Forfeit the Game

Do people still listen to The Vines?  Yah, I didn’t think so.  "Get Free" is totally my jam this week, over 12 years after I first heard it.  It is just a great song—even though we never heard from them again. 

Do people still listen to Linking Park?  Now, there is a band that is NOT a one hit wonder and not a band that fell off the face of the earth in the early 2000s.  But no one talks about them.  I feel like Hybrid Theory came out in 2000 and by the time “In The End” played for the 300 millionth time on MTV, people were on to the next band.

Note: if “In The End” is your favorite Linkin Park song to date, you should just stop reading this post.  You know nothing of the Park that is Linkin.

People don’t seem to understand that Linkin Park has staying power like no other.  They have rocked ever since that first album.  Just for kicks, I looked up how many albums they have released, to compare how many I have purchased.  They have 6 studio albums (not including any remix or live albums).  It turns out I have all 6 of these albums, plus a remix album, so I know what I am talking about.

Even though I may not be dedicated like I used to be (I no longer have aspirations to marry Chester Bennington and go on tour with him), I always go back to their albums.  And if you thought they lost their touch after Hybrid Theory—you are WRONG!

They have made some amazing music since 2000.  Their best albums after Hybrid Theory are Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns.  If you are not familiar with these albums and haven't been enjoying them over the years, you have missed out on a lot of inner angst and a lot of emotional walks to the subway.  You have missed so many fights with your boyfriend or girlfriend, so many feeling sorry for yourself cry sessions, so many angry drives through the rain I mean, have you really lived? 

Unfortunately, I have only seen Linkin Park once, at Madison Square Garden.  I went alone and stood next to a guy in a cowboy hat.  He asked me at least twice to smile.  Despite a stranger constantly encouraging my facial expressions to change, it was a great show.  Linkin Park is a well-oiled machine, full of so many pieces.  All the instruments, musicians and visuals all play together so well that it is as if Linkin Park is one artistic movement—one voice.

Here are my picks of the Top 10 Linkin Park Songs ever!

01.  Valentine’s Day

02.  Waiting for the End

03.  When They Come for Me

04.  Castle of Glass

05.  Place for My Head

06.  Rebellion

07.  Hands Held High

08.  Papercut

09.  Final Masquerade

10.  Points of Authority