| "Burn It Down" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Single by Linkin Park | |||||||
| from the album Living Things | |||||||
| Working title: | Buried At Sea | ||||||
| Recorded: | 2011-2012 | ||||||
| Released: | May 21, 2012 | ||||||
| Format: | CD, Digital | ||||||
| Length: | 03:51 | ||||||
| Stems: | Lotus Linkin Park GP Rock Band 3 (DLC) Akai MPC500 Samples[1] Neko Keyboard Sounds and Samples[1] Open Labs SoundSlate Pro | ||||||
| Time signature: | 4/4 | ||||||
| Tempo: | 110 | ||||||
| Key: | A Minor | ||||||
| Live debut: | May 16, 2012 | ||||||
| Last performed: | October 27, 2017 | ||||||
| Writer: | Linkin Park | ||||||
| Producer: | Mike Shinoda, Rick Rubin | ||||||
| Label: | Warner Bros. | ||||||
| |||||||
| Living Things tracklist | |||||||
"Burn It Down" (stylized as "BURN IT DOWN") is the third song and lead single on Linkin Park's album Living Things. It was released to radio and as a digital download on April 16, 2012, and, by the end of 2012, sold over one million units, making it the band's eighth million-selling single. [2]
Background
In an interview with ABCDane.net, Chester Bennington talked about some of the more unexpected reactions the band had gotten in response to "Burn It Down", stating "It’s interesting, since ‘BURN IT DOWN’ was released, we’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from people saying something like, ‘I can finally work out to your music again.’ It’s something we never even considered while making this album. You don’t really think, ‘This song is perfect for doing push-ups to!’ or ‘I can’t wait to jog while playing this song.’ But it made us happy to hear these things, because it meant that this album has a lot of energy." [3]
Mike Shinoda went into detail about some of the themes explored on "Burn It Down", and how important it is for the listener to derive their own meanings from the lyrics, stating "You know, to be honest, we get the songs to a certain point, and once we put out our record, it's up to the fans to decide how the song gets finished. In other words, we lead you to a certain point in the road and we say, "Okay, the rest of it is your call. You bring your own interpretation to the song." In the case of most of these songs, I think Chester (Bennington) is coming from a certain place, I'm coming from my own experience, and on top of that, there are oftentimes metaphor and maybe a third read. In the case of "Burn it Down," we're talking about my personal story and his personal story, and there's also a layer of pop culture that plays a role in the lyrics of the song. For example, people build up a certain celebrity or musician or actor or whatever and they're popular one minute and the next thing, you know either they've done something wrong or they've done nothing wrong and there's just a bad rumor that goes around about them and then everybody's attacking that person. That's just the way things are. We've actually lived through that as a band. All that stuff plays a role."[4]
During an LPTV episode about the song, an early version of Mike's rap can be heard with the lyrics "This ain't no joke, and I don't play, and I won't hold back the things that I say".[5]
In a June 18, 2020 Twitch stream when making a song out of Fort Minor and Linkin Park sounds, Mike talked about the samples from "Burn It Down" coming from his Gaia keyboard. The sample bank of sounds in his Maschine for the track was also labeled "Gaia."[6]
Remix
"Burn It Down", by far, has gotten the most remixes compared to any other song from Living Things, and most songs in Linkin Park's discography, with a grand total of twelve remixes. The song had one remix released on the band's second remix album, Recharged, done by Tom Swoon, in addition to a remix done by Paul Van Dyk, which was included as a pre-order bonus for the remix album. To promote the album, Paul Van Dyk and Mike Shinoda held a chat with fans on Twitter.[7] During the chat, Mike said he has never met Paul Van Dyk in person[8] and Paul said his favorite part about working on the remix was "taking this fantastic track to the dance floor!"[9]
The track also had four remixes released as a part of the Living Things Remix Subscription, which was a reward for pre-ordering Living Things. In addition to the remixes by Tom Swoon and Paul Van Dyk, remixes done by RAC and Bobina were included in the subscription. The Bobina remix was actually a fan made remix given away for free download after his Facebook profile reached 50,000 fans. The band liked the remix so much that they decided to present it to fans along with the Rad Omen remix of "Roads Untraveled".[10] A month before, Mike had been asking for good fan remixes of Living Things songs on Twitter.[11]
Even more remixes for the song were released as a part of the Burn It Down Remixes promo CD, which included the aforementioned remixes, barring Tom Swoon's, and included remixes by Hann With Gunn, Double Dust, Heavy Burn, Arya Shani, and John Reaper. A few of those remixes were also fan made and were previously released by the artists themselves.[12] The Hann With Gunn remix was given to Linkin Park on a meet and greet during their European Tour in 2012. When Arya Shani's remix was released, he was only 13 years old.[13]
The CD also included two more versions of Paul Van Dyk's remix, both of which cut Mike's rap, but one was considered a "radio edit", which cut the length of the remix in half.
Finally, over three years after the song was released, one final remix of "Burn It Down" was released, done by Charly Beck. It wasn't included on any official releases from the band, but was later released digitally with the consent of Linkin Park's label, Warner Bros. Records. According to Martin von Auen, who worked as producer on Beck's remix, it took eight weeks until they heard back from Linkin Park.[14]
A few other remixes of the song were said to have been done, but remain unreleased. Mike Shinoda said that he would do a remix for the track, but it was never released. In addition, Tech N9ne recorded a verse for a "Burn It Down" remix, but the track was never released.
Official Remix Competition
In June 2012, Linkin Park teamed up with Formula One Lotus F1 to launch an iPad app called "Linkin Park GP." The app allowed iPad users to drive a Lotus E20 and interact with a 360° environment to create an original remix of "Burn It Down." The app featured stems that fans could use: "Drums", "Bass", "Guitar", "Synth", "Indigo Synth", "Vocals", and "Rap."[15] This was not a standard competition or contest done by the band where a winner was announced, or prizes were advertised, but this was an official promotion that was done.
Tracklist
CD Single
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burn It Down | Linkin Park | 3:51 |
| 2 | New Divide (Live) | Linkin Park | 4:29 |
| 3 | In The End (Live) | Linkin Park | 3:39 |
| 4 | What I've Done (Live) | Linkin Park | 4:04 |
Remixes Promo CD
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burn It Down (Main) | Linkin Park | 3:50 |
| 2 | Burn It Down (Instrumental) | Linkin Park | 4:11 |
| 3 | Burn It Down (Acapella) | Linkin Park | 2:56 |
| 4 | Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Remix) | Linkin Park | 8:00 |
| 5 | Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Radio Edit) (No Rap) | Linkin Park | 4:03 |
| 6 | Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Remix) (No Rap) | Linkin Park | 7:32 |
| 7 | Burn It Down (RAC Remix) | Linkin Park | 3:33 |
| 8 | Burn It Down (Hann With Gun Remix) | Linkin Park | 4:11 |
| 9 | Burn It Down (Double Dust Remix) | Linkin Park | 5:00 |
| 10 | Burn It Down (Heavy Burn Remix) | Linkin Park | 6:27 |
| 11 | Burn It Down (Arya Shani Remix) | Linkin Park | 6:02 |
| 12 | Burn It Down (John Reaper Remix) | Linkin Park | 3:12 |
Music Video
Music Video
The music video for "Burn It Down" was shot in the week of March 12, 2012.[16]
Artist Name: Linkin Park
Song Name: Burn It Down
Director: Joe Hahn
Producers: Bill Boyd
Video Commissioner: Devin Sarno
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Jemga Video
Linkin Park announced on May 31, 2012 they had teamed with Genero.tv for a "Burn It Down" music video contest. The band provided a download of the full performance video for the song and contestants were allowed to use as much or as little of the original video as they'd like, the only condition being to be creative and make the video their own. The contest ended on July 6 and the winner, chosen by Linkin Park, Warner Bros Records and Genero, received $5,000 and had their video premiered on MTV globally.[18][19]
The big prize winner was Jem Garrard (aka Jemga), a Canada-based filmmaker from London, England. She wrote, "Thanks for checking it out. Alex is a great little actor and very fun to work with. The story was written especially for the song, and of course in competitions such as this, multiple ideas and visions will be screened. That's the beauty of it, so many creative videos to look at! I took a less literal approach with this. The idea of 'burning down' to me didn't represent fire, but the idea of creating and destroying icons in the media. So I thought it would be fun to take a futuristic look at that, and use the idea of a robot game show! Thanks again for your comments and taking the time. I'm very lucky to work with the people I do, and it was great to incorporate 3D into a video. I enjoyed the process."[20]
Filmmaker - Jem Garrard
Young boy - Alex Draghicescu
Game show host - Greg Crompton
Special FX - Tamsin Baker
3D Animation - Robert Allison
Sound Effects - Ashley Summers
DOP - Greg Gillespie
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
Studio
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burn It Down | Burn It Down
Burn It Down Remixes NOW: The Hits Of Spring 2012 |
3:50 | March 2011 – April 2012 | April 16, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down | Papercuts - Singles Collection 2000-2023 | 3:49 | March 2011 – April 2012 | April 12, 2024 |
|
| Burn It Down (Radio Edit) | Burn It Down (FR Radio CD) | 3:33 | March 2011 – April 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Instrumental) | Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals) | 3:50 | 2012 | September 11, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Instrumental) | Burn It Down Remixes | 4:11 | 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Acapella) | Living Things (Acapellas and Instrumentals)
Burn It Down Remixes |
2:56 | 2012 | September 11, 2012 |
|
Remix
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burn It Down (RAC Remix) | Living Things Remixed
Burn It Down Remixes |
3:33 | 2012 | January 6, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Swoon Remix) | Living Things Remixed | 4:47 | 2012 | August 7, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down - Tom Swoon Remix | Living Things Remixes | 4:45 | 2012 |
| |
| Burn It Down (Bobina Remix) | Living Things Remixed | 5:21 | 2012 | September 13, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Remix) | Living Things Remixed
Burn It Down Remixes Recharged |
8:00 | 2012 | July 7, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Radio Edit) (No Rap) | Burn It Down Remixes | 4:03 | 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Paul Van Dyk Remix) (No Rap) | Burn It Down Remixes | 7:32 | 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down - Paul Van Dyk Remix | Living Things Remixes | 5:30 | 2012 |
| |
| Burn It Down (Hann With Gun Remix) | Burn It Down Remixes | 4:11 | 2012 | June 22, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Double Dust Remix) | Burn It Down Remixes | 5:00 | 2012 | May 8, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Heavy Burn Remix) | Burn It Down Remixes | 6:27 | 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (Arya Shani Remix) | Burn It Down Remixes | 6:02 | 2012 | July 2, 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (John Reaper Remix) | Burn It Down Remixes | 3:12 | 2012 | 2012 |
|
| Burn It Down (feat. Linkin Park) | Burn It Down (feat. Linkin Park)
Club Fever 2016 |
3:13 | 2015 | November 13, 2015 |
|
Live
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burn It Down (Live Rock Im Park 2012) | Living Things (AU Tour Edition)
Castle Of Glass (Digital EP) |
4:01 | June 03, 2012 | February 11, 2013 | |
| Burn It Down | Live At Admiralspalast Berlin, Germany | June 05, 2012 | March 29, 2013 |
| |
| Burn It Down | Live In Monterrey | September 12, 2012 | June 13, 2014 |
| |
| Burn It Down (Live In LA 9.8.12) | The Hunting Party (Xbox Music) | 3:57 | September 08, 2012 | June 21, 2014 | |
| Burn It Down | One More Light Live | 4:13 | June 27, 2017 | December 15, 2017 |
|
| Burn It Down | One More Light Live (Clean) | 4:13 | June 27, 2017 | December 15, 2017 |
|
Live
Linkin Park
"Burn It Down" got its live debut during the band's KROQ Dressing Room rehearsal, from which point onwards, it was a staple in the band's live set. It was played at every full show, and most shortened and award shows, throughout the Living Things cycle. During the band's European festival run in 2012, "Burn It Down" was used to open the encore at headlining shows, and followed "The Catalyst" at the festival shows. It was the only full song to be played during the band's short run in Japan following the European tour, and was performed twice when the band performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The position of "Burn It Down" in the sets for Honda Civic Tour's setlists was very similar to its positions during the European tour, opening the encore in Set A, following "Numb", and later "What I've Done", in Set B, and being played after "The Catalyst", and later "What I've Done", in Set C. The sets for 2013 kept "Burn It Down" in the same position, except it didn't open the encore in festival Set A, since that set didn't have an encore. Instead, it was played after "What I've Done".
2014 kept things pretty simple for "Burn It Down" at first. During the short, three show run the band went on in January, "Burn It Down" was played after "In The End" for the private launch show for Harman Infinity One and the Concert for the Philippines benefit show, and was played after "What I've Done" for the headlining show. Despite the experimental start to The Hunting Party touring cycle, "Burn It Down" was one of the few songs that wasn't shortened or given a new intro or outro. The standard, studio version was played after "Joe Solo" until Set B of the Carnivores Tour debuted, where it was shortened to exclude the first chorus and second verse, as well as given a new, short extended intro, since it opened the encore. These sets were played at every full show for the rest of 2014. At the band's first show in Brazil for The Hunting Party cycle, "Burn It Down" was plagued with technical difficulties, including the opening synth being played in the wrong key, the wrong synth playing during the verse and chorus, and Mike forgetting to start his rap bridge, so Chester started singing the second verse. Right as Chester began, though, Mike started the rap. At the 12th LPU Summit in Amsterdam, a new version of "Burn It Down" was played with a different beat dubbed the "Reggae Version". "Burn It Down" was played second at both Live 105's Not So Silent Night and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2014, right after "Joe Solo". For a private show at LP Underground HQ, "Burn It Down" was played acoustically for the first time, alongside "LOATR/SOTD/Iridescent" and "Final Masquerade". The two sets for the 2015 North American tour had "Burn It Down" in the same positions as the sets for Carnivores Tour. At Rock In Rio USA, "Burn It Down" was played after "New Divide" in the shortened, new set. The full version of this set had "Burn It Down" coming out of a shortened form of "Darker Than Blood", which featured only the first verse and chorus acapella over a droning synth.
On February 16, 2017, Linkin Park performed a stripped down version of "Burn It Down" for a Facebook live stream. This version featured Mike on piano and vocals, Brad on guitar, and Chester and Kiiara on vocals. For the first time, Mike sang his verse on the bridge instead of rapping it. The reggae version of the song made its return later that month at a private filming for the 50th anniversary of Mercedes-AMG. Mike and Chester continued to perform the stripped down version of "Burn It Down" during the European promo shows in March 2017, but performed it as a piano version as Brad was not present to play guitar. The full band version of the song returned once the One More Light World Tour started, being performed far earlier in the set than the song had ever been played at a full show, following "Talking To Myself". M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold joined the band for the song at the memorial show for Chester Bennington.
On the From Zero World Tour, "Burn It Down" was added to the set at the first full show in Los Angeles after "The Catalyst". In Set C, heavily effected vocals from the first verse and chorus are used in the Inception, Creation, and Resolution Intros.
Variations
Last Updated: March 30, 2017
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | Swirl Intro | August 12, 2014 | January 17, 2015 |
| Intro | Shortened | August 12, 2014 | January 17, 2015 |
| Intro | Pre-song Jam | November 7, 2014 | November 7, 2014 |
| Alternative | Reggae Version | August 1, 2013 | February 28, 2017 |
| Alternative | Acoustic | January 13, 2015 | January 13, 2015 |
| Alternative | Stripped Down (Piano/Guitar/Vocals Only) | February 16, 2017 | February 16, 2017 |
| Alternative | Piano Version (Piano/Vocals Only) | March 24, 2017 | March 30, 2017 |
Live Guests
Last Updated: July 19, 2018
- Benjamin Chandler (replacing Brad Delson)
- M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold)
- Warren Willis (replacing Joe Hahn)
Mike Shinoda
During Mike's solo tour, he would sporadically add a piano version of "Burn It Down" to the set where he would have the crowd sing while he played the piano. At the show in Hamburg, German singer Yvonne Catterfeld joined Mike for the song.
Variations
Last Updated: April 28, 2020
| Type | Description | First Played | Last Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternative | Piano Version | August 29, 2018 | March 8, 2019 |
| Alternative | Shortened (First Verse + First Chorus) | August 29, 2018 | October 25, 2018 |
| Alternative | Shortened (No Bridge/Final Chorus) | October 17, 2018 | November 5, 2018 |
Live Guests
- Yvonne Catterfeld
Promotion
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Rock Video | Nominated |
| 2012 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Visual Effects | Nominated |
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Song | Nominated |
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Video | Nominated |
Personnel
Lyrics
The cycle repeated
As explosions broke in the sky
All that I needed
Was the one thing I couldn't find
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know
We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
The colors conflicted
As the flames climbed into the clouds
I wanted to fix this
But couldn't stop from tearing it down
And you were caught at the turn
Caught in the burning glow
And I was there at the turn
Waiting to let you know
You told me yes / You held me high
And I believed when you told that lie
I played that soldier / You played king
And struck me down when I kissed that ring
You lost that right / to hold that crown
I built you up but you let me down
So when you fall / I'll take my turn
And fan the flames as your blazes burn
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know
We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
When you fall / I'll take my turn
And fan the flames as your blazes burn
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground [x2]
Wait at the turn [x15]
Wait-ait-ait
We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground
(Come)
Wait at the turn [x14]
Whoa
We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
The cycle repeated
As explosions broke in the sky
All that I needed
Was the one thing I couldn’t find
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know
The colors conflicted
As the flames climbed into the clouds
I wanted to fix this
But couldn’t stop from tearing it down
And you were there at the turn
Caught in the burning glow
And I was there at the turn
Waiting to let you know
We’re building it up
To break it back down
We’re building it up
To burn it down
We can’t wait
To burn it to the ground
You told me yes, you held me high
And I believed when you told that lie
I played soldier, you played king
And struck me down when I kissed that ring
You lost that right to hold that crown
I built you up but you let me down
So when you fall I’ll take my turn
And fan the flames as your blazes burn
And you were there at the turn
Caught in the burning glow
And I was there at the turn
Waiting to let you know
We’re building it up
To break it back down
We’re building it up
To burn it down
We can’t wait
To burn it to the ground
We can’t wait
To burn it to the ground
We can’t wait
To burn it to the ground
Gallery
-
Digital single
-
Single CD
-
US single CD
-
Burn It Down Remixes
-
Artwork created by Bobina for his remix
-
Artwork created by Arya Shani for his remix
-
Artwork created by Hann With Gun for his remix
-
Artwork created by Charly Beck for his remix
-
Now: The Hits Of Spring 2012
In Other Media
- "Burn It Down" was released in 2012 as part of a DLC for the 2010 videogame Rock Band 3.
- "Burn It Down" is featured in the 2012 videogame Linkin Park GP.
- "Burn It Down" was featured in the promo teaser for the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
- A remix of "Burn It Down" by Bobina was featured in the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
- "Burn It Down" is featured in the 5th episode of Season 16 of the TV series Family Guy, titled "Three Directors".
External Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Linkin Park Fans: A Rare Opportunity to Own a Piece of | Reverb News, April 02, 2018
- ↑ Yahoo, December 2012
- ↑ ABCDane.net, June 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, July 2012
- ↑ Buried At Sea (Part 2 of 2) | LPTV #68 | Linkin Park - YouTube, May 04, 2012
- ↑ Making a new track using only Linkin Park and Fort Minor sounds. Tune in... - YouTube, June 18, 2020
- ↑ @PaulVanDyk + @M_Shinoda of @LinkinPark Twitter Interview (with images, tweets) · drtatiana · Storify, August 11, 2012
- ↑ Mike Shinoda and Paul Van Dyk Twitter Interview Summary - 10 Unheard Demos for LPU12, LITE Video Release And More, August 13, 2012
- ↑ #PvDLinkinPark - Search on Twitter, August 11, 2012
- ↑ LIVING THINGS Remix Subscription #5 - October - ROADS UNTRAVELED (Rad Omen Remix ft. Bun B), October 01, 2012
- ↑ Mike Shinoda no Twitter: "What FAN remixes from LIVING THINGS are good? CC: @LPAssociation @LPTimes @lplive @mikeshinodaclan @lprevolution @JP_LinkinPark" ., September 02, 2012
- ↑ BURN IT DOWN remixes, July 07, 2012
- ↑ News Roundup: Honda Civic Tour Contest, Interviews, Kerrang Scan, BID Remix CD, etc. via @lpassociation, @mikeshinodaclan and @lptimes - Linkin Park Fan Corner, July 12, 2012
- ↑ Official Burn It Down Remix by German Techno Producer - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, November 11, 2015
- ↑ Loudwire: Win A Linkin Park 'Living Things' Prize Pack, June 5, 2012
- ↑ Linkin Park Shooting First Music Video For New Album This Week! - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, March 12, 2012
- ↑ Linkin Park - Burn It Down (2012) | IMVDb
- ↑ Create Your Own "BURN IT DOWN" Music Video - LinkinPark.com, May 31, 2012
- ↑ Linkin Park - Burn It Down | Genero
- ↑ Linkin Park - Burn it Down by jemga | Genero, July 05, 2012