In this week’s post, I did a quick review of Mike Shinoda’s EP – Post Traumatic. I want to take the chance and say a few more words about the three short but incredible songs and share my opinion and thoughts. Don’t forget to give them a try yourself and keep an eye for Mike’s next move. It is sure to be something great.

Place to start

“Place to Start” is the perfect opening of the Post Traumatic and sets the foundations of what this record will be talking about.  The song shows the struggle and emotional pain Mike had to go through while processing the tragic event, how he had to find a way to overcome the difficult times and figure out what to do next? Understandably,  as you will get from the lyrics of the song, Mike is worried that things will no longer work like they used to (which is also mentioned in the next songs) and he either has to give up on music completely or find a way to make it work in a different way. Chester is an irreplaceable part of Linkin Park and from what I gather by the lyrics and the next two songs, the future of the band might be already decided and they may have reached their final moment.

In terms of sound, the song has elements of old-school hip-hop – telling a story and sharing an experience, but also has a very modern and engaging sound. There is a melodic progress as the song starts smooth and slow and gets faster and stronger with every verse until it reaches it’s peak and goes back to the slower pace to emphasize the message.

It is interesting to note that the song ends with raw, untouched and unaltered recordings of phone calls Mike got from people who are concerned about him and showed him support and love. This reminds me of one of the statements Mike made before the songs came out where he expressed his eternal gratitude to the incredible community of fans and friends who constantly supported him in this tough time.

Over Again

As “Place to start” set the foundations of the topic, “Over Again” goes in depth with the emotional trauma Mike went through. The chorus is a good reminder that when something like this happens you simply cannot just say “goodbye” and keep living your life the normal way. The grief comes in waves and makes it impossible to move on easily.

The first verse of the song goes into detail how much effort Mike and the band had to put in order to get on stage without their beloved bandmember and how Mike almost lost it several times (which was visible during the show and he wasn’t the only one), which gives us the hint that the band will no longer perform together. Or at least not anytime soon. In this way, the song resembles a part two of the previously released “Looking for an answer”.

The second verse goes on to become more aggressive and Mike expresses his frustration that people didn’t think he was real enough in his previous songs and only come to realize the importance and the sincerity of his lyrics now. Finally, he sets the stage for the final song of the EP by expressing his anger towards people who think that this is something that will stop him from doing what he loves.

And everybody that I talk to is like, “wow
Must be really hard to figure what to do now”

Well thank you genius, you think it’ll be a challenge
Only my life’s work hanging in the fucking balance

Mike did what he is best in and delivered some high-quality rap with fast verses and dissing lyrics.

Watching as I fall

My personal favorite song of the EP with stunning visuals, artwork and incredibly passionate and strong-willed lyrics to set the record straight. Mike Shinoda is not going down, he is going to keep dominating the music scene and the rap game as he has always done.

There are countless references in the song, which makes it even more interesting to look into f.x “Excuse me while I kiss the sky /Sing a song of sixpence, pocket full of lies” where the first verse is a references to Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendrix (just a guess) and the second one referring to the classic nursery rhyme. Both wordplays Mike creatively twisted to send his message.

He directly tells people to stop underestimating him and to expect the unexpected – he is not stopping anytime soon. Another proof of that is the next reference – “Singing with the fat lady tell me what’s the time”. The saying “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” which was inspired by the closing acts of Opera shows, where the fat lady’s singing indicated the end of the show. This serves Mike as a way to say – Nope, the show is not over, there is still time and I’m gonna use it and keep doing my thing.

This is by far the most aggressive and passionate song Mike has produced and he openly admits “he can sound cold” when it comes to “Sh*t that’s fifteen years old”, which I am quite sure refers to the constant and annoying complaints the band recieves from people still talking about how Linkin Park strayed away from the sound of Hybrid Theory and Meteora. The honesty with which the reality is spoken about in this songs is on a new level and the dissing is something a lot of people brought onto themselves.

Finally, the song ends with a recording of Mike speaking about what has been going on, expressing his emotions once again and making the clear conclusion that he will keep going and see where the music takes him. Something we are all looking forward to seeing and hearing.

[BONUS]

Looking for an answer

“Looking for an answer” is a song, which Mike wrote affected by the unexpected death of Chester Bennington. He performed it during to tribute concert at Hollywood Bowl and it showed the shock and the void which was left after the tragic event.

Without pointless introductions, the song starts with a strong and meaningful statement:

There’s an emptiness tonight
A hole that wasn’t there before

The emptiness that is left after the frontman’s death is obvious and it was definitely felt by the band and the crowd on the venue. Unfortunately, this hole will always be there, but the verse serves as a reminder (once again) that we shouldn’t take anything for granted and our worlds can turn around unexpectedly.

The rest of the verse goes on to dwell into the emptiness and ends with the statement most of us are familiar with – no matter how many people comfort us and tell us “It will be alright” sometimes we are powerless against the pain.

The chorus strongly resembles “One More Light” and Mike obviously regrets not being able to see that his friend needed help. In a way, he blames himself that he did not prevent this unfortunate event from happening. Just like Chester did about Chris Cornell.

The second verse emphasizes that Chester was an incredible person also explaining how Mike felt when he learned about the tragedy. As he said in several interviews he was in complete disbelieve and the song confirms that he still refuses to accept what has happened.

I see “Looking for an answer” as a prequel to “Over Again”. Both songs deal with accepting and coming to terms with the great loss and emotional breakdown, but “Looking for an answer” shows how Mike felt in the beginning and “Over Again” elaborates on what he had to go through in the process of dealing with the reality.

The song itself is steady without much change of tones and speed and is more of a confession than an actual song. This only makes it even more impactful and haunting since it emphasizes the fact that this is the absolute reality, not a “what if” scenario.

That’s how I interpret the Post Traumatic EP and what I think about the songs. One thing is certain, I am looking forward to seeing what Mike is going to work on next and I am beyond happy he did not allow the constant sorrow to take over and put him down for good. I hope you enjoyed my track by track bonus post, let me know what you think about the album! Find me on social media and keep an eye for my next post if you like what you see.

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