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Lead singer Chester Bennington wrote this to express the anger he felt growing up. He didn't fit in well and got beat up a lot.
Bennington wanted kids who hate themselves at times to know that he went through the same thing. He did not intend it as an excuse for self-pity or anger.
This song was made after the band had frustrations making "Runaway," another song on the album. (thanks, William - Indiana, IN)
Hybrid Theory was the original name of the band. They used it as the name of the album, which was the best-selling album of 2001.
Linkin Park performed this on the 2001 MTV Video Music awards with turntable group The X-ecutioners.
A version featuring Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis appears on the album Family Values Tour 2001.
On their 2002 album Reanimation, this was remixed by The Humble Brothers with vocals by Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis. The title was changed to "1Stp Klosr."
After 15-year-old Charles Andrew Williams killed 2 people and wounded 13 in a shooting spree at his school in Santee, California, the NBC show Dateline interviewed one of his friends, who claimed that Linkin Park's music inspired Williams to kill. This song was cited as one that encouraged Williams, with the lyrics, "Everything you say takes me one step closer to the edge and I'm about to break."
The vocals to "One Step Closer" were recorded in Mike Shinoda's flat one night while an angry neighbor hammered on the wall. He couldn't hear the actual music, just Chester Bennington screaming into the microphone.
Mike Shinoda in Kerrang! magazine January 26, 2008: "This was written in my apartment. The music came together quickly but the lyrics took a few tries. I wrote 'Shut Up' as a rough example for Chester to scream and we kept that lyric. I remember thinking that was a great calling-card song. It said, 'Hello, we are going to crush you.'"
Chester Bennington recalled to Kerrang! January 29, 2011 how the band were forced to fight for this song during the recording sessions for Hybrid Theory: "When we were recording it, (producer) Don Gilmore was really drilling me and Mike (Shinoda) about lyrics, and it had gotten to the point where we had rewritten some songs 30 times! I remember walking into the control room, handing Don the lyrics and he grabbed them, passed them in front of his face without even looking, handed them back to me, and told me to do it again. I lost my f---ing mind, thinking, 'This guy's a f---ing maniac!' But that kind of inspired the lyrics - 'I cannot take this anymore/I'm saying everything I've said before/ All these words make no sense,' and the chorus, 'Everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge.' - it all came from that frustration. So I guess in the end he inspired me the way he wanted to."
Comments (34):
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By the way, does anyone know what the line, "I find bliss in ignorance," could pertain to?
There's no better way to describe it than just listening to this song.
HAHAHAH. best line ever!!
Live in Texas' version was better mainy for the fact that they used both the remixed and regular version combined.
And Aaron Lewis of Staind sung in the remixed version of Crawling, dunno about live stuff.
Aside from all that, I just want to say that the lyrics of the bridge, "SHUT UP!", are the best lyrics ever written, especially being screamed like that. Can't begin to tell you how much I love it.
They are not angry to be angry, they are xpressing their thoughts and feelings which in their case happen to be anger and SADNESS. thats right sadness. WE have all been through tough times, some of us worse than others. If you say you haven't your lying. they help kids to put words to the emotions they feel inside. I find it very helpful to listen to them when i am depressed or hurt which happens very frequently. they are like having a friend to sympathize with you. thats what they are, a sympathizing friend. They are a band that has experienced the hard parts of life. And what does 'Spengy" Mean anyway?
so i just love this song.
The remixed version on "Reanimation" is AMAZING.