Linkin Park
Album: Meteora
Song: Numb
Reviewed by: Krystal Burns
The Band
Wallpaper, posters, screensavers, desktops, clothing, fan clubs galore, and so on—you name it, you can find it with Linkin Park all over it. But like many struggling musicians, they come from humble beginnings. In a small Southern California bedroom studio vocalist Mike Shinoda lead guitarist Brad Delson recorded the band’s first material in 1996. Slowly but surely they began to collect a band, including high school friend and drummer Rob Bourdon, DJ Joseph Hahn, bassist Phoenix, and finally Arizona native and singer Chester Bennington. Together they strive to create original art that has been described as “a melting pot of heavy alternative rock, hip-hop, and electric flourishes.” But Delson says, “The biggest misconception about us is that we’re just a rock band. We think our music is a cross-section of many genres, a hybrid of what the six of us have grown up on.” The release of their debut album Hybrid Theory in 2000 turned these boys into a cultural phenomenon. It was the number one selling album in 2001.
The Music
The question after one great album then becomes can they keep it up? Well, most Linkin Park fans were not disappointed with the release of a second original album Meteora. True to the heart of the band, this second album is as much about raw feelings like anger, frustration, and humanity as the first. “We’ve always been interested in universal feelings, and that’s what we focused on with this album,” says Shinoda. While they admit Meteora is somewhat dark, they also claim “there is light at the end of the tunnel.” On a side note, given the angst expressed throughout the album, it’s far cleaner than other songs with similar messages. They don’t rely on foul language, references to killing or murder, and sexual content to get their message across. Second to the sheer power and creativity of the music, also impressive is the visual art created to accompany the release. The CD includes seventeen-minute clip documenting the creating of the art of Meteora, much of which the band members helped create.
The Song
As of late, the LP song of the moment is “Numb” which is on the top ten nation wide. Tune in to your local rock station and you’ll be sure to hear it within a half hour. (Doesn’t it seem like they only have ten songs most of the time anyway?) It’s actually one of the last songs written for Meteora, but certainly speaks volumes to their listeners. As the name implies, it’s a song about not caring—being pushed and pressured so much to be or act a certain way that one ceases to feel anything. “I’ve/ become so numb/ I can’t feel you there… All I want to do/ Is be more like me/ And be less like you.” These feelings are real; even the psalmist David wrote about feeling forsaken and empty. Psalm 13:2 reads, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” Numb goes on “… every second I waste is more than I can take/ but I know/ I may end up failing too.” Again, it is expressing a hopelessness that is real in the lives of many.
Whatever your personal thoughts on the sounds and lyrics of Linkin Park, they have certainly struck a chord with listeners. There is a huge market for the expression of those feelings. People all over the world resonate with the passionate frustration these musicians have tapped into.
So What Do You Think?
1. How does music affect your mood if at all?
2. What are some things people are frustrated about?
3. Do you ever feel numb inside? Why and what do you do about it?
4. If someone tells you they can really relate to songs like “Numb”,
how can you respond as a Christian? (Hint: Gal. 4:20; 2 Tim. 1:7; Ps. 102:
16-22)