"Papercut"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album Hybrid Theory
B-side
ReleasedJune 18, 2001[1]
RecordedLos Angeles, California, 2000
Genre
Length3:05
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Linkin Park
Producer(s)Don Gilmore
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Crawling"
(2001)		 "Papercut"
(2001)		 "In the End"
(2001)
Audio sample
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Music video
"Papercut" on YouTube

"Papercut" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the third international single from their debut album Hybrid Theory (2000) and appears as the opening track on the record. The song reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in 2001 and was in the chart for 6 weeks.[6][7] It also reached number 32 on the Modern Rock Tracks Chart in 2002.[8] The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2017, for digital sales of 500,000 units.[9]

Background

Lead singer Chester Bennington stated that "Papercut" was one of his favorite Linkin Park songs.[10] During live performances, Bennington changed the line "something in here's not right today" to "something inside's not right today"; he also screamed parts of the verses.

A live performance of "Papercut" had been included as a B-side on the band's previous single, "Crawling". "Papercut" was included in the soundtrack of the 2001 film The One.

Linkin Park's remix album Reanimation (2002) features "Ppr:Kut", a version of this song remixed by Cheapshot. Elements from the song were used in the song "Sold My Soul to Yo Mama", which appears on the Linkin Park Underground 4.0 and Songs from the Underground. Furthermore, the mashup EP Collision Course (2004) contains a mix of this song and Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin'". In 2005, the song was mashed-up with David Banner's "Like a Pimp (Remix)" for the mixtape hosted by Mike Shinoda (the band's rapper and lead vocalist), Rock Phenomenon, creating the song David Banner vs. Linkin Park.

Music video

The music video shows the band in a seemingly haunted house. They are playing the song in a room with little light with a rather spooky picture sampled from the cover artwork of the Xero demo tape. This was painted by Mike Shinoda the night before the video was shot. To the right of their room is a dark kitchen that sports a bound and writhing figure (likely the paranoid individual referenced in the song); to the left of their room is what appears to be a laboratory with a strange creature inside. It moves extremely fast and in an erratic manner.

Later in the song, the creature releases dragonflies (probably referring to the wings of a Hybrid Theory Soldier), while the baby picture and regions of the left wall bulge. Drummer Rob Bourdon's eyes appear melted as well (using special effects). Also, there is a statue of a bird that spins its head all the way around, and at one point, Shinoda's fingers stretch. There are parts of the song during which Shinoda is out of sync with the music and, at one point, not even moving his mouth while speaking. In the video, the band's first member to notice the strange goings-on is Bourdon (probably because he's the only one not playing an instrument). However, bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and vocalist Chester Bennington also start to notice the dragonflies and the bulgings on the wall towards the end of the video.

The song's lyrics appear scribbled along the walls in the dark rooms. Even though the song features heavy distorted electric guitars, Brad Delson plays acoustic guitar and Phoenix plays acoustic bass in the video. The effects and imagery of the music video bring to the audience a sense of irritation and certain paranoia, which is what the song is about. At some point in the middle of the video, around 2:03, a strange blue figure runs past the band. Also note that at the end after the screen flashes black once, the band is gone, but their instruments are left where the band members were.

The music video was co-directed by Nathan "Karma" Cox and LP's turntablist Joseph Hahn (who also directed the videos for "Pts.OF.Athrty" and "In the End"). It was not released for the US.[11]

Chart performance

"Papercut" was the fourth single released from Hybrid Theory in the U.S, and only charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it peaked at number 32, although it stayed on the chart for 18 weeks. The song peaked at number 14 on the UK singles Chart and topped the UK Rock Charts for four non-consecutive weeks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

No.TitleLength
1."Papercut"3:05
2."Points of Authority" (Live)3:25
3."Papercut" (Live)3:12
4."Papercut" (Video)3:13

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2001–02) Peak
positions
Australia (ARIA)[12] 87
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 43
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 49
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 39
Scotland (OCC)[17] 10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 80
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[19] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 14
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[21] 32
Chart (2017) Peak
positions
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[22] 100
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[23] 18

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[24] Gold 50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom June 18, 2001 CD Warner Bros. [1]
United States January 2002 Alternative radio [27]

References

  1. 1 2 "New Releases This Week: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. June 16, 2001. p. 31. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ "26 Nu Metal Workout Songs". Bodybuilding.com. May 28, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Morton, Luke (7 October 2020). "The secret history of Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory: In their own words". Kerrang!. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "10 Essential Rap-metal songs as chosen by Neshiima". loudersound.com. July 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Linkin Park: 12 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. July 20, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Official Charts Company for "Papercut" by Linkin Park
  7. ↑ Roberts, David (20 May 2005). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and Albums (18th ed.). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 299. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
  8. ↑ Linkin Park. "Linkin Park - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  9. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  10. ↑ Hyman, Dan (4 July 2012). "Readers' Poll: The Best Linkin Park Songs - 3. "Papercut"". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media.
  11. ↑ "Papercut (Official Video) on LinkinPark.com". Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. from www.linkinpark.com
  12. ↑ "ISSUE603.PDF" (PDF). Pandora: Australia's Web Archive. Archived from the original on 2002-02-20. Retrieved July 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Linkin Park - Papercut". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  14. ↑ GmbH, musicline.de / PhonoNet. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de". musicline.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  15. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Linkin Park". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  16. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Linkin Park - Papercut". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  17. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  18. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Linkin Park - Papercut - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  19. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. June 24, 2001. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Linkin Park: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  21. ↑ "Linkin Park Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201730 into search. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Linkin Park – Papercut" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ "British single certifications – Linkin Park – Papercut". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  26. ↑ "American single certifications – Linkin Park – Papercut". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Elton, Adams, Usher And More" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 25, 2002. p. 18. Retrieved June 13, 2022. Hybrid Theory ... is set to move even more copies as Linkin Park bring "Papercut" to the masses. Hear it now in Alternative.
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