SardonicallyParanoid

One thing I think, if they're going to continue and they DO move on with a female singer, they need to play to her strongest abilities for their first album. Show off what she does best and then show she can do it all through the live stuff before getting testy with it. That's just me, though.

At this point, I don't think it is. Lol.

Well, it might just be once more. One can only hope. Right now my hope is that, if they're touring again, they'll bring in some of the new stuff we've finally heard. Pictureboard, Friendly Fire, Lost, Fighting Myself. Some PT/In My Head/AO stuff maybe.

I can tell you from personal experience scream-singing. She doesn't seem to be having an issue. It's just HOW she screams. It ain't gonna sound the same as so-and-so, she just simply is herself.

I dunno man, the gravel's there. I think she could easily pull it off, especially with a little training and practice. The real question is can she keep it up over a nearly 2 hour set.

Okay, after taking a day or so to really process everything... I like it. I really do. Mike, Brad and Phoenix still want to play and tour and I'm very happy about that. Maybe this was that 'Mike and Friends' headline from a while back. Setting up tours without getting people crazy for LP's return. We can only theorize right now. Technically speaking, it isn't wrong, either, especially if Mike's bringing any of the guys he toured with for Post Traumatic. All I ask is that they come to Detroit, lol. A female singer is a genius move to avoid that comparison we know they were worried over for so long. It's a great move and I'm interested to see who they bring in and what all she can do. Of course it'll feel weird without Chester, I can't see why it wouldn't. One thing though, I don't know if I want to see her doing ITE, Numb, Crawling or BTE. I ONLY say this because those songs, to me, are just... They're Chesters. I don't wanna see anyone do those instead of him, personally, unless it's the Hollywood Bowl/PT Tour variations of ITE and Numb where the crowd sings. Maybe do like they did for New Divide at the Hollywood Bowl for a song or two like BTH. Give the live crowds a chance to sing with Chaz again. That's just me. Now, as far as the other elephant in the room... Obviously it's sad that Joe and Rob might not be joining. At least not right away. But Joe seems content doing his own thing and Rob hates being in the public eye. I'm sure Rob would probably join them every now and again, same with Joe. TLTGYA is like Rob's baby, if they were to play that, you know they'd join him, and With You has a damn Mr, Hahn solo. You know he'd show if they were to play that. All in all, I'm excited. I just finished one dream show this year (Wrestlemania, babyyy!) I'd KILL to finish the other next year. I think this is an interesting new plan and I'll follow the band to the ends of the earth.

Class boredom does that to a guy! Lol

All of them, actually.

I know it wouldn't fit AT ALL, but I still think it'd be a fun little thing to hear regardless.

Never forget the popper stopper, lol.

One that's heavily monitored, though. I don't think he wants 10 questions about Deftest and why he won't release all 100 BIO versions, lol.

As far as we know, most of the band likes doing these celebrations. I can't see why now would be any different. MTM is going to be their BIGGEST album for this kind of thing because that was the start of their 'we're writing literally always' thing and they had a lot they really enjoyed from that period.

That's because those lyrics don't fit with the vibe of Hybrid Theory whatsoever. Hybrid Theory is a Teenage Angst album comparatively. Yes, it would flop, because while Hybrid Theory can be relatable in some ways, relatability isn't always authenticity. And that's not a bad thing! It's just the fact. OML is authentic and down to earth even if it isn't always relatable to you specifically. Or hey! Maybe it does and you just hate the sound. Who knows. Like I said, Mike's been writing the words for Chester for years. He was apart of the writing process with most if not all of the songs on OML too if I'm not mistaken. It's not necessarily different.

Less and less does it seem that ANY of this will get released. Hopes are not up for this one.

Deftest should maybe be updated to include the 2022 bid debacle, since it DID provide us with a clip of the track and more info on its location/origin.

Linkinpedia still lists Pictureboard as an unreleased song under the Xero (Demo Tape) link. "The unreleased song "Pictureboard" is listed on the BMI song database and credits Mark Wakefield and the rest of the band as well as Chester Bennington. It was later re-recorded by Hybrid Theory (which is why Chester is credited as well) but no versions have ever been released. Linkin Park performed the song once, according to Mike." It should be noted that not only did Mark's version of the song leak in 2019, but Chester's version was officially released a year later, and was technically played more than once thanks to "Be Yourself" being Pictureboard all along.

OML has some of the best lyrics they've ever produced. At the very least, the most authentic, in my eyes. Some people think otherwise because 'well, Chester doesn't have a lot of writing credits.' To that, I say... so? This isn't new. Mike has been writing the words Chester feels deep in his soul for literally their entire career. Breaking The Habit wasn't even a song FOR Chester, and he broke down trying to record the damn thing. This is a constant.

I REALLY, REALLY don't agree with the sentiment of OML being unauthentic crap. Trendy? Yeah. LP did that shit with the famed Hybrid Theory too. But unauthentic??? It was probably, lyrically, the MOST authentic they possibly could have been. Songs about their families and loved ones, worry over disappointing people, remembering and reflecting, that's a side of LP we almost never saw in such a capacity. Yeah, it was done under a poppier guise because that's what got traction and that's what they were listening to at the time. It was what THEY were interested in doing, so more power to 'em! It's probably the best pop stuff I give a damn to listen to.

Being that it is just a feeler thing, it would still have to go to the estate and get approval before anything else. None of us know if there's been contact or a sign off whatsoever.

Could be, but, it doesn't surprise me. Wouldn't be the first posthumous skin they've uploaded I don't believe. But nevertheless, it's news and good or bad, it's gotta be shared. One could argue their goal is to pay tribute. They've a feature for their festival mode with its very own battlepass dedicated to one big artist. Only way I could see this working and not feel poorly thought out is to lock him to the mode, and make him unavailable for Battle Royale or other death oriented games. They've done that for other skins in certain modes in the past. I dunno. It's a touchy subject.

Well, this is an interesting development. Every year, Epic Games sends out a survey to players to try and learn fan interest in potential collaborations for their games, most notably being Fortnite. In years past a great majority of their surveys end up becoming a reality at some point. In their latest survey, Epic teased a great many new skin ideas, including a GTA collaboration, Five Nights At Freddy's, One Piece, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and on and on. Notably, in the lucrative Celebrity section, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) was added as an option. More often than not, when a celebrity is teased, they end up coming to the item shop at some point down the line. Could Epic be interested in a Chester Bennington skin akin to that of other artists such as Eminem in the past? This is the first time Linkin Park has been added to this survey in any facet before. https://x.com/iFireMonkey/status/1768421184054362405?s=20

Doesn't look like we're going to be getting those. Always a chance they show up, though. These weren't showing up beforehand.

It seems Linkin Park's exclusive vinyl tracks are hitting more and more stores. LOST DEMOS (Originally a Record Store Day Exclusive from my understanding) and The Rising Tied's Deluxe Edition have both just landed at my FYE where I work. On top of this, we're slated to get the Dead By Sunrise Out Of Ashes exclusive vinyl as well! If you missed out on the other vinyls or are waiting on DBS, keep your eyes peeled. Not sure how many copies we're going to be sent. We've one each right now.

I play every once in a while with my buddies and my brother, it's a fun little mode. Not sure if you can play with other people online on Rock Band, I've never had it myself, but it's kinda neat to dick around to stuff on there. Forcing them to play Numb will be a treat after how many goddamn Weeknd songs I've been forced to play. Plus earlier P!ATD and Paramore are in this lineup.

Kind of a different idea, what do we think a potential LP Iceberg would look like? Things like Pictureboard/Be Yourself, Hardly Breathe, TTTAMP/Lost/Resolution/Wizard Song, etc etc etc. I think compiling some ideas could give us a good look at what one might look like, and someone (maybe me) could throw one out. I dunno, just a random thought I had last night.