"Session" - Song by Song, Let's Talk Linkin Park

Discussion in 'Linkin Park Chat' started by hawk, Jul 2, 2014.

  1. polleo

    polleo You're gonna carry that weight. LPA Super Member

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    :wat: Are you okay Michele? :lol:

    I really like the solo he did at KROQ I think.
     
  2. GraveDigger388

    GraveDigger388 Nothing's gonna top my Jacky

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    Sorry for the extra "L".And I know that you're a guy
     
  3. polleo

    polleo You're gonna carry that weight. LPA Super Member

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    Yikes, sorry for thinking you went crazy Michele, I didn't understand your post. I'll face myself and put to rest what I thought of you. :bradwink:
     
  4. Michele

    Michele Praise Brad Delson, our Lord and Savior. LPA Addict

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    NO Problem :) many people have problems with it :lol:
     
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  5. lime treacle

    lime treacle You are not alone Über Member

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    I pretty much love "What I've Done".
     
  6. hawk

    hawk because the internet LPA Super VIP

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    classic.
     
  7. Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    On to the next one, Hands Held High.


    "Hands Held High" is the seventh track on Minutes to Midnight, and one of the two songs on the album that feature rap verses from Mike Shinoda. It is also one of the three tracks on the album that uses profanity, along with "Given Up" and "Bleed It Out". It's earliest demo was titled "Song Q", and was the only one of the 26 "letter-named" demos brought in by Brad that actually made it on to the album. The track came together as an experiment. Early on in the songwriting process, Rick Rubin suggested for the band to try experimenting with opposites - if a song sounds melodic and it needs singing, try rapping. Brad later on said in a track-by-track analysis of the album with Kerrang! that "A lot of the greatest accidents occurred when we combined elements that shouldn’t have worked together.". The liner notes in the Minutes to Midnight booklet for the song read:

    The song is somewhat similar to Mike Shinoda's side project Fort Minor, and has been compared to the hit song "Where'd You Go" by some. "Hands Held High" is, at least to me, one of the best written Linkin Park songs ever. However, some might disagree with me, such as the NME writer Dan Silver, who called the song "far and away the funniest thing you will hear all year". The verses in the song really do strike me as the most inspired Mike has ever delivered. The song centers mostly around politics and world leaders, however it offers a view on it from the perspective of individuals, both those affected by their decisions, and those who aren't.

    Right at the beginning, Shinoda raps "Turn my mic up louder, I got to say something", possibly hinting at the fact this is the first song on the album he performs almost entirely on his own. The first verse is written from the perspective of a presumably American citizen, possibly Shinoda himself. The verse asks for a rebellion, and for us to express our opinions and say the truth - "Risk something, take back what's yours/Say something that you know they might attack you for". He later refers to the criticism some get for expressing their opinions, most likely speaking about the people against the War on Terror. He criticises the leaders of the world who have forgotten all about the average person because of all their wealth - and they only want more. By the end of the verse, it's pretty obvious he has one specific leader in his mind, American president George W. Bush. "For a leader so nervous in an obvious way/Stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay" refers to Bush's unconventional words, phrases and grammatical errors that he has made over the years in his speeches, popularly called Bushism's. He ends the verse with speaking about the world unaffected by his decisions, who do nothing but laugh at him.

    The "Amen'''s in the chorus were sung by the entire band together, they hint at a crowd agreeing with Mike, rather than a sign of anything religious.

    The second verse is written from the perspective of a 10-year-old child in Afghanistan or Iraq, who has to live in fear every day. The child is scarred by the images of children his age who were killed during the war, including his own brother. He is well aware of the danger that surrounds him, thinking ''There's bombs on the buses, bikes, roads/Inside your market, your shops, your clothes". It is a nice metaphor for living in such fear. Before ending the verse, Mike speaks of a quote written down by the kid's brother in his "little red book with a broken spine" (most likely "Quotations from Chairman Mao", popularly called "The Little Red Book") - "When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die". The line is now one of the most popular Linkin Park quotes, but it was actually first said by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. He ends the verse with a reference to the last 4 bars of the first verse, however with a twist at the end, the people aren't laughing any more, they're scared and angry.


    "Hands Held High" has been played live in a few different forms. The first known performance of the entire track happened on July 29th, 2007 in Mountain View, California. After the performance, Chester gave a short speech about how many people have talked to him or the rest of the band about the song, it's powerful effect, and Mike's lyrics. During the bands performance in Milton Keynes, which was filmed for the bands CD/DVD Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes, Shinoda performed only the first verse of the song in an acapella way. He ended it by chanting "Are you with us right now?". The first time I saw that was before I heard Minutes to Midnight, and I actually thought it was a poem. Ah, the mind of a 12 year old. The last known performance of the full track happened on July 3, 2008. Through the rest of 2008 and 2009, the band occasionally performed the song acapella, and sometimes with Shinoda rapping over the intro to "Krwlng" off Reanimation. When performed live, Brad Delson was playing keyboard.

    I have problems with writing 500 words about great works of literature like "The Catcher In The Rye", but around 950 words about Hands Held High just spilled out of me. :p
     
  8. lovablepanda

    lovablepanda Well-Known Member

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    NOOOO I missed the What I've done section. Well What I've done is one of the top five songs I think the band has written. It was second song I heard by them that I knew them as Linkin Park and it was just so good. The song was so good, I started listening to Hybrid Theory and Meteora so I could hear more by the band. Super good.

    Hands Held High was a curve ball for me by the band. I first heard Hands Held High after I had visited Hybrid Theory and Meteora and I was so surprised that a band that could put out so much aggression in music can turn around and do this piece of art. I love the rap verses on this song and I wished the band had played this song more live with the band singing the Amens.
     
  9. Michele

    Michele Praise Brad Delson, our Lord and Savior. LPA Addict

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    Hands Held High had such a great meaning. Mike did a great performance in it thought.

    (Great job as with WID Filip)
     
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  10. polleo

    polleo You're gonna carry that weight. LPA Super Member

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    That's because nothing happens in The Catcher In The Rye except for the guy calling everyone a phony. There's no proper conclusion.

    Anyway, Hands Held High is the only MtM song I'm torn about. I don't think the rap verses are that good but I do appreciate how genuine it is. An outsider like that NME guy who knows nothing about LP probably thinks it is a wannabe political song. But, the band seems to be pretty aware of what goes in the world. Like when Mike posted about floods in Pakistan or Power shortages in India it amazed me. And we did have power shortages. They were a major issue a while back so Mike was on point. The band knows what they're doing so it doesn't really matter what critics think because most of the time its something ignorant IMO.
     
  11. Michele

    Michele Praise Brad Delson, our Lord and Savior. LPA Addict

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    This. If it would be a totally other band , they would say NOTHING imo. Its just because they are what they are : Linkin Park , for some people to succesful...
    No problem :lol: , i had to laught about it :D
     
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  12. Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    I don't know, it's my favorite book ever. I just loved getting into his brain. I could relate to it a lot, as Holden is my age. Sometimes his actions and words are a bit illogical, but that's what makes it fun. It was one of the rare books that didn't instantly put me to sleep.

    But I'm getting off topic.
     
  13. GraveDigger388

    GraveDigger388 Nothing's gonna top my Jacky

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    Man,Hands Held high punches me sooo hard.Everytime.
    The lyrics are so emotional,the message reminds me that whatever problem I have here,is nothing compared to what the people of 3rd world experiences...My favorite lines;
    "Cause I'm sick of being treated like I had before
    Like it's stupid standing for what I'm standing for"

    and

    "My Dad,he's got a lot of fear I know,but enough pride inside not to let that show"
     
  14. TheZlajaZlo

    TheZlajaZlo Closing LPA Super Member

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    There are at least ten of my posts where I expressed my thoughts regarding HHH. But I will say it again:

    I hate Hands Held High.

    It is the worst Linkin Park have ever made IMO. I don't understand how can people like it.
    First of all, that instrumental is annoying. Mike's lyrics are bad. "There are bombs in bikes, clothes" Seriously?
    Zero metaphors, zero subtlety.
    And that "Amen" is the worst thing about that song.
     
  15. Bawa

    Bawa Could wait to see tomorrow.

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    :sheldon:


    Hands Held High is damn beautiful. Wonderful straight-to-the-point lyricism with one of the most heart-felt messages LP has ever had in a song. I really love the minimalistic instrumentation, sounds like nothing that they've attempted before, and really ends up making the song come off feeling like real art.
     
  16. Halfway Dwight

    Halfway Dwight We are the fortunate ones.

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    I think this song is beautiful. It has one of my favorite quotes:

    "When the rich wage war it's the poor who die" - Jean-Paul Sartre
     
  17. hawk

    hawk because the internet LPA Super VIP

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    that's the best part.

    and when chester sings it differently live, actually, does anyone know what show that might be?

    and i should not be listening to this in my current zone.
     
  18. minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    Does everything need to be subtle metaphors? ... I think that "Hands Held High" is an instance where that kind of thing isn't especially necessary



    This one.

    Earlier this year, Shinoda also mentioned in an interview that he considers the "Hands Held High" verses to be some of the best he's ever written.
     
  19. Atticus

    Atticus Bullets lance the bravest lungs

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    You DO realize that entire line is one big metaphor for the fear these people are experiencing, right?

    I for one accept Hands Held High because of its lack of subtlety and full-on message to the world. I say "accept" because I don't particularly love the song either, but I do accept it as great art and a great performance. The final moments are glorious and "the ocean opens up to swallow you" is a brilliant line. Mike's verses are legitimately passionate, but they don't resonate with me enough to want to listen to the track outside of the album.
     
  20. hawk

    hawk because the internet LPA Super VIP

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    thanks. i wish i could find the audio for this.
     

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