Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda reacted to the press being critical of the band in a new Anthony Fantano interview.
“The metal press has changed very little in the last 20 years. They are the fundamentalists that they’ve always been. And you can hate that and be like, ‘Well, that genre is just never evolving.’
“Or, there is actually a beauty to that. I remember being 16-17 years old, and when I loved a group, and then I’d see their sticker on some idiot’s folder – I’d love the group less.
“It was not the group’s fault, and I do it because that’s just how my brain worked, and how we acted, as kids. And it was immature but it’s a little noble, you’re just gonna do the exact same thing a million times until you’re so good at it.
“Maybe I appreciate it because I could never be that person, I could never do the exact same thing over and over and over to get that good.”
Anthony responded, “Speaking of the comments that you were just making about the evolution of the metal press and also perceptions of the popularity of artists as a young music fan – do you feel any of that has shifted for the positive in the internet age?
I know that at least as someone who’s now deep into my 30s, these conversations around like who’s a sellout, and who isn’t, have mostly washed out. Granted a lot of those conversations have now been replaced by conspiratorial tin-foil-hat industry-plant-type shit, but the whole accusation of selling out thing, and authenticity, and not liking something because other people like it – do you feel like that’s less of a factor?
Shinoda shot back, “I think it’s less of a factor. I don’t pay any attention to the conspiracy part because it’s a small group of people coming up with weird reasons to think the way they think. And the other thing too is there are people who are moving things forward in those same lanes.
“Just the fact that Poppy has become what she’s become, and what’s that dude’s name… is it Ghostemane? Anyway, the point is I don’t want to go down this weird music critic genre thing. What you had asked earlier was how do I relate to genre-blending and bending in music now.
“There was a point at which genre meant a lot, and now genre means nothing. If you start talking about genre, that’s why I get frustrated with what we were just talking about, it’s because I don’t actually care.
“I don’t really care at all about what genre a thing is, I just want to listen to what I want to listen to based on my mood.” Ultimate-Guitar transcribed his comments.
