Empty Spaces

"Empty Spaces"
Song by Linkin Park
from the album A Thousand Suns
Recorded:	2008 - 2010
Length:	0:18
Samples:	Jac Holzman - College Cheers
Live debut:	October 7, 2010
Last performed:	January 10, 2014
Writer:	Linkin Park
Producer:	Mike Shinoda, Rick Rubin
Label:	Warner Bros.
A Thousand Suns tracklist
The Requiem The Radiance Burning In The Skies Empty Spaces When They Come For Me Robot Boy Jornada Del Muerto Waiting For The End Blackout Wretches And Kings Wisdom, Justice, And Love Iridescent Fallout The Catalyst The Messenger

Background

"Empty Spaces" serves as an eighteen second introduction to the hip-hop leaning track "When They Come For Me". It transitions directly from the very end of "Burning In The Skies".

Brad Delson speaking in Spanish through a megaphone can be heard in the background of the track as well. Brad says, ""Todos escucharme, preste atención ahora mismo, preste presten atención" which roughly translates to, "Everybody listen to me, pay attention right now, pay attention." In the promotional videos for A Thousand Suns, Brad is seen trying a lot of different instruments and this was one of the results. At this time, he began experimenting with other sounds and playing very little guitar.

"Empty Spaces" samples crickets chirping as well as a battle in a war, with Brad talking over it. Bombs are heard exploding and people are chanting. One of the chants samples Jac Holzman's (former president of Elektra Records) composition "College Cheer" which is also sampled in the final segment of "Revolution 9" by The Beatles. Specifically, the chant sampled is "hold that line."

Parts of "Empty Spaces" appear again near the end of "When They Come For Me" and Brad also speaks in Spanish again on the track.

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Empty Spaces	A Thousand Suns	0:18	2008-2010	September 8, 2010	Samples Jac Holzman's "College Cheers".

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
When They Come For Me (Live)	Burning In The Skies (Digital Single)	5:21	February 04, 2011	March 21, 2011	With "Empty Spaces".
Empty Spaces/When They Come For Me	Live In Madrid	5:31	November 07, 2010	April 1, 2011	A Thousand Suns+ DVD. Includes bonus MP3 of the show.
When They Come For Me (Live From Tel Aviv, 11-15-10)	2011 North American Tour EP	5:12	November 15, 2010	December 20, 2010	With "Empty Spaces". Released for free download on linkinpark.com.
When They Come For Me	Live In Red Square	5:20	June 23, 2011	July 21, 2011	With "Empty Spaces". Released as a prize for the "Iridescent" "Super-Fun Trading Fun-Cards" game. After all six cards were collected, the person could enter the codes of each card at linkinpark.com to get a free download of the full show.
When They Come For Me (Live From Paris, 2010)	A Thousand Suns - Live Around The World	5:06	October 25, 2010	June 19, 2012	With "Empty Spaces".

Live

"Empty Spaces" was first performed at the second full show of the A Thousand Suns cycle at Buenos Aires. The song is always played before "When They Come For Me", as it appeared on the album. Throughout 2010, "Empty Spaces" didn't move around too much. In Sets A-1, A-3, and the one-off Madrid show, it was played after "Faint", and in Sets B, B-1, and B-9, it opened the encore. During the 2011 North American tour, "Empty Spaces", along with "When They Come For Me" was played in all five setlists. Set A-1 had the song after "Faint", just like in 2010. Sets B-11, C-5, and C-6 all had the song after "What I've Done", usually being performed with a long intro with Mike playing a keyboard transition from "What I've Done", and Set B-13 had "Empty Spaces" opening the encore. It was also performed at the short, 3 song setlist for Saturday Night Live, being played after "Waiting For The End". "Empty Spaces" didn't move around much from the North American tour to the 2011 European and Asian tours. Sets A and B had the song after "What I've Done", Set C had the song opening the encore, Set D had the song after "New Divide", and Set E and the one-off Moscow setlist had the song after "Faint". This tour also brought about the only two shows where "Empty Spaces" was dropped on the entire A Thousand Suns cycle. At the Music For Relief benefit show, "Empty Spaces" and "When They Come For Me" were dropped in favor of "The Messenger", and the one-off setlist from Singapore didn't have the songs, either, presumably due to Chester's broken arm.

"Empty Spaces" returned for the Living Things touring cycle during the Honda Civic Tour, and for the rest of 2012. Set B had the song after "Somewhere I Belong", but was dropped at the Woodlands show for "In My Remains". Set C had "Empty Spaces" after "In My Remains". Once the band stopped playing Set C after Rio de Janeiro, "Empty Spaces" was dropped, and didn't return for the rest of the cycle.

"Empty Spaces" was performed once in January of 2014, at the headlining show in Las Vegas. It was played after "Lies Greed Misery". This was the last time the song was performed live. The band did rehearse "When They Come For Me", and presumably "Empty Spaces" as well, for the Carnivores Tour in summer of 2014, though. These songs did not make the setlist.

The track made its return at the Los Angeles stop of the From Zero World Tour, where it preceded the new mashup of "When They Come For Me" and "Remember The Name".

Variations

Last Updated: December 25, 2015

Type	Description	First Played	Last Played
Intro	Long Intro	January 28, 2011	February 23, 2011

Lyrics

Album Version

Soldier: "Ten-hut!"

Hold that line!
Hold that line!
Hold that line!
Hold that line!

[Todos los pelotones, presten atención ahora mismo! Presten atención ahora mismo!]

Hold that line!
Hold that line!
Hold...

Gallery

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  Authentic Sound Effects, Volume 3