Nazulu said:
Oh no, we better not annoy you. Stop being sensitive. It's not like you're being judged.
The thing about having a story to the album is it has to be good if it's to catch peoples attention, so it obviously it hasn't got the greatest appeal. The main problem isn't people focusing on the "story and feel" of the album however, but that they have changed their style so much that of course it's going to leave previous fans out of the loop. And not only that but the melody's are really weak compared to their previous albums. This style is nothing unique, nothing clever, and especially not more grown-up (I still can't believe you said that).
Can you really blame fans from the previous Linkin Park albums that they want something similar to their original style? Remember, most of us are only interested in certain things, just like you and your story's.
By the way, albums don't have to be a fucking story! Music is entertainment remember, it doesn't have to connect to be great. That's only your personal preferance, so drop it. "An artistic statement they should be", as soon as you throw any shoulds in, you're automatically wrong by default. If there is to be any shoulds, it's that the artist 'should' be allowed to be as creative as they damn well want. This is also followed by people 'should' be allowed to criticise them however they damn well want.
If you like their new style, good for you, but don't expect everyone to listen to it as an "an artistic statement" (when you say stuff like this, it makes the whole art subject look bad) if they can only enjoy some of the songs.
Oh don't worry, you can keep annoying me if you want. There's a world of difference between "annoyed" and "offended". That particular viewpoint, though? Always annoys me whenever it comes up. What do you call that, a "pet peeve"? It's one of the few things I am capable of getting passionate about on the internet, and it looks like this time, that overrode my usual "sigh, and live and let live" policy.
//RANT MODE ACTIVATED
I suppose I'm just bitter that my absolute favourite kind of music has been scarce since well before I was born - I blame the "Punk Revolution" for that. Then when Linkin Park, of all bands, releases a well thought-out and coherent concept album that's one of the best art albums I've heard... of course, half the fanbase very vocally hates it, screaming "CHANGE BACK! CHANGE BAAAACK!" because it didn't have enough "awesome" guitar riffs or sing-along choruses for them to mosh to. To me it seems like the same kind of issue as with other media - you get the types who only enjoy action movies with lots of explosions, and the types that will only read romance novels, but music seems to be the only medium where people actually act proud - and occasionally
snooty, though thankfully not here - about these tastes. I'm well aware this makes me an insufferable elitist, but... I hate that.
So the melodies are (in your opinion) weaker than on their other albums - so what? What if they weren't going for melody? Why should a band
have to go for melodic content? And by the way, I'm not
just interested in stories - I on't know where I you got that from, because while I like music that tells a story, I also like songs/albums with melody, songs/albums that evoke some sort of emotional reaction, songs/albums (usually albums in this case) that can transport me to another world, etc. What most annoys me is that melodies and the occasional emotional reaction are what people define as "good music" nowadays without a second glance, and are loudly unwilling to accept any other form. So of course, when a mainstream band releases an album that isn't meant to specifically be either of those, people dismiss it as "pretentious" (god, I hate that term - it's so misused) and "dull" and just straight "bad music" without considering it further.
I suppose Cracked.com was right - popular music does have less variety in this age. We've gone from the 70s, where bands like Mike Oldfield and Pink Floyd can reach number 1 alongside bands like Led Zeppelin and Wings, to now where only bands like the last two are considered valid (save for the odd outlier album, of course, like Kid A). And sure, some of my favourite bands are catchy and melodic pop bands from today, but I
so wish people would voluntarily exercise thought about the music they consume and accept other kinds too.
//RANT MODE DEACTIVATED
tl;dr People don't like what I like and this fact makes me feel first annoyed, then just sort of sad and depressed. I suppose one day I'll move into grudging acceptance. Maybe you can help me with that.
... rest of the album I can agree with but I really like that song.
