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Post by Leppy101 on Jul 20, 2017 17:15:35 GMT -5
July 20, 2017 has planted a black mark on my heart. The very first time I ever heard of Linkin Park's music was when I was around 7 or 8 years old. Since their first song on the Hybrid Theory album, "Papercut", I've been hooked. I bought their second album, Meteora, the day of its release and pledged to continue buying all their albums the day they release and have done so. Today, July 20, 2017, Chester Charles Bennington was found in his home by his wife at around 9am. Authorities are saying it was a hanging suicide. Chester has been known to be very open about his drug and alcohol addictions and even in an earlier interview he's admitted to thoughts of suicide. I don't know about any of you, but Chester was my all-time idol and as cliche as it sounds, his music has brought me out of dark times of despair and depression in the past. Songs like "Messenger" from A Thousand Suns are what hit home for me, including his newer songs "Heavy" and "One More Light". One tweet from some random person has me feeling sick to my stomach; "It's almost like all of his songs were just one big suicide note being stretched out over the years." Reading that, I've gone back and played through the albums, and I shit you not, they all sound like a desperate cry for help and I feel guilty that I haven't noticed it until now. Chester Charles Bennington, May your demons be forever silenced and have eternal peace. A loving fan, Brandon
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Post by Blade Runner 07 on Jul 21, 2017 10:49:54 GMT -5
Linkin Park didn't leave near the impact on me it did my peers and a generation younger than me.
I was 13 when I first heard In the End. It was probably my first introduction the the whiny white boy music that would become a main stay in modern music. I didn't understand it, but it had attitude, and came at the right time.
When I was 18 I heard Minutes to Midnight and I was sure that was the end for Linkin park. The commercialization of the band. Their tone changed and two things popped into my head, "they need to get back on hard drugs" and "one of them is gonna off himself soon". I know those are life destroying predictions, but if Linkin Park was at their best singing about addiction and abuse, it was what I wanted.
So a decade later the lead singer of Linkin Park is dead. I really haven't enjoyed their music since 2008, but this feels wrong.
As I write this the lyrics echo in my head. I haven't heard the song in years. Those ones...
"Without a sense of confidence... I'm convinced that theirs just too much pressure to take." Consuming, confusing.
I don't really know what to say here. I just feel like I'm supposed to say something. Hybrid Theory put a voice to a particular set of emotions that some get all too familiar with as they get older, realize the struggle is real, and have to keep going on. When it's so hard to communicate "This lack of self control I fear is never ending." Music isnt going to speak for you, but it helps paint the picture.
It's scary that literally screaming your fear, regret, anger, jealousy, and depression onto an audience of millions, starting the back half of your career with a band going strong as ever and making millions of dollars doing it would be enough of an outlet, that suicide would be an idea locked away forever. What hope is there for everyone who relates.
Thanks for sharing Leppy.
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Post by JMMREVIEW on Jul 21, 2017 17:12:06 GMT -5
It's very sad for me too, I feel bad for him and his family. I remember when Crawling came out it was "the" song for a while between me and my friends, this was before YouTube so we would watch MTV and just hope it came on, which it did quite a lot.
Unlike Leppy I have always suspected Chester Bennington (to me then known only as "the lead singer") was depressed, you can't sing/write like that and not have live it too.
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Post by Blade Runner 07 on Jul 28, 2017 11:55:29 GMT -5
I still have my copy of Meteora. Gave it a listen today.
Looking at this cd, I know that these people arnt really dead. Not really for us, and not for our children. These things will be passed on. Even if it has no real value in the public, it's important to you and that's what matters. It's what will matter to whoever owns it next.
Anything you put energy into gets new life. Things only die when you ignore them, stop talking about them, and forget their influence.
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