Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park made an appearance on the most recent episode of The Allison Hagendorf Show to talk about the band’s formative years. He referred to the MTV program TRL as “the loudest thing he had ever seen” when the conversation shifted to hybrid theory. “Pop was experiencing a great time. To be honest, pop music of days is far more refined and well-integrated than it was in the past. In addition, there were a few stations with tastemakers breaking things and popularizing them. Indeed, TRL did exist. I therefore avoided and watched TRL, and when I did see it, I detested it. I thought this ferocious, yelling fanaticism was kind of creepy. I understand that it’s the most crucial factor, therefore if you succeed in it, you’ll gain popularity. When you appear on this program…
He went on: Then, as I began to see my favorite band appear on it, I thought, “Oh my God, okay, hold on a minute.” People are just as enthusiastic to see Jay-Z as they are to see Britney Spears, and this event has room for these other things. I have to process that mentally. When the invitation to see the concert came through, I kind of went along for the experience. I’ll tell you what, I’ve never heard anything quite like this. The way the concert was set up, you had dozens and dozens of people seated right next to you, all of them screaming and forcefully expressing how much they loved everything that was going on.
Shinoda said that he took some time to get along with the late artist during their conversation about him. About his pal, he remarked: It took us a minute to get along well with Chester when we initially met. We were all a little awkward and green, I believe. And to be really honest, myself and a few others take a time to get along with people. I just am that way. He is really unique. I mean, while I knew Rob Bourdon quite well, I didn’t really know Phoenix [Dave Farrell], our bass player. Brad Delson and Joe Hahn were people I knew well. Chester was a chameleon when he joined the band.
Chester Was Able to Perform “In Various Styles”. The rock star, well-known for his voice and long screams, seemed to be able to mimic other rock stars as well as sing in a variety of styles. Shinoda went on, remembering his late friend’s singing: “However, he is an extremely talented vocalist who possesses the ability to sing in a variety of styles. In one moment, he could be channeling Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode, and in the next, he could be channeling Perry Farrell, and yet another artist entirely. A vocalist will literally change his tone to sound more like them merely by calling it out. The intention was to identify what I was doing from the start if I had realized it was called producing. However, I was simply working it out with him as we went, so I was ignorant of it.
Their Relationship Was “Difficult.” Despite having been good friends for a long time, the two had a difficult beginning to their relationship. If Chester was a difficult guy to deal with or get along with, Shinoda went into detail. The rocker claims that they had a tense bond in the band’s early years, during the “Hybrid Theory” period, though not always because they were unsure of how things would turn out.
