go back to the film analogy.

    SUBJECTIVELY, If I am given a choice to watch either Eraserhead or Crank 2: High Voltage, chances are on any given day I'm going to choose Crank 2. It's fun, fast, and enjoyable. I am entertained. OBJECTIVELY, I know Eraserhead to be the better film. What I prefer to watch/listen to on any given day does not necessarily equate to what is better overall.

    Same goes with respecting music. I don't enjoy country music, but I respect it for its own artistic merits. It doesn't have to be what I enjoy in order to be good. Therefore, there is an objective element to art, whether you or anybody else agrees or disagrees. I hate the movie Drive, loathe it even, but I can respect it on a technical level for what it achieved.

    Fair enough. I even said something earlier at the start of this thread about how it'd be impossible to decide between LT and ATS because they're different "kind" of albums. Then I got to thinking of the albums in respect to Linkin Park. Now both Alien and Aliens were directed by different people, so naturally, both of them have a different approach, one that contrasts the two very successfully in my opinion.

    ATS and LT are made by the same band, and given the context of where they were and where they are now, I just have to think "Before ATS came out and we just had HT-MTM.... how much did ATS change what LP could do?" and I compare that to thinking "How much did LT change what LP could do in perspective of before ATS to after ATS." And while I realize that everyone is going to have their subjective opinions on the albums (again, in some respects, I enjoy LT more than ATS), I still have to say objectively ATS is the better album and opened a shitload of more doors for LP. (When LT was announced and we knew NOTHING about the album, I had NO idea on how the album would "sound," which compare that to when MTM was first announced and I began imagining things like HT and Meteora).

    BUT YOU CAN'T BE OBJECTIVE WITH ART BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS BIASED

    True, but you can remain at a level of objectivity. There's definitely some of my personal bias involved in saying ATS is objectively better, but that goes for everyone, and I think I've made a decent case as to why ATS is a better album objectively.

    I'm not trying to change anyone's opinions here. Just trying to get my 2 cents in.
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2012
  20. Qwerty19

    Qwerty19 Well-Known Member

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    Well, I'm gonna repeat myself, but whatever, ATS being more complicated and experimental doesn't make it necessarily more good. If you want to go on a musical journey and to experiment with with weird structures, then do it the right way. Living Things is an excelent album for what it i: a firecricker record with catchy melodies, lot of layers, good vocal performances. It feels it is well executed, at least to me. Now on ATS...is it really that good for an experimental record? I'm gonna say no. To be totally honest, it was no surprise to me that ATS was bashed around all the internet when it was released. While 60/70% of the critics were like "NU METALZ BACK", they were also constructive critics which were negative. ATS ain't no "Dark Side Of The Moon". ATS ain't not "Ok, Computer". ATS is no "The Fragile".

    What I can't stand with that record is the lack of passion and the overall "forced feeling" I get while listening to it.

    Let's take Iridescent chorus. Chester vocals on this one are really....emotionless? I don't know how to describe it the best, so I'll go with insipid. They're not rough enough to give it that melancholic power, and they don't have the vulnerability/softness of Mike's vocals. They just feel average. And also...Take all The frustration and let it go? Yeah, thanks for the help buddy! It sounds so naive.

    Let's take Robot Boy. Again, the vocals feel lazy, there is no relief there. And also, the same freaking melody the whole song? Isn't that maybe a little repetitive? I remember listening to it at home, my mother heard it and was like "Can you put the volume down? It's so repetitive, it's getting on my nerves". What annoys me the most with this is the fact I love the instrumental. But the vocals really ruined this track for me.

    Let's take The Messenger. This track is really...nothing spectacular. The melody and the acoustic guitar...all of this sounds so "must-be-acoustic song" that every rock band will do at one point in their career.

    Let's take The Catalyst. While I love this track, I can still admit it's freaking repetitive once again. The song is basically split into two sections that are repeated over and over again. Basically "God Bless Us...tatata" and "Lift Me Up...tatata". The music progression behind it is good, the bridge is good, but the melody just feels lazy.

    Let's take the interludes. Some people might love them, but with me, it doesn't do it well. And I love musical interludes. But that robot voice in WJL, and Fallout, I can't stand it. It just sounds bad to my ears.

    Let's take Waiting For The End. The piano "ding ding" thing during the whole song.....seriously....

    I could continue to point out some bad things from ATS...

    All that said, I still enjoy listening to ATS from time to time. But all the negative comments I made in this post was to proove there is no way somebody can tell me ATS is objectively better than LT. It's just objectively more complex. That is all.

    I didn't wanted to write that much about it anyway. Went a little on a ATS bash party, but well, it happens :)
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2012

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