Blogging website Medium have published some questions and answers with Shinoda which have been taken from an AMA on the offshoot site Product Hunt ("Welcome" was featured on the site). There's also a mention of a podcast episode that Shinoda will appear on Also, "Welcome" has landed at #16 on Billboard's "Hot Rock Songs" chart, as reported in this update, which describes Fort Minor as a "rap/rock" project. .\m/
Rock has been changing lately. Maybe "Welcome" could win "Top Rock Song" at the Billboard Music Awards in future ...
Shinoda's been interviewed at Artist Direct by the one and only Rick Florino -- read here. Florino also recently wrote a glowing review of "Welcome", which you can check out here if you missed it.
Has anyone here heard about Keys to the Kingdom being included on the list of songs to be approved for LP's shows in China?
When LP, or any band, goes to China, they have to submit a list of songs they want to play in order to get them approved by the government. Back when LP played China in 2009, they were forced to drop GU and HHH. Now, on the list of songs, Keys To The Kingdom was submitted, along with all the usual songs. Welcome was omitted, though.
First of all, that's pretty fucking stupid (the whole approval thing). Second, I guess we'll be seeing Keys to the Kingdom. It's about damn time they start playing new songs. If only they would drop the Joe Hahn solo and Runaway. I'll be livid if they continue playing that shit the next tour.
Runaway is on there, so that's staying. Pretty much none of the stuff from Joe's Medley is, though, so we'll see about that.
I doubt KTTK will be played, in China at least. I'm pretty sure China doesn't allow any songs with cuss words or anything of the sorts.
Songs like "Session" simply threaten the very foundation of the republic! /s -- "Numb" is probably dangerous, though. Ban that one.
The list is essentially what songs (including snippets of songs, which., confusingly, lacks UIB) the band is allowed to play in China. We've (LPL Staff +1) narrowed it down to having been submitted in January, where the band had orobably decided to rehearse both KTTK and ALITS (the latter we know eventually came through), but ultimately decided on playing FTI and APFMH for whatever reason - no conplaints here. Essentially, the 42 songs on the list are the songs that LP is allowed to play in their setlist in China, which does include GU this time around. It leaves KTTK as an open option, if anything.