When Linkin Park started renouncing their rap-metal past and released the dour "What I've Done" as the lead single from their new album, I figured it probably wouldn't include any songs I'd like as much as the still-classic "Faint." But the song "Bleed It Out" that they played on SNL a while back, and which is supposed to be the next single, is pretty incredible. I'll make fun of Shinoda Ice's monotonous rappy raps as much as anyone, but in the right context he really does make their songs awesome. "Bleed It Out" is full of the elements that shitty 'dance punk' indie bands use to signify a sense of zany fun in their songs: tambourines, handclaps, loose chatter low in the mix in the beginning of the song. And when those bands do it, it always sounds kind of desperate and forced to me, but with Linkin Park it's actually as exhilarating as it should be, because they usually seem like such joyless bunch of lab rats, creating hundreds of alternate takes of boring power ballads instead of stuff as great as "Bleed It Out."

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 at 9:53 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.