Chris

Yes, because either the overhead is lower or the margins high enough to justify the overhead. Pay-to-access VIP stores and VIP experiences. Like I mentioned earlier, this has been in motion for years, largely over the time the band was inactive. My profession gives me a lot of insight into these things and that's why I would say unless you can actually win over a sizeable contingent of the fanbase there will likely be no changes. Which I doubt would happen because none of the major influencing players on social media want to push back at all.

I agree with this, and have additional thoughts: The band is not out of line by today's standards of fan clubs. However, LPU historically was always a cut above, which is why I think this feels off to longtime fans and younger fans think less of it. This LPU version seems very intentionally structured from a business standpoint, which as I mentioned in another thread is common since VIP/fan club and touring are now pivotal revenue generators in the industry these days. Management and business management firms figured out Internet and superfan culture and now seeks to monetize it more heavily, to extract revenue from things that were freebies in the earlier Internet days. I don't know if they ever intend to do demo releases again, and I think similarly the modern industry disincentivizes that model. I think the bigger point is just about general value. Even just a shirt with LPU bundles would be more like the LPU of days past.

I'm aware. They're here but they can easily choose to ignore a vocal minority on a forum, a format that fewer and fewer people use. The feedback loop happens on X and on Discord. I've worked with several bands that over the years have moved to this exact model. The big superfans and fan communities help to drown out the dissonance.

Unfortunately, posts on a forum will hardly change any hearts regarding LPU if all the major players on social media are supporting this or silent about the dip in quality. Including LPL. It's the "extract maximum value from superfans at minimum cost" model and people have been too blinded due to the band's hiatus. This is a business decision and as long as the data supports it there will be more squeeze.

The reality is that the older fans need to put their money where their mouth is if they want old school LPU. LPU has shifted this way because it is the new tried-and-true formula for fan club profits. And since the newer, younger fans often don't even know what they're missing, there's zero reason for things to change. Unless there's actually a significant shift this will continue because it helps the band's bottom line considerably. Less exclusive fulfillment, lower overhead, etc. VIP and fan club programs in 2026 simply aren't what they were in the pre-streaming era. They aren't nice extra perks as much anymore, but increasingly important revenue streams alongside touring, helping fund projects since royalties and physical sales have shrunk. The industry has adapted by extracting more out of superfans and Linkin Park is following suit. For better or worse (I'd say worse as a fan). I wish the band would stand out more since historically they had a fantastic fan club. But as others have said, unless people vote with their wallets, there's little incentive to change the model. They've likely been heavily advised on this by management and business management. This is what works when people continue to subscribe and put their money into the program.

Let's go Nash! I'm super excited they're coming back to my town. I'll be in the pit for the show. Would love to match some faces to usernames if anyone is so inclined! Thanks for the shoutout on my "My December" post as well, Dylan! Hopefully they'll play it.

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That feels a bit too convenient to me personally... Also didn't Mike say that "She Couldn't" was written from scratch when Chester joined the band, or something to that effect? Aside from the scratch sample not existing prior to 1999, obviously.

Fantastic interview. One of my favorites the band has done recently. We rarely get to hear from Joe this much, much less in a format dedicated to his hip hop influences. Talking about the craziness of working with the legend that is Rakim. Convincing Jay-Z to do the Grammy's mashup after he had gone all in on heading up Def Jam. And they talked about the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, who Joe loves, which makes perfect sense since his early sample choices are so clearly influenced by their battle records or those released by the individual DJ members like Qbert. There's a ton of good stuff here. Comments are great too, seeing the band getting the credit they deserve from hip hop heads.

Ah yeah I hear this now. First time listening to these instrumentals but I hear it in there. Does sound pretty likely to be scratched. Only other thing that comes to mind is string noise from a guitar, but given the rhythm and chords on those that seems quite unlikely. There is another tone sample directly after the "Planet Rock" loop on TGSB - the other two samples are paired up there so it wouldn't be the most far-fetched. But also I can't imagine it sounding it like that exactly. I'll have to run through it on my stuff when I'm not traveling.

Not scratches per se. It's most likely running through his tables, but this is the same thing he does on "And One," cutting the crossfader without any sample manipulation, using the exact same Afrika Bambaataa sample he did on "And One." He has the loop on Tasty Gas Station Breaks from the Orient. Joe's just cutting the crossfader in rhythm; no actual scratching speed manipulation. Also does a similar thing with his sample on the bridge of "Runaway."

FYI, this is incorrect. Not sure why it's on Linkinpedia. "Forgotten" does not use any samples from "Change the Beat (Female Version)," and that WhoSampled entry is incorrect. Both TGSB (which has the actual "woo-hah" sample) and the leaked multitracks of the song clearly show these are not at all related. You can also clearly hear a lack of vocoder on the "Forgotten" sample (the end of CTB is vocoded). If that sample is related to anything, it's "Woo-Hah! Got You All in Check" by Busta Rhymes or the song that inspired that song, "8th Wonder" by the Sugarhill Gang. Could be a nod to one or both of those tracks, as I've played with the vocal samples from those songs on battle break records and the a cappella versions, and it doesn't sound like a direct sample. For demonstrative purposes, here are some five-minute takes I did with both samples, scratching to show the difference: https://vocaroo.com/1obwspP6Lyx5

Hell yeah

No idea what happened to the post you responded to, but in a Rolling Stone interview published in 2002, Rob mentioned that he had past issues with alcohol. He was quoted as saying he got "way into partying" in high school but had been sober for five years. But I don't like to speculate about their lives, so that's the extent to which I'll go.

See you all in Nashville - hit me up if you'll be there! Would love to meet up with some others in the pit. If by chance there's anyone traveling to the Nashville show by car, please please please make a note of this: use the parking at the library on Church Street. Best parking in downtown (price-wise) Nashville by a very long shot, while being only two blocks from Bridgestone Arena!

Bridgestone Arena winning for us Nashvillians. All that's left is to wait for the pre-sale to open up.

LPU says: "Passport Plus memberships purchased starting September 5th, 2024, and onwards will have access to an exclusive pre-sale when available." So that sounds like yes.

Very glad to see they're coming back to Nashville! Finally getting my chance to see them. Never could feasibly do it when I lived in Louisiana, moved to Nashville just after their THP date, and then we lost Chester. I had resigned myself to never crossing them off my list. I never thought I would get this chance again! Anyone else here planning to grab tickets? Already arranging with people from LPA, but would love to meet some LPL'ers in the pit as well!

Thanks my bro

Hope to meet up with anyone going to Nashville! Hyped.

Overall this album makes me really happy to be a fan of this band. It seems very clear from the interstitial moments and the specific sonic elements that they really took a good retrospective look at the band's career and crafted something that both draws from the myriad of things Linkin Park and Mike has done (Stained is dripping with Post Traumatic style!), while also slightly moving into different territory with some modern influences. I'm really glad that it seems that there's no longer this air of being "over" Hybrid Theory like we got with OML cycle, though I think a lot of that may have been reactionary to the backlash. The sample work, turntable-based and otherwise, has been a highlight for me. It's always what I thought separated HT and Meteora from the other albums of the genre, and it didn't really pop up as much on the last few albums. Emily sounds great across the board and between Casualty and Good Things Go, this has solidified my opinion that she was the right pick. Overall, this has really made my day, combined with the general vibe the band has been giving of how comfortable and happy they are with this new era. I'm inspired! Now we need the tour dates. Yes, I loved all these throwbacks. A treat for the fans who know and also shows really just how much digging they did. Most of the scratch samples on the album sound like they're from Hahn's early Hybrid Theory-era sample collection (both of the bridge ones on Casualty are definitely from TGSB). The opening scratch sample from With You is also briefly featured at the end of Casualty!

Tasty Gas Station Breaks, 22 seconds. I know I heard this between in one of the audio clips interludes, I think between Casualty and Overflow.