You've kinda got it wrong a bit. There is no general consensus on "what the fans want", it's that some people who dislike something tend to be a little too vocal when it comes to these things, giving the impression that their views are more mainstream than they actually are. Every artist that doesn't want to be the modern equivalent of AC/DC has different periods. Mix old style and new style, and what you have is "Minutes to Midnight", it maintained aspects of the old sound but simultaneously pushed their boundaries, yet people still bashed that album for not being similar to Hybrid Theory "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone." Like someone said on a previous forum, artistic integrity matters way more than pandering to a section of the base. I have respect for music that is genuine, whether or not I like it.
You can't compare any band to Reznor. There's only one Trent Reznor and not everyone can do what he does.
When they say they "exhausted" their old sound, did they really? I mean yeah maybe power chords maybe... Lp have played around a lot with what they're making their songs WITH (random instruments, blends, electronic instruments, MIDI pads, sampling, etc) but they haven't exhausted WHAT they're doing WITH it. I mean we can all agree that their instrumentals aren't that complex... can't they make an epic evolved Hybrid Theory with complex rhythms & guitar solos ? (providing Brad is able to do them) So yes I loved ATS and listen to it all the time but I do understand where you're coming from. Sometimes, we all miss the old sound and I feel like Linkin Park are trying to hard to separate themselves from it. They're not looking at the possibilities of developing their trademark further. Sure they're trying to make music w/o 'boundaries' but by avoiding their old sound all together is a huge boundary they set for themselves. EDIT: about going independent... highly doubt it. They have a lot more resources available to them with a record label and they simply cannot promote their record like the way it is promoted with a label like Warner. About all the money figures, you guys don't really know how the music industry works so why are so many of you throwing numbers out and acting like you work in it? -.-
I think I want something similar actually. Except no screaming from Chester and no angsty lyrics. Oh wait, that's half of what Hybrid Theory was
Lool well yeah without angst. I wouldn't mind screaming... But I mean by the punch that hybrid theory had <3
Well, these things are difficult to put a finger around because they are the only ones who know what they want for themselves as a band. It depends on what is artistically relevant to them at this time, similarly they may say they have "exhausted" the MTM sound and that's why ATS is totally different, Chester said in an interview that the next album will certainly be a bigger leap compared to ATS. They seem to be onto a genre-hopping scheme. Bands such as U2 and The Beatles did it during their time and were successful. I think the band's drawing influences from those examples. Surely, there were a million other things they could have done. But you can't really fault artistic desires can you? Thing about art is that it doesn't follow a set rule. They didn't necessarily want a particular sound to be their trademark. This interview kinda covers it: http://lptimes.com/2010/10/21/interview-with-chester-on-herald-sun/ Then again, no telling what the future holds.
I miss my old girlfriend but I'm not going to kid myself into thinking she doesn't have kids and a convict boyfriend now. Some things just can't go back to the way they were. Like LP.
For me, there isn't much difference between them trying new things with how they originally sounded, to what they have been doing. The basics of how they sounded are still there, but with some new things. Like, most of their songs are still pretty much rock + hip-hop + electronic stuff, but they've tried different combinations of that, different formulas for writing songs and different subjects for the lyrics, and they've tried adding in other kinds of music or at least different varieties of the kinds of music they already did.
Same here. When it comes down to it, music is art. Some people will get it, some people wont. I'll use my Picasso example again. He went through his moods and changed his painting style accordingly. Some people like his rose period, some like his blue period. Some think he's a genious, some think he's a hack. All in all, music/art are entirely subjective. Not everyone can be appeased. Being a fanboy as I am, I'm sure anything they put out will sound amazing to me... Just like every painting I've seen Picasso create looks like pure genious on canvas.