Originally published July 20, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 20, 2007 at 2:03 AM
It may be a "Projekt," but it's hardly a revolution
You say you want a revolution? Well, this ain't it. Linkin Park dips its toes into politics in its impressive new album, "Minutes to Midnight,"...
Seattle Times music critic
Concert preview
"Projekt Revolution Tour," with Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo, Julien-K, Mindless Self Indulgence, Saosin, the Bled, Styles of Beyond and Madina Lake, noon Wednesday, White River Amphitheatre, 40601 Auburn Enumclaw Road, Auburn; $23.50-$69 (206-628-0888, www.ticketmaster.com or www.livenation.com; information, www.whiteriverconcerts.com).
You say you want a revolution? Well, this ain't it.
Linkin Park dips its toes into politics in its impressive new album, "Minutes to Midnight," which has a couple of songs dealing with current issues. But the rap/rock band is hardly political and certainly not revolutionary or challenging. And neither are any of the other bands on the bill.
In fact, the second-billed My Chemical Romance is as mainstream, establishment, boardroom-approved and radio-friendly as you can get. Revolutionary? Hah!
Semantics aside, the misnamed "Projekt Revolution Tour" is powerful, thanks to headliner Linkin Park, which has scored the biggest success story of the year in recorded music with its new CD, selling more than a million copies in less than two months.
The disc is more dynamic than the band's other two studio albums. Years of touring and recording have given Linkin Park a tighter, more varied sound. The hip-hop influences have been lessened — "What I've Done," the first single from the new disc, doesn't even have any rapping — and musicianship has been strengthened.
The lyrics are generally what Linkin Park is known for — complaining. Or, to put it another way, whining. Once again, the raps and the lyrics are mostly about tortured youth, how hard it is to live in a free, extremely wealthy country when you're young and have no obligations. Boo-hoo.
Since the guys in Linkin Park are now in their 30s (or close to it), married and millionaires, their kvetching is even less believable than it was on their first two albums.
Some sample lines from the new one: "I'm sick of living," "All the hurt inside, you learned to hide," "Goin' out of my [expletive] mind," "I see pain," "Alone on a Valentine's Day." Sniff, sniff.
OK, maybe I'm being too hard on these guys. One song, the rap-fueled "Hands Held High," does deal with the war, high gas prices and a "stuttering and mumbling" leader, probably a reference to President Bush. And "The Little Things Give You Away" is about New Orleans and Katrina. So the Linkin Park guys are moving a little beyond personal concerns to larger issues, and good for them.
But the real story about the new album is how good the music sounds rather than any supposed "revolutionary" changes in Linkin Park's lyrics.
You're not going to find any hard-core revolutionaries at the Projekt Revolution concert Wednesday at White River. It's not going to be a political rally, it's going to be a party. Fans will be pumping their fists in the air, mouthing the words of teenage rebellion and dancing like mad in the mosh pit. In other words, business as usual.
Revolution? Yeah, right.
Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
As glam as he wants to be: Adam Lambert's real debut
Disney's new movie chief recasting studio
CD review | BlakRoc's 'BlakRoc'
Local books | A new Jance thriller, Starbucks' corporate history and an orphan's tale
New DVDs | 'Angels & Demons,' 'Funny People,' 'Four Christmases,' 'Shorts'

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
nwautos
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment
nwjobs
Post a comment
Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Do you suffer from "sitting disease"?
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
404 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
105 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
91 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
76 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research








