| "Session" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by Linkin Park | |
| from the album Meteora | |
| Working title: | Session |
| Recorded: | 2002 |
| Length: | 02:24 |
| Time signature: | 4/4 |
| Tempo: | 98 |
| Key: | F Minor |
| Samples: | Beside - Change The Beat (Female Version) |
| Live debut: | February 23, 2003 |
| Last performed: | August 22, 2009 |
| Writer: | Linkin Park |
| Producer: | Don Gilmore, Linkin Park |
| Label: | Warner Bros. |
| Meteora tracklist | |
"Session" is the twelfth song on Linkin Park's sophomore album Meteora. It is entirely instrumental, consisting primarily of Joe Hahn's sampling and scratching. It is the second instrumental on the record, counting the intro track "Foreword".
In March 2003, Mike Shinoda did a track-by-track of Meteora for ShoutWeb. About "Session", he said, ""Session", is an instrumental track. I did all the beats. Joe did all the scratching. Brad and I manipulated Joe's scratching on the computer. We used digital effects on it that basically make it impossible to play! It starts out as just this piano and this beat and then beat starts kind of disintegrate then the piano starts disintegrating then the guitar comes in. It's just this nice evolution of digital simplicity to complete chaos and two and a half minutes later, you've been thrown off a cliff."[1][2]
In an interview with MusicOMH on August 3, 2005, Mike explained further the role of each band member on the track: "I probably got Sessions about 85 percent of the way and something needed to be added. The other guys knew what it was. Brad came in with some guitar, Phoenix with bass and Joe with scratching. It’s very fluid, and the digital elements are very chopped up and harsh. I think it’s cool. That electronic element has always been there in the band – it’s just that sometimes we bring it closer to the front."[3]
On the Meteora booklet, the band wrote, "Mike created the majority of this instrumental song in the back of the bus in Pro Tools recording software. It felt unfinished for over a year...Until Brad, Phoenix and Joe put their finishing touches on it while in the studio at NRG, months later, the band and mixer Andy Wallace added a new dynamic to the song with quick panning accents in the turntable solo, most noticeable when listening in headphones."[4]
"Session" samples the song "Change The Beat (Female Version)" by Beside, which was also sampled on "Cure For The Itch."
The manipulation of the beat in the track is something Mike later reused on Fort Minor's "In Stereo."
The song appeared on the soundtrack of Matrix Reloaded.[5] "It's actually an instrumental song, which is really unusual. We were really excited to be able to put that kind of song in the movie, and it starts off the soundtrack as well, so it's a great thing," said Mike.[6] The band attended the movie's premiere in Los Angeles on May 7, 2003 to catch their song in the ending credits. Joe said, "We're big fans of the first movie, and we heard that the directors topped themselves with this one. So we're pretty excited to see what they've done."[7]
The inclusion of "Session" in the film resulted in a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" to which Chester Bennington responded, "I personally feel that this record is better than 'Hybrid Theory'. I think there are certain songs that definitely exceed the quality of even 'Crawling'. And to not even be nominated for a track that was an album track - I mean it was an instrumental, like an interlude — personally, I'm kind of insulted. I think I'd rather be not nominated for anything than to be nominated for a track that's not even a band track. I definitely was thrown off a little bit, but who cares, really."[8]
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Meteora
The Matrix Reloaded: The Album |
2:24 | 2002 | March 25, 2003 |
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session (Live In Nottingham 2003) | Meteora (20th Anniversary Edition) | 1:13 | March 03, 2003 | April 7, 2023 |
|
"Session" has had a brief lifecycle throughout Linkin Park's live career. The song first appeared at the dawn of the Meteora touring cycle, a shortened version of the song being used as the show opener on the LP Underground Tour. After the tour, the song was dropped and did not return until 2009, where a newly shortened version of the song yet again served as a show opener on the band's International Tour.
Samples of "Session" were used for various new live-only tracks on The Hunting Party World Tour. It first appeared in Joe's solo amongst many other samples, and later used in Mashup Intro #2.
In the initial draft for the 2014 set, a shortened form of "Session" was considered for inclusion, transitioning into "Cure For The Itch".[9]
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative | 2003 Version | February 23, 2003 | March 25, 2003 |
| Alternative | Shortened | July 19, 2009 | August 8, 2009 |
}}
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Instrumental Performance | Nominated |
