An Honest Appeal For "A Thousand Suns"

Before you pass quick judgment, scroll down and say "oh man, this post is WAY to long," and perhaps overlook my praise as sheer fan-boy obsession, you might need to actually spare the 47 minutes it takes to listen through Linkin Park's latest studio release, "A Thousand Suns."  And specifically for this album, I truly mean it.  Grab some headphones, find an hour of your day to spare, and take a seat, because if you allow the 15 tracks of "A Thousand Suns" to sink into the depths of your mind without interruption, I think you will discover a remarkable body of work, one that will ultimately reward you for you careful listening and patience.

Now, I'm not going out and saying "OMG THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME EVER OMG!! <3." After all, I am devoting a precious blog to it.  However, most of what I have to say of "A Thousand Suns" I have to say because of three reasons:

1. The content of this music in the context of the artists who made it is important to recognize
2. I truly believe that individually the songs are tremendous, but even more so, I believe that the album as a whole functions as something greater than the sum of its parts, something hard to find in this age of music where almost everything is managed digitally and the industry revolves around singles
3. Perhaps the biggest reason, that this record is so underrated and has been so overlooked, that it deserves more recognition than it has received

So, here is my case for Linkin Park and their fourth studio album, in order of these reasons I have laid out above.

The number one reason, in my opinion, that most people have overlooked "A Thousand Suns" is simply because of ignorance.  This is the reason most people do not open themselves up to new or different music, because they like what they like and that's it.  Especially in this case, most people who have past over this album have done so because they look at it and say "Ehh, another Linkin Park album? I hate all of their immature, angry, and mediocre music from before, so why would I like this?" Perhaps you yourself have said this in passing.  But it's OK! Because I want you to have a second chance and experience the best of what this album can offer.  In fact, only recently have I become a Linkin Park fan, because most of their angsty, loud, and aggressive sound from "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" just wasn't my style before about two or three years ago.  But for some reason, I personally just came to like Linkin Park, all the while accepting their shortcomings in regards to talent and creativity.  Before "A Thousand Suns," when you would listen to Linkin Park, you would know what you were getting.  Which is why I advise that you listen through this latest album the way I did, with no preconceptions of what it will sound like because of who made it.  Whether you love old Linkin Park or hate it, that is simply the way you have to listen to it.

I caution you so much in this manner because the content of this record deserves it.  After you listen to it, and when you take into consideration the band who made it, it presents them ultimately in an entirely different light.  Personally, I was astonished at what I thought a moderately talented group of guys was able to do with this album.  Lyrically and musically, they managed to push not only what the common conception of what "Linkin Park" is beyond its boundaries, but they managed to push modern music in a direction that has not quite been explored, and which I believe will be in coming years.  At their core, these songs are well constructed, not just written.  They seem very thoughtfully planned out and cared for individually, and especially in the larger scheme of the album as a whole.  One of my largest bits of praise for "A Thousand Suns" is that it blends together 15 different tracks that uniquely transcend genres into a cohesive album.  More than most albums that have been made recently, it deserves - even necessitates - the full "front-to-back" play through.

Finally, I blog tonight because I just want you to listen to this album.  I have been a huge proponent of it ever since the day Linkin Park released it back in September, and I have even won over a few of my friends who were doubters at first.  Some of my friends, devout Linkin Park fans, hated it.  One in particular wondered aloud if the album was actually, and I quote, "a joke."  But I encouraged them to sit down and play through all 47 minutes, to save their judgment, and just let the music play itself to them.  And guess what?  Yep, they fell in love with it.  So please, I formally ask you that you find an hour to spare this weekend, perhaps before you fall asleep one night, that you do as I have suggested twice now, and just listen through the entire thing uninterrupted.  As someone with very eclectic musical tastes that are ever expanding, I ask you to trust me, and take a chance on "A Thousand Suns," just as Linkin Park did.  All you have to lose is an hour - nothing in comparison to the two years the six men of Linkin Park spent creating it.