This weekend on 92.9, we are bringing you the Top 10 Songs by Linkin Park. Formed in 1996, Linkin Park rose to international fame with their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory (2000), which became certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Linkin Park is among the best-selling bands of the 21st century and the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.
10.
Breaking The Habit
Meteora (2003)
This is about someone who has the tendency to do things to hurt himself physically and mentally. "You all assume I'm safe here in my room unless I try to start again" - this means he spends a lot of time in his room, where everyone thinks he can't do anything to hurt himself, but little do they know that he could at any time start hurting himself without them knowing. Mike Shinoda had been trying to write a song around this lyrical idea for for over five years but nothing seemed to work. While the album was being put together, Mike began working on an interlude, crossing a digitally manipulated beat with strings and piano. Brad and Joe suggested that Mike make the small interlude into a whole song.
9.
Leave Out All The Rest
Minutes To Midnight (2007)
This song is about a man looking for redemption from his past mistakes. He knows he has hurt people and made some poor choices, and now he wants to be forgiven. The original title was "Fear." The band spent a lot of time working on the lyrics, and the song went through many variations before it was recorded.
8.
Faint
Meteora (2003)
Guitarist Brad Delson came into the studio bus where vocalist Mike Shinoda was working with the idea for this. Brad recorded scratch guitar tracks for "Faint" over a click track (no drums, no music), expecting the tempo to be about 70 BPM (Beats-per-minute). He returned to the bus a couple of days later, and Mike had put together the beat at 135 BPM - almost twice as fast. After careful deliberation, Brad and Mike decided the faster beat was more fun.
7.
What I've Done
Minutes To Midnight (2007)
In this song, Chester Bennington sings about things we've done that we regret - how we want to forget it all and move on. According to Bennington, the theme of the song is "admitting to your faults of the past and kind of accepting it and moving on and trying to become something better."
6.
Somewhere I Belong
Meteora (2003)
This is about someone who feels out of place and alone, with nothing to say due to his own fault. This started out as a sample of Chester Bennington playing acoustic guitar. Mike Shinoda took the sample, replayed it, effected it, flipped it backwards and cut it up into four pieces, creating the main sample of the song. By the time it was finished, almost a year later, the band had rewritten most of the music around the sample.
5.
One Step Closer
Hybrid Theory (2000)
Lead singer Chester Bennington wrote this to express the anger he felt growing up. He didn't fit in well and got beat up a lot. Bennington wanted kids who hate themselves at times to know that he went through the same thing. He did not intend it as an excuse for self-pity or anger. This song was made after the band had frustrations making "Runaway," another song on the album.
4.
New Divide
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Soundtrack (2009)
This is the theme song for the 2009 movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Co-frontman Mike Shinoda told Billboard magazine that as a group of confirmed fans of the toy and cartoon franchise, Linkin Park "created a song that we felt fit the spirit of the movie and the characters and also obviously stayed true to the spirit of the band."
3.
Numb / Encore
Meteora (2003)
This is about children who is sick of living up to the high expectations their parents set for them. The lyric "Every step that I take is another mistake to you" is about how they feel like they can't do anything to make their parents proud. This was the third single off Meteora. The news was announced at Linkin Park's Toronto Summer Sanitarium show. This song was conceived just one week before the band entered NRG studios to begin recording. Built around the intro hook, the song came together quickly and almost effortlessly.
2.
Shadow Of The Day
Minutes To Midnight (2007)
More mellow than previous Linkin Park songs, this seems to be about someone thinking about a friend who is suffering, most likely from depression or a physical illness. He talks about how sometimes it is easier to just stop trying, even though everyone wants you to push onward. Life isn't nearly as simple as it seems, and sometimes giving up is the best solution.
1.
In The End
Hybrid Theory (2000)
This was the third single from Linkin Park's first album. Their first two singles were "One Step Closer" and "Crawling." All three songs explore the dark side of growing up. Hybrid Theory was the #1 selling album of 2001. This was released as a single about nine months after the album. It took a while for the album to catch on, but it eventually sold very well. The lyrics are based on the struggles lead singer Chester Bennington went through growing up. He was often picked on.
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