Chester Bennington of Linkin Park on his favorite sad song

Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit once said that Bennington “made everyone he spoke to feel heard, understood and important. His aura and spirit were infectious and empowering. Often these types of people have so much pain and anguish within them that the last thing they want is to infect or break the spirit of others… as genuine and transparent as our conversations were, he was always the one who brought light into the shadows.” Despite his own struggles, the singer always had that light, which was evident not only in his relationships but also in his boundless enthusiasm and passion for music.

When Shortlist asked him to create a soundtrack to his life, he came up with a wide and varied selection. It’s clear that he had a deep passion for music in all forms, as he spoke of his love of 50 Cent, his friend Chris Cornell’s band Soundgarden, Dean Martin and Arcade Fire, among others, as an eclectic mix of musical tastes and interests.

But when it came to his favorite sad song, he claimed that in his eyes one band had a monopoly on it. “It has to be a Radiohead song,” he said. “You can pick any track and know that sadness is coming.” For him, Radiohead managed to make even the darkest songs interesting, saying, “‘Karma Police’ is a very sad song, even though I’m always happy to hear it.”

But he gave the place of his favorite sad song to an underrated song. “There is something incredibly sad about ‘Faust Arp’ on the In Rainbow album,” he said. It has stood out not only for its incredible darkness, but also for the fact that it is still experimental and intriguing, pushing Radiohead’s sound in new and exciting directions.

“You have to admire Radiohead – they always take risks, they’re incredibly clever and they’ve found a way to make jazz even more interesting,” he said. “They don’t play by other people’s rules, and I like that.”

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