Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory (2000)

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USA Artists (so far): Aimee Mann, Marty Robbins, D’Angelo, The Modern Lovers, Bruce Springsteen, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Steely Dan, Grant Lee Buffalo, 2Pac, Harry Nilsson, Linkin Park

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[Album 490/1001]

“What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time…but in the end it doesn’t even matter”
– Linkin Park, In The End

Were you ever on the receiving end of a “Turkey Dump?”

It is a cruel tradition for many Canadian University/College students: returning home for Thanksgiving in early October to see your high school sweetheart and hearing the ominous four words, “we need to talk…”

I will forever associate Linkin Park`s In The End with the fall of 2001, when a friend of mine & I found ourselves as Turkey Dumpees. Though in my case, I didn`t even make it to Thanksgiving, so I suppose I was just a run-of-the-mill dumpee!

Upon our return to school, he would play In The End frequently, finding the line, “In the end it doesn’t even matter,” all too relatable.

However, this memory of young heartbreak, which I assumed would have been a painful memory, has curiously become one that draws a smile rather than a tear.

Naturally, I have a theory or two as to why such an unpleasant experience has somehow morphed into a fond memory.

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Theory #1: “What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time”

I didn’t really like Linkin Park in the early 2000s. While I usually applaud the double-lead singer format (Blue Rodeo, Great Big Sea, old Barenaked Ladies), the rap/scream alternating vocals here felt formulaic.

As a math enthusiast, I generally embrace formulas, with the glaring exception of formulaic song-writing. No thanks. I think the ‘k’ in the band name also offended me, feeling a bit too ‘of the times,’ a bit too ‘in step’ with contemporaries like Korn and Limp Bizkit.

Which means 16 years after its release, mathematics would dictate that I should find even less to like on Hybrid Theory. Yet throughout, I found myself smiling…

…and it just doesn’t add up, left side ≠ right side.

Until I realized that how I felt about Linkin Park in the early 2000s is immaterial; in the end, it doesn’t even matter.

Or to borrow another line, “what it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time.”

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Theory #2: Tragedy + Time = Comedy

I didn’t write the equation (there’s a neat look into the etymology of the equation on quoteinvestigator.com) but it’s a life-affirming notion, that eventually all hardships will become amusing, given enough time.

When I add this key variable of ‘Time’ to the Linkin Park music & memories that I once considered tragic…

… the math checks out, left side = right side.

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But what of our protagonists, the unfortunate (and unfortunately named) Turkey Dumpees?

Good news: they both married wonderful partners, have awesome kids, and are generally regarded as productive members of society!

As for Linkin Park, is Hybrid Theory actually any good?

Well, that depends. The more important question may be, how long has it been since you last heard it?

In the end, if my theories (or a hybrid of the two theories 🙂 ) are remotely accurate, it may not even matter.

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