Burn It Down - Linkin Park

I feel that I haven’t analyzed a single in a while so I picked a really good one today. Linkin Park was a band formed around the same time I was born. I’ve grown up in the era of this band yet never seemed to notice them until their latest song: “Burn it Down”. I don’t listen to much Linkin Park but after this song I felt an urge for more. Some people may disagree, but this song really resonated with me the first time I heard it. Linkin Park sounds like a mix between Bass Nectar, Maroon Five, and Alex Clare with a little bit of original flare. They make several things work by fusing together sick rock rhythms, electronic melodies, passionate vocals along with meaningful lyrics. All these unite under “Burn It Down” to create a real piece of art. Before I give you my opinions check it out yourself below and see what you think:

Let’s start at the beginning (seems logical). When you hit that PLAY button, Linkin Park instantly returns by hitting you with something that sounds like an electrified organ. That’s the best I can describe it because I have no idea what it is! Then it slowly builds upon itself with vibrating horn-like sounds as percussion and drums enter with a bang. All of this builds so much intensity and suspense, I feel a rush of anxiety similar to that before a race. Then after about 45 seconds of this, and you are all pumped up and are waiting for an epic drop… they soothe back down to a mild singing. Playing with our emotions much?? Because of this, I think I appreciate the introduction that much more because of its pure “instrumental” rock at the beginning (even though half of it is probably computer-generated).

Then the singing hits. I didn’t think that the song could get any more epic coming off of an insane introduction. But it does. Unlike a majority of electronica songs, Linkin Park possesses another dimension through powerful singing. I correlate Linkin Park to the similar powerful vocals of Alex Clare in “Too Close” (if you’re wondering what this sounds like, scroll down to my earlier blog posts and read about it!). Both of these men are able to pick out the good qualities of dubstep, yet couple it with ACTUALLY TALENTED singing! In the softer part of the verse, I feel the pure passion bleeding out of lead vocalist, Chester Bennington’s voice.

Speaking of vocals, I feel that if Bennington were asked to perform a solo at a choir concert, it would sound horrible (then again, I don’t think a majority of current singers could fit that task either). Fortunately for him, he will probably never have to do that, and his raspier voice fits right into the powerful and loud music he performs and the harsh lyrics written throughout the song (more on that a little later). His gruff vocals at the main chorus such as the title lyrics “Burn it down!” emphasize the great incorporation of vocals and melody. I also like the versatility of the vocals. They are able to distinguish the chorus and the rest of the song merely by the style of singing. At the same time, it all fits right in. I have only heard a little bit of the Beatles’  Revolver album, but I feel that they incorporate this similarly. Making a comparison to the Beatles is always a shaky proposition for Beatles die-hards, but I believe that certain aspects are shared between the bands. Both the Beatles and Linkin Park were able to experiment with fresh new sounds of the time. The Beatles played with original pop roots, while Linkin Park utilizes electronic sounds that have revolutionized modern music. Additionally, these two bands are extremely multi-faceted and are also able to actually sing.

While I’ve been talking a lot about the pure music, I absolutely love these lyrics. They are full of ambiguity, yet are chock full of imagery and description. Unlike a lot of current music that put across the message rather bluntly, this song is a quilt of complexity. I rather dislike that a lot of current songs don’t challenge the listener in interpreting their meaning. In my opinion when a band is able to do that, it adds another dimension to the song that is lacking in music without this lyrical poem. While many record companies can now mask the poor singing of a lot of musicians with intense beats, epic guitar chords, and wicked dubstep sounds, they will never be able to mask whether or not songwriters can create, not just sounds, but ART. While I don’t always pay attention to the lyrics of a song in everyday activities, whenever I deeply listen or analyze a song, I appreciate when an artist has the capability of expressing himself through words and making a lyrical poem. That is exactly what this song is able to do. It not only makes me want to whip my head up and down to the beat and release my inner wild side, it also depicts a scene in my head that is not entirely clear to me, yet sparks my imagination.