Living Things: The Album That Made Me Love Music

Written by: Audrey Moser

Edited by: Izabelle Garcia

I was always surrounded by music as a child. Eric Clapton or Andrea Bocelli would play from the kitchen as my mom cooked dinner, and my sister was always learning a new instrument. What I always despised though was getting into the car with my dad, because as soon as that engine started, so would the terrible sounds of chugging guitars, aggressive drumming, and gurgling vocals. My dad was (and still is) a metalhead, and I hated it!

My dad decided somewhere along the way that it’d be important to have some less scary music playing in his car for my sake, so his compromise was six CDs that would stay in rotation in his car for multiple years without change: Through The Eyes by Flaw, They Can’t All Be Zingers by Primus, Pick Up Your Head by Middle Class Rut, Come Clean by Puddle of Mudd, Dirt by Alice in Chains, and Living Things by Linkin Park.

There were many songs that I remembered specifically bothering me as a kid, which now as an adult I have been able to rediscover. I never liked when “Aunt Betty” by Middle Class Rut came on because of the cursing in the song, I never liked “Mary The Ice Cube” by Primus because I didn’t understand how a song could sound so bad, and I never liked when “Untitled” by Alice in Chains came on because it scared me. However, the one song that would play in the car that would stick with me was the fun, electronic sound that came with the beginning of the song: “Lost in The Echo” by Linkin Park. It was different to me than the other songs my dad played. It was interesting, but didn’t frighten my 8-year-old self.

Fast forward to a few years later, my dad had finally changed the CDs in his car, but those CDs became someone else's possession: my sister’s! She started becoming a metal head too, and I couldn’t believe it. I would walk past her room, hearing the booming of System of A Down, Clutch, and her favorite, Linkin Park. I remembered the sounds torturing me.

One time, however, was different. My sister and I were tasked to clean the kitchen together, and my sister of course had to put some music on. She brought in the CD player and popped in a CD without asking me first. And, there it was. Happy electronic harmonies filled my mind that instantly brought me back to sitting in the back seat of my dad’s 2004 Toyota Corolla. My sister had put on the album that my dad always played in the car, the one that I remembered sort of enjoying: Living Things by Linkin Park.

The music was not only nostalgic but in my maturing mind, I could see the beauty of the album. I became obsessed with it. The balance between electronic symphonies, the rock influence, and the beautiful vocals was like something I had never heard before. Listening to this album made me feel like I was unlocking a part of my brain that had previously been sealed. I began to appreciate the intricacies that each song had to offer. I had never felt this way about music before.

From there, I listened to the whole Linkin Park discography. I came to find that their previous albums were heavier, but the sound of metal music didn’t scare me like it used to. I enjoyed the guitars, I enjoyed the range of vocals that Chester Bennington could reach, even if it was screaming.

Soon, Linkin Park wasn’t enough. I learned about genres of music, Linkin Park generally being considered “Nü Metal”, alongside other bands like Slipknot, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne, and many others, myself getting into Slipknot especially.

Music has become so intriguing for me in the past few years. I find it unbelievable there was a time not too far away when I wasn’t listening to music every day, stalking my Spotistats, looking for new things to listen to, and playing guitar every day. Music has absolutely changed my life. After finding what music my brain likes to feed off of, I find the mental stimulation from listening to my favorite artists seeping into all aspects of my life positively. Music keeps me entertained at work, it has comforted me in my darkest times, it has given me hobbies, and it has allowed me to find a community. All of this love for an art form that I have, I dedicate to the album that introduced it all to me: Living Things, By Linkin Park.