Numb (Linkin Park song)

"Numb"
Song

For other uses, see Numb.

"Numb" is the thirteenth and final song on the 2003 album Meteora by the rock band Linkin Park, and is also the album's third single.

Themes

"Numb" talks about someone who has lost themself and forgotten who they are due to the fact that other people are pressuring them into being what they want them to be. The song is being told supposedly by a young person, as the music video shows several scenes centered around a young girl and her family.

"Numb" has been interpreted as being about how young people (mainly teenagers) feel pressure in being able to live up to many expectations, especially relatives (most likely parents). The lyrics "All I want to do/Is be more like me and be less like you" show the much demanded freedom that most underage people would like. The message brought out from the bridge tell about the hardships that the directed person has felt. Even though the stereotype of teens who are depressed or sick of their lives still exists, it doesn't lose its meaning to that individual.

History

This song, like My December, "Pushing Me Away" and "Crawling," features Mike Shinoda's rapping for a very short time: in fact, Mike only has two separate single lines of rap which are repeated throughout the song, although he does sing backup when the song is performed live.

"Numb" was later used in a mash-up single along with Jay-Z's "Encore" from his 2003 album, The Black Album. The end result was "Numb/Encore", on their collaborative 2004 album Collision Course, and released as a single in the same year. "Numb/Encore" was awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, at the Grammy Awards of 2006, and later a popular underground remix of the song Numb/Encore and the song Encore/Curtains Down by Eminem featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre was released by Dr. Dre on his Look Out For Detox and Dretox Mixtapes.

Jay-Z and Linkin Park later performed "Numb/Encore" at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, PA in 2005. Linkin Park also performed "Numb" at the Live Earth concert in Tokyo in July 2007.

This song was released in two different singles: "Numb Pt. 1" and "Numb Pt. 2". They differed in color - "Numb Pt. 1" is white, while "Numb Pt. 2" is blue - and track listing.

Despite being featured in the teaser, trailers and in the film's opening sequence, the Collision Course mash-up mix Numb/Encore does not appear on the Miami Vice movie soundtrack. However, it is played at the beginning of the film inside a dance club.

Later in mid-2004, Brad Delson introduced a new heavy guitar riff intro at Rock am Ring which he occasionally plays during live shows.

Success

"Numb" was the most successful single from Meteora, reaching #11 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both Mainstream and Modern Rock charts. In chart success and popularity, "Numb" is surpassed only by "In the End" and "What I've Done" within the band's hit singles.

Covers and remixes

"Numb" can also be heard quite frequently during the latest concerts, with an outro ending "Numb", which consists of a brief slowed version of the song with only Mike Shinoda playing the piano. This leads into a slower version of "Pushing Me Away", consisting only of Bennington singing, and Shinoda on piano. Another remix was made, mixing Numb with Metallica's "Fade to Black".

The song was also covered by the British artist Jamelia.

Music video

Directed by Joe Hahn, the indoor scenes of the video is set in a church in Los Angeles, while the outdoor scenes are set in Prague, the Czech Republic. The school interiors, the classroom, the corridor and the outside playground are set in the Johannes Kepler's Gymnasium in Prague.

The music video follows the domestic and social problems faced during a day in the life of a young (portrayed by Briana Evigan), unpopular female student. The girl apparently spends much of her time drawing pictures, revealing that she probably has dreams of becoming an artist. She is largely ignored and ridiculed at school, considering that when she is told off by the teacher for drawing in class everybody laughs at her, when she trips on the stairs nobody stops to help her up, and the fact that when she tries to join a group of girls at a lunch table they immediately get up and leave. There are also self-inflicted cut marks on her arms, which actually say "NUMB" - the title of the song. She is shown near the end of the video rubbing the marks after a stressful day, and then deciding to work off her stress by throwing paint instead. At the end of the video, the girl runs into the church that the band was singing in, almost as if she heard them.

MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos ranked it at #40.

Track listing

"Numb Pt. 1"

1. "Numb"
2. "From the Inside" (Live)

"Numb Pt. 1" bonus

1. "Numb" music video (CD-ROM music video)

"Numb Pt. 2"

1. "Numb"
2. "Easier to Run" (Live)

"Numb Pt. 2" bonus

1. "Faint" music video (CD-ROM music video)

Chart positions

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	10
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Belgian Singles Chart	48
Dutch Top 40	2
Eurochart Hot 100	14
France Singles Chart	19
German Singles Chart	19
Greek Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	47
Ireland Singles Chart	16
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	13
Portugal Top 20	5
Sweeden Singles Chart	23
Swiss Singles Chart	15
United World Chart	14
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	2
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	5
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	5
U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	11

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	71
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	24
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	13
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs	30
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	99
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	19
Canadian Singles Chart	95
Canadian Hot 100	30