The boys of Linkin Park caught the attention of America's youth in 1999 with the angst-ridden lyrics of their Hybrid Theory album and followed up four years later with their award-winning multi-platinum album Meteora. Since then, the youth of our nation have grown a bit older and the sound of the newest LP album Minutes to Midnight seems to acknowledge that and matures a bit with its fans.
The band worked on about 150 tracks in preparation for this album and chose what they felt were the best tracks. The album is truly eclectic, from the instrumental opening, followed by the angry, explicit track Given Up and the more mellow Leave Out All the Rest, and track four, Bleed It Out, is a short throwaway rap cut (minus Joe Hahn's mixing and scratching present on both previous albums but absent in this one). There's a fairly good balance of all the different styles, and on my first listen through, this was a bit jarring and rather turned me off to the whole album.
Now that it's had a little time to sink in, I appreciate the fact that the band is truly trying to break the mold they've been cast into and grow the diversity of their material. It's almost guaranteed that the angst-ridden youth will probably cry out as I did on the first run. It's not the solid album we were all expecting with our high hopes, but there are a few gems here (my favorite being Leave Out All the Rest) inside this 44-minute album. I wouldn't be caught dead paying $18 for this album, but it's definitely worth it on sale... just be ready to hit fast forward past the duds.
Leave Out All the Rest
I dreamed I was missing
You were so scared
But no one would listen
Cause no one else cared
After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I am done here?
So if you're asking me
I want you to know
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
And don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I've been
I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
But neither have you
So if you're asking me
I want you to know
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Forgetting
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some
Reasons to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Forgetting
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending
Someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
I can't be who you are
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