"oh no emo stuff obviously sucks". I've liked Linkin Park for a long time, they're good and honestly 90% of people who dislike them have listened to maybe one song of theirs and decided to jump on the bandwagon for social acceptance. The instrumental parts of the music are simple but well done and the singer has a good smooth voice even when yelling. And could you honestly critique it in any way other than "oh it's emo" or "it's stuff because it's stuff"?
First off, I don't hate it because it's "emo crap". I can and do enjoy "emo crap" bands like Alkaline Trio, for example.
Second, just because you've liked Linkin Park for a long time, just because 90% of the people who dislike them haven't really listened to them, doesn't mean that they are good. You are not the sole arbitrator as to whether a band is "good" or not. You have to respect different music tastes. I agree, people who listen to one song and claim that the band sucks, they are morons. I've listened to many Linkin Park songs (in the interest of *gasp* finding out if I like them), and I still dislike them.
Third, you go on to give some things you like about their songs. But, really? "The instrumental parts are well done and the singer has a smooth voice" is something that anyone can say about a band that they like, whether it's objectively true or not.
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Now, I will honestly critique Linkin Park over the next few paragraphs.
I cannot stand screaming in music, at all. I realize that not all of their songs include screaming, and those songs I like better than the others. That's just my taste.
Another problem that I find with most modern rock songs, is that they are run through Pro Tools to the point where the song just sounds too perfect. It takes the soul out of the song. I dislike that about post-Dookie Green Day. I dislike that about bands like Nickelback. I dislike that about a lot of bands.
Of course, with Linkin Park, they try to make up for that with "soulful" lyrics, which end up sounding like a bunch of crying emos. Which isn't a problem for just a few couple songs, but when every song is about wanting to kill yourself, or alternatively, "only the pain lets you know you're alive", it gets tiring. I have the same complaint againsts bands like Disturbed, every song is about hell and demons. And the ones that aren't, I like better (such as Stricken). The stereotypes are there for a reason, you know.
Then, there's the fact that pretty much every song of theirs sounds the same. I realize that each band has it's own sound, but it seems like they never even try to do anything different. Every song is just "smooth instrumental part sometimes accompanied by whiny vocals" leading into "ear-shattering blast of distortion usually accompanied by screaming". It's as if the guitars have never known any other tuning than drop D. And the songs that are different are so desperate to break the stereotype that they just end up sounding like crap anyways. A lot of bands fall into that category.
Finally, they have no musical integrity. You can tell, each song is designed to sound good, and not necessarily to be a good song, if you know the difference. After their first album, each one is just designed to rake in the money. They've found a market of school kids trying desperately to be tough and rebellious by listening to noise their parents (and their schoolmates) don't like, yet isn't intellectually stimulating in the least sense of the word.
Now, I shouldn't have to say any of this, because "I don't like Linkin Park" is an opinion, one that I shouldn't have to defend. If you were to provide an actual argument as to why I should like Linkin Park, instead of calling me a closed-minded emo-hater, then I would have a lot more respect for your musical tastes.
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Now, I like some bands that Caution has on the list, such as Staind, Creed, Alter Bridge, Three Doors Down (early stuff), Fuel, Goo Goo Dolls (really early stuff), Train, Audioslave, etc. The problem is that those are the kinds of bands I call "second-rate" as in, the kind of bands that I like a few songs from, wouldn't listen to them daily, don't really like their new stuff. I have them on my playlist, but I have it weighted so that my "first-rate" songs play twice as much as the "second-rate" songs.
Really, Caution and I just have different musical tastes. I said the playlist sucked, because from my perspective, it did suck. Don't take it personally.
tl;dr read the parts in between the "-----"s
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