I’m not going to lie to you; working in a record store is a great job. Sure, the job isn’t all glamour and glitz: the pay is absolutely abysmal, and plenty of the customers you have to deal with are as dumb as rocks. On the other hand, you get all kinds of perks. Free CDs, free concert tickets, and free access to the kind of exclusive record label-sponsored soirees that most music fans would kill to be a part of. All in a day’s work for your average record store register monkey.
Case in point, the label representative from Warner Brothers contacted our store to see if anyone would be interested in attending a rare advance listening party for the newest release by Linkin Park, “Meteora.” The listening party fell on the same day as the band’s concert at the Pageant, and free concert tickets were also promised to sweeten the deal. The only problem? Well, come on…it’s Linkin Park, not exactly one of my favorite bands. However, it was also a chance to enter the seamy underbelly of the record industry, and hear one of the most closely guarded new releases of the year. Linkin Park was so paranoid of the album being leaked early to the internet (like other recent high profile releases by Eminem, 50 Cent, and the White Stripes) that no promotional copies of the band’s new album were made. The only way to hear the album was to go to the Warner Brothers headquarters or to attend a listening party. Curiosity got the better of me. That and the fact that listening parties usually have free booze.
The listening party was held far out in West County at Four Seasons Studio, a high quality recording studio used by musicians such as Matchbox 20, Duncan Sheik, and Nelly. Security was as tight as at most military bases, with every attendee patted down for weapons or, more importantly, recording devices. Cell phones and digital cameras were also forbidden, although how one could make a quality bootleg recording with either of those is beyond me. Once past the security checkpoint at the door, we were lead through a bulletproof glass door into the lush Four Seasons complex, ending in a large, gorgeously designed recording studio with hardwood floors, beautifully designed acoustic insulation, and thousands of dollars’ worth of speakers and musical equipment. The room was filled with only about 30 people, mostly representatives of Warner Brothers, members of Linkin Park’s street team, a few radio contest winners, and members of the local record store community. The aforementioned free booze was unfortunately nowhere to be seen.
Once everyone had settled into the room, it was time for the premier of “Meteora.” Unfortunately, Linkin Park was not only worried about the attendees recording the CD, but also the studio itself. Only 7 of the album’s 13 songs were played for the attending audience. The sound of the new album is, as expected, not much of a departure from the band’s debut, “Hybrid Theory.” Musically, however, the sextet seems to have gotten a better grasp of their instruments, as the playing, while still rudimentary (as with most nu-metal bands), has gotten more complex and relies less on the standard minor chords and rap-then-scream vocal dynamics.
Once the new songs had finished playing, a label rep entered the room to inform us that the band, who was scheduled to do a signing, was running late due to the sound check for their concert later that night. They then proceeded to replay the new songs; the band still hadn’t arrived by the time the tracks had replayed. After a total of about an hour at the Four Seasons, three members of Linkin Park arrived: DJ Joseph Hahn, bassist Darren “Phoenix” Farrell, and rapper Mike Shinoda. The trio, despite the rather small crowd, agreed to only sign one item per person, and would pose for no pictures. Where the other three members of the band were is anyone’s guess. Hahn and Farrell seemed largely uninterested in being there, and let it show with their belligerent one-word answers and lack of eye contact. Shinoda, on the other hand, was greatly appreciative of his fans; he cordially greeted each attendee, gladly shook hands, and enthusiastically thanked them for coming. For attending the shindig, every attendee was given a bevy of promotional material, including free posters, stickers, patches, a t-shirt, and tickets to that evening’s concert.
The concert itself was a rather interesting affair. Due to the rather young audience Linkin Park draws, the 21-and-up crowd was corralled into the balcony, leaving the floor for the black-shirted, high-school-aged masses. The crowd remained better behaved than any other heavy metal crowd I had ever seen, with no mosh pit and little activity save for loud shouting and clapping between the songs. The band themselves, still worried about the new songs leaking, played precious little new material, playing only two new songs in their brief (less than an hour long) set. Linkin Park played the crowd well, with the majority of the band staying firmly planted on the edge of the stage. Being a bit of a music snob, I couldn’t get past the simplicity of the music, or how often four of the six members would have no notes to play or words to sing for up to a minute at a time. But that’s just nitpicking by someone who obviously isn’t part of Linkin Park’s main focus group. The band ended their main set with their hit single “In The End,” wrapped up a brief encore with “One Step Closer,” and left a room full of minors thoroughly rocked and rolled.
Another benefit of working at a record store: the new releases arrive at least a day in advance, allowing us a chance to sample the new product before we’re legally allowed to sell it to the masses. This means, of course, that I sampled the rest of “Meteora” the night before its release this past Tuesday. Upon listening to the album, it became clear why the band only played half of the new album. Much of it departs greatly from their old sound, with a few straight-up hip hop tracks reminiscent of Shinoda’s collaboration with the X-Cutioners, and a number where lead screamer Chester Bennington actually tries to sing (with mixed results).
Overall, the staggering amount of dividends heaped on me by Warner Brothers was more than anyone could ever ask for, and this wasn’t even for a band I’m that wild about. Imagine how great it is to receive these kind of benefits when your favorite band comes to town.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2003 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.