History Trivia / LinkinPark

* DearNegativeReader: One of the most memorable aspects of the mixed-at-best immediate reception towards ''One More Light'' was the band's response. Mike took a more diplomatic route, simply stating that the widespread narrative of them making the album for financial gain is "not how [he] operate[s]". However, Chester was far more aggressive, as he saw the accusations as a personal attack. He outright [[http://www.nme.com/news/music/linkin-park-hybrid-theory-chester-bennington-2068551 stated that]] he didn't really care if people liked the album or not, told fans of their ''Hybrid Theory'' sound to "move the fuck on", and told naysayers perpetuating the accusations to stab themselves in the face (the article makes a note that Chester laughed when he said this) and that "[they] can fucking meet me outside and I will punch [them] in [their] fucking mouth." Chester's reaction eventually caught the attention of [[Music/{{Slipknot}} Corey Taylor]], who empathized with his frustrations but also advised him to be fortunate for the fanbase they had; Chester agreed, stating that he "sometimes takes things too personally." While both his outbursts and the media coverage surrounding them didn't create the best image for him, [[HarsherInHindsight his suicide several months after the album's release put them in a more serious light]]. While it's kind of absurd to credit the album's reactions exclusively with what happened, they probably didn't help and essentially gave an indicator as to where his mind was at the time.

* DearNegativeReader: One of the most memorable aspects of the mixed-at-best immediate reception towards ''One More Light'' was the band's response. Mike took a more diplomatic route, simply stating that the widespread narrative of them making the album for financial gain is "not how [he] operate[s]". However, Chester was far more aggressive, as he saw the accusations as a personal attack. He outright [[http://www.nme.com/news/music/linkin-park-hybrid-theory-chester-bennington-2068551 stated that]] he didn't really care if people liked the album or not, told fans of their ''Hybrid Theory'' sound to "move the fuck on", and told naysayers perpetuating the accusations to stab themselves in the face (the article makes a note that Chester laughed when he said this) and that "[they] can fucking meet me outside and I will punch [them] in [their] fucking mouth." Chester's reaction eventually caught the attention of [[Music/{{Slipknot}} Corey Taylor]], who empathized with his frustrations but also advised him to be fortunate for the fanbase they had; Chester agreed, stating that he "sometimes takes things too personally." While both his outbursts and the media coverage surrounding them didn't create the best image for him, [[HarsherInHindsight his suicide several months after the album's release put them in a more serious light]]. While it's kind of absurd to credit the album's reactions exclusively with what happened, they do give an indicator as to where his mind was at the time.

* DyeingForYourArt: During the ''Hybrid Theory'' period, Mike would often dye his hair red (such as in the "One Step Closer" video) or blue (seen jn the video for "Crawling"). Less conspicuously, Chester bleached his hair during that period. Both of them reverted to their natural colors (black and dark brown, respectively) from ''Meteora'' onwards.
* ExecutiveMeddling: The band wanted to shift styles more drastically for ''Meteora'' (as evidenced by the many electronic demos from that period released on Underground volumes), but the record company wanted more nu-metal. As a result, the album was something of an compromise between the two styles. This seems to have been a good thing - the album's most acclaimed track is "Breaking The Habit", a track based on an electronic instrumental Shinoda had put a lot of effort into. It's food for thought what might have happened had they made their drastic shift away from their SignatureStyle as early as their second album.
** There are hints that "What I've Done" was written purely because the record company didn't see a suitable single on ''Minutes To Midnight''. The fact the band had written almost 150 songs before this means this could be likely. In the [[DVDCommentary documentary]] ''Meeting Of A Thousand Suns'', Shinoda says that the album's first single 'doesn't have to be some "What I've Done" shit'.

** Chester revealed in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTX_GgNzEY Scuzz TV]] interview that, while recording ''Hybrid Theory'', Warner Bros. Records execs wanted to either demote Mike to keyboardist or fire him, despite him being the primary songwriter and producer. [[TrueCompanions The rest of the band]] threatened to quit in protest. Then when the album was released and became a hit, Warner Bros. claimed that they were a fabricated act. This was briefly chronicled later by Mike in the Music/FortMinor song "Get Me Gone".

** "One More Light" is often seen as this by fans as it is such a blatant change to a pop style they were never previously part of, and seemed to be an attempt to fit in with the modern charts. Whilst it has its fans, the band almost seemed desperate to defend it instead of admitting they took a risk that didn't pay off. Chester's death has made people reevaluate it somewhat.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The Xero Demo Tape. When people were requesting the band to play the track "Reading My Eyes" live in 2006, the band members were up for it, but didn't have any copies of the song at hand, as they were on tour. So Shinoda searched the internet and downloaded the EP from a fansite. The band then learnt the song from the mp3. Since Shinoda has released other Xero era demos since then, it is entirely possible he still has the tape and its masters at home but didn't have access to them at that point.

* PromotedFanboy: Mike after working with Rick Rubin, the man behind some of his favorite albums such as ''[[Music/RunDMC Raising Hell]]''. While recording ''A Thousand Suns'', he had a nerdgasm after getting to play with the same 808s drum machine used on that album.

* DirectedByCastMember: Joe Hahn has directed almost all of their music videos, particularly the ''Meteora'' (all but "Faint", which was insted directed by Mark Romanek of ''Film/OneHourPhoto'' and [[Music/MichaelJackson "Scream"]] fame), ''Minutes to Midnight'' (all, with "Given Up" also credited to the rest of the band and band videographer Mark Fiore), and ''A Thousand Suns'' (all as well). However, for each subsequent albums afterwards, he only directed one video per album ("Burn It Down" for ''Living Things'', "Until It's Gone" for ''The Hunting Party'', and co-directing the title track of ''One More Light'' with Fiore).

* DearNegativeReader: One of the most memorable aspects of the mixed-at-best immediate reception towards ''One More Light'' was the band's response. Mike took a more diplomatic route, simply stating that the widespread narrative of them making the album for financial gain is "not how [he] operate[s]". However, Chester was far more aggressive, as he saw the accusations as a personal attack. He outright [[http://www.nme.com/news/music/linkin-park-hybrid-theory-chester-bennington-2068551 stated that]] he didn't really care if people liked the album or not, told fans of their ''Hybrid Theory'' sound to "move the fuck on", and told naysayers perpetuating the accusations to stab themselves in the face (the article makes a note that Chester laughed when he said this) and that "[they] can fucking meet me outside and I will punch [them] in [their] fucking mouth." Chester's reaction eventually caught the attention of [[Music/{{Slipknot}} Corey Taylor]], who empathized with his frustrations but also advised him to be fortunate for the fanbase they had; Chester agreed, stating that he "sometimes takes things too personally."

* DearNegativeReader: Chester outright [[http://www.nme.com/news/music/linkin-park-hybrid-theory-chester-bennington-2068551 said]] he didn't really care if people liked ''One More Light'' or not, then told naysayers that accused the band of being sell-outs to stab themselves in the face (the article makes a note that Chester laughed when he said this). He also told fans still hung up on ''Hybrid Theory'' to "move the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] on."

** They eventually had this attitude towards their nu metal material, which is why they dedicated themselves to distance their sound from it; Chester even outright stated that he hated the genre. They have since lightened up on it a bit, and reintegrated elements of their old material into their new albums. In fact, Chester even warmed up to the nu metal label, even saying he liked Music/LimpBizkit. He also once told [[http://www.newsweek.com/chester-bennington-linkin-park-hybrid-639964 a magazine that]] in the loosest sense, they were nu metal, because they ''were'' trying new things with the metal sound.

* ContestWinnerCameo: [=NoBraiN=], the winner of Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" remix contest, got his remix featured on several editions of ''A Thousand Suns''. He also makes an appearance on the outro to "When They Come for Me".
* CreatorBacklash: To celebrate ''Hybrid Theory'''s ten-year anniversary, the band announced that they'll never play fan-favorite "Runaway" again, citing it as the worst song they ever wrote.
** Averted in that the band has to come to terms with their past and they have begun playing "retired" songs, like "Runaway", during their ''Living Things'' world tour, as this album is seen as a melding together of the group's old and new.
** They had this attitude towards their nu metal related material, which is why they dedicated themselves sound anything but that. Chester even outright stated that he hated the genre. They have since lightened up on it a bit, and reintegrated elements of their old material into their new albums. In fact, Chester even came to turns with the nu metal label, even saying he liked Music/LimpBizkit. He also once told [[http://www.newsweek.com/chester-bennington-linkin-park-hybrid-639964 a magazine that]] in the loosest sense, they were nu metal, because they ''were'' trying new things with the metal sound.

* CreatorKiller: ''One More Light'' is a '''literal''' case of this. Chester, who likely saw the album as a project on a personal level, did ''not'' take the absolutely mixed reviews from critics and fans alike well. The death of his friend Music/ChrisCornell probably did not help matters either.

** Chester felt this way about "One Step Closer" because of the 'shut up' section earning him so much infamy. He named it as his least favorite song the band has done.
** Mike has said he's so embarrassed by the "One Step Closer" video, he refuses to show it to his kids. The band would take personal control of their music videos afterwards, with Joe Hahn directing the bulk of them. Mike was especially incensed that director Gregory Dark used to work in porn, which nobody bothered to tell him at the time.
*** Notably, the "One Step Closer" video is the only Linkin Park video that had Mike with [[FieryRedhead red hair]], which is another OldShame of his.

* ContractualPurity: Some MoralGuardians cried foul when the band began to use profanity on ''Minutes to Midnight'', after releasing the notably profanity-free albums ''Hybrid Theory'' and ''Meteora''. Saying that, Mike did swear on the Xero track "Reading My Eyes" and the ''Hybrid Theory'' EP version of "High Voltage" (both Mike's "Reprise Version" remix and the ''Reanimation'' remix based on it are censored).
* ContestWinnerCameo: [=NoBraiN=], the winner of Linkin Park's remix contest, got his remix featured on several editions of ''A Thousand Suns''. He also makes an appearance on the outro to "When They Come for Me".

* DirectedByCastMember: Joe Hahn has directed almost all of their music videos, particularly the ''Meteora'' (all but "Faint"), ''Minutes to Midnight'' (all, with "Given Up" also credited to the rest of the band and band videographer Mark Fiore), and ''A Thousand Suns'' (all as well). However, for each subsequent albums afterwards, he only directed one video per album ("Burn It Down" for ''Living Things'', "Until It's Gone" for ''The Hunting Party'', and co-directing the title track of ''One More Light'' with Fiore).

* BlackSheepHit: "Breaking The Habit", an electronic song without distorted guitars in it, and "Numb", a ballad. Both from their album ''Meteora'', and both would substantially influence the direction they would take afterwards. Notably, neither song features Mike Shinoda on lead vocals, and it contributed to the perception of Chester as the frontman.
* ContractualPurity: Some MoralGuardians cried foul when the band began to use profanity on ''Minutes to Midnight'', after releasing the notably profanity-free albums ''Hybrid Theory'' and ''Meteora''. Saying that, Mike did swear on the Xero track "Reading My Eyes" and the Hybrid Theory EP version of 'High Voltage'
* ContestWinnerCameo: [=NoBraiN=], the winner of Linkin Park's remix contest, got his remix featured on ''A Thousand Suns''. He also makes an appearance on the outro to "When They Come for Me".

* CreatorKiller: ''One More Light''. '''Literally.'''

* DirectedByCastMember: Joe has directed almost all of their music videos.

* DVDCommentary: The band has a DVD edition for each of their [=CD=]s barring ''Hybrid Theory'' (which saw a standalone DVD a year after its release). Footage of them is usually about the music making process, life on tour, music video commentary, and the odd practical joke.
** The last two albums did have a version with a DVD, even though the one for ''Living Things'' came out roughly a year after the original album was released. These differ though in that they only feature live concert footage.
* DyeingForYourArt: During the ''Hybrid Theory'' period, Mike would often dye his hair red or blue. Less conspicuously, Chester bleached his hair during that period. Both of them reverted to their natural colors (black and dark brown, respectively) from ''Meteora'' onwards.

** Chester revealed in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTX_GgNzEY Scuzz TV]] interview that, while recording ''Hybrid Theory'', Warner Bros. execs wanted to either demote Mike to keyboardist or fire him, despite him being the primary songwriter and producer. [[TrueCompanions The rest of the band]] threatened to quit in protest. Then when the album was released and became a hit, Warner Bros. claimed that they were a fabricated act. This was briefly chronicled later by Mike in the Music/FortMinor song "Get Me Gone".

*** Finally averted, as the band has released [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OplU67FMw5U the song]] on their official WebSite/YouTube channel in preparation for the [[MilestoneCelebration 20th anniversary]] of Hybrid Theory.
** The ''Hybrid Theory'' EP also qualifies, as it was released in small numbers to begin with and contains some stuff that hasn't been re-released. In particular is the first pressing (when Linkin Park was still called Hybrid Theory) which remains a sought-after collectors item.

** Mike has said he's so embarrassed by the "One Step Closer" video, he refuses to show it to his kids. The band would take personal control of their music videos afterwards, with Joe Hahn directing the bulk of them. Mike was especially incensed that the director used to work in porn, which nobody bothered to tell him at the time.

* WorkingTitle: During the creative process for [[Film/TransformersrevengeOfTheFallen "New Divide"]], the band used names of the primary Transformer characters to indicate the different song proposals for the movie. Eventually, they went with "[[https://youtu.be/PS_zxbDEwkw?t=24s Megatron]]" and developed it into the song used thereon.

** Mike has said he's so embarrassed by the "One Step Closer" video, he refuses to show it to his kids.

* ContractualPurity: Some MoralGuardians cried foul when the band began to use profanity on ''Minutes to Midnight'', after releasing the notably profanity-free albums ''Hybrid Theory'' and ''Meteora''.

** Chester's suicide not only put an end to the band's planned North American tour with Music/Blink182 but also a potential collaboration with slam poet/rapper George Watsky, who tweeted a picture of himself with Mike and Chester five days before the tragedy occurred.

* GenreAdultery: "Leave Out All the Rest" and "Shadow of the Day" are soft-rock radio ballads that the band were once considered the alternative to. These tracks are the main reason for the disappointed reception of ''Minutes To Midnight'' by older fans.

* LoonyFan[=/=]StalkerWithACrush: Chester and his wife Talinda had one of these for about a year, who managed to [[TheCracker hack their emails]] and steal / taunt them with personal information after Chester inadvertently published his personal email address. The hacker, Devon Townsend, happened to be employed by a subcontractor for the US Department of Energy's nuclear security and research program, with [[OhCrap access to nuclear materials]] – and spent most of her work days messing with the Benningtons' data from an unmonitored workstation. The breach exposed massive gaps in her employer's security standards, resulting in [[https://www.wired.com/2007/05/ff-linkinpark-2/amp a federal investigation]]. Townsend was eventually caught and jailed for two years.
* ManlyTears: On several occasions, when they attempted to play "Breaking the Habit" live, he broke down and cried. However, while the song's subject matter fits with Chester's past, the lyrics were penned by Mike without Chester's input.
** Happened again during a [[https://youtu.be/CgwL14IDDJY live performance]] of "One More Light" in May 2017, the morning of Music/ChrisCornell's suicide. Chester, who was close friends with Cornell, almost didn't finish the song. He eventually committed suicide himself on Cornell's birthday two months later, although no one has officially said the events were related.

* ProductPlacement: The music videos for "Heavy" and "Good Goodbye" both prominently feature Mercedes Benz vehicles.

* RagsToRiches: Chester was so poor before he joined the band, he and his first wife tattooed wedding rings on their fingers instead of buying them.
* RealPersonFic: Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda had a very close friendship and, as a result, many a fanfic written about them. They even have a PortmanteauCoupleName of "Bennoda."
* ShoutOut: Dave going by "Phoenix" began as a joking reference to ''Film/MysteryMen'', which stuck.

* WorkingTitle: During the creative process for [[Film/TransformersrevengeOfTheFallen "New Divide"]], the band used names of the primary Transformer characters to indicate the different song proposals for the movie. Eventually, they went with "[[https://youtu.be/PS_zxbDEwkw?t=24s Megatron]]" and developed it into the song used thereon.

* UrbanLegends: "Valentine's Day" is a GriefSong about Chester's father, who died around Valentine's Day. Except it's not. It ''is'' a Valentine's themed GriefSong, but it's not about his dad (who isn't even dead, at that).

* TheWikiRule: [[http://wiki.lpassociation.com/index.php/Main_Page Yep, that's covered]].

* OneOfUs:
** Several of the band members, most notably Joe Hahn, are fans of anime. It also explains why their songs are in the [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries Bayformers films]].
** They've also been known to participate in self-indulgent wankery, such as when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJD7g-oWebs Mike brought out a Hello Kitty Squier Stratocaster during a performance of "From the Inside".]]
** They had a [[Franchise/{{Halo}} "Halo Bus"]] during 2004 where they challenged other bands to tournaments and were, by their own accounts, unstoppable. They also recorded a song that shares its name with the franchise and has a running time of [[AIIsACrapshoot three minutes and forty-three seconds]].
** Mike likes to occasionally insert memes into his blog posts. Basically, they're very good at this trope.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Chester Bennington's. Sexual abuse, divorced parents, and drug addiction, all before he was eighteen. The trauma stayed with him his entire life [[DrivenToSuicide until he took it]].

* HeAlsoDid: In addition to [[DirectedByCastMember directing the majority of the band's music videos]], Joe was behind a short film entitled ''The Seed''. He later directed and co-produced the film "Mall" in 2014.
** "Mall" also involves Joe, Chester, Mike and Phoenix working on the film's soundtrack alongside Alec Puro, the drummer of the band Deadsy.

* HeAlsoDid: In addition to the above, Joe was behind a short film entitled ''The Seed''.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://wiki.lpassociation.com/index.php/Main_Page Yep]].

* LoonyFan / StalkerWithACrush: Chester and his wife Talinda had one of these for about a year, who managed to [[TheCracker hack their emails]] and steal / taunt them with personal information after Chester inadvertently published his personal email address. The hacker, Devon Townsend, happened to be employed by a subcontractor for the US Department of Energy's nuclear security and research program, with [[OhCrap access to nuclear materials]] – and spent most of her work days messing with the Benningtons' data from an unmonitored workstation. The breach exposed massive gaps in her employer's security standards, resulting in [[https://www.wired.com/2007/05/ff-linkinpark-2/amp a federal investigation]]. Townsend was eventually caught and jailed for two years.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Chester Bennington's suicide occurred a week before the band was to start a North American tour. They immediately cancelled the tour, but plan to play a memorial show in Los Angeles in October 2017.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Chester Bennington's suicide occurred a week before the band was to start a North American tour. They have since cancelled the tour, but have yet to announce anything else yet.

** A specific example lies in "Bleed it Out": the lyrics were rewritten over and over, much to Mike and Chester's frustration, resulting in the opening line "[[OhNoNotAgain Yeah, here we go for the hundredth time…]]"

** Chester revealed in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTX_GgNzEY Scuzz TV]] interview that, while recording ''Hybrid Theory'', Warner Bros. execs wanted to either demote Mike to a keyboardist or fire him, despite him being the primary songwriter and producer. [[TrueCompanions The rest of the band]] threatened to quit in protest. Then when the album was released and became a hit, Warner Bros. claimed that they were a fabricated act. This was briefly chronicled later by Mike in the Music/FortMinor song "Get Me Gone".

** Mike has said he's embarrassed by the "One Step Closer" video and refuses to even show his own kids that video.

** Don Gilmore (producer of ''Hybrid Theory'') got in on this a little bit with idiotic record executives. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UTX_GgNzEY Chester told a story]] about an exec listening to a track, and saying he didn't like it. Gilmore replied "Wait, let me do something" and turn one of the knobs slightly up. The exec said "That's much better! The track is great!" [[EpicFail All Gilmore did was turn the volume up slightly]].

* ExecutiveMeddling: The band wanted to shift styles more drastically for ''Meteora'' (as evidenced by the many electronic demos from that period released on Underground volumes), but the record company wanted more nu-metal. As a result, the album was something of an compromise between the two styles. This seems to have been a good thing - the album's most acclaimed track is "Breaking The Habit", a track based on an electronic instrumental Shinoda had put a lot of effort into. Had they made the whole album in this style, they would have alienated older fans, and had they not included it, might not have convinced the record company they could be successful with more like it.