The band our group have chosen is Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. They represent the genre of Alternative Rock
Formed in 1996 by the 3 original members and friends: Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon and Brad Delson. They then later recruited Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, Xero. Due to failed success Wakefield the lead vocalist left and went on tour with other bands which left the group searching for another lead. These were recommended to try Chester Bennington from Arizona who is now still today the lead vocalist.
Members of the current band: Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell
Past Members: Scott Koziol, Mark Wakefield, Kyle Christener
Here’s a list of nominations and awards they have won:
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Totals
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Awards won
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52
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Nominations
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151
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Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory on October 24, 2000. Hybrid Theory represents half a decade of work for the band which resulted in being a massive commercial success; it sold more than 4.8 million copies during its debut year, earning it the status of best-selling album of 2001, while singles such as "Crawling" and "One Step Closer" established themselves as staples among alternative rock radio play lists during the year.
Following the success of Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States performing at over 320 concerts. The band members began to work on new material – Meteora which was inspired by Meteora in Greece. It reached No.1 in the US and UK, and No.2 in Australia.
Minutes To Midnight; Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was delayed until 2007.The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006. Minutes to Midnight sold over 625,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.
NUMB
A visual response is established between the music videos narrative and the lyrics to the song. This song is a fragmented narrative which has a narrative theme to it but in a montage style going in between scenes of the band performing.
The tempo of the song is matched by each edit, for example as it was in the middle of the chorus when she stares as everyone passes when the lead singer is screaming. The rules of continuity are broken as the chorus is essentially on the performance but in this scene it’s the narrative which is a clear convention of music video editing. The image on the right is a clear example where the edit has become foreground. The edits are really distinctive, to draw attention to themselves.
This image shows that there is a main protagonist and we are following the story of her life being mocked at school and being pushed to be someone she doesn’t want to be at home. Her opinion doesn’t matter in the social world or at home as she is excluded from both.
She shows her aggression and emotion throughout the entire video, especially in the edits where she is painting alone, it’s as if she has finally cracked and exploded.
The relationship between the lyrics and visuals are strong from beginning to end throughout the video. The lyrics amplify the visuals of the video continuously. At the beginning the lyrics start off with ‘I’m tired of being what you want me to be’ which immediately introduces the theme of ‘pressure'. We can link the title ‘Numb’ to the theme and plot of the music video by looking at the first shot of the video. ‘Can’t you see that you’re smothering me, holding too tightly afraid to lose control?’ The first line of the second verse matches the visuals at the time; the girl sitting on the dinner table by herself, whilst her mother has her back turned. This precisely matches the lyrics and we are aware that the song is based on the pressures a teenage girl undergoes from her everyday life, things that include being an outcast in social circles which can lead to bullying, self harm even suicide; and then the pressures of living up to your parent’s expectations.
The music and the visuals also have a relationship, the beat is fast paced and many shots in the video are fast paced also. There are drastic changes where the camera focuses on a shot for not more than 3 seconds for a narrative scene. This goes well with the music as it reflects the pace of the protagonist’s thought process and emotion (her mind is racing). For example, the bridge of the song is fast paced where the vocals are stretched to emphasise pain. Here, it contradicts the slow screaming of the lead singer’s vocals as they clash with the fast paced scenes of the protagonist showing physical aggression.
When the guitars (instrument that mainly represents rock music) are being played, the shots become fast paced as the volume and layers of instruments build up. This is also the case towards the end of the video where guitars stop and the focus on the protagonist lasts longer than 3 seconds. The music video starts with the same instruments and ends with the same instruments. Furthermore, the solo instrumental parts are illustrated by the video during certain parts of the video to a certain extent. There is a low angle shot of the band member working with discs to suggest that he is making that sound. The vocals are never solo but, when they vocalised powerfully it suggests emotion and the visuals help show this by using a close up of the lead singer putting power into his voice, adding meaning to every word. There are close ups of the artist and star image motifs are visible but not to a great extent.
The artist and band are in a dark Church hall throughout the music video where they are performing. They are all wearing casual clothing and printed t-shirts- nothing too exaggerated and associated with a sub-culture. In this video, the focus on the band is brief and they aren't seen as performers but more narrators and the main focus is on the protagonist and the story built around her.
There is no reference to the notion of 'looking' throughout the video and no sexual connotations are produced amongst the audience either. The protagonist is well dressed as well as the people around her and the theme of the video is not based on sexuality or anything derogatory.
There are no intertextual references within the video to promote or remind the audience of a TV programme or film. However, there are Biblical references throughout the video to suggest that religion may be another form of pressure. Firstly, the performance scene is in a church to subvert the idea of calm prayer in a church. This could suggest rebelliousness. The protagonist comes to the church towards the end of the video where the band performs to create a weak link between the bands involvement in the protagonists life. Secondly, the protagonist is seen drawing a statue of Mary which could also refers to Biblical elements. Lastly, at the beginning of the video there is a whistling sound and shots of old architecture are visible. This could also add to the Biblical elements and how it could either be a pressure or comfort zone for the protagonist when she is lonely.
The target audience for this video is mainly teenagers.
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