admitadly, it was good to hear Mike Shinodas voice on a new record again, and it's nothing to do with the record being hip-hop because, i like hip-hop but for some reason, hearing Mike do other things when it has been years since a Linkin Park record was extremely dissapointing. Overall, it's a good album. With the exception of the rap battle its an extremely overwhelming album. Definatly one of the best Hip-Hop releases this year. I was just interested to see if anyone else was dissapointed by it...
I was disappointed by the album, but only to an extent. Preparing myself to listen to The Rising Tied for the first time, I thoroughly expected advanced song structures. I didn't expect to hear verse-chorus-verse songs on the album because I thought Mike would really want to try something different. He only succeeded in changing up the structure on a couple songs. But I guess that's hip hop. I was also somewhat disappointed in the lyrics. I expected them to be full of metaphors. What I got was pretty straightforward storytelling. That's not bad, but I expected so much more from Mike's personal thesaurus. Overall, though, I was pleased with the album. The only song I don't like is "Petrified" because it's utterly trash. "The Battle" was really pointless, too. Other than those two, the album's wonderful. I think it might change hip hop; not drastically, nor immediately. But it'll eventually change hip hop and the way people look at the construction of hip hop and how it's done. I mean, rapping about partying is one thing; rapping about where you came from is one thing. But to rap about where you came from and actually talk about where you came from instead of randomly blurting out that you have a Benz is worth something and worthwhile.
i agree with the first two threads. but i guess that hip-hop is pretty much just plain storytelling. i think the rason that they didn't go for the metaphoric stuff is because it's too serious for hip-hop. it's easy listening.
I like this album but it does have its up and downs. Yes its nice to hear mike in a new cd and shit, but only about 3-5 songs on the cd are really good wile when he was with linkin park all of the songs were good.
We're all entitled to our opinions, but I disagree with you. Mike Shinoda is basically what makes Linkin Park's sound what it is. Without Mike, the ability to step out of the box they've made with their past releases (with the exception of Collision Course and Reanimation, because they involved collaborations) wouldn't exist. Mike, by far, is the most musically intelligent person of the group. Fort Minor shows that to a better extent, because he produced and mixed the album himself. Linkin Park did back him up when people were saying he shouldn't emcee in a Rock Band and should just play keyboard, but in no way do they back up his intelligence. They support him, but they don't provide it for him. Also, Mike Shinoda is co-producing their upcoming album along with Rick Rubin. The fact that the band trusts him that well and puts so much responsibility on his hands shows that he's beyond capable of doing it. The Rising Tied was an excellent record with the exception of Petrified and The Battle. For him to make such an excellent record gives me high hopes for the new record. It gives me even higher hopes that Rick Rubin is also producing it. If you look in the booklets of Hybrid Theory (wasn't really a booklet) and Meteora, Mike is listed with doing more parts than the rest of the members. He does 3-4 things while the rest of the band does only 1 or 2. He's incredible to say the least.
I agree with Will. Everybody came hard on the album...except for Mike (he had his moments on "Kenji" and "Cigarettes" though). He had a lot of repetitive lyrics on songs (i.e. "Where'd You Go" and "High Road"). I was really impressed on the production. As a producer, I give Mike a 9/10. I can't wait to see what he does on the SOB album.
Maybe it's because of the fact that I don't like rap, but I really didn't like FM. I expected LP-calibur lyrics or at least Xero style rapping. Where'd You Go could've been a better song, but Mike's lyrics, to me, are annoying and pretty pointless. Burgers and ribs? And off topic, but I really hope he goes back to his old LP look for the next album. I hate what he's done with his appearance.
Honestly, I can't help but chuckle everytime someone tries to suggest that without LP, Mike is talentless. If half of you were fans since right after Hybrid Theory came out (like I) you'd realize that Mike is the reason for Linkin Park's sound. Taking one listen to Fort Minor and say..Hybrid Theory, and you will see that the two albums sound considerably alike. Hell.."Feel Like Home" uses Points of Authority scratching effects. The only real difference between the two is that there is less guitar on Fort Minor and it has less of a structure, although not by much. Personally, the Fort Minor record is a great record but I know Mike held back on this and it bothers me. The production is great, and the beats sound pretty awesome, but when you listen to Mike's raps on the album, and then on b-sides..you can tell he was watering his raps down to try and cater to a wider audience. All I can hope is that with this upcoming Linkin Park record, and the next FM record (if it ever happens), Mike will stop trying to be so catering to the masses and actually explore himself lyrically. Infact, the only track that really stood out for me was Kenji. It was personal to Mike, so he didnt make it poppy or anything..it was just 'him' and thats how the whole Fort Minor record should've been. Great record, just needs to be way more personal and complex next time. TRT Score: 8/10 for me.
I'll say that TRT did seem a little rushed and probably not a hard attempt to reach Mikes full potential however I think it's a great album with alot of awesome tracks on it. For example 'The Hard Way', I could listen to that song a million times and never say it gets boring. And to say Mike isn't talented without LP...sorry but thats gotta be one of the most moronic things I've heard in my life. The guy can play fuck knows how many instruments, he can master pro-tools and his artwork is remarkably good. Every track he's even featured on has a sense of advanced musicinal qualities.
Fort Minor actually really impressed me. But I do agree that he held back on some of the tracks. I wish that he had a more serious album, though. Stuff like Kenji, Slip Out The Back, Red to Black, those were the high points of the album. Stuff like Petrified and Remember the Name, those were the low points in my opinion. I completely disagree with those who say that Mikes nothing without Linkin Park. I really did love this album, and I think that Mike has real talent. In fact, hes one of the only rappers that ill listen to. But, I also disagree with the people who say that Linkin Park is nothing without Mike. I think that all the band members work together as a group. Yes, Mike does a lot, but I think that its the collabrative efforts of the whole band that makes Linkin Park what it is.
I give The Rising Tied a 7 out of 10. Not all the songs are too tight, I'd rather listen to the instrumental version because I don't really like Styles of Beyond and not all of Mike's raps are great.
So you like their most blatantly poppy, cheesy, mainstream oriented song but you dont like their other shit? Damn.
Man, FM sucks, I wanna listen to some dude with no voice singing about his 'niggas' and 'hoes', '40's' and 'blunts', making absolutely no sense. [/sarcasm] In case you haven't noticed FM was meaningful music. Have you actually listened to the lyrics, because it's not this bullshit 50 Cent crap assed 'rap' you hear every where.
I almost fell for that. Heh, but you're right, I mean you can't just classify ANY hiphop production by mindlessly plopping it into the immediate most mainstream 50 cent cRap. But yes, if Mike spent more time on it, he wouldave achieved so much more.
FORT MINOR IS AWESOME C'mon i thought TRT was an excellent album and would have to give it a 10/10 HOW COULD YOU NOT!!! Its a bloody excellent record... I agree that Mike has held back which is a real shame cos FM is bloody awesome.... I hope that theres anuder album..