Pazar 12 Ağu 2007, 12:57
As if we didn't already know, here's the proof:
what i've done
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/WID.gif
Faint
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/Faint.gif
Somewhere I Belong
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/SIB.gif
crawling
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/Crawling.gif
numb
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/Numb.gif
lying from you
http://www.hometracked.com/wp-content/uploads/LinkinPark/LFY.gif
It's too funny not to point and laugh at!!
Each image above shows the audio level in (roughly) the first 90 seconds of a Linkin Park song. The tempo has been adjusted for a few tracks for better visual alignment.
What this goes to prove is just how generic and formulaic Linkin Park are… or a lot of music from a lot of genres, come to think of it.
Listen to enough mainstream music on a daily basis and it's hard not to start feeling bored with the fascinating intro, followed by the oh so surprising start (not), followed by a bit of filler till you get to the chorus, which is usually, what, about five words on repeat?
Basically, you know the whole song within the first 30 seconds. The rest is more of the same. If you're unlucky, the first track on an album sets the scene, the rest is more of the same. And if you're really musically illiterate, the first song on the first album sets the scene, the entire discography from that point on is just more of the same. I give you Linkin Park as a prime example, but also throw in The Strokes because they illustrate the point even better.
From a punter's point of view, if we're just after some sonic wallpaper, this is enough. A bit of a hook here, a catchy melody there, they make money, we have a laugh. Job done. In this sense, they're the commodity, we're the consumers. It's not music, it's merchandising. This is what the music industry is all about. They seduce us into buying the same song in various guises over and over again. Not only that, they make us think it's a good idea. Is there any other industry that gets us to buy the same thing again and again? On this scale?
*gets off soap box, dusts it down, ready for the next person*
Source for images: here