Which Linkin Park song should I listen to?

First things first: what do you want a song about? [[death->death]] [[relationships->relationships]] [[food->food]] [[I don't know->I don't know]]

Are you sure? After losing Chester? It'll hurt. [[that's what I'm here for!->time for pain]] [[something not too close to reality, then? like a different cause of death?->let's ease up]] [[I'll be okay so long as he's explicitly singing about someone else's death->valentine]] [[take me back, I want to choose something else->let's go]]

A bad relationship? [[is there any other kind?->guess not]] [[can you manage a good one?->let's see]]

Okay, let's narrow it down stylistically instead. Do you want to hear rapping? [[yeah!->rap]] [[nah->norap]]

Do you want a comforting aspect to it, at least? Something that could be taken as an apology, maybe? Something that could help you let go of anger towards him, if you're struggling with that? [[sounds good->leaveout]] [[just unmitigated agony, thanks->onemore]]

Can do. What cause sounds good? [[drowning->littlethings]] [[nuclear apocalypse->waitingfor]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZIummTz9mM" target="_blank">LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST</a></big></center> This one hurts, but in some ways you might find it helpful. Anger is a hard emotion to deal with after a loss like this, and it's easier to overcome when Chester's outright asking you for some sort of forgiveness. You left a hell of a lot of reasons to be missed, Chester. The video has a fascinating spaceship setting (and Chester is unfairly attractive in it) but, again, it's a little hard to deal with in retrospect. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kaUvGSLMew" target="_blank">ONE MORE LIGHT</a></big></center> Rather you than me. I can't bear to listen to this one at all. Enjoy your pain. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs0t8LXH6lw" target="_blank">THE LITTLE THINGS GIVE YOU AWAY</a></big></center> Chester's associated with his screaming, but this is a quiet, slowly building song that really lets him show off the singing side of his voice. It's easy to think that this is a song about a messed-up relationship and the drowning is a metaphor. Nope. Absolutely literal drowning. It's a beautiful, vicious song about the US government's mishandling of Hurricane Katrina. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qF_qbaWt3Q" target="_blank">WAITING FOR THE END</a></big></center> A bit of a hard listen now, but not the hardest, and it's a fantastic song. Those drums! The rhythm of Mike's part, the melody and desperate emotion of Chester's! The way the two parts start out separate and end up woven together by the end works really well. [[find me something else->let's go]]

A romantic relationship? [[yes->romantic]] [[not necessarily->unromantic]]

A good relationship? In a Linkin Park song? Er. Hmm. Maybe, if one of the parties is dead. [[sounds good->valentine]] [[I don't want that!->invisible]]

A song by Linkin Park? [[obviously->linkromantic]] [[please tell me which non-Linkin Park song you inexplicably have in this Linkin Park quiz->rolling]]

An actively sadistic relationship? [[yeah!->poa]] [[let's not go that far->unsadistic]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaRBn6QIMcQ" target="_blank">IN PIECES</a></big></center> This builds up so satifyingly, and the constant beat in the background really helps to hold it together. Great guitar break, too. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sXrTpOVnak" target="_blank">ROLLING IN THE DEEP</a></big></center> Linkin Park don't do covers very often, but Chester's minimally accompanied version of this Adele song is absolutely gorgeous. The actual song starts at about the 1m45s mark in this video. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoCD5wZEgo4" target="_blank">POINTS OF AUTHORITY</a></big></center> This is a song about perpetuating a cycle of abuse, and it really goes straight for the throat. On a less serious note, there's a part towards the end that sounds a tiny bit like a kazoo, and it takes me by surprise and almost makes me burst out laughing every time I listen to this. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYiU_JCYtU" target="_blank">NUMB</a></big></center> You already know this one. Listen to it again. It's just so perfectly crafted. There's something strangely delightful about watching this mild-looking, bespectacled young man belt out I'VE BECOME SO NUMB in a church. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAFOpywZbMM" target="_blank">VALENTINE'S DAY</a></big></center> This one is so pretty. It's a love song! From Linkin Park! That isn't about a horribly dysfunctional, self-destructive relationship! So of course one half of the couple is dead. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9_gWiwAWrA" target="_blank">INVISIBLE</a></big></center> The song Mike wrote for his kids. A lot of Linkin Park songs are about irreparably broken relationships, but this is about making amends and doing your best when things are tough between you and the people you love. It's sort of charming that the band put out 'Numb', a song that could be read from the perspective of a teenager rebelling against their parents, and then, fourteen years later, 'Invisible', a song from the perspective of a parent saying 'I'm sorry, I swear I'm trying' to their kids. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Who do you want to hear rapping? [[Mike Shinoda, of course!->shinodarap]] [[Chester Bennington->blackout]] [[someone else?->guestrap]]

No rap, got it. (Well, not a lot of rap; I can't guarantee there won't be the occasional rapped line here and there.) Do you want both Chester and Mike singing lead roles? Just Mike? Just Chester? [[Chester and Mike->duo]] [[Mike->invisible]] [[Chester->justches]] [[actually, do you have anything with a female vocalist?->heavy]] [[I don't want singing either->drawbar]]

Okay, I've got something, but there are a few lines that hit really hard in the wake of Chester's death. [[bring it on->bleeditout]] [[well, find something else->painlessshinodarap]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpfRXSHb-6Y" target="_blank">BLACKOUT</a></big></center> Sometimes described as the song in which Mike and Chester switch roles. The link is to the studio version, but look up a live performance some time; watching Chester veer straight between rapping and screaming is incredibly impressive (and exhausting!). [[find me something else->let's go]]

How much do you want to feel Chester hates you, or at least the 'you' being addressed in the song? [[a lot->goodgoodbye]] [[incandescently->guilty]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phVQZrb2AdA" target="_blank">GOOD GOODBYE</a></big></center> Three rapped verses by three different artists! One of them is Mike Shinoda. I'm sorry for deceiving you, but I'm going to guess your search for guest rappers doesn't mean you're actively opposed to Shinoda's rapping. (If you are opposed to it, I'm not entirely sure why you're looking for Linkin Park songs.) Anyway, here you'll find lots of rapping, a sung chorus that contrasts nicely with it, and a video that inexplicably depicts an evil basketball game. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEaEdLQbAFM" target="_blank">GUILTY ALL THE SAME</a></big></center> Hard as hell with a great riff, good for pumping yourself up before you go out vigilante crimefighting. The 'you're trying to weasel your way out of this and we're just staring you down like a pack of wolves' feel of it works so well. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Do you want Chester to scream? [[yesssss->sandline]] [[just singing, thanks->duosing]]

Would you like something comforting? [[yes please->messenger]] [[thanks for the offer, I'm looking for pain->chespain]] [[are comfort and pain my only options? isn't there some kind of middle ground?->middleground]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dmQ3QWpy1Q" target="_blank">HEAVY</a></big></center> This wasn't what people expected from Linkin Park, and it caused controversy when it was first released, but give it a chance! It's a great song, and, on a personal note, it has one of my all-time favourite music videos. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnuuYcqhzCE" target="_blank">BLEED IT OUT</a></big></center> Brace yourself for the 'noose' lines in the first verse, but this is still a great track. Clever video, too. Try not to get too distracted by Chester banging the microphone stand. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNCgBuI2eJc" target="_blank">FORGOTTEN</a></big></center> This isn't a song people often talk about (one could even say it's been forgotten), but it's my personal favourite track on Hybrid Theory. Not a big fan of the abrupt beginning (Linkin Park are so good at intros that it's a shame when they don't get to do one), but every other aspect is great. The way Mike's lines are slightly layered over each other in the verses, the chorus that cries out to be sung along with, Chester's 'oooooooooooh's towards the end, it all builds up to a fantastic song. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLYiIBCN9ec" target="_blank">IRIDESCENT</a></big></center> There's something very beautiful about this one. Isolating, haunting imagery, but there's comfort in the 'let it go' of the chorus. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScNNfyq3d_w" target="_blank">CASTLE OF GLASS</a></big></center> They start quietly on this one and then rock out, and it works so well. Highly satisfying guitar work. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec2RlGgNIUs" target="_blank">THE MESSENGER</a></big></center> A beautiful song about hope and love in adversity. When you find yourself having a hard time, come back to this one. Remember you're loved, and you always will be. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Do you want something you can dance to? [[YEAH->inmyremains]] [[I'm okay, thanks->chesnodancing]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkDrVL8Tsuw" target="_blank">A LINE IN THE SAND</a></big></center> A fantastically varied song, building up slowly from Mike's soft singing to Chester's YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. It suffers a little from YouTube's compression on the fiercer instrumental bits, so you may want to listen to it on the album instead if you have it, but the singing still sounds great. Some of Linkin Park's best lyrical work, too. Wait, is Mike technically rapping in the middle bit? Was I lying when I said there wasn't rap in this one? I'm sorry. I'm not very good at quizzes. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Would you like something comforting? [[yes please->iridescent]] [[thanks for the offer, I'm just looking for weird metaphors->metaphor]]

How much instrumentation do you want? [[acoustic guitar, Chester's voice, don't want much more than that->sharpedges]] [[a moderate amount, I suppose? drums and piano would be good->powerless]] [[ELECTRIC GUITAR. DRUMS. PIANO. WEIRD ELECTRONIC NOISES. PEOPLE GOING 'NA NA NA' IN THE BACKGROUND. I WANT IT ALL->whativedone]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLFiuNdQrzI" target="_blank">IN MY REMAINS</a></big></center> My personal favourite from Living Things. I don't know about you, but I can't listen to this one without dancing in my seat. The beat is just so catchy! [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgEKLhvCCVA" target="_blank">BURN IT DOWN</a></big></center> I was so confused by this the first time I heard it. 'Wait, is this a dance song? From Linkin Park? I'm not sure about this one.' And then it was stuck in my head for the entire next day, which eventually helped me come to appreciate how great it is. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Do you want something you can dance to? [[YEAH->burnitdown]] [[I'm okay, thanks->paperaddition]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1wM5ljye28" target="_blank">I'LL BE GONE</a></big></center> This is a difficult one to listen to now, but it's so good. We miss you. [[find me something else->let's go]]

How screamy do you want your pain? [[not screamy->illbegone]] [[a bit screamy->breaking the habit]] [[the screamiest->givenup]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xyxtzD54rM" target="_blank">GIVEN UP</a></big></center> Once upon a time, so it's said, Mike told Chester to 'do something crazy' in the song he was writing, Chester screamed for as long as he possibly could as a joke, and Mike went 'yeah, that's great, let's throw it in!' And that's the story of why 'Given Up' contains an eighteen-second scream, and of how poor Chester doomed himself to actually performing that scream at live shows. Possibly. I don't have a solid source on this. But I hope it's true. [[find me something else->let's go]]

You look like you're in need of a Linkin Park song. Before you start, be warned that this quiz was created shortly after the death of Chester Bennington, and some of the questions/song descriptions will allude to it; it's a sadly inescapable topic (and I don't want to recommend a song if it'll just upset you). If you'd prefer to stay away from any mentions of that, you could just find a Linkin Park song to listen to by choosing at random; you're guaranteed to find something good anyway! [[I'm ready->let's go]]

A 'you're breaking up with me' song or an 'I'm breaking up with you' one? [[you're breaking up with me->intheend]] [[I'm breaking up with you->upwithyou]] [[do you have anything that feels like a mutual decision?->finalmasquerade]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4" target="_blank">IN THE END</a></big></center> Well, this one had to be in here somewhere! The piano riff really makes it. The charmingly turn-of-the-millennium CG video, in which they sing a desiccated wasteland back to life, is a strangely hopeful one for a song with hopeless lyrics. You tried so hard and got so far, in the end it doesn't even matter, but the video is telling you that you can move past this. Your life still has the capacity for beauty and flying whales. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM" target="_blank">BREAKING THE HABIT</a></big></center> One of Linkin Park's first ventures into a 'softer' sound, and it works so, so well. Chester named this as one of his three favourite Linkin Park songs when speaking to Impericon, along with 'Sharp Edges' and 'Papercut'. Be aware that both the song itself and the video might be a bit emotionally rough after recent events. [[find me something else->let's go]]

What's the reason for the breakup? [[I'm not good for you->lyingfromyou]] [[you're not good for me->inpieces]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjdgcHdzvac" target="_blank">LYING FROM YOU</a></big></center> In my experience, there are two types of Linkin Park song. There are songs like 'What I've Done' and 'In My Remains' and 'The Little Things Give You Away', which I'm in love with before I've finished hearing them for the first time. And then there are songs like this, where I listen and go 'huh, not sure this one works for me', and then a few days later I find it stuck in my head and I'm compelled to listen to it five times in a row. The instrumentation and the voices work together so well, and 'I wanna be pushed aside' is a great line. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Ni_LskhFc" target="_blank">SHARP EDGES</a></big></center> One of Chester's personal favourites, apparently. It's tough to put your voice straight out there with nothing but a guitar behind it, but he did it fearlessly. Good luck getting this one out of your head. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sgycukafqQ" target="_blank">WHAT I'VE DONE</a></big></center> Hell yes. Songs about atonement are the best. Great tune. Great intro, but that almost goes without saying on a Linkin Park song. Excellent use of piano and 'na na na'ing. You may know this one from Transformers. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Okay. How about Chester's part? Are you in the mood for screaming or singing? [[screaming->faint]] [[singing->forgotten]] [[why not both?->placefor]] [[he can do a bit of screaming, but I'd like the focus to stay on Mike->allfornothing]] [[can he be playing drums and sort of singing wordlessly?->whentheycome]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYU-8IFcDPw" target="_blank">FAINT</a></big></center> The energy, the anger, the violins! This song is pacey and ferocious and great. Possibly Linkin Park's sexiest song? I don't know what makes it sexy in my head, but somehow it's sexy. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Wait. Food? Are you sure? What sort of food? [[I can't decide, give me a variety->gmm]] [[lollipops->unicorns]] [[jellyfish->jellyfish]] [[okay, maybe not food->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8tDvR_fFIc" target="_blank">GOOD MYTHICAL MORNING: DOES MUSIC MAKE FOOD TASTE BETTER?</a></big></center> Chester and Mike sing an assortment of songs about food in this Good Mythical Morning segment. It is genuinely incredible. My personal favourite is the screaming rock song about cup noodles, about two minutes in. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltivD4-Ho_s" target="_blank">UNICORNS AND LOLLIPOPS</a></big></center> A heartwarming song about overcoming differences, with which Chester is wasting the last few seconds before they're due to go on stage, because he is a troll. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuZBFpslygU" target="_blank">PB N' JELLYFISH</a></big></center> I'm not sure whether jellyfish is traditionally considered a food, but try telling that to Chester, who invites you to put it on your sandwich in this ageless masterpiece. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8q8fFs3kTM" target="_blank">FINAL MASQUERADE</a></big></center> You've come here looking for a mutual end to a bad romantic relationship, but, I'll be honest, I can't promise that was the intention behind this song; that's just how I interpret it. In many ways, the science behind this song-selection quiz is a bit imprecise. Whatever the case, though, this is a great song. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2WkCudwfY" target="_blank">A PLACE FOR MY HEAD</a></big></center> That intro! Chester's vicious, desperate whispering, building up to vicious, desperate screaming! If you ever want a spectacle, watch the 2003 Live in Texas version of this. Chester throws himself so passionately into the performance that it's slightly terrifying. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cC4LQV2tf8" target="_blank">WHEN THEY COME FOR ME</a></big></center> You have pretty specific tastes, and I suspect you were expecting this song. The constant, rhythmic drumbeat carries it along. Mike is going to call you a motherfucker a lot in this one. Don't take it too personally; he doesn't mean it. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32BOmle7Z6w" target="_blank">POWERLESS</a></big></center> This is, I'll be honest, a more serious song than I'd have expected from a film called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but it's got a lovely tune. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Should there be screaming? [[absolutely->chesscream]] [[just singing is fine, thanks->chesnoscream]]

Okay, some people find this one a little hard to take seriously, but— [[look, we both know you're talking about 'Crawling', let's not pretend we don't, just give me the link->crawling]] [[do you have anything else?->runaway]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd9OhYroLN0" target="_blank">CRAWLING</a></big></center> This song comes in for a lot of mockery, but there's a reason it's still remembered almost two decades later. In some ways it feels like the spiritual predecessor to 'Numb': an instantly recognisable riff, a gently sung verse contrasting with the desperate chorus. The video, in which the band's music breaks down the walls between them and an isolated person who needs their help, reflects what Linkin Park has done for so many fans over the last seventeen years. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig-fyQqf510" target="_blank">RUNAWAY</a></big></center> I lied; there's a bit of rap in here. Just a little, in the background. But most of it is Chester alternating between screaming and singing. 'All my talk of taking action, these words were never true' is one of my all-time favourite Linkin Park lyrics. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjgdHSwWfhE" target="_blank">DRAWBAR</a></big></center> A great instrumental track. One of the commenters has mentioned that it sounds like it could be in excellent post-apocalyptic videogame The Last of Us, and, wow, it really does. Listen out for a touch of 'Final Masquerade' towards the end. [[find me something else->let's go]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVPbR_r8XLU" target="_blank">ALL FOR NOTHING</a></big></center> If you like drums and guitars, and you feel that nothing you listen to ever has quite enough drums and guitars, you're in luck. Mike takes both verse and chorus on this song, with Chester's screams adding a harsher edge. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Should both Mike and Chester have significant vocal roles, or just Chester? [[Mike and Chester->vicious]] [[just Chester->anger]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLHpvjrFpe0" target="_blank">FROM THE INSIDE</a></big></center> Chester gets to show off his full range in this one: soft melody in the verses, loud and passionate chorus, full-on screaming in the 'I won't waste myself on you' part. [[find me something else->let's go]]

How angry do you want the song to be? [[more unhappy than angry->numb]] [[SO ANGRY->onestepcloser]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qlCC1GOwFw" target="_blank">ONE STEP CLOSER</a></big></center> Linkin Park's first single. Look at that hair! A couple of facts Mike offered up about this video in '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zjAxPMipBk" target="_blank">Linkin Park Reacts to Teens React to Linkin Park</a>': it was directed by a porn director, and Mike won't show it to his kids because he's too embarrassed by it. [[find me something else->let's go]]

How vicious do you want the song to be? [[I don't know, maybe a little?->fromtheinside]] [[extraordinarily->placefor]]

Would you like guitar and drums with your weird metaphors? Please say yes. [[yes, give them to me immediately->burningskies]] [[yes, but give them a moment to build up->castleofglass]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh_YCSW5lPc" target="_blank">BURNING IN THE SKIES</a></big></center> For the most part, the lyrics of Linkin Park's first three albums were very straightforward: this is what's happening, this is how I feel about it, you know what this song is about. That isn't a criticism; it was that clearly expressed emotion that helped the songs connect with so many people in pain. The beautiful 'Burning in the Skies' could be described as the first 'full' song on A Thousand Suns, after a couple of introductory tracks, and it makes it clear that we're immediately veering into the realm of metaphor. There's no 'better' or 'worse' here: just two different styles of lyric-writing in this band's phenomenally varied output. [[find me something else->let's go]]

Do you want heavy themes of paranoia and self-loathing? [[I like where this is going->papercut]] [[look, if I'd wanted 'Papercut' I wouldn't have had to do this quiz->shinodarapnodance]]

<center><big><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjVkXlxsO8Q" target="_blank">PAPERCUT</a></big></center> Oh, thank God, I managed to fit 'Papercut' in here at last. This song selector just didn't feel right without it; it's an absolute classic. This was the first track on Hybrid Theory, which means it was probably the first song I ever heard from Linkin Park; maybe that's the case for you as well. One of Chester Bennington's personal favourites. [[find me something else->let's go]]