Linkin Park

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• classic
• blew up
• sophomore
• number one on the charts

• blessing
• obligation
• metal
• in the same vein

• glossy
• monasteries
• epic
• timelessness

• expansiveness
• finding yourself
• annoying
• change the station

• into

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Linkin Park blew up in 2001 when their first album, Hybrid Theory sold over 14 million copies worldwide. The band, made up of 6 young friends from Southern California, recently released their sophomore album, titled Meteora. It’s already #1 on the charts, but the boys of Linkin Park don’t need to sell another 14 million albums to feel successful.
“We don’t ever want to have the mindset where we need to sell 10 million albums each time out. That’s ridiculous,” says singer Chester Bennington. “It’s a blessing to sell that many albums; it doesn’t happen very often in this business—even once in your career is an achievement. Our obligation is to our fans. We’re not going to get too comfortable and say it’s a given that people will run out and buy our albums.”
Read on to learn more about Linkin Park!

Dialog

1. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

The music of Meteora is classic Linkin Park. It’s a mix of metal, rock and rap in the same vein as music by Limp Bizkit, Korn, and Rage Against the Machine. However, it’s different than Hybrid Theory in that the sound is much more glossy and refined. Linkin Park spent a lot of time making sure every song sounded perfect and it’s easy to hear the results of their efforts.
During a European tour in 2002, the band saw a travel magazine featuring destinations in Greece. On the cover was the word “Meteora ” and a photo. Meteora is a group of six monasteries on top of rocks 1500 feet above the plains of central Greece. The Greek word literally translates as “hovering in the air.” “It’s really epic and beautiful. It totally embodies the sense of timelessness and expansiveness we wanted the album to have,” says singer Mike Shinoda. “We’ve since met people who’ve visited Meteora,” adds DJ Joe Hahn. “People go there for solitude now-to find themselves. And that’s what the album is about-finding yourself. Each song is about looking within and letting out emotions.” Check out some of the lyrics to the first hit single from Meteora, “Somewhere I Belong:”
I wanna heal,
I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I’ve felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it’s gone)
I wanna heal,
I wanna feel like I’m close to something real
I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along
Somewhere I belong

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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