I've quietly watched this site grow from the beginning until I signed up in 2007. I unfortunately didn't use that log in to often and made another one in 2009. Watching this site grow into what it is makes me proud. I'm excited for what's to come. very impressed Derek and gang! Now, I need to finish the podcast.
It's truly an honor and humbling to see so much support from everybody in regards to this podcast. When you have a podcast exclusive to a certain fansite, you come to expect that some vitriol or angry tweets may be sent your way, but surprisingly...there's nothing but a unanimous show of support from the fanbase on this podcast. Honestly, we don't do this for the bragging rights or to get an 'exclusive'. We do this out of loyalty to the fans. Seeing the fanbase so happy to have this kind of openness and access from Mike, is why we do this kind of stuff. It fills us with pride to be able to serve you guys for the last 15 years, and it's a true honor to give this type of content to the fans. I hope we can continue to provide this level of quality for you guys for another 15 years. ...yes, we'll be a 30 year old website, and I'll be pushing 45.
You know, when I imagine what Linkin Park is like in the studio, this situation below is exactly comes to mind. *5 guys playing something, discussing and shit* *Chester walks in* "Did you guys see our wrapping paper? It's fucking horrible!" - All seriousness though, I can't begin to describe how awesome that was. Just to hear you guys keep Mike totally invested in the conversation, obviously enjoying it and being comfortable... It just makes me proud to be a part of this fanbase and this site in particular. Hearing Mike look back on the ATS puzzles, the Scavanger Hunt, the THP release cycle... It was really awesome to hear his thoughts on all that stuff, and to see how you guys experienced all that, and how different your experiences were from mine. Thank you guys so much for this. And finally, it seems the band is doing something different and creative with the new album, and Mike definitely sounds inspired. That also makes me very happy. I've said it countless times during these past few months that the band shouldn't rush anything, and that they should take the time to rebuild themselves once again, and it's fucking great to see the band is actually doing just that, it seems. Looking forward to next year, and experiencing it all with you guys.
I've got to say, this is only the 2nd podcast I've ever heard in it's entirety in my life, and it is brilliant. I loved every second of it. All I can say is thank you guys for making this happen, I was a little distant from LP and LPA on the last year or so, and this made me so happy to be a LP fan and an LPA member for a few years now...
I never lost my enjoyment of LP, but Mike's candidness in here gave me a whole new level of respect for him as well. It reminds me of why I run LPA in the first place .
It was refreshing to hear him be frank and honest when discussing the promotion and presentation of THP. Kind of said what many people were speculating - that the band and the label disagreed with how the album should be represented to the public. Regarding the new album, it sounds like they are kind of going with the approach they had for MTM, where they laid down vocal ideas over a sparse chord progression. Just that this time, they're doing it in a more refined way. Hoping it's going to be the best album they've done melodically.
According to Mike they're not gonna follow any mentality from previous records . Because when I pretty much said "oh, you're straying away from anything you had before, like ATS then?" he goes "No! Because then it'd be like A Thousand Suns!".
I'm baffled. Mike Shinoda's mum isn't Russian? I've been living in a lie for so many years. Congrats on the Podcast, guys! Great stuff! Hopefully this is the first of more to come.
Awesome job guys! Can't believe he actually is being so candid with respect to label, merch, and some of the behind the scenes of the PR for The Hunting Party. Definitely one of the more interesting interviews with him in a long time. And same with everybody else, excited for the new song-writing approach.
We asked some questions that we felt might be a little gutsy (asking if the label was involved with tracks like What I've Done/Burn It Down etc), but it got Mike to really open up. They were risky, but luckily he came prepared to say anything.
It already happened (in an inappropiate way, to be fair) but it got reverted. By the way, the German page already said his mother is of "European descent". Edit: Give me the timestamp of the statement and I'm going to insert this fact.
What's really surprising was his opening up about the promotion for The Hunting Party, to be honest. Picking the lead single, the video that no one actually cared about, Rebellion as a single, etc. And it was only last year.
Haha. I really didn't mean that they were going for something similar to their past work. Sorry I wasn't clear. I was just saying they were going back to the chord progression & vocals approach they had on MTM, but with a new spin on it so that it wouldn't sound too similar to their past work. Mike's response was kind of humorous though. I really loved the energy you guys had in the podcast. Hopefully we can get one of the guys to do this again with you all. If possible, could you guys ask one of the band members to talk about Rick Rubin and how he helped them find a new sound and the confidence to produce a record later on their own? It's something that is almost never talked about. Even in the Zane Lowe interview he did with Rick, he didn't talk about LP, which is surprising since they made three consecutive albums with him. In a weird way, I think that Rick Rubin and LP were meant to be, considering the similarities of their past, trying to cross genres and cultures. Going out doing basically street promotion locally before they became one of the most influential people in music. I think LP is the perfect band for Rick, but maybe I'm being biased. I feel like the band went to songwriting school with Rick for three albums, and that THP was their final project to show what they've learned by making an album on their own.