Linkin Park Live From Berlin: Movie Premiere, and a Riot Grrl Classic: New Linkin Park, The Scorpions, Silverstein, L7

"LOST IN THE ECHO"  LINKIN PARK

Tonight I'm heading to the worldwide premiere of Linkin Park's concert movie set in Berlin, Germany.   The film is a one night only special showing of the event with an introduction from the band!  It's a promotion for their brilliant new CD, Living Things releasing on Tuesday. 

Today I'm featuring Track 1:  Lost In the Echo, which is everything we love about the band PLUS MORE!  Mike's rap interchanged with Chester's brutal rock screams gets a hardcore dubstep beat added to the mix.  Great to see Linkin Park continuing to add new elements!

  

"DUST IN THE WIND"  THE SCORPIONS

The Scorpions do the unthinkable, they take possibly the most dreadful, saddest rock anthem ever written and turn it into an uplifting acoustic jam session, complete with Brazilian beats.  Originally recorded by Kansas, "Nothing last forever but the earth and sky, it slips by and all your money won't another minute buy, dust in the wind".   Not very inspiring lyrics but when Klaus and the Scorpions play the song acoustically with an orchestra in Brazil, they pump life into the tired jam.  A cello takes the place of the violin on the original track and adds a new dimension which makes the song sound more hopeful and inspiring.   A great cover reinvents a song, The Scorpions accomplish that feat here!

"I KNEW I COULDN'T TRUST YOU"   SILVERSTEIN

Silverstein is quite the dichotomy, half their songs are emo, half their songs are post-hardcore/scream-o.   In 2012, these released a CD called Short Songs where all 12 songs were under 90 seconds each!  "I Knew I Couldn't Trust You" is highly intense.  It's actually a converstation between two "friends", one who has severely let the other down time and again.   No pain is worse than that coming from the ones we love the most.  Loss of trust is the kiss of death of any relationship and Silverstein's song captures that pain so well.

 

"PRETEND WE'RE DEAD"   L7
L7 is a well-known riot grrrl group, only problem is most people don't know that music genre :)    They were kind of a feminist punk rock theme, L7, Bikini Kill, even Joan Jett at times, contributed to the genre.  L7 tears up a punk cover of the Blondie hit, "Hanging On The Telephone" but I couldn't find it on YouTube.    L7 aren't around anymore but made a splash back in the day with the things they threw around on stage (google them!)

 

A Spiritual Journey: Lifehouse, The Replacements, Silverstein

"EVERYTHING"                     LIFEHOUSE

A song that each listener will take away their own meaning.   Jason Wade, lead singer, is a Christian so you can definitely see the emotional connection to God in lyrics like "how can i stand here with you, and not be moved by you?"   As a love song to someone who has changed your life, these lyrics with the slowed down pace are awe-inspiring...


Find me here,
And speak to me.
I want to feel you,
I need to hear you.
You are the light,
That's leading me,
To the place,
Where I find peace again.


You are the strength,
That keeps me walking.
You are the hope,
That keeps me trusting.
You are the light,
To my soul.
You are my purpose,
You're everything.

"ACHING TO BE"                      THE REPLACEMENTS

Growing up in my late teens in Minneapolis, I got exposed to Punk Music, the great bands out of Minneapolis like Husker Du, The Replacements, The Jayhawks, and Soul Asylum.   I remember seeing Winona Ryder watching her boyfriend, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, at a bar on First Avenue.   This was before she or the band had really made it big.   Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson of the Replacements made commercial hits but they are credited by most newer bands as a HUGE influence.

"APOLOGIZE"                             SILVERSTEIN

A cover of a song made famous by Timberland and One Republic.    Silverstein reinvent the song by cranking up the intensity with harder beats, more dramatic singing, plus a little scream-o in the middle of the song.   "Apologize" appears on the CD Series, Punk Goes Pop.    You have to blast your radio during the line "it's TOO LATE to apologize!"