Wall of text, coming right at you. My apologies. If this needs to be merged into the previous thread, please do so. Burn it Down – Song interpretation and Review. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the original poster and are his/her opinion alone, unless otherwise stated by members who happen to agree or those who do not state but also agree and wish to remain silent. Negative opinions are not an attack on those who hold the subject matter to a higher regard or feel that the descriptions here within do not accurately portray the meaning of said lyrics in their own individual opinions. If you are offended, please dismiss liking, disliking, agreeing and disagreeing with anything whatsoever while also giving up all hope of anyone ever taking you seriously in any context. SONG REVIEW: This is a song that blends everything from the bands past into one song. It has the electronic atmosphere of “A Thousand Suns”, the rawness of “Minutes to Midnight”, the energy of “Hybrid Theory”, and some of the immaturity and angst of “Meteora” While on paper, a blend of most of these ingredients look perfect, this song falls mostly flat on its face. The instrumental is outdone by the vocal performance. The vocal performance is held back by generic lyrics in the chorus. The chorus is outdone by the bridge. The bridge is held back by a feeling that it is tacked on. There are bits in the instrumental that are very exciting that don't go anywhere, such as the short drum solo and the great synth lines that keep building up but ultimately don't progress much at all. The bridge is held back by the rapping, which while holding tons of meaning feels as if it's there just for the sake of familiarity and isn't a genuine expression of music. Overall, this is a great idea that has been very poorly executed with a very few but absolutely stunning moments. The vocal melody is something to gaze upon but at times seems to be held back by the short length of the song and by the music itself that gets pushed into the background. Hidden Disclaimer: So you found it. Same as the last one. In fact, if you have to read anything after this sentence you deserve to be belittled. Opinions are facts. What I say goes. I am the holder of the one truth, and the only truth. If you disagree with me, you are wrong! This is a cheap intimation but I don't care because I get annoyed easily at those who are unwilling to accept that their opinions are the be-all, tell-all of everything and everyone and just because opinions are negative it means they are somehow less worthy. Except I am all of those but it doesn't matter. Something about alien turtles right here. Or how about those who wish to buy ze forumz. Anyway, the following interpretation is 100% correct. Do not dispute it. SONG INTERPRETATION: The cycle repeated as explosions broke in the sky. All that I needed was the one thing I couldn't find. And you were there at the turn, waiting to let me know. ~ Part One – THE CALL: A call of disappointment from the label and from one of a few groups of fans. Something that they've been through before thus a repetitive cycle as they exceeded to break all previous boundaries with their last effort “A Thousand Suns” But also they felt that hey were expected-needed a way to bridge their old style of music with their new experimental mindset but couldn't find out how to structure such a style up until this point. ~ ~At their turning point, some fans were there, albeit hesitantly, to let the band know of their uneasiness.~ We're building it up to break it back down. We're building it up to burn it down. We can't wait to burn it to the ground. ~They've built up their catalog of diversity that they've become so proud of just so that they could tear it apart. Not wanting to linger in the either of uneasiness they've become impatient in their goals. They can't wait to “burn it down” and then hopefully build it back up to even higher standards than they've previously set~ The colours conflicted as the flames climbed into the clouds. I wanted to fix this but couldn't stop from tearing it down. And you were there at the turn caught in the burning glow. And I was there at the turn, waiting to let you know. ~Similar to the chorus but explained in a much more elegant way. They wanted to fix the preconceptions of how people viewed them yet could not help from breaking that all apart, ergo, they were conflicted about as to what exactly should be done. All sides of fandom, both those looking for familiarity and those looking for a more experimental progression were caught in the embers as they were waiting for a response from the band to see what they would do. ~ ~The band is listening, waiting to let be known what lies ahead.~ We're building it up to break it back down. We're building it up to burn it down. We can't wait to burn it to the ground. ~Reassuring this group of fans that they've got something. They can't wait to show them what they have in mind.~ You told me “Yes”, you held me high. And I believed when you told that lie. I played soldier, you played king. You struck me down when I kissed that ring. You lost that right to hold that crown. I built you up but you let me down. So when you fall, I take my turn. And fan the flames that your blazes burn ~Part Two – The RESPONSE: This is a response from those who felt that the band were progressing, and those who had not been fans previously but were beginning to think of the band as more than they thought they'd ever could be and holding them to a higher regard. But now they feel that sound is in more of a familiar territory, and that there's a regression and that progression was all just a red herring. These fans are one type of soldier, the band is the king. These fans got struck down, and lost the fight.(Although the other fans feel the same thing happened to them last time.) They're K.O'ed, laying face down on the wrestling mat, kissing the side of the ring. They've begun to lose respect and think that the crown they've previously placed isn't credible anymore. They feel let down by all of the chaos. They hold their opinions, contemptibly thinking once the band fall back into this hole they'd made for themselves, they are just going to roll their eyes and watch the backlash, and sit back not letting the heat affect them~ And you were there at the turn, waiting to let me know. ~The band hears the concerns. They have something to say. ~ We're building it up to break it back down. We're building it up to burn it down. We can't wait to burn it to the ground. ~They are tearing down the progress they've made recently to redefine what they do once again. Mixing all of their sounds together, thus burning all of their previous efforts into a new but familiar mold.~ When you fall, I take my turn and fan the flames that your blazes burn. ~Back to those who feel there's a regression. They're letting the band know their disappointment now. They'll sit idly by, fanning these metaphoric flames.~ We can't wait to burn it to the ground ~The band isn't going to be talked out of this. They're doing what they're doing. They feel that they've won the right to do what they need or want to do. They're basically saying “Nah, nah, nah. No! We're doing this and we can't wait!” ~
This seems to me to be a 'filler' song. I don't think it would of been a 'landmark' on the album if it had not been made into a single. It is almost as if they singled Forgotten.
thank you for making the review it gave me something to think about. i find everything about burn it down amazing and unlike some bands linkin park are not saying in their songs "we want people to view us in a different way" but saying it in a way that is just epic and exotic.
I'd just like to know what that guy interviewing Shinoda was getting at.. "so who is this song aimed at?" he asked about 6 times lol.. Warner?