Can't Hear You Now

[Geki]

I wanted to make a topic on this specific song. It's my favorite song off of the album. And I love the rest of the album so that means that I REALLY loved this song. I was excited for it when the tracklisting was first announced, and then I got bummed because someone said it sounded like Until It Breaks, which I don't see even remotely, that's probably a song that I would least compare it to out of Linkin Park's entire discography. Anyways, it's just a really great song. I love the lyrics. I love the melody of the pre-chorus and chorus. I love the bridge or breakdown or whatever that part of the song is called. The verses are also amazing, easily some of my favorite rapping from Mike, ever. I absolutely LOVE the effect used on Mike's voice during the chorus and shit. Overall, it's just a really solid song. And I like a lot of closers for Linkin Park and Linkin Park related stuff, but this one is really special to me. I thought TLTGYA, Powerless, ALITS, Slip Out The Back and In The Darkness were also fantastic closers, while I thought think that The Catalyst should have closed ATS and OML should have closed out of OML. But Can't Hear You Now is up there with all of those ones that I mentioned that I thought were great closers, I really do love this song.

 

I also want to talk about the lyrics. I've seen some people say that they think the song is very uplifting. I've also seen people say that Nobody Can Save Me was very uplifting but I never saw the song that way, I saw it as super dark. While I don't think Can't Hear You Now is super dark, I think it's kind of dark, and to me, it gives a message of Mike feeling broken but he has to continue. The verses particularly. The chorus and pre-chorus basically say that some days, he isn't perfectly OK, understandably, and some days he is ready to take on the world full force. The bridge or breakdown or whatever it's called is the darkest part of the song to me. I feel like that is Mike directly talking to Chester in his own way, something that really isn't present on the rest of the songs. I feel like a lot of the other songs on this album talk about what happened with Chester and what Mike is going through, but I feel like this part of this song is directly Mike talking to Chester in his own way. Saying things like ''You've said what can't be unheard'' or ''I've let you have your last words'', but the entire lyrics of that section is amazing. It's a song of unstability but also Mike saying he is going to power through it for the future. It leaves the listener thinking that Mike will be ready, but at the same time, saying he is also still broken. There is a lot of emotion in this song for me.

Edited June 23, 2018 by Geki

[hahninator]

One thing I have really learned is that people who review the album early give CRAZY track descriptions. Derek from LPA actually did a great one with AltWire for 5 songs from The Hunting Party, I remember that one. And that one was spot on. But mostly they are really wack and describe the tracks badly lol. I think we've talked about this before Geki with people who do track by tracks or whatever before a leak really give some odd descriptions of tracks. I learned I can't trust that stuff at all.

 

You know how songs grow on you and your favorites change all the time, especially for new albums? For Post Traumatic ASAP it was Lift Off, Ghosts, and Running From My Shadow. Then it was Make It Up As I Go with that nasty production drop after chorus 2. And now it's Can't Hear You Now. The lyrics are awesome.

 

I agree that Nobody Can Save Me is dark as fuck. I actually think OML as a whole is one of their darkest albums but the pop sound was maybe deliberately chosen to bring a lighter tone to such a dark album. I really love NCSM (Mike can sing it with LP in the future, too). Anyway, yeah these lyrics are dark too. Mike says he's really having a hard time.

 

I agree with the parts about where he might be talking about Chester. That's gotta be deliberate by Mike for the last song... really interesting. "I waited too long, I listened too much" - if that's about Chester then damn.

 

Very emotional song. I love the synth and dark feel, and the lyrics are well done. Great closer.

[Justin]

"I waited too long, I listened too much" - if that's about Chester then damn.

 

 

If that's about Chester, that's heartbreaking. I'm sure Mike felt some semblance of guilt/regret, whether it was rational or not, after what happened. That's what I take from that line.

 

Looking For An Answer explores that as well "Was there something I could say, or something I should not have done?"

 

However, the next few lines of the bridge of CHYN seem to be almost him snapping out of it. "I'm drawing a line, enough is enough".

 

The rawness of Mike's emotions and his willingness to be open about them is really powerful...

Edited June 23, 2018 by Justin

[blackout]

I really like this song. It's probably not my favourite off the album but it's one of the best for me.

I've read somwhere that the lyrics are from the Chester's perspective. Do you think it's possible? Honestly, I don't think so. Bridge may be about Chester but, in my opinion, the whole song is not from the point of view of Chester. People are saying that the lines like "Woke up knowing I don't have to be numb again" or "'Cause I'm already half-a-million miles away, though, they know" prove that the song is from the Chester's perspective but if you put them into the context, it's all about Mike saying like "I'm a lot better now but I'll have a lot of bad days" or something like this. It really bothers me because I WOULD like it to be that way. For me, a song like "Looking For An Answer" is missing on "Post Traumatic". In every "sad song" (because there are some "fun songs" like "Ghosts" or "Lift Off") on the album, Mike is angry or is talking about himself that he has terrible mood, etc. I think that there should be at least one song about emptiness after Chester's death - that Mike just simply misses his friend. As much as I love "Post Traumatic", I'm really dissapointed that there is no song directly about Chester and good times with him. If "Can't Hear You Know" is from the perspective of Chester, it would be this song for me so I hope it's really like this. What do you think, guys?

[Geki]

Well, Mike resents Chester. It’s clear based off of many lyrics on the album and the way he talks about him. I don’t think that Mike understands mental illness fully and I don’t think that he understands that Chester didn’t mean to hurt him or his brand or whatever. I do wish there was a song like Looking For An Answer, too. But maybe that’ll come in the future. Looking For An Answer blows away everything on this album besides Can’t Hear You Now, IMO. I think if you’re looking for ‘’I miss my friend’’, you have the other members of Linkin Park for that, because they all have expressed that and have never shown any sign of resentment or anything. They probably care more about losing a good friend than some brand that was 20 years into their career already anyways. Like they put out seven fucking albums and did world tours since 2001. And have won Grammy’s and many other awards. I mean I can get where Mike is mad that his brand is destroyed or whatever but he should get over that and accept that Chester wasn’t trying to hurt him or his brand and that he lost a good friend.

[Justin]

I do think Mike went through a period of anger at Chester. He literally said it in an interview. I truly don't think he was mad in the sense of "You ruined LP! I wanted to make more money! I needed you to sing on some more albums!"

 

I think it was more thoughts of "How could you do this? How could you leave everyone behind? Why didn't you reach out to someone?" He saw how destroyed Chester's wife and kids were. Those are normal thoughts to have in the immediate aftermath of a suicide, I would think. There are waves of emotions associated with grief. One of them is anger.

 

That doesn't mean he's angry at Chester now, or that he resents him forever. They were best friends, which is why he also initially questioned whether he did enough or whether he had done/said something that made Chester's state of mind even worse.

 

As you said, mental illness by definition causes someone who is suicidal to not think logically or rationally. I believe that Mike knows that, especially now as he (along with Talinda and the rest of LP) have become so much more educated on the issue.

[Geki]

It's a tough subject. Anger and resentment is normal in dealing with grief from suicide like pointed out. It's just hard because I can't picture Mike without Chester or in the past, Chester without Mike. They were brothers..

Edited June 25, 2018 by Geki