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So far I'm liking vol 2 a lot more than 1! I don't follow every stream, does he talk about how he put these together? In terms of which ones he's picked? Is he trying not to put up ones where he was asked to sound like certain artists like Panic at the Disco? Some of those are my favs

Oh yeah certainly. Thinking about this stuff is what is probably gonna keep me from ever having a child lol. How crazy it is to think that little comments and actions might shape huge moments in their future for better or worse. When you really feel the weight of that every moment becomes so much more like walking on egg shells.

I'm a big fan of listening to philosophical podcasts and talks. I like listening to topics that, generally, have no bearing on day-to-day life such as whether free will really exists, how much of what we are comes from genetics, how parents can treat two children slightly differently and how that can have huge outcomes in how different they are, etc. Causality stuff. Usually, none of this helps me think through most things I care about. It's just fun thought experiments. But with suicide, and the natural tendency to endlessly ponder over what events caused it, I find that it does. Because the truth is, every single moment before someone takes their own life has, in some way, led to that moment. Yes, it still makes sense to talk about some events helping someone step away from suicide, and some events not weighing on a person as much as one might think, and some events weighing on someone more than we could ever have known. But imo, the lesson is just that it's not really meaningful discussion to deliberate it. Because we'll never know to what extent everything weighed on him. His breakfast that morning could have more weight than we'd ever know. Conversations overheard on a plane ride, a tweet that had absolutely nothing to do with Linkin Park but was full of hate, an interaction with a bad customer service worker, etc. There are likely even genetic reasons why someone is more likely to fall into depression than others. The only thing we can do is acknowledge that it happened and resolve to be kind, knowing that our reception to someone's art might have a profound effect on them, as well as our simple interactions with strangers in seemingly insignificant moments. And on that note, to add to a comment above, lists of "worst albums" and such maybe shouldn't even exist. I mean, what good does that do the world? Maybe calling it the "worst" just to get clicks, but then offering constructive criticism and adding disclaimers that it's all your opinion...ok. But really, suicide should just teach you that outward unproductive negativity has no place in the world.

I thought that was the best part. A nice bit of color and feels like a vocal type that I haven't really heard Mike work with before.

Yeah I was relieved haha. Honestly it's a strange thing to listen to knowing that the people on this track are fans, but honestly this is the kinda stuff I wanna hear Mike do regarding guests. He's an amazing writer/producer and his voice can only do so much. Collaborating with a variety of voices like these can only be good imo, even with regards to an LP album if we ever get there.

Open Door sounds really nice. I think the scream is fun. I didn't think it would drop today, nice surprise! Also, I'm not gonna get my hopes up, but it would be really cool if Mike added some surprise vocals to a couple of the demos. Surely he's got more than enough rap verses laying around that might fit!

My impression after one listen is that it's a bit disjointed. It doesn't come off as having variety, which it could if tweaked in the right way, it just comes off as different ideas and different executions.

Wait he actually picked Ai Mori? That surprises me. Not that she's bad, but I figured Mike would be pretty turned off by someone trying to scream on the track, especially in the way she did it. IMO it's very gimmicky and just comes off as "look I can also scream".

1. Recharged, but hear me out. I actually adore ALTNC and am very nostalgic for the era. And I love that LP has some EDM in their disco, it just adds to the whole "LP can do anything" narrative that I love. And I actually love a solid 5 or so tracks off recharged. But an EDM album out of THP would have been INFINITELY more interesting imo. I would have liked them to drop ALTNC, then save the idea for EDM remixes until after THP and just drop something with it on their. Maybe the same length of tracks, half LT songs and half THP could've been interesting. 2. LITE music video - What a solid track but a gimmicky music video. Should've been something more creative or at least more straightforward like UIG and BID 3. GATS music video - Same thing.I love the band's promo shots for THP and would've loved to see that style in the video. 4. Studio versions of live tracks - Maybe asking them to record Chester's screams on Faint extended edition is a far fetch, but I would have absolutely loved it. Working the extended intro of NMS seems a lot more doable. And stuff like releasing Lost in the echo with that short little holding company instrumental would be elementary. Would have been great to get some of those on an LPU CD at least. I guess the instrumental stuff is still possible. I'm guessing Mike's take will be "those things are only special because you only get them live" though, which I respect. 5. Sharp Edges as the closing track. I like the track but I think it would have fared better somewhere else in the album. Musically it just feels strange to me as the last track. As for an alternative closing track, I do think it's a bit hard to pick so I'm not too upset about it. Halfway Right and Sorry for now have big finishes, and Nobody could save me would work well if it wasn't the first. Especially saving the big "Only I can save me" twist for the very last lyrical moment of the album. Obviously the real solution would be for them to have written some epic 6 minute ballad to close :)