Imagine.
Imagine I almost cried when I read Chester Bennington’s note to Chris Cornell after his death. Imagine I write a tribute to Chris Cornell on his birthday. And on that same goddamn day, Chester Bennington is found dead.
Chester fucking Bennington.
Honestly, I’m distraught. I wrote in the last post that Chris Cornell’s death was the only one to affect me. Well, girls and boys, make that one of TWO deaths to affect me.
Let me tell you that Linkin Park were a big part of my entire child/teenhood. My entire. Teenhood.
God.
They were the object of my angsty teenaged dreams. I have so many memories attached to Hybrid Theory and Meteora. The number of times I’d be at school with my stupid hair and my heartagram bag and I’d yank out my headphones to hear someone saying ‘what the fuck are you listening to how are you not deaf’. It was most probably Papercut. I went through a phase where I listened to that song on repeat. Literally on repeat. Honestly, whomever went to school with me knows. Apparently, I listened to a lot of screaming. It almost always belonged to Chester.
Hybrid Theory was the second album I bought with my own money (after Jeff Buckley’s Grace). This album is honestly a masterpiece. I hate that I’ve used this word in the last post too, to talk about Soundgarden, but it’s a shame that such legendary and influential artists are leaving.
But it’s true. In all of the albums ever written, Hybrid theory is definitely, without doubt, in the top 3. The top THREE. I’d even go as far as to say it’s the best albums ever. Every single song is so complex and different. The first two albums are written so well; Mike and Chester were a match made in heaven. So many of my favourite songs are Linkin Park songs. I’m gonna keep it realistic here and remind you all what an amazing vocalist he was. No, his range wasn’t the most impressive part. But he was the best at what he did; his voice was powerful, emotional, and real. He was the only person to do what he did; Linkin Park can’t be Linkin Park without him. To try would be futile. His voice fit in LP songs like a dream.
His voice is attached to basically all of the memories of my teenage years. If I had a movie about those years, Hybrid Theory would be the soundtrack to that movie. Chester would narrate. And scream all of my internal screams, because there were many of those that I released by listening to Linkin Park.
My school music book was covered in my favourite artists, and in terms of frequency, they were second only to HIM (my life. No, seriously, ask anybody. This band was my life). I always wanted to see Linkin Park live, but I never did, simply because I didn’t like any of their newer stuff. Personal preference. If they had a new Hybrid Theory/Meteora tour, I would have been the first to buy a ticket. To preserve their legacy, I have only fully listened to three of their albums. (I stopped after Minutes to Midnight).
I hate how it’s the artists that helped me through hard times. You know, we listen to the people that help us when we’re struggling and we almost forget. They’re struggling. They help us so much, give us a sense of connection, that we forget that they are struggling. Artists like Linkin Park change their sound completely, and people forget.
I would have never expected this. I honestly can’t believe Chester Bennington is dead.
The sun goes down (20/03/1976 – 20/07/2017)
