It Starts with One: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park
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15
Ratings1
Average rating4
From the executive director of music at Billboard, an extensive look inside the 20+ year career of mega-selling rock band Linkin Park, featuring new interviews, exclusive quotes, and insights from the band’s associates and collaborators
Linkin Park is one of the 21st Century’s biggest, and most important, rock bands. All it takes is one quick glance at the numbers— 11 Top 40 hits on the Hot 100 and six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, over a dozen massive tours, 27 major award wins, 100+ million records sold worldwide, over 30 million monthly Spotify listeners —to realize that when it comes to the metrics of music consumption and fandom, there’s no bigger group in recent memory. And yet, despite their enduring legacy within rock, there’s never been a full, comprehensive biography of Linkin Park—until now.
In IT STARTS WITH ONE: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park, Billboard's executive director of music, Jason Lipshutz, chronicles the innovation and influence of this legendary band, from their early childhoods to the moment their paths crossed to the genesis of their iconic first album, Hybrid Theory, and all that followed. Not only were they able to synthesize trends in pop and hip-hop amidst the post-grunge era and nu metal boom, then constantly reinvent their sound over multiple albums, Linkin Park’s radically vulnerable lyrics also helped usher in a new era of artists (and fans) more open to discussing mental health and prioritizing inclusivity. Led by their front men, Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, who balanced each other out artistically, Linkin Park never shied away from songs that put their issues front and center, for the world to see and feel. Tragically, Chester succumbed to his demons and passed away in 2017, but the music endures—and in order to truly appreciate the band’s singular power to bring people together, we need to take a closer look at how exactly Linkin Park changed popular music.
Through in-depth reporting and interviews, as well as new reflections from their collaborators and contemporaries, IT STARTS WITH ONE explores how one band made such a big impact on modern music, effectively cementing Linkin Park’s long overdue place in music history.
Reviews with the most likes.
Solid Look At Linkin Park Pre 2024. Lipshutz does a truly excellent job of detailing the life and times of Linkin Park as a band, from most of their days in California toiling as Zero (giving rise to the 2024 effort "From Zero"... ;) ) and Chester's days in Phoenix pre-LP signing in various bands to their formation as one group to their initial success and detailing every record they ever made, before yes, coming to Chester's suicide and its aftermath. This particular section is handled with the care it deserves, yet is also easily the dustiest rooms you'll experience reading this book. Ending with discussions as recently as 2023 noting that the band didn't know what the future held and releasing just weeks after the announcement of Emily Armstrong as the new lead singer of the band, this book truly does encompass pretty much every aspect of the "Chester Bennington" era of the band.
Long time fans are going to find a lot to enjoy here. Those who simply enjoy biographies of musicians are going to find a lot to enjoy here. Those of us who have been listening to Linkin Park's music since they first hit radio are going to find a LOT to enjoy here, particularly if you weren't one of the truly fanatical that may have already known much of this and even possibly been there for some of it.
Ultimately, this is going to make you want to go in and listen to Linkin Park all over again and appreciate ever more just how great this band is. The one star deduction was simply because the bibliography came in particularly short, at just 12% or so.
Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.
