Linkin Park
If the last thing I’d heard from them was Meteora and then woke up to hear a song like Heavy or Talking to Myself, I would straight up just not believe it’s the same band. That’s not to say I don’t like their later stuff, but its radically different.
On the other hand, the 20th anniversary editions of Hybrid Theory and Meteora would blow my mind.
I just realized I haven’t listened to Linkin Park in at least a decade. Thanks for reminding me about them
Would definitely recommend listening to A Thousand Suns in its entirety. Absolutely their magnum opus. Also should check out the 20th anniversary editions of Hybrid Theory and Meteora. They’re both filled with insane amounts of demos and unreleased songs. Lost, Fighting Myself, QWERTY, and And One are some of the best demos that should have made it to albums
Honestly I grew out of Linkin Park and I haven’t listened to their old or new stuff for years now. I listen to Hybrid Theory like once a year or of nostalgia, but that’s it, I don’t actually get any musical enjoyment from them anymore. But A Thousand Suns is an exception. Such an incredible album. So powerful, so different from everything else they’ve made, and quite unique.
*sigh* Chester… Him and Chris Cornell. There’s always gonna be a hole in my music-loving heart when I hear either of these guys sing.
My only tattoo is a memoriam to Chester… Dude was my idol, and biggest inspiration.
Mf had an insane voice. Never gonna see anyone quite like him again.
Just hope that wherever he may be, if anywhere, he’s found some peace. He deserves it.
I’m with you. Linkin Park was the first band I connected with and bought CDs from.
As far as vocal talent, I’ve been impressed with Falling in Reverse, especially the round of singles released in the past two-ish years. Ronnie Radke does a phenomenal job with rapping, singing, and screaming. For me, this scratches that itch for the unique sound Linkin Park introduced.
Every time I’d start to grow out of their sound they’d come out with something completely new and I’d get sucked right back in. And yet their early stuff is so iconic that even parodies of it totally rock.
Exactly who I was thinking of. I actually really appreciate that they evolved their music, instead of just doing the same things for 15 years.
Andre 3000 making a flute album was unexpected and I wasn’t even in a coma for 20 years. It’s good
Leave Britney alone aged… well.
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I would say the prevalence of K-Pop. The occasional foreign language song would hit the charts every once in a while, but for an entire genre of foreign music to have fans everywhere is surprising.
Hanson. They’re still together and touring.
Justin Timberlake became an actor and SNL regular renown for his holiday dick jokes.
Taylor Swift. She started out as a country singer, completely changed her genre, and became a pop sensation.
Edit: Nevermind, her first album was in 2005 I think.
I miss when she was a country singer. It really felt like a perfect match for her. And then she left it.
And then there’s her 2020 albums, folklore, and evermore. These will forever be my favorite pieces of music from Taylor Swift of all time. And they aren’t pop or country.
I’d be amazed and impressed to see the Psychedelic Furs are playing.
Honestly I’d mostly be upset about people who have died. Bowie. Prince.
George Michael dying of a heart attack on Christmas day was pretty out of left field given that he wrote Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart. I probably would have to see a newspaper to believe it.
Sigh…Antiflag. as a band that stood so strongly for pro-feminism, anti-racism, anti-corporate, just progressive politics to the max, having that news come out about Justin Sane being a complete fucking creep really shatters the music and the message.
I’d say collectively the genre of black metal. In 2004 most black metal acts were still doing the same kind of lo-fi DIY “buzzsaw in a garbage can” style that had been popular throughout the 90s. You could find artists who were starting to get more creative with it, but you really had to look hard sometimes.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love old school black metal, but when that’s all there is it starts to all sound alike after awhile.
Now it seems like every time I hear a new black metal release people have really started pushing the genre WAY past a bunch of white guys in corpse paint singing about how depressed they are lol! Now there’s tons of interesting electronic bands, lots of crossover bands, lots of avant garde artistic stuff, lots of stuff from different countries all over the world all adding their own unique sounds… It’s just really refreshing to hear a genre that was notoriously strict become something so much bigger and better
I still enjoy the second-wave stuff from time to time, but you’re absolutely spot-on with what’s been coming out in recent years. I’m really into groups that have kept the original BM music style but embraced modern production. A few that come to mind are Faidra, Spectral Wound, Asarhaddon, and Funeral Winds; fantastic bands that play “true” BM but have good recording quality.
Like you mentioned, the big change is just how many “crossover” bands there are, and I’m all for it. You didn’t ask for suggestions, but I’m going to offer some of my favorites anyway:
- Harakiri for the Sky - One of the best post-black bands.
- Anomalie (shares members with Harakiri for the Sky) - BM plus what I can only call “tribal” elements.
- Psyclon 9 (at least their older albums) - BM plus industrial/aggrotech.
- Dawn of Ashes - See above.
- Anaal Nathrakh - BM + grind + industrial + ?
- Darkthrone (yes, THAT Darkthrone) - Blackened hard rock? I don’t know what to call their new stuff, but it’s not bad.
- Gaerea - Radio-friendly BM
- Kanonenfieber - Blackened melodic death metal? Maybe?
- Afsky - Folk-inspired BM. Seems like this is a really popular combination.
- None - DSBM, but with the exception of their filler tracks, more on the BM, less on the DS.
- Ernte - Fairly traditional BM, but with female vocals.
I wouldn’t know about biggest surprise, but I didn’t see the Red Hot Chili Peppers replacing guitar with keyboard. I really liked what John Frusciante and his predecessors had brought to the group. I went from a deep Peppers fan to not listening to anything post Stadium Arcadium
Coldplay switched to making lifeless, generic pop music…
I just noticed that ABBA very recently made a new album.
ABBA is still producing music?! I thought they had retired back in late 90s?
Yeah same. They decided to come back when we least expected it.
Maroon 5.
They have adapted to the times in ways no one could have expected.
I ask this genuinely - but do you like them? They are one band that I never understood how anyone got into them. I get that people like all kinds of stuff, but they always seemed like a worse version of Nickleback.
I like some of their songs. Despise others. They have changed sound so much over the years that I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the answer everyone gave.
That makes sense. Thank you for the reply.
Beastie Boys.
Bush.
Justin Timberlake.
Gwen Stefani.
