Thank you for the music

This morning I woke to the tragic news that Chester Bennington, lead singer of the band Linkin Park had died.

Courtesy of live nation 

The news saddened me and sparked off a host of Wandering Memories.

I discovered Linkin Park whilst I was at university in the United States. Their debut album, Hybrid Theory resonated with my experience, it typified my internal struggle, trying to define who I was, and more importantly who I wanted to be, even at the age of 20.

The songs just seemed to speak to me, in a way no band had previously. Don’t get me wrong I was already a music lover, with bands such as Green Day, Feeder and Nirvana dominating my earplugs, but these lyrics just made sense to me.

Musically, the band amalgamated my tastes perfectly, heavy guitar, melody, an incredibly strong vocal, hip hop, electric and pop music.

Verses up[on verse ran through me, I understood them and it felt like they understood me

• ‘Somewhere I belong’
• ‘Took what I hated and made it a part of me’
• ‘Memories consume’
• ‘Told you everything loud and clear, but Nobody’s listening’
• ‘What it meant to me, will eventually be a memory of a time I tried so hard, and got so far but in the End it doesn’t even matter’.

Every time I hear a song from the album Hybrid Theory it takes my mind back to my time at University in America. It takes me back to a defining learning experience and some of the best memories of my life. It was that experience which gave me the confidence in myself to travel, be it alone or with friends. It showed me that there was a huge amount of adventure and excitement awaiting me, all I needed to do was seize the opportunity.

I saw Linkin Park headline the Reading festival a number of years later… and was incredibly surprised at how good they were live.

Through the years they evolved and I know although not everyone type of music, no one can deny that Chester Beddington was an incredible vocalist.

On that note I wanted to thank Linkin Park and Chester Bennington for music that helped me define myself, and for a number of records that are part of the soundtrack of my life.

Rest in peace.