This is not the end.

I usually don't express my fandom towards anything that I adore or respect very evidently like this, but... MEHH! The heck with that shit!

YESTERDAY (well, according to the times of some countries, today is still the 24th) marked the 10th year of the release of Hybrid Theory, the debut album made possible by the rockers that hail from Agoura Hills, California, USA called Linkin Park (or simply LP; formerly Xero [pronounced 'Zero'] and Hybrid Theory) which consist of Chester Bennington (vocals / lyrics), Mike Shinoda (vocals / guitars / keyboards / lyrics / production), Mr. Hahn (turntablist / samples / programming / music video director), Brad Delson (guitars), Phoenix (bass) and Rob Bourdon (drums).

THEN.

NOW.

I remembered being so eager to listen to Papercut every time I tuned into the radio. I was like... "Damn! When's Papercut gonna play again?", since that song got more plays than Crawling back then (OOOOHHH... RIGHT!). Months or weeks later, In The End came about and yeah... it's a fucking instant fan favourite and considered an awesome breakthrough in the music industry. I had no choice but to bang my head to their totally unique blend of Rap, Rock and Electronica; but that was when I was 9. My sister happened to borrow the album from my cousin around that time, but I didn't get the chance to listen to it. Sad, ain't it?

Starting from then, I think I should support this band in order to keep them making awesome music from time to time. It was not until 12 (or 13) that I finally got to do that by asking my sister to buy me their follow-up album, Meteora in the cassette format. Unfortunately, I somehow lost the cassette right after I loaned it to a friend. It wasn't until the digital era that I finally got to listen to the whole first and second albums thanks to the magic of torrent downloads, where I also discovered about their other side projects and previous bands before Linkin Park was born; and they were Chester's Grey Daze and Phoenix's Tasty Snax. Other than that, I also discovered about the band's official fanclub named LPU (or Linkin Park Underground), but it seems that I'm still totally clueless on how to join and what will I get once I do join the fanclub. I did some research; and the members will get exclusive LP premiums + exclusive privileges to get together with the band + exclusive CD tracks containing never-before-released materials by the band (psst; thanks to torrents again, I was able to nab the LPU members' exclusive tracks too without having to be a member!). In the end, I'm just a regular fan who doesn't own any of their physical materials. But I do however, try to keep up with each of their releases; including their take on (almost) traditional Rock record Minutes To Midnight in 2007, an album from their philanthropic foundation Music For Relief Download To Donate for Haiti, New Divide off the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen's soundtrack, songs ripped from their iPhone/iPad app 8-Bit Rebellion! (including the unlockable track Blackbirds) and of course, their newest masterpiece, A Thousand Suns, which was released last month.

To be honest, I think I'm one of the few dudes in my country so far who is like totally hooked to the band. Heck, I even got excited when Mike Shinoda and Mr. Hahn decided to lend their talents for the song It's Going Down performed by The X-Ecutioners to complete the track; and I almost thought that was LP themselves! That excitement grew when Mike decided to go solo during their 2004-2006 hiatus with his Hip-Hop music project, Fort Minor. Trust me, my brother was so annoyed when Believe Me was released; since I went all "Hey! That's fucking Mike Shinoda, man! He's gone solo!" almost all the time. Of course, how could I forget to mention about my utter disbelief when LP decided to work on a record together with the 'infamous' rapper Jay-Z, which comprise of an odd blend of Jay's ghetto ideals and LP's established Nu-Metal sound. That had gave birth to the critically acclaimed Collision Course; with the single  Numb/Encore leading the EP's promotion. Numb/Encore was tight, and Dirt Off Your Shoulder was even tighter, and the whole album was the tightest (although I did take my time trying to digest Big Pimpin'/Papercut)! They are just simply an awesome band. Oh yeah... forgot to squeeze in about Dead By Sunrise (formerly Snow White Tan), huh? Well, I still need some time to get used to the Chester-fronted side project band, so not much can be said about it.

Frankly speaking, I don't even know why I decided to consider these guys as my music geniuses. Even at the young age of 9 where I could barely understand, speak or write in English, the way they speak with their music somehow connects with me. It's like they have been going through the things that I've been through. And their lyrics are pretty much relevant to everyone (EVEN the seemingly political Minutes To Midnight and A Thousand Suns). It's like their speaking to everyone as a whole; as if LP is one person and we are the other single person. You can really relate to the messages they are trying to convey; be it with relationship issues or the mind-boggling state of the world today. Music wise, they really just don't stick with one sound; they'll keep on discovering new sounds in order to keep up with the tones of their lyrics and to make it sound fresh. I mean come on! There was nothing like In The End during the 2000s, right? They broke the music stereotype back then and even now! Why would some so-called true fans had to totally reject what they love to do? Have you guys ever heard of "If you love someone, you gotta let them go"? Artists don't just stick with the same kinds of paintings and/or techniques; they would love to experiment with different brush strokes and colours as well. And that's what LP's been doing. That's the very reason why they're different. And that is why I can never forget this band until today. Guys like them don't come along very often.

LP, IF you happen to read this, I'm really sorry if I'm not much of a fan and didn't even try to support you guys financially (well, I did once... but I don't know if that helped), but hear this; I believe in you guys for the music geniuses and awesome human beings that you are. Never stop being yourselves. I hope that you guys will never stop making good music and spread the love of humanity with your music. Congrats again for releasing the likes of Hybrid Theory, Meteora, Minutes To Midnight and A Thousand Suns.

I guess I've said enough.

  Mad props to Linkin Park Association for documenting their musical journey (these pages and more can be found on the site)!

Again, Happy 10th Anniversary, Hybrid Theory.

P/S: "Did you see that shit?!" (Shinoda, 2002)