Epsiode 20: Happy Birthday, Hybrid Theory! So, we’ve hit another milestone. I’ve rated for 15+ before like 6am, when it made 20 episodes of this podcast – which becomes a Top 50 countdown. When I was is frankly very silly – and I was trying younger, it was the quickest way to find to think about what I could write about new music, and potentially accidentally to reflect such a momentous occasion. see something that would really scar I was trying to think of something that you, music-video wise. Like that time I was released in the year 2000 and accidentally saw Aphex Twin’s Come to was, as such, experiencing a similarly Daddy music video. momentous 20th anniversary. The answer is, unsurprisingly, a lot of things But because I was tiny and my brain – Gladiator, Bring It On and American was a sponge, it turns out a lot of what Psycho all came out in the year 2000. But I consumed has actually just oozed into I wasn’t allowed to watch any of those every recess of my being, to the point things until I was in high school, and they where One Step Closer came on and I didn’t really spur me to action. immediately sang all the words like I was in some sort of trance. And I haven’t done And then I sent a rambling voice memo a musical episode for a while. So, today, to Wes, who you may remember from we’re talking Nu Metal, baby! Hell yeah! such hits as “making this podcast sound any good” and “writing the theme tune I’m Alex. This is Pop Culture Boner, the for this podcast”, explaining the idea of podcast edition, and today, I’m thinking 20th anniversaries or something, and about Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory. they went me a text message back that just said, “Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory”. Ok, the intro to this is a little bit Now, because I struggle with time as a misleading… again. The ol’ bait and concept, I immediately had to double switch. It’s how I keep you coming back check that Linkin Park’s seminal album for more. Anyway, you might remember was, in fact, 20 years old. It is. me saying at some point that I’m not particularly good at music. That hasn’t My second thought was, “I dunno if I changed. I like things I like, even if they’re actually know that many Linkin Park objectively bad, I will write essays to songs.” I was incorrect. One thing I defend those bad things (welcome to the was allowed to do as a youth, for some podcast) and I don’t really understand reason, was wake up at 3am and watch the kind of territorial pissings that come Rage for hours at a time. For the very with dedicating your life to one genre. tiny percentage of foreigners listening, Which is why, despite my introductory Rage is an all-night music video show enthusiasm re: discussing Nu Metal, I was that airs on the public broadcaster that’s actually a little bit surprised to discover that people consider Linkin Park to be a watched on Nu Metal in the last two Nu Metal band. Despite the turntables days) also mentions that down-tuned and the rapping/ screaming combo, it seven string guitars are a hallmark of the hadn’t occurred to me that they would genre – this means nothing to me, but technically fall under that genre. perhaps one of you is musical and this is a revelatory moment… I don’t know. It And then, the more I was talking to other also says that the genre rarely features people I knew who were a couple of years any display of technical competence. It’s younger than me and didn’t obsessively referring to guitar solos, but like… same, watch music videos for 8 hours a day on ya know? Anyway, sound-wise, it’s a lot their weekend, the more I realised that of heavy riffs that kind of reverberate Nu Metal was such an obscene blip on your rib cage and vocals that seem to the pop cultural radar, that anyone who lean toward a kind of hip-hop style. didn’t immediately express loathing for Sometimes one guy has turntables. A its very existence actually didn’t even surprising number of them have silly face really know what it was. One particular paint. Which doesn’t necessarily sound friend sent me a voice memo saying, “I like such a bad thing on paper, or like… know that New is spelled N U. Because I at least the stuff prior to the face paint… am cool… also I thought Limp Bizkit, was but in practice Nu Metal is perhaps one spelled biscuit… like a bicky… which I of the most reviled genres, to the point realise now is silly.” Which is hilarious that it is almost impossible to bring up but also made me a little bit concerned without having someone explain why it that this particular episode might be deserves to be wiped off the face of the even more of a scream into the void than earth. NME called it a skidmark on music usual. But then I remembered, it’s my history in a 2013 article titled 10 reasons podcast, and I can do what I want. why Nu Metal is the worst genre of all time. Lots of artists from cool-guy bands So, we’re gonna spend some time looking credited with kickstarting the whole thing at what Nu Metal is, why Nu Metal is, have given scathing interviews claiming and why, if the genre is so universally that this is not the case. reviled, Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory still bangs so hard 20 years later. Is it even So… why the hatred? Great question. I’ve Nu Metal at all? Do we even care? done a lot of reading, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t have a huge Alright, lets start with what Nu Metal is amount to do with the music itself, if I’m for the uninitiated. Like, I said, I’m not being totally honest. Because sonically, a music guy, so I’m just going to pull the there’s not actually anything really wrong definition from Wikipedia: “Nu metal with smushing metal with other genres, is a subgenre of alternative metal that and especially not hip hop. Rap music combines elements of heavy metal music and rock music together wasn’t even a with elements of other music genres little bit new in the early 00s, and in fact such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, as a combination had found quite a bit of industrial, and grunge.” The intro (and popularity. Aerosmith and Run DMC had every single documentary piece I’ve released Walk This Way in 1986, which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard with the actual music itself in most cases, Hottest 100 and was actually the first hip what I mean is that I think a lot of the hop song to chart at all in the UK. Hip hop hatred has to with this kind of, extremely artists had been yanking heavy samples macho, jock-ish energy that sprung up basically forever. Alternative metal around the scene. It went from being a bands had been experimenting with kind of insular playground for weird kids more groove-oriented riffs throughout doing heavy things with bass guitars and the late 80s and early 90s. turntables, to the biggest genre in the world, headed up by the worst guy you’ve This background already existed. And ever seen. I’m talking about Limp Bizkit then Korn happened. Metalheads love and Fred Durst, obviously. You are just as a documentary about themselves. I’ve likely to remember Limp Bizkit from front watched so many of them over the last man Fred Durst’s shitty behaviour as you couple of days and I can’t tell you how are from their shitty music. But let me funny it is to watch a guy try and explain give you a little refresher. Musically, they succinctly how he accidentally invented leaned hard into the rap rock element, a genre to a guy who is extremely and had huge hits with songs like Break invested in the response. But lead- Stuff, Nookie and Rolling. Where Korn’s singer Jonathan Davis has to do that lyricism at least had a kind of intimate or like once a year for the rest of his life, personal element to it, Limp Bizkit’s was because Korn released their self-titled aimless, violent and stupid. Behaviour- debut album, which sounded completely wise, Limp Bizkit is embedded in the batshit and effectively birthed Nu Metal Australian cultural psyche as the band as a thing. While they don’t rap, to me, it who had a 16-year-old girl die in their almost seems to kind of take everything mosh pit at the Big Day Out, paused for including the guitar and the vocals as 8 minutes, then kept going. Or perhaps, like a weird percussive instrument. None you may remember their Woodstock 99 of the instruments are doing any of the performance a couple of years prior to the things that you really think they should Big Day Out, where Durst was accusing of be, and on top of that a lanky white guy inciting a riot while the festival burned to in an adidas tracksuit is flailing his arms the ground and a number of women were around like he’s been hit with 240 volts sexually assaulted.