Trumtram

My post wasn't intended to provide a counterpoint to your post. It rather got me thinking on why he gets the respect that he is getting (aside from being a super successful musician/artist), haha.

Mike is recognized because he carried the Hip-Hop aspect with the utmost respect since day 1. I think people with a strong Hip-Hop background can acknowledge him because he always showed that he knows what Hip-Hop is about. Unlike many other "rappers" in rock bands back then, he "lived" and respected the culture (plus, you know, wrote some killer rap parts and produced a LOT of amazing beats). I doubt many people from the genre would call him one of the best to ever do it, but they most certainly respect him for being "real" in a way. At least that's my feeling.

There were some interesting tidbits. Like Jay-Z not wanting to collab with them at the Grammy's or Rakim driving from New York to LA. But man, the host got so hammered, I laughed my ass off. And Mike had a buzz going for sure in the end, you could sense it.

It didn't help that the host got progressively more stoned

Wild interview, haha.

Wow, nice catch.

That is something I would like to listen to

Great stuff, man! Thanks for that. The RAR version sounds so sloppy, holy shit. Never realized that.

Regarding "Papercut": Alex seems to follow the album version which has this kind of stop/go rhythm (might be more bass related, can't say for sure). So if anything, he keeps it close to the source material, I guess?

Mark has been pointing out the flaws in Alex's playing (at least how he perceives them) for quite some time now. I haven't seen them live, so some of the points he made might be more audible then. But I also checked different recordings here and there and can't agree on that basis. Also, it has become a running gag sort of thing because Mark is usually a super chill dude about everything LP related, but his criticism of Alex has turned a bit comedical at this point. I agree with you, though, that Brad (aside from his way of playing and thus "sounding" on stage) was notorious for being sloppy since forever. Overall, Alex seems much more on point from the small sample size I checked.

Man, these two points hit hard for me, too. Especially the second one. Back in the day I was SO hyped for a new LP album because I wanted to listen to new Chester performance. Seeing (or rather listening), what he did on a new album and maybe get some great screams here and there. I feel you on that one!

Yeah, the perspective is unique, that's for sure. I guess it's the same for everything: As long as people buy these tickets, they will be supplied. As long as the people are happy, it's... a thing.

@KeysToTheLinkinPark @LPLStaff Thanks for the elaboration on that. Nice compromise, even though I think they are shitty seats, a lot of people got a chance to see the band because of them. As long as it was a discounted price, all good. Also @LPLStaff A couple days ago I was thinking whether you would get annoyed by Alex again. Seems like you two won't become friends anytime soon

What a stupid set-up with the fans behind the stage? Rip.

Yeah, I feel you. I'm not a fan of these, either.