Here’s how the “She Couldn’t” demo foreshadowed Linkin Park’s career
Linkin Park are continuing to treat fans with new content in celebration of Hybrid Theory‘s 20th anniversary.
Earlier this week, the band unveiled the rare Hybrid Theory demo “She Couldn’t.” Now, Mike Shinoda is revealing how the early demo foreshadowed Linkin Park’s career long after the release of their debut LP.
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On Aug. 7, Linkin Park launched an interactive website that is filled with Easter eggs about the Hybrid Theory 20-year anniversary. They asked fans, “Anyone know anything about 20-year-old computers?” The band followed the request by sending fans to a desktop screen straight out of 2000.
On Wednesday, the band further teased the arrival of something special. Linkin Park shared a screenshot of the interactive site with an email that reads, “Hey guys, I think we’re all set. Let’s drop the announcement tomorrow at 7 a.m. PST via WebMeeting.”
tomorrow. https://t.co/sNnT4zRUsM pic.twitter.com/zhKvL29PXG
— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) August 12, 2020
Once on the site, fans can click on the WebMeeting icon which then launches an option to choose a room called “LP Announcement Meeting Room.” After hitting the button to start the meeting, the official announcement for Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition is brought up.
Following the announcement of the super deluxe anniversary box set, Linkin Park unveiled “She Couldn’t,” a rare demo from their Hybrid Theory sessions. In 2009, the track first surfaced when a fan discovered a demo CD on eBay. Since then, it has made its way to YouTube through various fan uploads over the years.
The song will appear on Forgotten Demos in the Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition super deluxe box set.
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Now, Shinoda is revealing just how important “She Couldn’t” was to Linkin Park’s career. In a lengthy Instagram post, he shares some behind-the-scenes secrets about the song’s creation. First off, Shinoda reveals that “She Couldn’t” was one of the first demos made after Chester Bennington joined the group.
“‘She Couldn’t’ is one of the earliest demos we made when Chester joined the band,” he says.
As well, Shinoda says that the song’s creation heavily “foreshadowed a future of the band” that spanned years after Hybrid Theory‘s release. During the process of recording “She Couldn’t,” Linkin Park experimented a lot and eventually laid down the framework for their future sound.
“The programmed beat and focus on synth sounds and vocal loops (rather than heavy guitars) foreshadowed a future of the band many years after Hybrid Theory,” Shinoda says. “In searching for our ‘first sound,’ we set the groundwork for our later evolution.”
Shinoda further shares that some of the decisions made during the creation of “She Couldn’t” helped form the Linkin Park fans know today.
“The softly-sung ‘you’re not alone’ refrain reminded me that, although we debuted with a song screaming ‘shut up,’ what most fans came to find out was that empathy and community were just as integral a part of LP’s DNA from the very beginning.”
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He also shared a rare photo with Bennington during the Hybrid Theory photoshoot.
Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition will be available Oct. 9 via Warner Records as a super deluxe box set, super deluxe vinyl set, deluxe CD and digital version. Head here to pre-order and/or pre-save the forthcoming release.
The super deluxe box set includes five CDs: Hybrid Theory, Reanimation, B-Side Rarities, LPU Rarities and Forgotten Demos. The aforementioned box set and a super vinyl deluxe set will also feature three LPs, which will include Hybrid Theory, Reanimation and Hybrid Theory EP.
More information on the new releases is available here.
“She Couldn’t” and the super deluxe anniversary box set’s trailer are available to stream below
Do you like the “She Couldn’t” demo? Let us know in the comments below.
