cover image It Starts with One: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park

It Starts with One: The Legend and Legacy of Linkin Park

Jason Lipshutz. Hachette, $30 (368p) ISBN 978-0-306-83250-5

Billboard journalist Lipshutz debuts with an effusive ode to rock band Linkin Park. He begins with their shaky debut performance in late-1990s Los Angeles, writing that the band—then called Xero—opened with a “haphazard” set during which guitarist Mike Shinoda wore blue goggles and a white beanie to feel “more like a performer.” From there, Lipshutz covers the group’s early influences (2Pac, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Nirvana), their efforts to craft a rap-rock style that distinguished them from bands like Limp Bizkit, and their struggles to sign a record deal. They first tasted success with their debut single, 2000’s “One Step Closer,” but were catapulted to fame by “In the End,” which stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 38 weeks in 2001. At the heart of the book is Lipshutz’s call for the band to be recognized for its artistic merit and “cultural impact,” which he hammers home in overblown prose. For example, in describing how singer Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in 2017, impacted fans by singing about depression and addiction, Lipshutz writes, “Chester gripped a microphone harder than anyone, and in so doing placed his fingerprints upon the world.” Only Linkin Park diehards need apply. (Oct.)