Papercut (Linkin Park song)

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"Papercut"
Song

"Papercut" is a song by the nu metal band Linkin Park. It is the first track from their 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory, and was the third single to be released from the album in 2001. The "Papercut" single was never officially released in the US. The song reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in 2001 and was in the chart for 6 weeks.[1][2] It also reached number 32 on the Modern Rock Tracks Chart in 2002.[3]

Song

"Papercut" is a song about an individual who always looks out for himself, and is haunted by paranoia.

Even though there are no acoustic instruments in the song, lead guitarist Brad Delson is shown playing an acoustic guitar in the video, and Phoenix is shown playing an acoustic bass guitar. And although there is drumming, Rob Bourdon doesn't play drums at all in the video. Chester Bennington has stated that "Papercut" is his favorite song from Hybrid Theory. In live performances, the line "something in here's not right today" is changed to "something inside's not right today". Also, Chester screams parts of the first verse during live performances.It was also included in the soundtrack of 2001 film The One

On Linkin Park's remix album Reanimation (2002), there is a remix of this song, titled "Ppr:Kut", which was remixed by Cheapshot. Elements from the song were used in the song "Sold My Soul to Yo Mama", which appears on the Linkin Park Underground 4.0. Furthermore, the mashup EP Collision Course (2004) contains a mix of this song and Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'", in 2005, the song was mashed-up with David Banner's "Like a Pimp (Remix)" for the mixtape hosted by Mike Shinoda, Rock Phenomenon, creating the song David Banner vs. Linkin Park.

Song structure

The song structure of 'Papercut' follows, without deviation, the conventional pop motif/nu-metal blend of Hybrid Theory (with the exception of 'Cure for the Itch').

The song structure of Papercut and indeed Hybrid Theory as a whole is as follows:

Quiet Intro -> Chorus (Instrumental) -> Verse -> Chorus -> Verse -> Chorus (x2) -> Breakdown -> Chorus (Altered) -> END.

The duration of this structure is derivitive of it's commercial hierarchy. For example, the average Hybrid Theory track is 3 minutes and 9 seconds, which may either be a result of the totalitarian pop-culture maintaned by radio stations or the group's conformity to mass appeal.

Music video

The music video shows the band in a seemingly haunted house. They are playing the song in a room with little light with a rather spooky picture sampled from the cover artwork of the Xero demo tape. This was painted by Mike Shinoda the night before the video was shot. To their left of their room is a dark kitchen that sports a bound and writhing figure(likely the paranoid individual referenced in the song); to the right of their room is what appears to be a laboratory with a strange creature inside. It moves extremely fast and in an erratic manner. Later in the song, the creature releases insects, probably dragonflies, while the baby picture and regions of the left wall bulge. Rob Bourdon's eyes appear melted as well (using special effects). Also, there is a statue of a bird which spins its head all the way around, and at one point, Mike's fingers stretch. There are parts of the song during which Mike is out of sync with the music, and at one point not even moving his mouth while he is speaking (whether or not this is intentional is unknown). In the video, the only member of the band to take notice of the strange goings-on is the drummer, Rob Bourdon. The lyrics of the song appear scribbled along the walls in the dark rooms. Even though the song features heavy distorted electric guitars, both the guitarist (Brad Delson) and the bassist (Dave Farrell) play acoustic guitars in the video. The effects and imagery of the music video, brings to the audience a sense of irritation and certain paranoia, which is what the song is about. At some point in the middle of the video, a strange figure runs past the band.

The music video was co-directed by Nathan "Karma" Cox and LP's turntablist Joseph Hahn (who also directed the videos for "Pts.Of.Athrty" and "In the End"). It was not released for the US.

During the commentary on the DVD Frat Party at the Pankake Festival, one of the directors states that some inspiration for the video was taken from the film "Jacob's Ladder", especially with the twitching blue man in one of the rooms of the house.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

No.TitleLength
1."Papercut"3:05
2."Points of Authority" (Live on BBC Radio One)3:25
3."Papercut" (Live at Docklands Arena, London)3:12
4."Papercut" (Video)3:13

References

  1. ^ Chart Stats for "Papercut" by Linkin Park
  2. ^ Roberts, David (20 May 2005). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums (18th ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 299. ISBN 1904994008. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "Artist Chart History - Linkin Park". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-03-12.

External links

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