This is one of Linkin Park's gentler songs, the last track on A Thousand Suns and one of my favorites.

In my hospital work I encounter many broken people.  Some of them need a lot of help and support for their lives to work on even the most basic levels.  They come to the hospital when something falls apart and the pieces must be put back together.

Here's a tune that shouts of Mars, to me.  It's by Linkin Park, the first track on their latest album, Living Things.

Broken promises and failed relationships are recurrent themes in Linkin Park songs.  This piece, “Lost in the Echo,” seems to tell the story of someone who's been through many battles but has come out standing strong, undefeated and ready for the next fight.  He's been in fixed mode but is giving way to mutability, which brings relief.  There's a determination and a toughness in his words that I find appealing in a general sense.

Last summer I had the pleasure of attending two rock concerts for the first time in decades, courtesy of my dear daughter.  Her daddy, an old hippie, has been cultivating her taste for rock music old and new to their mutual delight. (I’m having fun, too, but it’s their gig.)  One of the concerts was Linkin Park on tour promoting their latest album, Living Things.

I discovered Linkin Park’s music by way of their fourth album, A Thousand Suns, which I love and intend to write about one of these days.  Today I’m sharing a tune from Living Things that captures the essence of our planetary Big Bad Guy, Saturn.

On Thanksgiving Day baseball star Ryan Braun spoke out for the first time since being busted in July by the MLB for using performance-enhancing drugs, something he denied vigorously when the news first broke in early 2012. Milwaukee fans have been wrestling with their feelings about Braun ever since, wondering what would come next and if the rifts between him and his team, his bosses, and his fans could ever be mended. 

Just now the Moon is waning to new, its phlegmatic phase, and in fixed water Scorpio. On top of that, we are now fully in the melancholic part of the solar year, autumn. Here’s a song that fits this combination of moon-cycle and solar-season really well: “Waiting for the End” by Linkin Park.

It’s a heart-achy song, no question; so full of regret and longing. Not a good one to tune into if you want to stay cheerful! The most powerful phrase for me is this one: