“Numb” by Linkin Park

Linkin Park is one of the most prolific and best selling bands of the past twenty years. Their debut album Hybrid Theory was released in 2000, and skyrocketed the group into superstardom. Their blending of rap and nu metal created their signature sound which was only bolstered by emotional and raw lyrics that endeared the band to a rabid, worldwide fanbase. Over a career that has seen 70 million records sold, two Grammy wins, and seven studio albums, the group is perhaps best known for those early songs, such as “In The End”, “Paper Cut”, and “One Step Closer”. The song “Numb” is one of the group’s signature songs, and it is the third single of their second studio album Meteora.

The song’s piano riff is iconic among Linkin Park fans, and it’s what kicks the beat into gear at the start of the song. The song is about meeting expectations, and following dreams that aren’t your own. The subject is tired of the pressure that has been put on him to be something he is not, and now he has resolved to just be himself. Lead singer Chester Bennington’s vocals are always incredible, and they bring an extra layer of pain and exasperation to the lyrics. Chester always had that ability in his singing to really makes you feel the struggle that’s brewing inside him, and he externalizes it perfectly in dramatic fashion here.

The music video follows the everyday life of a young female student (portrayed by Briana Evigan). The girl is mocked and ridiculed by both her family and school, and she spends much of her time drawing pictures, showing us that she has dreams of becoming an artist. We also see that there are self-inflicted cut marks on her arms, which spell out the word “NUMB”. These scenes are intercut with scenes of the band performing the song in this huge, gothic church, where we see that Chester is wearing a black pair of chucks as he sings into the hanging microphone. During the song’s climax, the girl is shown in her room where she throws paint at a canvas in anger. She then runs off, eventually ending up in the church that the band was playing in, only to find it empty. The video shows off the songs emotion and message very well, and help the listener visualize the pain that some people go through when pressure like this is applied to them throughout their life.