Hey guys, Don't get me wrong--I love The Rising Tied, it hasn't left my stereo and FM's songs are amongst the most played on my iPod. My question to all of you is: What do you think Mike did wrong with The Rising Tied? Here's my list: 1. He didn't get Spraypaint & Ink Pens cleared at all--not even for a bonus track on the SE. Most of those remotely interested in FM love S&IP and it should've been transferred from the mixtape. 2. Black Thought, Common, and Celph-Titled all have pretty much isolated parts on FM, when they should've had bigger roles. Black Thought appears on FM's best track, Right Now. Celph-Titled offered my favorite track from the mixtape, Cover & Duck, and should've had a fight track on TRT. Common's one of the best out there and he's only on one track. That's ridiculous. 3. Two of three bonus tracks on the Special Edition are on the mixtape. Not exactly a real "bonus." This seems slightly contradictory to point one, but I can forgive Spraypaint & Ink Pens, on account of it being the best track on the mixtape. 4. No advertising campaign=huge mistake. He wants the album to come out from the underground and be a big success. He's relying strictly on his Street Team to do promotion. FM could have Meteora's success if there were actual commercials and advertisements for it, but there aren't any. 5. Choosing Petrified as the debut single. It just didn't have the staying power and there are lots of tracks on FM: TRT that do. 6. This is a nitpick, but Mike should've done some freestyles for TRT. Close Curtains is awesome--I don't see why he didn't put at least one freestyle on there. Peace, Alastor
Here are a few things that I think are wrong with what you think: Black Thought shouldn't have even appeared on Right Now. On TRT, Be Somebody isn't filled with all of the crap that Green Lantern is saying, and There They Go on the mixtape was a remix. Spraypaint doesn't belong on TRT. Too powerful of a song, I think. I think there's nothing wrong with TRT except for Black Thought being on Right Now.
Common known fact. Mike cannot freestyle. I love the guy and all, but he's not about the freestyling. He always pulls out some crazy Xero or Hybrid Theory lyrics.
- I agree with the Spray Paint & Ink Pens issue. I post on a lot of rap/hip-hop boards and they all say that SP&IP is their best song. It would of fitted the album perfectly. - I also agree with the "bonus songs" things. We really only got one new song. - I was dissapointed with Celph Titled's collaberation. Mike should've made a song with him, Celph, and Apathy. No SOB. That would've been dope. - Mike should've put Common on a better song. I like "Back Home", but Common's verse was weak. He should've put him on "Right Now" and gotten rid of SOB. Common's lyricism would've worked really well on "Right Now" @ Xeni - Black Thought has the best verse on "Right Now" and also had the best appearence out of all the collaberators. His verse was amazing.
For your last comment, that's your opinion. It's not a fact. I think he shouldn't have been put on Right Now.
Yes Spraypaint & Inkpens should have been on the album. Also Mike shouldn't have worked with SOB on like half the album, don't get me wrong I like SOB but more artists would have been better. Maybe Snoop Dog, Proof or Pheonix Orion would have suited the album well. Also just because the album was Hip-Hop oriantated it doesn't mean you can't have a song with a rock vibe to it, for example Red To Black could have easily been a rock style song. And yeah we only really got 2 bonus songs however The Hard Way is probably the highlight of the album IMO.
My take on the whole thing is that the perfect album would have been the production and beats from TRT and the lyrics from We Major. You can tell good stories sometimes, Mike, but sometimes we just want to hear a tight flow.
I think the album was fine. the album just wasn't marketed well. a lot of ppl i knew didn't even know the album existed until i told them. mike should have promoted it more. place ads everywhere, make more tv appearances prior to the album, go on mtv and possibly bet and really promote the album. this album is better than half the rap albums out there yet its not selling nearly as close as its potential.
the track that mike did with DJ vice known as "freestyle" (or "closed curtains" as people have come to call it for some reason) was not a freestyle, despite the title; it was a prewritten verse that was recorded in LA in 2001, i think. but it was definitely not a freestyle. mike has never really freestyled; he's relied on old material, if you watch clips from the "wake up show" when mike and brad were guests. mike wrote most of the lyrics; there are some songs where styles of beyond did some writing; black thought and common wrote some stuff too, according to the booklet. but nonetheless, mike wrote almost everything on every track. along with having played every instrument save for a few on the entire album. anyway, i don't think there's much wrong with the album; just a couple of little things .... for example, look at a track like "feel like home"; the chorus is nice and meaningful, and the verses are done nicely; then listen to "back home", where there is a similar chorus, but the verses aren't as ... clear. and then there's "the battle", which was quite nice, but as most people would say, it should have been longer.
i dont think it really matters... i like the fact that its not on the album because it makes the track seem more personal to the hardcore FM fans rather than the usual peoples that just pick up the album Well it is Mike Shinodas solo album.. i think he spread out the collabs pretty well on the album... plus, FM is really only just him and SOB.. coz if you watch any of their vids, thats all you really see... its not really bonus to us.. but its bonus to the people who dont know about the mixtape.. im not too worried about the bonus tracks though... i could just live with the one bonus track.. coz one is the average of bonus tracks artists put on their albums... nah, i dont really care for FM to be a huge mainstream success... i like where the album stands at the moment.. coz then i can play his songs and rather everyone groan to something they've heard on the radio a million times.. they ask who it is and slowly gets into it. Thats muchly better well i dont really like petrified so ima have to go with you on that one.. Right Now had way better videoness power to it.. they could have done something creative with it... im kinda dissapointed at FM's vids coz mike is a talented guy and im sure he could've come up with something better than what we've seen (Believe Me is maybe is the exception...maybe) i dont think he can freestyle to be honest... i dunno, i think he shouldve just worked on keeping his lyrics tight and high-class rather than watering it down... I think that Mike should've mixed everything that he has gone through in his career... the high quality beats and mood he created in his sounds with LP, the spitfast raw AND emotional lyrics in his days of Xero and HT (like In The End Demo and such) and finally the artwork that defines his image... So far he has satisfied most of it with the music and artwork but (to me) i think he kinda fell short in his lyrics (not in all of his songs).. basically i just miss the young Mike, but i guess hes all older now and he just raps slower with a lesser vocabulary.. shame, but i cant complain
True, Mike's rapping on the album isn't great but it certainly isn't bad. Cut him some slack for all the effort he's put into it. But yeah, Celph Titled could probably have done with more than a 30-40 second interlude.