Linkin Park Living Things Album Review

Like many other true Linkin Park fans, I anxiously awaited the day when I could finally hold the new album, Living Things, in my hands. Before I went on my vacation to Europe, I pre-ordered Living Things in the Atlanta airport on my iPod. I had plans to download it the day I returned to America (June 26th) during my layover. When I was in Switzerland, I walked into a tiny CD store. I looked through the entire CD selection and finally found the Linkin Park tab. Since I am short (five feet), I had to stand on my tip-toes to reach it. To my surprise, there was only one CD under the tab. (drum roll, please)! It was Living Things!! I was so excited and I immediately ran to the register and kept thinking "It isn't even out in America yet!" I found a cheap CD player and began to listen. It most definitely exceeded my expectations.

1. Lost in the Echo - Such a great album opener. Mike's raps are full of truth, vividness, and emotion. Chester's Vocals work so well with Mike's. This song reminded me of When They Come For Me from A Thousand Suns.
2. In My Remains - The way Chester sings through the song and the one line that Mike sings are just absolutely beautiful. The beginning reminds me of Crawling and the sound reminds me of a slower version of One Step Closer both from Hybrid Theory.
3. Burn It Down - Even though I knew this song before the album came out, it still impressed me with the way it fit perfectly in the middle of tracks two and four. Chester's vocals are raw and Mike's part is one of the best lines on the entire album. This song reminded me of Somewhere I Belong from Meteora.
4. Lies Greed Misery - I also knew this song before the album came out. Mike's opening rap is my favorite on the album and Chester's screaming at the end is drop dead SEXY! I was looking for an old song to compare this to, then I realized this song has Hybrid Theory written all over it. This song is one of my all time favorites.
5. I'll Be Gone - The chorus is amazing. This song reminds me of "Burning In The Skies" from A Thousand Suns and Given Up and Wake from Minutes To Midnight
6. Castle Of Glass - Mike's vocals are so powerful. Chester's backing vocals are so meaningful. The lyrics in this song have such a powerful meaning. "I'm only a crack in this castle of glass." I feel like countless people can relate to this strongly. It reminds me of In Between, Leave Out All The Rest, Shadow Of The Day, and Valentine's Day, from Minutes To Midnight Easier To Run, and Breaking the Habit, from Meteora and Iridescent from A Thousand Suns
7. Victimized - One of the fastest and most upbeat songs on the album, for sure. It is my personal favorite. Chester's screaming is where it is at. It reminds me of Waiting For The End and When They Come For Me from A Thousand Suns
8. Roads Untraveled - These lyrics honestly made me cry when I heard them. "Weep not for roads untraveled. Weep not for sights unseen. May your love never end and if you need a friend, There's a seat here along side me." I cried for a good five minutes when I heard that. It was really moving. Chester and Mike really know how to harmonize. It reminds me of In Pieces from Minutes to Midnight
9. Skin To Bone - I do not really have an opinion on this song.
10. Until It Breaks - I love love LOVE Mike's rap in the intro. It is phenomenal. Brad's vocals are something new to this album and I think he should sing more! He is great! This song reminds me a great deal of A Thousand Suns especially When They Come For Me and Waiting For The End.
11. Tinfoil - Nice instrumental. Reminded me of The Catalyst from A Thousand Suns
12. Powerless - This song really made me reminisce on Minutes To Midnight especially In Pieces and The Little Things Give You Away. It also reminded me of Robot Boy from A Thousand Suns. I have listened to this album over 10 times now and it gets better each time. Linkin Park writes great lyrics and they did a great job reminding me of why I fell in love with them in the first place. :) Happy Listening! - kinsey!

Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard 7/1/11

Fast-forward a few years from 2009 to 2011. If someone had asked me if I thought I would have ever seen Eddie Vedder solo again, I would have said no. The day my mom told me, she said “Kinsey, we are going to see Eddie Vedder in St. Louis because he is not coming anywhere closer. Oh, and it is 4th of July weekend.” I was so excited because I remembered how much fun I had at the last Eddie shows I went to. The show was at The Fox Theatre. Once again, you were not allowed to have a camera and we had to sit down. But that was ok. When we got inside, we went to our seats. We were about 15 rows back from the stage on the floor, which is a really good seat. But in that venue, there is no bad seat. Glen Hansard, from the band The Swell Season, was the opening act. I do not know any of his songs and I cannot tell you which songs he played other than the one Pearl Jam song that he played a snippet of, which was Smile. Not going to lie, that was pretty freaking cool. Then it was time for Eddie. He walked out while Waving Palms was playing in the background and the crowd went crazy. He sat down in his chair and played Can’t Keep. I was not a big fan of this song on Riot Act but it was my favorite on his newest album. It really set the mood of how this show would turn out. Then he played Sleeping By Myself, Without You, Goodbye, You’re True, Light Today, Trouble, and Sometimes. Then he played I Am Mine. My cousin and I freaked out because that is our song. Following I Am Mine, he played Thumbing My Way. I was so excited because that is one of my favorite PJ songs. I feel sorry for the two guys sitting next to us because it is not every day one goes to an Eddie Vedder concert and sits next to a 15 and 16 year old freaking out over their favorite Pearl Jam songs. After TMY, he played Driftin’, and Betterman. Betterman definitely got the crowd going. Everyone around us was dancing and singing, including my cousin and myself. Then he continued with Far Behind, Long Nights (played with Glen Hansard) and Guaranteed. After this, he played Rise. Before he actually played the song, he started talking to the sign language interpreter. He kept telling her funny, but provocative things to sign and she would do it. It made everyone would laugh. He dedicated Rise to her. After that, he played Just Breathe and dedicated it to someone he knew that was expecting a baby. When he played Just Breathe, it made me cry. That is just an emotional song for me. Then he played Elderly Woman. That song always gets the best crowd response. Then he played one of Molly’s favorite songs, Unthought Known. She slapped me in the arm because she was so excited. Then he did ARC. I was so excited and I started crying again because it is just a beautiful live song. He came back and encored with Wishlist. Of all the songs he could have played during that big moment, he played Wishlist. That is my least favorite Pearl Jam song ever. But I am not complaining. After WL, he played Immortality. Of course, he messed up the words in the beginning like he always does. This song got a good crowd response as well. Then he played several more songs with Glen Hansard. These songs were Sleepless Nights, Society, and Falling Slowly. Before the show started, Molly and I were talking about songs we wanted Eddie to play. All she wanted to hear that entire night was Last Kiss. When we checked earlier set lists, that song was nowhere to be found so we eventually forgot about it. Well, as luck would have it, the next song he played was Last freaking Kiss. If you were in the crowd that night, you probably heard the squeal of an excited 16 year old followed by a wail of pain from a 15 year old that just got slapped on the arm from too much excitement. He then played So You Wanna Be A Rock N Roll Star, Lukin, and Porch. These three songs got the crowd on their feet and the whole place was rocking out. It was awesome. Then it was time for the second encore. He came out and did Hard Sun with Glen Hansard. He walked out and came back and closed the night with Dream A Little Dream. That is one of the sweetest songs ever. This show got me excited because at some point during the show, Eddie mentioned something about The Pearl Jam 20th anniversary show. Heck yes.

Hanson Birmingham, Alabama October 7th, 2008

I never would have thought that less than a year after my first Hanson show, I would ever see them again. I remember asking my mom for the tickets for my birthday. I was at my birthday party, in front of all my friends. I was opening my cards and I opened one without a name. I asked whom it was from and no one answered. I opened the card and something fell into my lap. I read the card first and it said “Hope you have a rockin’ birthday. Love, Mom and Dad”. I opened the paper in my lap and it was Hanson tickets. I warned everyone at my party to cover their ears and I proceeded to scream and jump up and down like a little girl. Then I hugged both of my parents and thanked them profusely. When the day finally came, once again, I was extremely excited. When the day came, of course, I ran out of school and went on my way to Birmingham for the show. When we got there, we waited in line for a while. Then the doors opened and I ran into the venue and stood in the crowd. The first band, Everybody Else, was on. They were so adorable! When they were over, I went out and I met their dorky drummer. He was nice. I went back in and I waited for the next opening act to come on. They were called The Veronicas. They were not my favorite band but it was probably just because I wanted Hanson to come on stage. But of course, they were on Hanson time and were late coming out. When they finally came out, they opened with Something Going Round. Then, they followed it I Want To Take You Higher, Been There Before, Follow Your Lead, Where’s The Love, Great Divide, Strong Enough To Break, One More(?), Love Me, On The Rocks, Where Did It Start, Blue Sky, A Minute Without You, Cried(!), Running Man, Oh Darlin, MMMBop, Can’t Stop, Hey, Crazy Beautiful, and Watch Over Me. They encored with The Ugly Truth. Holy cow was I excited for that encore. That is one of my favorite Hanson songs. The show great but it still can not top my first Hanson show.

Disturbed Five Finger Death Punch, and Art Of Dying Birmingham, Alabama 2008

So my first Disturbed concert was good. I was really surprised with the guy to girl ratio. In the security line, they split us by gender so we could be searched. There were probably 15 girls at the entire show, including me. I was not as surprised with the kid to adult ratio because most parents would not bring their children to a concert like this. I honestly think I was the only kid there. I was 12. Anyway, the first band was The Art Of Dying. I had never heard of them at that point (I have now) but I thought it was really cool that they drove all the way from Ontario, Canada to play for us. They played Crime, You Don’t Know Me, Raining, Let The Fire Burn, Fits Of Clarity, Die Trying, Them Bones (Alice In Chains cover), Completely, and Get Thru This. I really wish they would come back around so I could see them again. After AOD, was Five Finger Death Punch. When I saw them, the only song I knew by them at that point was The Bleeding. I later found out that they played Ashes, Salvation, The Way Of The Fist, White Knuckles, Bad Company, and The Bleeding. Their first album, The Way Of The Fist, is honestly one of my favorite albums ever and I have seen them once since this show and they still bring it. After 5FDP, was Disturbed. They opened with Prayer and followed it with Liberate, Perfect Insanity, Voices, Just Stop, Remember, Deify, Stupify, Land Of Confusion (Genesis Cover), and The Game. They encored with Inside The Fire, Stricken, and Down With The Sickness. During the show, David [Drainman], started talking about ghosts and how the venue was haunted. It was not that scary, though. This show was really loud and there were a few thousand people in a steel shed the size of a school gym. Can we say awesome?