Shinoda: Rock's not moving the needle of culture

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda says rock music has lost the plot – and his own band are partly to blame.

But he believes tonight’s Download headliners have addressed the issue with next week’s album The Hunting Party, and he plans to keep working to bring back the power.

Shinoda tells Radio.com: “Rock music has gone in this direction that’s like indie-pop jingles. It’s like songs that could be on the Disney Channel. I don’t want to follow that trend.”

That’s one of the reasons he made a conscious decision to re-introduce loud guitars to the Linkin Park sound, after they’d moved away over their previous two outings.

He told guitarist Brad Delson: “‘Our bassist Dave Farrell told me you’re one of the best guitar players he’d ever met. Do you think our fans know that? What do you think the 14-year-old Brad thinks of you right now?

”‘That kid was listening to heavy metal and shredding in his room all day. That’s the kid you want to impress.’”

Shinoda adds: “Rock music – even the most popular bands – isn’t really influencing the zeitgeist. It’s not moving the needle of pop culture.” And he admits he doesn’t have all the answers. “All I know is what we can do as a band; we’ve made the best record we can make right now.

“I don’t want rock to be pop. I do want it to be exciting – and right now, it’s moderately exciting.”

His comments come just after Rob Zombie told TeamRock Radio that the 90s grunge explosion was responsible for rock music losing ground to rap.

Freelance Online News Contributor

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.