Mike on Instagram Summary / Phoenix on 'One More Light'

[lpliveusername]

Mike Shinoda was live on Instagram a few hours ago. Here's a summary:

 

• Mike is in Toronto for some press on TV and radio;
• There's a little bit of rap on this album;
• You heard Chester saying he's rapping on 'Sorry For Now', but it's not what you think, it's kind of singing rapping;
• "Why do we care about genre?";
• He doesn't listen to a lot of jazz but likes it a little;
• They'll be posting pictures of the 'One More Light' deluxe book;
• You can only get the deluxe edition pins on the deluxe album set;
• "The new LP merch is the shit";
• The new LP app is on the way. If you already got it, it will automatically update;
• The video for 'Heavy' was really fun to make because he didn't have to do anything;
• The 'Battle Symphony' video just went up;
• Chester worked really hard on the 'Heavy' video, throwing stuff around, screaming, and acting;
• 'Battle Symphony' is not gonna be a single, it's just a street track. They put it out because they wanted to give the fans something else to enjoy;
• When questioned about his favorite song on the album he mentioned 'One More Light', 'Nobody Can Save Me Now' and 'Good Goodbye' then said he likes all the other songs too;
• Mike saw that Teens React video and thought it was funny;
• They'll be in Latin America first, then Europe in the summer and they got other tours being set up and announced after that;
• "All your favorite songs will be on the setlist";
• He doesn't understand why people are upset about the band doing different styles because their stuff have always been all over the place;
• "This album is more like of a mixed genre kind of album".

 

Thanks to Linkin Park Coalition, you can watch the full thing here.

 

Phoenix also did a series of tweets talking a little about the album. Read them below:

 

My predictions for the album, "One More Light-"

It will mean different things to different people.

Some will love it, some will hate it. For some it will be a joyful album, some will find it sad. Some will find both.

For me, it reflects a lot in my life that is very meaningful, and close to my heart.

It's simultaneously about my relationship with my daughters, and with struggling to deal with the passing of my mom.

To this day, I haven't been able to listen through the entire album without breaking down at least a little bit...

OML is my favorite creative endeavor I've ever been able to participate in. I'm excited for you to hear it. I hope it means something to you.

To clarify, this is what the album means to me, not what it "means..." But I'm sure you already knew that.

[deanowardust]

From Phoenix's description these tracks mean nothing as singles but in context of the album they all mean a whole lot more. It's the equilevant of reading 1 chapter of a book and then making judgement on the book from the one chapter. It won't make sense as it's not in context of the whole body of work.

I am still scared that I should just skip this album cycle as I really don't like the 2 singles. But I'm not condemning them for making a album I don't like, i do find it odd due to Mike's comments on the last cycle "i turned on my rock station and all i heard was pop songs" but it's part of their journey not mine. The fact that I have enjoyed all their albums to this point is a plus. There's plenty of other artists that turn me on and i'll just rejoin LP on the next cycle if they change it up once again.

[Jesper]

 

"This album is more like of a mixed genre kind of album";

 

hmm, idk what to think about this. On one side they say that Heavy is basically the core sound of the album, on the other side this is a mixed genre record? Both Heavy and Battle Symphony are rather poppy, so if this is really mixed genre, I hope the next song we hear (or when we finally hear the full album) will actually showcase that

[Mesck547]

 

hmm, idk what to think about this. On one side they say that Heavy is basically the core sound of the album, on the other side this is a mixed genre record? Both Heavy and Battle Symphony are rather poppy, so if this is really mixed genre, I hope the next song we hear (or when we finally hear the full album) will actually showcase that

To be fair, Battle Symphony and Heavy sound very different

[castro78]

He doesn't understand why people are upset with the music they've released? It has nothing to do with being different....it has everything to do with being horrible.

[Jesper]

To be fair, Battle Symphony and Heavy sound very different

They do, I mean 'pop' is a broad genre, the quote just suggests an even bigger difference between the tracks though. I mean at the end of the day both Living Things and A Thousand Suns are pretty much also mixed genre records, and basically every track on those albums are a lot different from eachother in a much bigger way than Heavy and Battle Symphony so far. I just hope that the next material we hear actually is that much of a change in genre/sound as a track as When They Come For Me, Robot Boy and The Messenger are on ATS.

[hahninator]

From Phoenix's description these tracks mean nothing as singles but in context of the album they all mean a whole lot more. It's the equilevant of reading 1 chapter of a book and then making judgement on the book from the one chapter. It won't make sense as it's not in context of the whole body of work.

 

I am still scared that I should just skip this album cycle as I really don't like the 2 singles. But I'm not condemning them for making a album I don't like, i do find it odd due to Mike's comments on the last cycle "i turned on my rock station and all i heard was pop songs" but it's part of their journey not mine. The fact that I have enjoyed all their albums to this point is a plus. There's plenty of other artists that turn me on and i'll just rejoin LP on the next cycle if they change it up once again.

 

A Thousand Suns was like that, meant to be a full story and they even released it as the ATS Experience (one file) on iTunes or whatever. That's a great album and sounds fantastic even in individual songs. I wish they would have continued that in 2011-2012 for another CD.

 

Well Battle Symphony isn't a single but I understand what you're saying. I dislike both as well. If the music isn't for you on this album, the live shows will be good. I'm not sure how every single person can enjoy every single LP album because they are all so drastically different starting with MTM. Eventually you'll find one that you're like "WTF, this SUCKS!" and that's the current state of a lot of fans with OML's generic pop sound. However, I've seen a ton of Meteora/ATS hate over the years so now the situation is flipped

 

He doesn't understand why people are upset with the music they've released? It has nothing to do with being different....it has everything to do with being horrible.

 

He doesn't get it because these songs are super personal to them. They did the lyrics first, and that's why the music is suffering so greatly. There are plenty of bands who nail the pop stuff (Backstreet Boys, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift) but plenty who also suck at it (Maroon 5, Coldplay's latest album, etc).

 

It really does have nothing to do with being different, I agree, because so many people do enjoy the shifts they take from album to album. In my opinion, it has everything to do with the music coming last and suffering greatly because of it. The shift in songwriting really takes a big toll here. They described the lyrics for MONTHS as being these super epic lyrics that have all this meaning and are so great.....LOL. Quite the opposite. Heavy is one of the most atrocious songs they have ever released. But it is personal to them, I'll give them that. However, it's still a desperately bad attempt at pop and they completely whiffed on it. That's just what I hear, I'm sure some people disagree.

[Broman]

He doesn't understand why people are upset with the music they've released? It has nothing to do with being different....it has everything to do with being horrible.

That's exactly what he means. People that complain about the music not always catering to what they want.

[rd1994]

 

hmm, idk what to think about this. On one side they say that Heavy is basically the core sound of the album, on the other side this is a mixed genre record? Both Heavy and Battle Symphony are rather poppy, so if this is really mixed genre, I hope the next song we hear (or when we finally hear the full album) will actually showcase that

I have always said it. Mike has been bad about describing stufff. Like Remember how Mike said LT was very folk heavy? FUCKING HELL THERES ONE TRUE FOLK SONG ON THERE FFS

Also when The Catalyst came out he said the album ATS will be like that, and to me thats not true either.

 

Yeah, I am a bit upset about the new record. I do like Battle Symphony but I listned to too much (5 times, I counted). So I fucking tired of it.

 

Also that Mike said THP was there because he didn't want Rock bands to do pop shit and then does OML kinda pisses me off too. And before everybody says "dude he said that YEARS ago" I am not denying that but he said it, its something that hes basically kicking himself with right now.

 

For me, it has less to do with LP shouldn't do straight electro-pop, but rather, when you realize it doesn't sound good, why bother? Heck there were some electro demos on LPU releases that I really enjoyed and felt that if they were a song they could be something.

 

Before anybody says "oh you're probably just a butthurt nu-metal fanboy." ATS is my favorite Linkin park album and I couldn't wait until its out.

 

Like for some reason even hearing Chester in that BTS clip made me shudder, like it was something that should not be taking place.

 

I mean this album is giving me very mixed feelings. Like I don't mind pop music and I listen to some, but even for generic pop what we got so far (BS and Heavy) is weak even for those standards. And while I think I listen to BS regularly I reallydon't like LP doing that type of stuff.

[JJJ]

 

Like for some reason even hearing Chester in that BTS clip made me shudder, like it was something that should not be taking place.

 

 

Im sorry but why? In my opinion his vocal style in that clip (and parts of the song) is very similar to WFTE.

 

Im pretty sure if people heard this vocal clip before the actual song (and any instrumental of it) they'd love it

[castro78]

 

A Thousand Suns was like that, meant to be a full story and they even released it as the ATS Experience (one file) on iTunes or whatever. That's a great album and sounds fantastic even in individual songs. I wish they would have continued that in 2011-2012 for another CD.

 

Well Battle Symphony isn't a single but I understand what you're saying. I dislike both as well. If the music isn't for you on this album, the live shows will be good. I'm not sure how every single person can enjoy every single LP album because they are all so drastically different starting with MTM. Eventually you'll find one that you're like "WTF, this SUCKS!" and that's the current state of a lot of fans with OML's generic pop sound. However, I've seen a ton of Meteora/ATS hate over the years so now the situation is flipped

 

 

He doesn't get it because these songs are super personal to them. They did the lyrics first, and that's why the music is suffering so greatly. There are plenty of bands who nail the pop stuff (Backstreet Boys, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift) but plenty who also suck at it (Maroon 5, Coldplay's latest album, etc).

 

It really does have nothing to do with being different, I agree, because so many people do enjoy the shifts they take from album to album. In my opinion, it has everything to do with the music coming last and suffering greatly because of it. The shift in songwriting really takes a big toll here. They described the lyrics for MONTHS as being these super epic lyrics that have all this meaning and are so great.....LOL. Quite the opposite. Heavy is one of the most atrocious songs they have ever released. But it is personal to them, I'll give them that. However, it's still a desperately bad attempt at pop and they completely whiffed on it. That's just what I hear, I'm sure some people disagree.

I agree....I never have had a problem with them trying different things. Actually, I enjoy it. However, these songs are too generic and seem a bit uninspired to me. They've released plenty of "pop" songs before, most people didn't freak out when they did. There's a difference this time. I'm not sure if Mike doesn't hear it, or he just doesn't care. It's his music, his band, obviously he and the guys can do whatever they want. I will never understand why they chose this route though.

That's exactly what he means. People that complain about the music not always catering to what they want.

No, people complain because the music is crap. Release a well thought out, inspired, catchy pop song, and people will dig it. Release this garbage, people will complain. Just my opinion. I get that some people like it, I don't know why they do, but I understand that it works for some.

[Catalyst619]

It has nothing to do with being different....it has everything to do with being horrible.

 

 

it has everything to do with the music coming last and suffering greatly because of it. The shift in songwriting really takes a big toll here. They described the lyrics for MONTHS as being these super epic lyrics that have all this meaning and are so great.....LOL. Quite the opposite. Heavy is one of the most atrocious songs they have ever released. But it is personal to them, I'll give them that. However, it's still a desperately bad attempt at pop and they completely whiffed on it.

 

 

I absolutely agree with you guys.

 

Out of all the people who dislike their latest material, due to the fact that the majority of those "haters" consists of HT/Meteora fanboys from Youtube and Facebook, with how many years have gone by with LP changing up their style, I can see why it's easy for LP to categorize all the negative feedback as "OMG YOU GAIZ SOUND SO DIFFERENT THIS ISN'T THE LP I FELL IN LOVE WITH".

 

If a collective 100 people from LP fan sites give their constructive, honest opinion on why they dislike the new material and there are thousands every day who just bash them for changing, that's what they're going to take away from all of this.

 

They've been experimenting and changing all the time with new sounds. Just that this time, in my opinion, the experiment did not work out. I'm sure it stings to find out that something you've put your heart and soul into, (especially if it's this personal) ends up getting a negative response.

 

Just that they've been in this "if people bitch about our material it's because of the change not because our material sucks" phase for so so many years, it's hard to break away from it. I feel like this hurts the band and their creative potential because it's not them, it's the rest of the world.

 

Also, the whole "Give the kids what they want man, there's your Hybrid Theory now shut the fuck up" in my opinion just shows how they categorize/handle the heat. If you don't like their new material, you basically have to critique it very softly saying it's just not your cup of tea. If you feel strongly about it and use the words like trash, terrible, etc, then you're automatically a HT/Meteora 12 year old fanboy that needs to grow up and realize that bands change.

 

Before anybody says "oh you're probably just a butthurt nu-metal fanboy." ATS is my favorite Linkin park album.

 

This is EXACTLY what I mean. A lot of the people who do enjoy OML (and more power to them) feel so strongly about it that anyone who dislikes it is a "butthut nu-metal fanboy". It's ridiculous. Same kinds of people that spout garbage like "if you're a TRUE fan of LP than you'll know they change and you will enjoy all of their sounds!"

 

Why can't people who love the album express their love and the people who hate the album express the hate? Obviously be constructive and don't attack anyone, but it's stuff like this that keeps me away from other LP fansites or restricts me to lurking.

 

In my opinion their new material is terrible, and I enjoy various artists in said "POP" genre. ATS is my favourite album too, followed by THP and MTM.

[Jesper]

This album might up as a rollercoaster ride, even in the build up

Edited March 24, 2017 by Jesper