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

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

  1. Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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  2. lime treacle

    lime treacle Über Member Über Member

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    Umm... I hope you don't mind... again? :lol: Moving on to Meteora...

    14. Foreword + Don't Stay



    The mixing on "Don't Stay" is amazing. These two make a splendid opener, and "Don't Stay" would perhaps be one of my favorite Linkin Park songs if it had better lyrics. Some really dope scratching here.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 13, 2016
  3. Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    [​IMG]

    This is as bad as Linkin Park gets. It's embaressing to listen to this.
     
  4. The Free Element

    The Free Element Well-Known Member

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    I LOVE that song,the intro is amazing. I really don't give a crap about the lyrics or the structure. Yes,i love ATS and it's my favorite album,but sometimes easy things just work good. And Don't Stay gets me pumped up like few other songs.
     
  5. Heavy is the Louis

    Heavy is the Louis No really, we are so back. LPA Team

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    I'm gonna go all Tony on this one and give this a lot of words.

    To be quite honest, this is one of my favorite songs off of Meteora - and to me the "Foreword" + "Don't Stay" intro really is one of the best album intros the band has. I know people really hate on the album, and I get it - but as I've said before, this is the album that got me into the band and I have a very unique love for it. I've actually been listening to this album in my car over the past few days, really sort of in preparation for this thread, because I doubt a lot of other people on the forums are going to give this album the love that I will. :lol:

    As far as this song is concerned, it's honestly pretty fun. It's an excellent live-show opener and an excellent album-opener. The guitar part has a great build-up, and I think Joe's scratching (especially the very moment he comes in) is just superb. It's cool to me how in the album notes they explain that he nailed this on his first take. Now, the album as a whole doesn't have the strongest of lyrics - but what I like about this song in particular is how simply it articulates my feelings sometimes when I look back on a bad friendship or relationship. Sometimes, there's just this unexplainable anger that comes from even just reminiscing, and this song in particular illustrates it well for me. It has a structure very similar to "One Step Closer," but it sounds more full than that song. I love the build-up to the bridge and how the bridge escalates the way it does. I sincerely love the guitar part there, especially when Brad introduces that bend before Chester starts screaming harmonies. The song as a whole has these small moments that are just like, "Damn, that was cool."

    Another thing about this song for me is just how well Chester's screaming is meshed over Mike's voice, as well as his own singing. It gives the vocals an extra kick that you don't really find in any other song on the album. I mean, the song itself is just a kick-start - full of its own kicks in different places. I also like how "Foreword" leads into the song with the breaking glass / hard drive (I believe Mike said it was a hard drive).

    Like I said, the lyrics aren't the best and the whole album kind of plays into that (making exception for "Breaking the Habit," and "Session") - and it applies here to some extent. But, honestly, when I really just need to release anger - this song and this album are very helpful toward that end.
     
  6. brady

    brady I am the LPA LPA Super Member

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    I loved Don't Stay when I was younger. Now? I honestly think it's one of the worst songs Linkin Park has made.
     
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  7. Qwerty19

    Qwerty19 Well-Known Member

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    I have always loved "Don't Stay".

    The guitar riff in that song is actually one of my favorite from the band, and I love the guitar progression in the bridge too, it just sounds heavy you know. The song as a whole is probably one of angriest, most energetic stuff LP has written; what I particularly like about it is that it has no "break" moment when the pace of the song goes slower. I mean, there is a certain flow to the song that never stops, in comparison to some recent LP heavy tracks where there is often some sorte of pauses which cut the songs in different parts.

    The scratching is sick during the whole song, and it is indeed impressive that Joe got it on the first take. Also, on the vocal side, I find Chester job on the track really great. I mean, those raspy powerfull sustained notes he does during the chorus, he wouldn't be able to perform them today with as much power and ferocity. And when those are mixed along with some real screams, it sounds so fucking cool to me ahah

    Oh and I almost forgot to say I really like the melody! I guess the only weak point of "Don't stay" would be the lyrics, but somehow, I have always liked them. It's angsty, but it's not "I wanna runaway,never say goodbye" type of angsty. I actually think they do a pretty good job at putting a certain kind of anger I have experienced in the past into simple words, and I appreciate that.

    So yep. As you can guess, when I say that I have always loved "Dont Stay", I'm not lying :lol:
     
  8. minuteforce

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

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    The fact "Meteora" opens with the sound of a something being smashed to pieces is pretty fitting. I've always thought that "Foreword"'s transition into "Don't Stay" is pretty cool; probably one of the coolest the band have ever delivered on a studio album.

    "Don't Stay" is among my least-favourite Linkin Park songs solely because of the lyrics. I didn't mind them in 2003, but, a decade on, they are the epitome of what I don't like about pre-"Midnight" Linkin Park. I think that the guitar riffs, turntable scratching and drum parts live up to "Hybrid Theory" pretty well, and, like the rest of "Meteora", this song shows that the production values were taken up a notch since the band recorded their first album. In terms of sonics and performances, "Foreword" and "Don't Stay" probably aren't bad, and do indeed make a good opening combination - not just on "Meteora" but also for the live shows. That opening riff starts things off wonderfully and gets the crowds going as the band members charge on-stage. The beginnings of shows like the 2004 Rock Am Ring set and the set(s) documented on 2003's "Live In Texas" are good examples. The extended intro used during the Rock Am Ring set and the subsequent Projekt Revolution tour is one of my favourite live intros ever by the band. :)

    As with several Linkin Park songs, the heaviness of the intro in "Don't Stay" doesn't let up once the verses start, which is another great element making it ideal for an energy-building show opener. When I first watched "Live In Texas" (whereupon I heard live versions of many, many songs for the first time), I was disappointed and felt that the chorus lost much of its power without all the extensive layering and effects present in the studio recording. I feel a little different now - on "Live In Texas", especially, Shinoda sounds pretty angry singing "forget our memories / forget our possibilities" so I think that the live vocal arrangements have their merits in bringing out a rawness that isn't found on "Meteora". :p
     
  9. Elaine

    Elaine The One They Call Elaine. LPA VIP

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    Preeeeeeetty much the same, here. I can barely stand anything from their first two albums on any level other than "Guilty Pleasures".
     
  10. RazorEye

    RazorEye The light on the horizon...

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    Was waiting until this thread reached Meteora! Initiate the madness!

    Not a big fan of "Don't Stay" myself, but it's a really cool track nonetheless. It noticeably continues the Hybrid Theory sound, which, looking back, was a great way of welcoming in fans who were probably still recovering form the Hybrid Theory epidemic by the time 2003 came around. It's interesting, though, considering the vast majority of the record doesn't sound anything like "Don't Stay", which might've thrown off a lot of Hybrid-attached fans. This track borrows the formality and straightforward composition of Hybrid Theory, with similar-sounding guitar riffs and vocal/production techniques used by Gilmore and the band. The rest of Meteora, however, is more industrial, employed alot of jump-cutting, different musical styles, more diverse instrumentation and a whole lot more electronic intervention, which is why I do not like "Don't Stay" as a Meteora track. It's a false advertisement, realistically, for what's to come on the album.
     
  11. Paree

    Paree I love my scars!

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    Actually it is considered as a great album by the band (i am not considering the opinion of this forum alone) and its most people's(LP fans) second favorite album.
    Dont stay is a song that i dont hate but i dont like it too.
     
  12. lime treacle

    lime treacle Über Member Über Member

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    :huh: Okay...

    I suppose this are the same people whose favorite album is Hybrid Theory?
     
  13. Paree

    Paree I love my scars!

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    Yeah.Most of them.But i am one of those whose favorite is Living Things and second favorite is Meteora.
     
  14. lime treacle

    lime treacle Über Member Über Member

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    Most people who are serious about Linkin Park don't find Hybrid Theory their favorite, dude.
     
  15. Paree

    Paree I love my scars!

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    I Actually like HT but its not my favorite but most people listen to LP Because they are famous.I dont hate any LP songs and i adore Both their styles but most of the people who listen to Rock music are youngsters they like album like HT.Even i used to hate songs like waiting for the end ,BITS,SOTD,LOATR but after listening to them many times i like them and some of them are my favorites too.
     
  16. polleo

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

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    The band seems to be very proud of every album they made. I know HT is the biggest fan favorite but to a extent, HT and Meteora fans are blinded by nostalgia. Besides, at that point of time, the band was very popular and Meteora especially is a very 'commercial' kind of a record. So, it is obvious HT and Meteora always win with the casual fans. Most people who still listen to the band after Meteora seem to love all the stuff the band made. Even on this forum a lot of people don't hate Meteora, they just don't think it is the best LP album because of how repetitive it is. I don't know anything about music but the lyrical theme of more than half the record was 'screw you'.

    Anyway, back on topic,
    I love the 'with no apologies' part. And, I think the lyrics are boring but not as bad as everyone is making it out to be.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2014
  17. The Joesen One

    The Joesen One Fun-employed LPA Super Member

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    "Foreword" is a great intro.

    "Don't Stay" was not a great first song. It sounds almost like a rip-off of "One Step Closer", which is not good. Also, the whiny lyrics. It almost overtook "Runaway" as my least favorite LP song.
     
  18. The Free Element

    The Free Element Well-Known Member

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    Yah,too bad that the only folks that are serious about LP are the LPA users and some guys I know in an italian forum. I just came from a Youtube flame where an user was throwing s**t at ATS because "it's electronic crap and not what REALLY a Linkin Park record should be". Funny that the same guy actually praised Living Things,wich is even LESS rock than ATS.
     
  19. polleo

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

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    Isn't LT more rock than ATS? Youtube comments aren't that bad. Its just the obnoxious ones are the loudest thats all. The newer songs don't have that many dislikes. Anyway, we should stop this discussion, it is going way off topic.
     
  20. Serox

    Serox Active Member

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    I remember I just became an LP fan, loving In The End, Crawling & OSC, then I also heard this song & was like "woah!" This is band is fking amazing! I loved it a lot back in the day. Just another good LP song as always.
     

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