Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Isn’t Impressed With Modern Rock Music

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda doesn’t have a very high opinion of modern rock music.

If you’re the sort of person who loves the sort of music indie rock bands are cranking out these days, then you might take serious offense to the Linkin Park vocalist’s thoughts and feelings on the subject. The songwriter recently sat down for a chat with Radio.com to promote the band’s latest record.

Instead of telling the world about the wonders of the band’s new album The Hunting Party, the Linkin Park instrumentalist took a moment to address something that’s apparently weighing on his mind these days. According to Shinoda, rock music has lost its edge.

Mike explained:

“We’ve been around long enough that music trends have gone away from us and come back. And right now, they’re away. Rock music has gone in this direction that’s like indie pop jingles. It’s like songs that could be on Nick Jr. and the Disney Channel. I can’t see myself writing music like that. I don’t want to follow that trend. Forget it!”

Although Shinoda was quick to say he loves bands like Chvrches and Vampire Weekend, he believes that a lot of so-called “indie” artists who are just churning out albums because that’s what they’re supposed to do.

The Linkin Park rapper added:

“But there was a point at which [indie music] was fresh and new, and they were making it because it was part of their identity and they were making something different. And now it’s a different situation. None of these bands are indie bands, they’re all major label bands. So if you think they’re not, you’re mistaken.”

Of course, Shinoda seems to think Linkin Park’s upcoming album The Hunting Party is going to knock everyone’s socks into another dimension. Instead of releasing a “soft” record or something that sounds exactly like the other albums they’ve released over the years, Mike explained that the group essentially went back to the drawing board.

He told Rolling Stone magazine:

“We need to weed out a lot of the soft, emo kind of approach to our music, and we need to weed out anything that feels aggressive for aggressive’s sake. We’re not 18-year-old kids making a loud record — we’re 37-year-old adults making a loud record. And what makes a 37-year-old angry is different than what made us angry back in the day.”

Linkin Park fans can pick up The Hunting Party on June 17. Do you agree with Mike Shinoda’s assessment of modern rock music?