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Beat Street

Boy bands rule the music stand this week

Minutes to Midnight

Linkin Park/ Warner

The multi platinum act returns with their third studio album. Co-produced by Mike Shinoda and 2007 Grammy Producer of The Year Rick Rubin (U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Run DMC), Minutes to Midnight was recorded at Laurel Canyon and is already being touted by critics who have heard it as the band's best and most important work to date. "We have put more into the new album than anything we have ever done before," says bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell. The band spent over 14 months in the studio and wrote over 100 song demos in the making of the cover, an album which vocalist Mike Shinoda sees as, "a breakthrough in the development of the band's sound. We wrote in new ways, and used instruments and equipment we hadn't experimented with, from vintage guitars and amps to mellotron to Rick's original 808-drum machine he used on the Beastie Boys first record. We tried to question every step in our song writing process." Producer Rick Rubin agrees, "They really are reinventing themselves, it doesn't sound like rap-rock. It's very melodic...a progressive record."

The coming weeks will see the launch of LPTV, a series of webisodes that can be viewed on www.linkinpark.com. The series will focus on, "unseen footage of the history of Linkin Park, building up to an inside look at the studio experience of the new album," says Farrell. Currently Linkin Park will headline the second day of this summer's Bamboozle music festival in New Jersey before embarking on a headlining European tour in June.

The Collection

Blue/EMI

When Blue burst onto the music scene in 2001, it was clear that they were going to be massive. They were a boy-band with a difference: an edgy, urban style, catchy lyrics and four distinct voices that could both blend together and shine individually. In a few short years they succeeded in creating a legacy of high-calibre songs, the best of which can be heard on this collection. This is a key release for Blue and includes the hits including title tracks of the previous albums and few urban remixes thrown in.

SYEDA FARIDA

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