{"id":11166,"date":"2018-06-11T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altwire.net\/?p=11166"},"modified":"2023-12-06T06:40:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T11:40:03","slug":"album-review-mike-shinoda-post-traumatic-lp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/\u043e\u0431\u0437\u043e\u0440-\u0430\u043b\u044c\u0431\u043e\u043c\u0430-\u043c\u0430\u0439\u043a-\u0448\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0434\u0430-\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\/","title":{"rendered":"[Album Review] Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic [LP]"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to the Oxford dictionary, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is \u201c\u2026a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and to the outside world.\u201d<\/em> In the months that followed the shocking and truly unexpected passing of \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/a><\/strong> front man \u0427\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440 \u0411\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u0442\u043e\u043d<\/a> in July 2017<\/strong>, the surviving band members and many of their fans likely encountered varying forms of PTSD, with many struggling to accept his passing and wondering exactly what impact this loss would have not just on the band members, but their creative, musical and personal futures as well.<\/p>\n

Nowhere is this pull between yin and yang and the struggle to find a path forward illustrated more personally or beautifully than on the aptly named \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/em> (LP) \u2013 due for release June 15\u0439<\/sup> \u2013 which was developed over a several month period following Chester\u2019s passing. This collection of 16 raw and in the moment songs follows the release of the \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/em> (EP) which was released on January 25. On Post Traumatic, <\/em>listeners serve as de facto grief counselors following Mike on his journey, with every song serving as a counseling session for the \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong> singer, an in the moment statement of where his headspace may have been during the particular period that song was written. There\u2019s a certain amount of confusion, anger, denial and guilt that pervades the first half of the album as our narrator struggles to accept a new life that he never wanted, imagined, or even asked for. In losing Chester, Mike lost someone he not only considered a best friend, but a brother and a longtime collaborator as well. Anyone who has ever lost someone of massive importance to them can attest that in the weeks and months that follow said passing, the shattered life that comes after that tragic loss can sometimes be filled with promising ups, and sudden devastating downs that will knock the wind completely out of your sails.<\/p>\n

The past 18 months have certainly proven this point as we\u2019ve began to shed a light on the culture of \u043f\u0441\u0438\u0445\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435 \u0437\u0434\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c\u0435<\/a>, and our urgent need to erase the stigma surrounding it while discussing the effect such an illness can have on the human mind, even for those in the limelight who have been portrayed to \u201chave it all\u201d. There\u2019s this ignorant belief that money, fame and success can bring happiness, and if the deaths of Robin Williams<\/strong>, \u041a\u0440\u0438\u0441 \u041a\u043e\u0440\u043d\u0435\u043b\u043b<\/a><\/strong>, \u0427\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440 \u0411\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u0442\u043e\u043d<\/strong>, Avicii<\/strong>, Kate Spade<\/strong>, and most recently Anthony Bourdain<\/strong> have showcased anything, is that sometimes people live with pain that is hidden behind a convincing mask of happiness and contentment. As someone who has suffered from mental health struggles, suicidal ideation and depression since a young age, this is a battle I, and many others likely know all too well.<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/em>, \u041c\u0430\u0439\u043a \u0428\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/a><\/strong> has taken the admirable and inspiring first steps of bringing his battle to the forefront. While he has been careful to admit that he never suffered from the demons Chester had, Mike showcases an incredible openness on this album to discuss his struggles to function without his best friend, and the process it took to learn how to be happy and have fun again. Rather than grieve in silence, Mike has removed the veil and his decision to do so has proven helpful for those struggling to overcome their own personal losses. In the intro track \u201cPlace to Start\u201d, Mike confronts this \u2018new normal\u2019 head on as he explores his uncertainty over how to continue his life without his best friend, when so much of it was tied to the work they created together:<\/p>\n

\u201cDid somebody else define me? Can I put the past behind me? Do I even have a decision? Feeling like I’m living in a story already written. Am I part of a vision made by somebody else? Pointing fingers at villains but I’m the villain myself\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s on the unflinchingly auto-biographical \u201cOver Again\u201d where Mike discusses, in the moment, his fear and anxiety before and after the Hollywood Bowl show, or on \u201cNothing Makes Sense Anymore\u201d where he paints a picture of a personal world turned upside down, it is clear to the listener that the journey to get to the point of this album has been a difficult one. It may be tough for most to contemplate the world Mike must have on his shoulders and the difficult questions about the band and his own future that he must now face. How do you figure out the answers to the questions you never wanted to find yourself facing in the first place? This is made all the more challenging by the fact that grief can be both deceiving and confusing. Grief can lure you into a false sense of security, thinking you\u2019re finally okay, only to tackle you when you least expect it, as vividly described in the track \u201cOver Again\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cI get tackled by the grief at times that I would least expect<\/em>. I know what I should be doing when I’m singing but instead. We’ll be playing through a song and I’d remember in my head. Sometimes, sometimes you don’t say goodbye once. You say goodbye over and over and over again\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By the time the eerie and hauntingly beautiful \u201cBrooding\u201d instrumental comes to a close and the intro piano notes of \u201cPromises I Can\u2019t Keep\u201d come in, Mike Shinoda is staring hard at his new reflection, facing the past and future head on, beginning the song with a question of \u201cwhat\u2019s the difference between a man and a monster? Is it somewhere between I can and I want to?\u201d<\/em> \u00a0Feeling guilt for the decisions he is being forced to make, he lays bare his struggle over a beat slightly reminiscent of \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cGood Goodbye\u201d, delivering a message to his fans and bandmates: \u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve got no worse enemy than the fear of what\u2019s still unknown, and the time\u2019s come to realize there will be, promises I can\u2019t keep.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This letter to his band continues on the next track and album\u2019s lead single, \u201cCrossing a Line\u201d, a song written by Mike out of the fear his bandmates may consider his decision to make his own music as a betrayal. Over the chorus he pleads for understanding as he sings \u201cThey’ll tell you I don’t care anymore, and I hope you’ll know that’s a lie. Cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for, but to get there means crossing a line, so I’m crossing a line\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

After the optimistic feeling of that track it\u2019s easy to believe that the second half of the album will finish on a positive note. But Mike quickly reminds us how quickly positive feelings can come crashing down, as he explains his day to day struggle to live with his grief on the powerful \u201cHold It Together\u201d. Discussing the awkwardness of being offered sympathies for Chester at a child\u2019s birthday party and the effect it had on his mood, he asks for patience as he speaks to an unknown character (presumably his wife) explaining \u201cI\u2019m just trying to hold my shit together, together darling. I don\u2019t know what else to try, pretend I\u2019m in control, but I\u2019m just trying to hold my shit together, together darling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The effort to carry on can often leave a person feeling drained, celebrating the small victories of getting through the day to day life, but it is often at night that the mind lets down its guard and the sad thoughts come back to play. Dreams can remind us of the past that can no longer be, tragedies that we have already faced and the futures that we fear. On the tenth track \u201cGhosts\u201d, Shinoda is haunted by the unexplained, and the unknown: \u201cAnd when the \u043e\u0433\u043d\u0438<\/a> go down, I see things I can\u2019t explain, calling out my name. The lights go down; holding every memory close, tonight is for our ghosts.\u201d<\/em> This track makes beautiful use of metaphors, as Mike appears to not just be referring to ghosts in the paranormal sense, but also to refer to refer to the memories of lives that are now gone.<\/p>\n

With such a strong body of work already featured within the first 10 songs, it would have been easy to end the album on that note and have it serve as a brutally honest snapshot of the chaos that existed in his life within the last 11 months. But as the sonic journey in many of the early tracks has already suggested, this album was never just about Shinoda\u2019s walk through the darkest period of his life. No, this album, even more so than his previous solo effort (\u0424\u043e\u0440\u0442-\u041c\u0430\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0440<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s 2005 The Rising Tied<\/em>) is Mike at his most creatively unrestrained. Produced and written almost entirely by Mike Shinoda, with only 4 of the 16 tracks containing guest appearances and producers, \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/em> showcases a Shinoda who is free to make his own decisions lyrically and musically without outside suggestions, and the resulting work benefits greatly from it.<\/p>\n

I feel that Mike has always been underrated as a writer and producer and his knack for finding the perfect sound, guest vocalists and performances is illustrated fantastically on \u201cMake It Up As I Go\u201d which features the incredibly unique and talented K. Flay<\/strong>. Some may recognize her from her 2016 hit \u201cBlood In The Cut\u201d, and much like the very inspired choice to feature \u041a\u0438\u0430\u0440\u0430<\/strong> \u043d\u0430 \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong>\u2019s 2017 hit \u201cHeavy\u201d, K.Flay<\/strong>\u2019s incredibly unique and soulful voice lends textures to this track that makes it one of the most memorable on the album. Mike has always been strongest as a pop songwriter (after all, he\u2019s helped craft many of \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong>\u2019s biggest hits and wrote much of \u0415\u0449\u0435 \u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0442<\/a><\/em>) and \u201cMake It Up As I Go\u201d certainly plays off of these strengths. In between K.Flay<\/strong>\u2019s soulful performances, Shinoda raps in a partially sung style about the instability he now faces and the need to \u2018make his own lane\u2019 before diving into the track\u2019s prechorus, stating \u201cand they\u2019re asking me if I can see the darkness down below, and I know it\u2019s true I say I do, but half the time I don\u2019t\u2026\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

Being pulled to different extremes is seemingly a repeated motif on this record, which is demonstrated both lyrically and musically on the final five tracks. Perhaps the chaotic genre-shifting nature of this record was deliberate, but despite all the twists and turns that should have prepared me for it, I was still caught completely off guard by \u201cLift Off\u201d. In this track, Mike returns to the nerdy battle rap persona that has existed on many of Linkin Park\u2019s earliest records but seemed to be retired in the last decade in favor of a more blunt approach. Containing a very space like and dreamy atmosphere instrumentally, Shinoda lifts off into the stratosphere and fights back against the idea that this tragedy will make him retire. Rapping lines like \u201clift off like I\u2019m Virgin Galactic, my Richard\u2019s too Branson to fuck with you bastards\u201d<\/em>, he displays his humorous side, whilst recalling early \u0413\u0438\u0431\u0440\u0438\u0434\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0442\u0435\u043e\u0440\u0438\u044f<\/strong>\/\u041a\u0441\u0435\u0440\u043e<\/strong> era imagery with lines like \u201cEasy as a standard anti-gravity backflip, satellite tracking can\u2019t map out my tactics, I spit the same shit they split an atom in half with\u201d<\/em>, completing the verse with a creative line about the Space Shuttle Challenger that I won\u2019t spoil here. It\u2019s one of my favorite verses Mike\u2019s done since the early 2000\u2019s (although short!) and anyone who thought the classic Mike who wrote \u201cHigh Voltage\u201d was gone will be happy to know he can still bring it.<\/p>\n

MGK<\/a><\/strong> delivers a solid verse, with some fantastic wordplay but unfortunately despite his ability on the mic and his obvious talent, he ends up being the weaker of the two features on the song. The one two punch of a recharged Shinoda, and gorgeous dream-like vocal performance of \u0427\u0438\u043d\u043e \u041c\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043d\u043e<\/a><\/strong> makes the first half of the song the most memorable. This is not intended to be a knock on MGK<\/strong>, but I personally would\u2019ve wanted a second verse from Mike as the return to scientific imagery in Mike\u2019s raps had me feeling nostalgic and craving a fresh spin of \u201cHigh Voltage\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s Going Down\u201d, or even the \u041a\u0441\u0435\u0440\u043e <\/strong>Demo Tapes. This track felt like it should\u2019ve been a spotlight for Mike, and will certainly be a treat for \u0424\u043e\u0440\u0442-\u041c\u0430\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0440<\/strong> fans, much like the following track \u201cI.O.U\u201d where over a gangsta rap beat with machine gun percussion, the unflinching emcee expresses \u201cI don\u2019t need your respect, I\u2019ve got history. I\u2019m \u201881 Reagan with that nonsense miss me, father like Francis, Anakin or John Misty, not to be touched sucka \u2013 Tell \u2018em take an I.O.U!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s something quite inspirational about the way Mike has rebounded from a year that he lyrically has referred to as \u201cfucked up\u201d<\/em> and of which he couldn\u2019t wait to end (as sung on the synthesizer heavy \u201cWorld\u2019s On Fire\u201d), and it\u2019s something worthy of note here. Confronted with the possibility that his musical career could be in shambles, Mike very well could\u2019ve looked at the reality that was now facing him and decided that a several year vacation from the music business was in order. Nobody would\u2019ve blamed him in that situation, and certainly when the loss of \u0427\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440 \u0411\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0433\u0442\u043e\u043d<\/strong> happened last July, it was what many had expected would occur. Instead, he went down the road less traveled and turned to the only thing he knew how to control \u2013 his art. From the depths of a tragic loss, \u041c\u0430\u0439\u043a \u0428\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/strong> clawed his way out, bruised and bloodied but stronger than ever before and in turn created a hauntingly beautiful representation of his struggles.<\/p>\n

Sure this album doesn\u2019t feel like a \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong> \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0424\u043e\u0440\u0442-\u041c\u0430\u0439\u043d\u043e\u0440<\/strong> record, nor did it take the 18 months or multiple rewrites lyrically that a \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong> record usually undergoes in the studio, but listening to the album\u2019s 16 tracks you get the feeling that it never needed to be. Instead, it\u2019s a journey which winds confusingly through sorrow, despair, resolution, and happiness. Mike addresses this on the final track \u201cCan\u2019t Hear You Now\u201d where he tells the audience \u201dsomedays it doesn\u2019t take much to bring me down, right now I\u2019m floating above it all\u201d<\/em> letting the world know that after a tough year, he\u2019s finally begun to be happy again, when he raps \u201cand I got a caption for anybody asking, that is: I\u2019m feeling fucking fantastic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps for \u041b\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0438\u043d \u041f\u0430\u0440\u043a<\/strong> fans, and those currently struggling with their own losses, those very words can be a statement of hope. A reminder that as tough as it may be some days, and as hard as it may be to lose the ones we care deepest about, one day the pain will hurt a little bit less, and that someday we too can feel that same level of optimism. For nearly 20 years, in the lyrics he sung, Chester\u2019s pain and inner fight felt like our own, and while he is no longer with us, it is safe to say he\u2019d want us all to be happy and to take care of ourselves.<\/p>\n

So, here\u2019s to healing, taking better care of ourselves and most importantly: feeling fucking fantastic. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Purchase \u041f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/em>Here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to the Oxford dictionary, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is \u201c\u2026a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as … \u0427\u0438\u0442\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0434\u0430\u043b\u0435\u0435<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,1463,36],"class_list":["post-11166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-featured","tag-mike-shinoda","tag-notables","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altwire.net\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}