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OKCrew

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Posts posted by OKCrew

  2. Posted · Edited by OKCrew

    I was inspired by the Apple Music/Spotify playlists Mike shared with us today. No one needs to place the same constraints I placed on myself, but I wanted mine to include at least one thing from as many  officially released projects he's been a part of as possible, and I wanted it to also fit on an audio CD. Feel free to make yours longer (or shorter) than 73 minutes, and to include or exclude whatever your hearts desire. Here's Mine:

     

    1. A Place For My Head
    2. H! Vltg3 (Album Vocal)
    3. It's Goin Down
    4. Numb
    5. Enjoy The Silence (Reinterpreted)
    6. Big Pimpin/Papercut
    7. Spraypaint & Ink Pens
    8. Mike Shinoda Interlude (Track 14 of Rock Phenomenon by DJ Vlad)
    9. High Road
    10. Bleed It Out
    11. Second To None
    12. We Made It
    13. Carry Me Away
    14. Waiting For The End
    15. Jaka Caught (Track 17 of The Raid Soundtrack)
    16. Skin To Bone
    17. A Light That Never Comes
    18. Rebellion
    19. Devil's Drop
    20. Welcome
    21. Good Goodbye
    22. Place To Start
    23. Waiting For Tomorrow
    24. Prove You Wrong
    25. Fine

     

    The transitions happen to work out amazingly throughout the whole thing. On top of the turntable/mixtape stuff, there's similar synths at the end of Numb and beginning of ETS, as well as similar tambourines at the end of High Road and beginning of BIO. Stuff like that happens all over it. Share yours and let us know how it sounds!

  3. Posted

    22 hours ago, Garret said:


    Fantastic post. Learned a lot here. Jigga What/Faint is also my favorite track off of CC so it’s cool to know that, I never realized that fully.

     

    Thank you kindly. Yeah it’s mine too. I was in hs when it came out and distinctly remember the first time I heard it. I flipped out when those Faint strings came in over the JW beat halfway through Jay’s first verse and then again halfway through Mike’s.

  4. Posted · Edited by OKCrew

    Maybe I’m alone in this but I make clear distinctions in my mind between Mashups, Medleys, and DJ sets, even if there is some overlap between them at times. To me, Medleys, as one cohesive piece, move from one song to the next like the Hip-Hop and Ballad Medleys do respectively. DJ sets are what Mike and Joe’s “solos” were during the Carnivore tour blending and interweaving several studio tracks together live. Mashups are when you layer a core element of one clear song over a core element of another clear song, like when Mike raps a FM or HT verse over the intro or bridge of another distinct song. What made RTN/WFTE stand out to me among anything else they’ve done was that not only where they putting one song’s lyrics over another song’s music, they also blended the music, syncing the RTN strings with the WFTE synth and drums, which iirc was a new trick and then something Mike started doing a lot more of it during PTT

     

    EDIT e.g. It’s the same thing that makes Jigga What/Faint stand out from the rest of CC because it’s the only one that actually blends musical elements of both songs

  5. Posted

    They also were def getting more creative with the mashups. My favorite part of OML Europe was RTN/WFTE because they had actually mashed up the music and beats of both songs, rather than just having Mike rap a verse from one song over another. All of a sudden the Post-Traumatic tour had a lot of that going on like Papercut/About You etc.

  6. Posted

    Hell yeah the time sig on Powerless alone makes it a standout in their whole catalogue. What is it 7/4 on the verses? But COG stoodout like folk to me right away soon as I heard it. That main synth could have easily just been played on the E-string of a guitar, then Mike comes in with that “Take me down to the riverbeddd” folksy af! I loved Victimized too. It was sorta the precursor to THP which is one of my personal favorites.

  7. Posted

    On 1/8/2020 at 9:28 PM, Garret said:


    There were probably a bunch during the LT era that never made the cut. They were experimenting with tons of folk stuff and even were listening to the Smithsonian folk soundtrack at one point for inspiration. Supposedly, COG, RU and STB were all folk songs originally, too.

     

     

    This makes so much sense. When I first heard all three of those songs my first thought was "holy shit this is folk music, LP-style." They've always been strong lyrically, but the particularly simple depth of the lyrics here along with the melodies of the vocals immediately gives off a folksy vibe.

  8. Posted

    3 hours ago, sordomuda said:

    Because of this song and few others i am really starting to think MTM was trully their magnum opus. 

     

    I’m definitely in a similar place right now. Obviously we wouldn’t love this band so much if there wasn’t a really strong case for every single one of their albums. Each one represents so much about where they were at as a band and can easily function as a “favorite” in its own right. For the longest time I probably considered M2M in the bottom 3 in my personal ranking of their work, and maybe it’s just because my personal taste has just evolved, but looking back, it’s the album the kept LP from disappearing after Collision Course, and pushed them into the juggernauts of longevity and experimentation we ended up loving all the more. Also how many albums have FOUR Platinum (and one Gold) singles?

  9. Posted

    12 hours ago, Garret said:

    Hands Held High is an amazing song. It’s the ultimate anti-war song IMO. The lyrics are so heartfelt and great. Mike delivers them flawlessly, too. The reason some people didn’t like the song was because of the message but also because they said that Mike’s rapping didn’t fit well over the instrumental. However, the band originally sang over the instrumental, but Rick suggested to them that they try rapping instead because it would be something completely different. And it worked. The chorus is also super cool how they used each band member singing the amen line and combined them. It was cool seeing it explained on the Making Of MTM Webster Hall viewing version. Mike also has said during an interview in 2014 that the song was something really special. It’s a timeless song too because it can apply to today’s world just as much as it did in 2006 when it was written. The ending also is great with Mike singing those lines.

     

    Live, it wasn’t that bad, IMO. I know the band said that they never really loved how it sounded. I saw it played in Manchester, NH in 2008 and it sounded epic. I love just Chester singing the chorus. Some don’t. But they did a version in Toronto in 2007 with the crowd singing the chorus and it was also cool. Idk. It’s just a great song to me.

     

    So my major hobby/coping skill/thing I do is make mix CDs for others and myself, but sometime's I will also give myself a personal "assignment." Recently I tasked myself with making a mix based on my personal top 10 favorite albums of all time. Each album had to be from a different artist, and the mix had to have 2 songs from each album (one single and one deep cut). Tracks 1-10 are the first selected songs from each album, counting up from the #1 album to the #10 album. Track 11 is a "bonus/honorable mention" acting as an "intermission." Then the final 10 tracks count those same albums back down, just with their second selected songs, from #10 to #1, for symmetry.

      

    This way, the 2 songs I choose to represent my all-time favorite album both begin and end the mix. As you can tell I put a LOT of thought into this little hobby, but it's extremely gratifying and highly recommended because it's therapy every time i get in my car now. The most thought came down to what would be the #1 album, and what 2 songs from that album could represent it. Obviously my #1 artist is LP, but deciding on which album from them was difficult. There are very strong arguments for all of them, particularly the first 4. I ended up choosing Minutes to Midnight, even though it was FAR from my favorite when it first came out.  

      

    I have a diverse taste in music so this "Top 10 Albums Mix" also had music from many other genres and generations including Sly & The Family Stone, Phish, T.I., Bastille, Run-DMC, and more. So the two songs chosen to rep M2M not only had to appropriately represent both M2M and Linkin Park as artists, they also had to be fitting bookends to the most epic and eclectic mix I ever made. "What I've Done" was the obvious first choice to kick off a mix of iconic classics. It's not only one of their all-time most popular hits, it's a tried and true symbol of their period of transition, and not just because of its lyrics or that Mr. Hahn origin story. It simultaneously offers little tastes of both where the band had been (hard Chester vocals, heavy guitar riffs, turntable scratches), and where the was going (Mike singing instead of rapping, guitar solos...Transformer soundtracks...). 

      

    But the way an album/mix ends is just as important as how it begins. What is the yin to WID's yang? HHH could not have been a better fit to close out an assemblage of what I personally consider to be simply the greatest music of all time, for both the "special" reasons I listed in the OP as well as what you describe here. HHH is simply timeless. What song on M2M more clearly depicts that this was a project coming off the heels of both Mike & Chester's experimenting with solo projects? Where can you more clearly hear that all 6 bandmates are being pushed by legendary producer Rick Rubin to expand their creative horizons? Where else have all their vocals ever been layered as a 12-piece choir? Not to mention the contributions of David and his 14-piece string orchestra. Everything about this song's structure is unique for both Linkin Park and popular music in general, from the marching drum beat, to the slow, cross-picking guitar, to the use of organ and piano together, to the coupling of live strings with electric bass. Mike's hard-hitting lyrics and delivery continue to move and haunt us in its tragically current relevance. Then Mike starts singing that unexpected, perfect two-bar phrase over and over. Then Chester comes in harmonizing over him. Nothing can beat that. There is only one band who could have ever pulled this off and they only could have done it on M2M. 

      

    So, like you both said, underrated and under-appreciated. Also i like the live versions too. I attached the tracklist in case you're interested in the format. All purchased 16-bit lossless files or better (the M2M tracks are 24-bit). Again, highly recommended activity if you're into it and have the time.

     

    Top-10-Greatist-Track-List.jpg

  10. Posted

    On 12/14/2019 at 8:09 PM, Hahninator said:

    Pretty possible. No matter what the reason was, he really kicked ass in some of these projects. Kings of Chaos is something I really wish I saw, every time I see a video of him performing with them I am like ....damn this is legendary stuff. Chester gets a LOT of respect from other bands and artists for being able to nail those classic rock songs, the huge tracks.

     Speaking of legendary remember when Mike & Chester performed with Camp Freddy and they did Walk This Way 

  11. Posted

    On 12/13/2019 at 1:52 PM, sordomuda said:

    Yes exactly i have meant collabs outside the albums lol like Busta Rhymes etc (who would have picked we made it anyway 🤣) 

     

    That's good to know and I'm still gonna update the list at some point, but Busta joining LP on stage those few times during his short Projekt Revolution stint for the live version of We Made It was pretty exciting, and in that dynamic, one could argue it's "LP featuring Busta" cuz it's him joining their set, but I digress. BRB gonna listen to the Jones Beach 07/22/08 performance cuz it gets me pumped!!

  12. Posted

    21 hours ago, Scourge said:

    they played My December, Pushing Me Away, Crawling (w/ Aaron Lewis), and In The End acoustically during AAC Night 2 in 2001. A Place For My Head had an acoustic intro as well 

     

    Woah this is freakin awesome! I never realized Phoenix played the cello on anything other My December or Crawling (live or otherwise). That Pushing Me Away was amazing. Thanks for sharing

  13. Posted

    3 hours ago, sordomuda said:

     

    I was always dreaming about them doing MTV Unplugged concert back when MTV was still doing it or at least somewhere perform few songs with live orchestra or so it would be EPIC. 

     

    Yeah I’ve always thought about that too. The only performances I can think of with live strings are when Phoenix would play the cello at the end of My December, Numb/Encore/Yesterday at the 06 Grammy’s, and the celebration of Chester’s life show

  15. Posted

    2 hours ago, Garret said:

    Blackbirds also had strings, was shown on the DVD. Was even referred to as the 6th string song back in the day before we knew what the song was.

     

    Garret you’re absolutely right! Blackbirds is the one other song thay fits the Rubin/Campbell/rapping Mike criteria! Since it was never an album release, the “personnel” of the song is harder to find but we def saw Campbell arranging the strings for it on the making of ‘M2M’ DVD

  17. Posted

    Man not only did I not know any of that, but never even thought about any of that family type stuff before (i’ve always just been more into the music/art info and stuff like that). That’s a lot to process. “Sam” was Chester’s first wife? Man I miss him (as a fan). Glad there’s still such a strong community of fans we can all lean on and keep enjoying the music with. 

  18. Posted · Edited by OKCrew

    On upon first glance/listen, there are obvious reasons. The unique use of organ and marching drum patterns matched with the most political Shinoda raps ever heard at the time (arguably since ‘Kenji’); all six bandmates harmonizing in choir-like fashion. It was also the first time we heard Mike and Chester harmonize lead vocals on a studio track, in those final four measures.

     

    But what makes the song even more special is that it is also the only song ever with strings arranged by David Campbell, co-production with Rick Rubin, AND Mike rapping all on one track, despite the frequency in which the three collaborated.

     

    David Campbell arranged the strings on both “Faint” and “Breaking the Habit” off Meteora, as well as "Remember the Name," "Feel Like Home," "Cigarettes" and "Slip Out the Back" off The Rising Tied.

     

    We all know Rick Rubin co-produced MTM, ATS, and LT, but out of those 3, the only album that still had string arrangements by David Campbell was MTM.

     

    The only songs off MTM with Campbell’s string arrangements were "Leave Out All the Rest", "Shadow of the Day", "Hands Held High", "The Little Things Give You Away", and "No Roads Left.” The only song out of those with Shinoda raps? HHH 🙌🏻

     

    Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk

     

     

  19. Posted

    Damn the “no collab” rule makes it hard cuz Reanimation and Hunting Party are two of my favorite projects (and OML was pretty much all collabs in terms of writing/production) but lemme try!

     

    10. Place For My Head

    9. In Pieces

    8. Nobody’s Listening 

    7. The Messenger

    6. Lost In The Echo

    5. A Line In The Sand

    4. Bleed It Out

    3. Faint

    2. Waiting For The End

    1. Crawling

  20. Posted

    6 hours ago, sordomuda said:

    Are you a DJ or so that you are so passionate about it? 

     

    Sorry I missed this comment somehow. Not a DJ, just a really big fan of the art. Was a big Run-DMC/Jam Master Jay fan in elementary school, and then in middle school got into Linkin Park, Dilated Peoples, and the X-Ecutioners at around the same time, and the one thing they all had in common was turntablism. I still follow DJ Babu and he's still putting out amazing stuff and trying to keep the art alive with his "Beat Junkies Online DJ School." I think the problem is it's way more expensive (and niche) to be an OG DJ than it was when the technique was created and times just change. The fact Linkin Park was even doing it in 2010 was amazing

  21. Posted

    2 hours ago, Garret said:


    Yeah the LPU6 CD is a classic. At the time that it dropped it was fucking awesome to 16 year old me. Loved ASP and Qwerty studio version, and the live tracks were really great with Qwerty live and RME. PMA was also cool because this was late 2006 before we got so many recordings of it in 2007/2008 plus the one from 2006 is slightly different and better. BTH is actually very good from Japan 2006 too. Japan 2006 is the best the band has ever sounded live next to PR04.

     

    But yeah, I totally forgot the scratches on the intro to The Catalyst. Wow. I never listen to ATS so that’s probably why. I bet if I threw it on I could hear some Joe stuff.

    Reading My Eyes that was so fire!!! I never heard it live before. Summer Sonic 06 was just epic in general. That piano version of PMA. That's what clinched "Bennoda" being our gen's Lennon/McCartney for me. 

  22. Posted

    8 hours ago, sordomuda said:

    Interesting topic! I think you are correct right now i cant think of any other album version song. 

     

    Thanks! Definitely gratifying knowing I'm not crazy to think it's interesting to bring up lol

     

    53 minutes ago, Garret said:

    Joe does awesome scratches on Announcement Service Public too, when the heavy guitar part kicks in. It’s actually one of my favorite songs that utilizes him, ever. It’s one of my favorite LP songs of all time actually. It’s always forgotten about and never talked about.

     

    But yeah, I can hear him on WID, but that one is obvious. Is he on In Pieces? That’s cool. I think he may do something on Valentine’s Day and TLTGYA too but they are buried in the mix. 
     

    I feel like Joe’s scratching was a big part of the band’s sound prior to MTM. Even though it was rarely discussed. It wasn’t too much. It was just enough. But it was uniquely LP. I guess since MTM was kind of more of an alt. rock type sounding album that maybe it didn’t really go well with it. I remember Mike saying on the MTM DVD that he tried putting rap stuff on songs but he thought it sounded cheesy. Maybe that’s the case for the scratching. But he does do some stuff on MTM. I can’t hear him on ATS even though you provided  songs. As far as LT, THP and OML go, I don’t think he is even on those albums. Lol.

     

    I loved the whole LPU 6 CD myself! QWERTY (Studio) was also epic. He's def on In Pieces, in an actually very similar fashion to how he is on WID (a scratch or 2 every other measure or so). I agree that there are some record/vinyl-type sounds on the two M2M tracks you mentioned, as well as on Wake, but not the kind of scratching I was initially looking for. And I definitely think you're right that Mike, Joe, and the rest were specifically trying to move away from nu-Metal elements, including Joe's trademark distorted turntables, as much as possible (and probably would sound cheesy on the tracks we got blessed with). As for ATS, the turntables actually return to a more prominent role in my opinion (at least on the two tracks you can hear them). Catalyst has them in the intro and throughout, and then Wretches & King has that sick turntable solo at the end. I'll never forget when they released it as a promo a few days before ATS dropped. I went straight to my car to blast it for my first listen. I never forgot hearing that solo come in for the first time. I lost my damn mind lol

  23. Posted

    Something I have thought about ever since the release of Minutes to Midnight, but never discussed with anyone before, is how Joe's role evolved over the years. When M2M was released, there was so much sheer change in the band's music to unpack, but I only noticed maybe one message board touch specifically on the absence of the sound of Joe scratching. ATS moved even further into experimental territory (rightfully so), but again one could really only audibly make out the turntable scratches on two tracks. Fortunately, Joe is great at incorporating his trademark cuts and blends into live versions of songs that don't have them in their studio counterparts (audibly at least), but by my count, there has only been a total 4 studio tracks in Linkin Park's latter decade to include Mr. Hahn's trademark scratching:

     

    1. What I've Done

    2. In Pieces

    3. The Catalyst

    4. Wretches & Kings

     

    Have I missed any? I'm a huge fan of the live version of Lost in the Echo, but it sounds like in the studio version, Chester's bridge vocals are cut up by a sampler and not an actual turntable. 

     

    Also want to clarify this is not a complaint by any means, just an observation. Living Things, Hunting Party, and One More Light are all amazing albums, and Joe continues to contribute in the multitude of ways he always has, but turntablism has always been such a cool element of Linkin Park and music in general, and we see less of it everyday.

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