Linkin Park
I chose the band Linkin Park as the focus of my research for this assignment. They are a very popular group who has recently stopped in St. Paul as part of their current tour. As least one of my students attended the concert. When I asked my 11 year old nephew what type of music he listens to, he named Linkin Park as one band he likes. At that point, I decided to give them a listen on Youtube. I wanted to conduct my research on a band who is popular with my students.
I learned that Linkin Park is made up on several American young men. Although Mike Shinoda is actually Japanese American, they were all born and raised in the states. The first few members were high school friends who formed a band called Xero. They grew and added new members until they scored their first record deal as Hybrid Theory. They changed their name to Lincoln Park because some of the members used enjoy their time in that park in Santa Monica, CA. They changed to Linkin Park because they weren't able to use the traditional spelling.
I feel this band is somewhat culturally significant for the teenagers of today because of the impact music can have on us at that pivotal time in life. I still listen to music I came across as a 17 or 18 year old. I feel like people like the band because the tunes are catchy, the lyrics are fairly easy to understand, and it blends some rap music with other types of music in a smooth manner. As someone who does not like rap music at all, I found myself enjoying Linkin Park's brand of rap metal. I think the lyrics are pretty shallow. On one of the band's fan website's, the lyrics from their first two albums were described as having a similar "woe is me" theme. For that reason, I think it could be argued that the band won't have any lasting historical impact, however, they may stay around a long time and venture into all sorts of different directions. It is impressive that they have already done some pretty significant charity work in terms of helping relief efforts from recent natural disasters.
I don't think it's really necessary that all students share the same feeling of significance of Linkin Park. After reading Cameron White's article "Integrating music in history education", I struggled with the educational relevance of Linkin Park. Then I realized, although they may not provoke a lot of history education, there are plenty of ways to tie them into meaningful instruction. For example, I work with students working on transition skills. They are all experiencing some setbacks along the way. The members of Linkin Park are great examples because things didn't work out as they planned initially. It took awhile to earn their first record deal. One thing that is different from a lot of other bands in the Nu metal genre is that Linkin Park didn't have any curse words in their songs, at least on their first couple albums. I did hear a couple of F-bombs on a song off their latest release. They felt like the cursing would detract from the music. One of the members, Chester Bennington, has made it through some horrible things, like child abuse and substance abuse, to make it as an award winning musician.
Although the lyrics are incredibly deep, I think the youth of today can relate to them in many ways. Lyrics like, "I want to find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong", "one step closer to the edge and I'm about to break", could start some interesting discussions in small groups. A band that I'm more familiar with, Dream Theater, would be an interesting contrast. They are a progressive metal band that is not nearly as well known. They deal with some interesting subject matter like 911 and the stem cell research debate. One of their band members is writing the Alcoholics Anonymous Suite where he reflects on his experience in the 12 step program. Although not as well known, they are current and could add to some thought provoking discussions in groups a school counselor may run.
In the end, I think it will take time to learn if Linkin Park will have a lasting impact on society. When I think of bands that started in the 1970's, I didn't know who would matter in the future. I think it depends on a lot of factors. Queen, for example, would have a significant historical impact in my opinion that I wouldn't have been able to predict it at the time. I think it would be an interesting discussion with young people. Who, of the artists they consider the best of this era, will be around 30 years in the future? Will Linkin Park be mentioned very often? I doubt it but you never know.
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