• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

In the end, did Linkin Park deserve all the hate they got? Does it even matter?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I listened to Linkin Park when I was like 12 - 14 years old, the Hybrid Theory/Meteora-era. I thought they were pretty good, but it wasn't an angst-ridden thing for me, it was just new to me who had listened to mostly radio-pop before.

Then I ventured into harder and harder music and later on doing a complete 180, listening a lot to electronica, electro, trip-hop, turntablism, industrial etc.

But I still hear everyone I know say "Man, remember when we listened to Linkin Park, how lame was that!". I started believing it without personally really disliking them.

Then recently I went back to those first two albums, and they're pretty great imo. Chester has a pretty distinct voice and the production is good with drumtracks and synthesizers that are pretty eclectic.

So in retrospect, did Linkin Park suck as the de-facto angst-ridden crap teenagers listen to while going through hormonal changes.
245063794_5ab866053b.jpg
 

zeshakag

Member
Angsty yes. But still musically compelling.

I love me some Linkin park. I mean, you had a fuckin DJ spinning, a rapper, Chester's voice and sweet guitar and bass riffs.
 

Cryxo93

Banned
Thost first two albums were actually, legitimately good. Can't even begin to say the same thing about everything else though.
 
Their sound felt new and unique. I also don't get why people bang on about the lyrics being terrible. Simple popularity pushback.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I had a Linkin Park shirt I bought when I was 19 and one time I broke it out at a party in like ~2006 because I gained a bunch of weight and it was the only shirt that I had that fit. Some dude attempted to fight me because "that band sucks compared to AC/DC."

Granted, my girlfriend called him a pathetic loser and mocked him getting rejected by some other girl like 10 minutes prior to this incident.
 

toxicgonzo

Taxes?! Isn't this the line for Metallica?
In the end, it doesn't even really matter.

all that matters is how much you enjoy them
 

kirblar

Member
Thost first two albums were actually, legitimately good. Can't even begin to say the same thing about everything else though.
Minutes to Midnight was a disaster- they turned themselves into a generic band and lost the thing (dueling rap/rock singers) that made them unique. Thankfully they veered away from that generic sound with the later stuff.

Waiting for the End is a fantastic song though.
 

Lambtron

Unconfirmed Member
Fuck whoever tries to act cool and make fun of them in a social group. Some of their songs were the shit.
I can't stand them. It has nothing do with acting cool and everything to do with them being the musical equivalent of nails being pounded into my testes.
 
Their first two albums are some of the best albums of all time for me. They have some goodies here and there on their latter albums, but they don't compare to the first two. Even 3 is better than everything that came afterwards. I didn't know people thought it was lame, I still put on their songs here and there and listen.
mostly the first two albums
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Yes.


It's still pretty bad and the lyrics are laughably juvenile.

I didn't go out of my way to listen to them nor did I hate them with a passion, but it was immediately apparent from their singles that their total vocabulary was probably like 50 words. How many times did they rhyme "feel" and "real"? I liked certain aspects of their sound, but I can't listen to music that is constantly reminding me it's for 13 year olds.
 

The Lamp

Member
The first two albums were brilliant. Melodic and creative combinations of instruments and genres of rock and ballads and synth sounds and hip-hop.

The rest was garbage.

Fort Minor ftw.
 
They were and are lyrically garbage(except when Shinoda went off from time to time), but their sound was and still is so fresh and new. They are also one of the few bands that do experiment with newer sounds, which I wholly appreciate from them.

Hybrid Theory and Meteora are still great albums.
 

ZeroRay

Member
Hybrid Theory and Meteora weren't great, but it was catchy pop music in an angsty, nu-metal package. Which I loved the shit out of when I was 12 - 14.

Still listen from time to time for nostalgia's sake.
 

Dali

Member
The only thing that really sucks about linkin Park is the whiny singing. The rap was decent and the beats/production was oftentimes amazing.
 

Darksol

Member
Not the absolute worst dross at the time, but the lyrics are cringe-worthy. My favourite songs of theirs feature no lyrics for a reason.
 
Uninspired by the books rapping verses, predictable singing choruses, and bland to terrible lyrics. Yeah, they deserve the distaste.

That being said, hate is too strong. Their music is mostly inoffensive. I never found it grating like Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach or any boy band from the late 90s. It's ok.
Its quintessential teen music. In a way, its whats expected of teenagers to listen to.
Like an embarassing stepping stone towards better music.
 
What I don't understand is why people act like all they ever did was the emo/angry stereotype. They changed it up a lot with Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns. They kinda moved back in the original direction after that, but it's not like they remained sonically stagnant. Their newer albums have aged way better in my opinion too.
 
The guitar playing was just as weak as the lyrics. I didn't even dislike them initially but I grew out of that shit real fast. It's not interesting on any level to me.
 

Umibozu

Member
To me they were like nickelback. Largely mocked but had gained very loyal fanbase (that was also mocked) and had songs that were somewhat formulaic from one song to the next.
 
I put them into the same group as disturbed or drowning pool or papa roach

Music was actually shit but who cared it was "harder" music than what was on the radio and hit at just the right time for my generation

Still, I did buy some of their songs on Rock Band 3 a few years ago because they're fun
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Yes, but they're super successful so at the end of the day, who cares?
ICP got a bunch of shit too, but they gained a rabid fanbase that makes them money to this day out of it so it's kind of like who cares if your music is trash if enough people like it
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom