jvandyck87
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Post by jvandyck87 on Sept 13, 2010 17:14:34 GMT -5
The album is currently streaming on their myspace. I don't think I'll ever love it, but I really respect a band this huge in the mainstream taking this much of a risk for a highly anticipated album. There is no doubt that their choices were motivated artistically far more so than commercially. I still put "The Catalyst" way above every other song on the album and would assert that, despite the backlash it has received, it was the best choice for lead single, and any other song on the album would have had at least as much of an initial negative reaction. "The Catalyst" is probably the most metal-leaning song on the album with the exception of MAYBE "Blackout" and "Wretches And Kings" and even then it's close. And then given "The Catalyst" uses straight minor key tonality unlike the two other heavier hitters, "The Catalyst" is the closest thing on this album to resembling 'Hybrid Theory' or 'Meteora'-era Linkin Park.
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Post by Shadows in the Dark on Sept 14, 2010 8:29:26 GMT -5
Top 50 on Active:
0 45 LINKIN PARK Waiting For The End 114 0 114 0.502
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rockmaniac
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Post by rockmaniac on Sept 14, 2010 14:35:02 GMT -5
A Thousand Suns: #1 album on iTunes
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Nicholas2.0
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Post by Nicholas2.0 on Sept 14, 2010 19:47:13 GMT -5
I find it incredibly enjoyable. Maybe it's a mess, but I find it to be a coherent mess and I share the band's opinion that the album should be treated as one giant song. Took out some words in order to more fully agree with you. Don't believe I twisted anything around. Hope you don't mind. No doubt about it, whether most people hate it or not, will be probably the biggest debut of the year. I'd doubt it, as polarizing as "The Catalyst" has been. I'd be willing to bet it falls short of Recovery's first week sales. As for "The Messenger", it's a good song in general but I think Chester made a mistake by using his louder voice for the track because on an acoustic it comes off somewhat poorly, especially on the chorus. I disagree. I thought him singing it an octave higher than you'd expect (or at least, in a key that pushes his upper register), was a bold choice that held my interest more than it otherwise might have, had he used a more comfortable range. I really respect a band this huge in the mainstream taking this much of a risk for a highly anticipated album. There is no doubt that their choices were motivated artistically far more so than commercially. I still put "The Catalyst" way above every other song on the album and would assert that, despite the backlash it has received, it was the best choice for lead single, and any other song on the album would have had at least as much of an initial negative reaction. This. I've only spun it once so far, but I can't believe how little it actually panders to their established audience. I like it a lot and appreciate both the bewildering, unusual soundscapes on the record and the continuity between the tracks. Despite my skepticism once I heard "Wretches and Kings" and "Waiting for the End," the album did turn out very much like their own Kid A. But at the same time, it also has the artistic ambition of Side B of Abbey Road interspersed between the conventionally structured songs. That said, I hope they're prepared to adjust to a level of sales significantly less than they're used to, though.
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rockmaniac
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Post by rockmaniac on Sept 15, 2010 18:10:56 GMT -5
HDD reports A Thousand Suns to sell 250-260K. ???
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 15, 2010 20:28:34 GMT -5
HDD reports A Thousand Suns to sell 250-260K. ??? That's a third of Minutes To Midnight's initial sales.
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Post by Shadows in the Dark on Sept 15, 2010 21:41:12 GMT -5
Not really surprised, there's less hype for this album than there was for Minutes to Midnight.
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 15, 2010 22:44:15 GMT -5
But at the same time, it also has the artistic ambition of Side B of Abbey Road interspersed between the conventionally structured songs. You're comparing this to the best side of one of the best albums of all time? I don't see it off the back of this and "The Catalyst". But it sounds intriguing.
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Post by when the pawn... on Sept 16, 2010 8:59:22 GMT -5
HDD reports A Thousand Suns to sell 250-260K. ??? That's a third of Minutes To Midnight's initial sales. Well...no...a third would mean MTM sold 750-780. I don't see this album going very far after opening week, though I listened through last night and I loved it. Their best, yet. Maybe WFTE can do something.
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 16, 2010 19:21:59 GMT -5
That's a third of Minutes To Midnight's initial sales. Well...no...a third would mean MTM sold 750-780. MTM sold 625,000 initially, a third of which is about 208,000. It's called an approximation. For lack of a better word, f**k off.
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Post by Shadows in the Dark on Sept 16, 2010 21:28:28 GMT -5
Dang, I was hoping 300k.
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Nicholas2.0
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Post by Nicholas2.0 on Sept 17, 2010 4:02:59 GMT -5
You're comparing this to the best side of one of the best albums of all time? I don't see it off the back of this and "The Catalyst". But it sounds intriguing. Keep in mind, all I'm comparing is the track-lengths, and that I perceive most of them to serve a larger purpose than mere "interludes." What I'm not doing is attempting to equate the musical quality of tracks from Linkin Park's brand new album to tracks found on one of the "Greatest Albums of All-Time."
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Rich P.
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Post by Rich P. on Sept 17, 2010 9:49:18 GMT -5
I have high hopes for Waiting for the End, IMO this is one of the three best tracks on the new album, the others being Burning in the Skies and Iridescent. I'll also throw in When They Come For Me and The Catalist, and maybe Robot Boy as also potential number 1 songs, though not my favorites.
The interesting thing about this is that I think there are only five or six potential number 1s on this album. Linkin Park albums have always had unreleased tracks that have blown me away and would have also had a shot at number 1: e.g., With You, Pushing Me Away, P5hng Me A*wy, Easier to Run, From the Inside, No More Sorrow. None of the other tracks on A Thousand Suns grab me that way.
One more comment/suggestion. I was feeling distracted the first couple times through the album, so I removed The Radiance, Empty Spaces, and Wisdom, Justice, and Love; the album flows much better now (in case LP listens in here, sorry guys)
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 17, 2010 14:02:59 GMT -5
"From The Inside" was a single.
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Devin
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Post by Devin on Sept 17, 2010 15:10:44 GMT -5
"From The Inside" was a single. Not for rock radio I don't think.
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 17, 2010 15:14:02 GMT -5
"From The Inside" was a single. Not for rock radio I don't think. It was but "Lying From You" usurped it.
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Devin
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Post by Devin on Sept 17, 2010 15:21:10 GMT -5
Not for rock radio I don't think. It was but "Lying From You" usurped it. So was "Lying to You" even released to rock?
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rockmaniac
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Post by rockmaniac on Sept 17, 2010 15:23:08 GMT -5
It was but "Lying From You" usurped it. So was "Lying to You" even released to rock? yes, back in 2004. From The Inside was released internationally
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 17, 2010 15:39:37 GMT -5
So was "Lying to You" even released to rock? yes, back in 2004. From The Inside was released internationally Not really, but it turned out that way. "From The Inside" was released to the U.S. but radio stations started playing "Lying From You" instead. At least this is what I remember happening.
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Ron57
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Post by Ron57 on Sept 17, 2010 22:40:30 GMT -5
The interesting thing about this is that I think there are only five or six potential number 1s on this album. There's only like 7 tracks on the album that are legit tracks. xD That's saying ALOT. xD I could see Blackout making a small appearance as a later single as well, btw. If Iridescent or The Messenger is a single I will honestly be surprised, as much as I love Iridescent.
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 17, 2010 23:51:16 GMT -5
The interesting thing about this is that I think there are only five or six potential number 1s on this album. There's only like 7 tracks on the album that are legit tracks. xD That's saying ALOT. xD I could see Blackout making a small appearance as a later single as well, btw. If Iridescent or The Messenger is a single I will honestly be surprised, as much as I love Iridescent. There are 9 complete tracks and 6 interludes. I think after "Waiting For The End" the most likely follow-up is "Burning In The Skies".
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Post by Shadows in the Dark on Sept 18, 2010 0:44:12 GMT -5
Top 30 on Alternative:
58 28 LINKIN PARK Waiting For The End 298 96 202 1.955
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hazuki
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Post by hazuki on Sept 18, 2010 1:05:41 GMT -5
Wooo keep going!
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Post by when the pawn... on Sept 18, 2010 12:26:16 GMT -5
Well...no...a third would mean MTM sold 750-780. MTM sold 625,000 initially, a third of which is about 208,000. It's called an approximation. For lack of a better word, f**k off. Wow, overreact much? 750k does not equal 625k. Just pointing out that stat was a little off.
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 18, 2010 19:11:44 GMT -5
MTM sold 625,000 initially, a third of which is about 208,000. It's called an approximation. For lack of a better word, f**k off. Wow, overreact much? 750k does not equal 625k. Just pointing out that stat was a little off. It was a douche move. Anyone would know what I was getting at, pointing out accuracy in this matter isn't helpful, it's rude. Anyway, some interesting trivia for the rest of you. If any of you bought the bonus track for A Thousand Suns, you know it's the remix of The Catalyst by contest winner NoBrain. What you probably don't know (and I didn't know until two minutes ago) is that having a bonus track on the album was not NoBrain's only prize. Linkin Park proceeded to contact NoBrain and he worked with the band over online video on an actual album track. The last minute of "When They Come For Me" is the product of this collaboration.
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Pipa
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Post by Pipa on Sept 18, 2010 19:39:49 GMT -5
Alright, so I downloaded the album. Initial thoughts:
1) This album is very...hip-hop. The beats, the rapping in one song, at least that's what I find the central sound is. It's really a little bit of everything musically, though.
2) "The Catalyst" sounds that much better with "Fallout" as the intro.
3) "Blackout" is complete crap.
4) "Waiting For The End" makes for a fine single. But after that...really, what else?
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 18, 2010 20:21:18 GMT -5
"Burning In The Skies" is my choice. "When They Come For Me" I think could do damage in the right place, and a lot of fans seem to favoring "Blackout" while many critics have strangely enough pointed to "Robot Boy".
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Ron57
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Post by Ron57 on Sept 18, 2010 21:58:11 GMT -5
There's only like 7 tracks on the album that are legit tracks. xD That's saying ALOT. xD I could see Blackout making a small appearance as a later single as well, btw. If Iridescent or The Messenger is a single I will honestly be surprised, as much as I love Iridescent. There are 9 complete tracks and 6 interludes. I think after "Waiting For The End" the most likely follow-up is "Burning In The Skies". Oh, if they want this album to get anywhere then yes, that's the obvious next choice. And honestly, after that I'd go with When They Come For Me, and MAYBE Blackout, or Iridescent, depending on whether or not it'll even make it that far.
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PHOBES
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Post by PHOBES on Sept 18, 2010 23:36:09 GMT -5
After FINALLY getting to hear this, my favorites are (in order of how they appear on the album): Robot Boy, Waiting for the End, Iridescent, and The Messenger.
I think "Iridescent" would be the best third single, with "Wretches and Kings" fourth. And I think "Blackout" would be cool as the fifth single. As much as I love both "Robot Boy" and "The Messenger," neither of them really scream single IMO.
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pen
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Post by pen on Sept 19, 2010 23:06:56 GMT -5
As much as I love both "Robot Boy" and "The Messenger," neither of them really scream single IMO. I agree, but as many times as I've seen Robot Boy mentioned in a review as "radio-ready", I have to wonder if there's something I'm not smoking.
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