Then what exactly are you saying? You don't have to dress or look a certain way to be a particular kind of performer. If someone raps, they're a rapper. Simple as that.
If you want to talk about image and LP... I don't think any of them at all, apart from Chester when he's on stage, looks like a rock star. I don't think I've ever seen such an 'uncool' looking rock band.
Mike and Brad in particular seem to have an 'I don't care what people think of me' attitude which actually makes them cooler than bands that try to be all 'rock'n roll'. In my opinion anyways. The fact that they aren't afraid to be so silly as a band is pretty cool as well.
Well , did you know the German Band "Die Ärzte" ? The stupidy alife xD but yeah . like that Chester, Mike , Joe , Brad , Dave and Rob are not this rockstar kind of people. This makes them more cool imo than some "asshole" bands.
I don't listen to LP for lyrics. I have Radiohead and other bands for that. What LP are so good at is making good melodies and cool sounds.
People treating art like a puzzle to be solved with one right answer is annoying, and most people (myself included) seem to be more likely to treat song lyrics this way, for whatever reason. I think anyone who is passionate about any art should read about this, it's a more open and interesting way of looking at things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_Author
I'm saying it's ok he looks like a lawyer (the dude is part of the reason I dress the way I dress), but his rapping just doesn't feel sincere anymore. It's just that when you think that the same person sang "Castle of Glass" and "Roads Untraveled" and then did "Until it Breaks", it's hard to connect with all of it. The rapping in THP is probably the lowest point of the album. I just feel it'd be better if Linkin Park had two singers, rather than a singer + rapper combo which got old in 2004 when they took it to a whole new level with "Collision Course".
I respectfully disagree. The tandem of Chester and Mike has been one of those things with this band that has kept me anxious to see what they do next for the past (almost) 15 years. Also, to corner Mike as strictly a "rapper" is not necessarily fair to Mike. He does rap, don't get me wrong, but he does a whole lot more for the band than just laying down rappy raps.
I completely disagree with the Mike thing. He sings very well and connects his melody with Chester seamlessly, yes. But the singing+rapping is why I started listening to LP in the first place. Old or not and for better or for worse, it's their signature. Also, the band will get shot at for whatever they write anyway. They're not the most proficient but for some reason people continously expect lyrical prowess from them.
Yeah thats what i think. THis ""Mike Rap and Chester SIng" thing is something that made LP what they are. How many bands have such a combo in theire band?
THP's lyrics sucked considerably less than some of their older material. Whether that speaks more to the quality of the HP stuff or their older songs is up to you.
For the most part, yeah, this is very true. As for Shinoda's bravado or whatever ... when I first heard "When They Come For Me", I was, like, "it's about damn time they did this".
So make songs that fit singing. It just feels more unique, less ''this is a song we made to show Hybrid Theory fans we can still make songs like that album.''. And I love HT, just... it's from 2000. It feels stupid if a band is making the same type of songs after 15 years. Of course, it isn't all they do (not even close), but there's just no need for not even one song like that. I think AFN and Wastelands are enjoyable (actually, idk what I think about Wastelands, that's a pretty bad chorus), but there's no more need for songs like that. The box has been checked and checked again. Ah, well, obviously people disagree with me.
It's good to see someone opened up some discussion on this topic. The lyrics in THP songs are actually more meaningful and hold more weight than the lyrics in most of HT+Meteora. The band is expressing ideas and concepts more relevant to a broader age range and to people from different segments of society. I don't think the songs are really about the band, GATS could easily be interpreted that way but I don't think that was the overall tone the band was setting for these songs. LP is one of those bands that, in making music the way the want to, they make songs that encompass different measures of quality in through different interpretations of each song. Songs like UIG may seem uninspired lyrically, but the band has said that the lyrics entail themes like being distanced from your child as they grow up, which isn't the most common interpretation for the song. Taking this interpretation into account alongside the decent rhythmic technicality of the song, it ain't as bad as many would make it out to be. This is just one example from this album. Consider even the chorus in MTG, which may appear to be meaningless, but it could mean something like "whether you are in a bad situation (in the dark) or in a hopeful situation(in the light), you can still be losing what you have (nothing left) because in this world nothing is guaranteed to play out in any preferable way(nothing right)." It all depends on interpretation, although I do kinda wonder about War, since apparently it was written in 5 minutes and probably has the most generic lyrics on the record. I feel like this album is below the standard that is within the band's capacity to achieve for the direction they took. Many things could have been improved here. For one, Mike's rapping is indeed more of the 'tough guy' persuasion, which wouldn't be too bad if it had more technical proficiency. His rhymes here are not anything special, anyone even slightly musically tuned can write them. Even though Reading My Eyes has that style too, you can see some actual skill with the rapping. It's more than just having lines rhyme with each other, but other things need to be considered as well, such as having vowels in the words rhyme while flowing well in the verse. Mike is capable of so much more, his rap at the end of And One is probably one of his best. I wish he would write more like that with LP, seriously I don't get why he had to proclaim that he's a "half-fried panko", like what is the purpose of that line? I was pleased with his singing though. It made Rebellion sound remotely like an old Green Day song. I think he should explore his vocal capabilities more and experiment with them. Anyway lyricism has never been LP's strong point, but they've proven they can write decent lyrics, and they have been consistent with that overall over the course of their career, apart from certain cases. Bottom line is, the quality of their music depends on how the listener interprets, perceives and consumes it. The band doesn't feel the need to write some monumentally moving lyrics with excellently crafted melodies and rhythms, it's about what they want to hear and what they want to offer the fans for them to enjoy.
"They're telling me to quit rapping, just play the keys. That my band had a singer, they didn't need me"