Closing. "The Little Things Give You Away" is the twelfth and final track on Linkin Park's third studio album, Minutes to Midnight. Up until the release of "A Line In The Sand" in 2014, this was the longest song the band ever included on a studio album, clocking in at 6 minutes and 23 seconds. The demo for the song was started by Rob Bourdon, and contained the drum part that can now be heard in the bridge of the song. The demo was titled "Drum Song", and was subsequently released on LP Underground 9.0: Demos. The song is the home to the longest, most complex guitar solo Brad had ever written up until that point, and maybe even up to date. The solo was not a part of the original demo, it was added afterwards, after Brad played the solo to Mike, who loved it. A live version of the song was released on LP Underground 7.0. The booklet notes for the song in the Minutes to Midnight booklet read: The song is very slow, with it's BPM being only 70. It begins with a sampled drumline which is repeated through the entire song, most noticably until the second chorus. It is soon joined by acoustic guitar before Chester opens the first verse. Personally, I think on this song Chester gave one of the best vocal performances ever in a Linkin Park song. Quickly comes the chorus, where Chester sings, doubled by another recording of him singing. The acoustic guitar becomes electronic as the song slowly starts building. The second chorus sees a real drumline from Rob Bourdon appearing. You'd think it would go strong until the end, but the song soon goes into what feels like a reprise of the beginning. But then comes the crucial part of the song. The guitar solo. It's really a moment that defines the song. The ending of the song is truly special. Three vocal tracks overlapping, and creating one of the most beautiful moments in Linkin Park's discography. Chester's "oh"'s, Mike repeating "the little things give you away..." while singing the chorus which was sung by Chester during the entire song. You can feel it comes straight from the heart. It's no secret that the band is very satisfied by the track. In the Making of Minutes to Midnight, the band calls the song "the pinnacle of what we can achieve as a band". Brad Delson also stated the song is "the song of which I'm probably most proud that we've ever done". Before the release of the album, the band spoke on the song in a track by track analysis of the album in Kerrang!: Lyrically, the song carries a very strong message. It is mentioned in the Mintues to Midnight booklet that the song was written in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, after the band visited New Orleans. Though the song is as always open for interpretation, it was most likely written about the government's slow, delayed response to the flooding the hurricane caused. If you take a good look at the lyrics, this is one of the most political songs the band has written. The flood references are pretty obvious right from the start - "water grey/through the windows, up the stairs". The chorus of the song gives the song an even darker tone, as the band mentions how little the politicians care for the people - "don't want to reach for me, do you/I mean nothing to you". The chorus ends with one of the most ironic lines the band has ever written, yet one with the most meaning - "all you've ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you/and six feet underwater, I do". The people are calling to be saved, but they still don't care. The second verse centers around the after math of the hurricane, and those who unfortunately left us - "hope decays, generations dissapear". As much as it is one of the bands best instrumentally, it is also one of the best lyrically. The bands longest, most progressive song was nothing short of spectacular live. We're lucky that the band decided to play the song in Milton Keynes, so it was filmed for their live CD/DVD Road to Revolution. During that performance, and many others, Mike played a new piano intro not included on the album version that added to the atmosphere of the song. Just as the song was written about the Hurricane Katrina, the band would occasionally dedicate the song to the victims of the hurricane. It was played through the Minutes to Midnight touring cyle, but dropped from A Thousand Suns onwards. The first performance happened aon May 24, 2007 in Copenhagen, during the same show where "Leave Out All The Rest" had it's live debut. The last performance happened over a year later on August 23, 2008 in Dallas. I'll embed the performance from the June 29, 2008 in Milton Keynes below. So that's it for Minutes to Midnight. We started on Wake and ended up here. Don't get too excited like I did, there's still a bit of time left before we head on to A Thousand Suns. We're gonna do "No Roads Left" and "New Divide" first.
This is my most favorite LP song ever. Seriously, just thinking about it gives me a rush. The song feels a journey. I don't what to say, this song is pretty much sacred to me. I really feel the need to emphasise about my love of this song for some reason. When I first listened listened to it(Songs that I like on the first listen never stay with me so that's fine I guess), I thought it was long and weird but it REALLY grew on me. The lyrics, the solo, the drumming, Mike and Chester at the end etc. Everything on this song is great for me. My interpretation of the song is that it has a double meaning i e It is about both a metaphorical disaster and a real flood, I like the song that way. Seriously, I've spent so much time trying to interpret this song . I like the drum song demo as well. It lacks the solo so its okay. The solo might be simple but it is beautiful. It conveys something without any lyrics. I get chills when the solo part comes in. I really love this song to death.
To be honest , when i first heared this song (2009 when i get into music and especially LP) i was like "mehh", maybe because i listened more to the instruments than the Lyrics. Later i reaized, how awesome this song is. The Lyrics and especially the instruments now are one of the best moments in LPS music career in my opinion. On of the highlights, if not THE HIGHLIGHT on Minutes To Midnight. Its great how it was performed on Road To Revolution. Great song.
I almost forgot about TLTGYA until the other day when it played from m phone while I was in the car. The bridge and outro are really what make this song. It's a very climactic song, building up from just an acoustic and the loop to the guitar solo accompanied by Rob's drums. The outro is just amazing. It is the most fitting close to Minutes to Midnight they could have done. There's hardly anything you can say is bad about it. Definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album. I'm from Louisiana, and part of my family lives in New Orleans, so the song is more personal for me than others because they had to come farther north to stay with us during the hurricane. Definitely LP's best politically-charged song in existence. You can say Hands Held High is better, but this outclasses it any day.
I never actually heard this song until a few years AFTER I bought MTM. It was a time where I never really listened to album tracks, just singles. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is LP's crowning achievement. The song still hits me in the feels to this day. The guitar work towards the end is absolutely perfect. I don't think the band could ever right something this good again. Oh, and the Road to Revolution intro is lovely. Wish it was on the studio version.
Little Things Give You Away is such a beautiful song. I love the Road to Revolution performance of this song. Its really a unique track among Linkin Park songs because of how slow it is while at the same time being one of their longest songs. Its the best closer Linkin Park has written for any of their albums IMO. My one complaint about the song is that I have to be in a certain mood to be able to listen to the song. If it comes up randomly, its just too long and slow for me to listen too on a general shuffle playlist.
I like the song, but again I rarely listen to it. It takes a while to build up and I don't always have the patience for it. The solo is an amazing moment though, and the outro with the acapella is one of LP's best moments ever. I think I would like it a lot more, if I didn't feel like the Catalyst completely eclipses it as LP's greatest long song. I also wish the lyrics weren't so specific. I don't always want to think about the same thing when I listen to the song, I'd prefer something like the lyrics of Rebellion that could apply to a ton of situations.
How did I miss In Pieces? I really like In Pieces, I think that they did a very good job with this song. The Little Things Give You Away I find a bit boring at the start, but the last chorus and the guitar solo and the outro are amazing. Nice outro to Minutes To Midnight overall.
Little Things, with no doubt, is one of the best song's they have ever put together from an artistic standpoint. An overwhelmingly powerful closer, definitely feels like the highlight of the album, which it should be. Everything about the song is so well done, from the instrumentation to the vulnerable and beautiful vocal contributions from Chester and Mike. I have yet to see somebody say they don't like it.
There's a lot to like in the instrumentation for me. The main progressions are pretty different for LP, the electronics are used so well and so minimally (as they are for the whole album), and, of course, Bourdon's drums ... but it's the lyrics and vocals that really give this song its power. That chorus is one of the best that the band has ever delivered for me, and that outro is amazing.
"We Made It" might have appeared on an official LP release but you'd be pushing it if you claim that it's a Linkin Park song
Yeah I guess you have a point that it is listed as Busta Rhymes feat. Linkin Park and I think it was even on his album. But from the song's perspective, it is so much more Linkin Park feat. Busta Rhymes.