Fort Minor won VMA
posted by Jas, 08/31/06
Fort Minor has won the Ringtone of the Year award for 'Where'd You Go' at the 2006 Video Music Awards

Linkin Park at Crank premiere
posted by Jas, 08/29/06
Pics of Chester, Mike and Joe at the Los Angeles premiere of Crank. The movie opens in US on September 1, Chester has a cameo in the movie as the pharmacy dude. Update: Pics have been replaced with the untagged version, thanks to LinkinParkr0xZ.

more pics

Chester at Metal Skool show
posted by Jas, 08/29/06
Wenn reports that Chester attended the Metal Skool show last night in Los Angeles

more pics

Linkin Park star Chester Bennington rocked on at Los Angeles' trendy Metal Skool show last night (28 Aug, 2006) when he joined the resident heavy rock tribute act onstage at the Key Club.With Paris Hilton briefly among the crowd, the Crawling singer followed Kelly Clarkson's turn two weeks ago and joined the colourful rockers onstage for a rendition of Guns N' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle. One Metal Skool regular says, "He was thrilled when he was spotted in the crowd and then asked to join the group onstage."

LP, FM Summer Sonic autographs
posted by Jas, 08/29/06
MTV Japan has pics of Linkin Park and Fort Minor's autographs from the Summer Sonic Festival.

Linkin Park catalog, exclusive bonus tracks & digital booklets now available on iTunes
posted by Jas, 08/29/06
Starting today fans can downlod songs from "Meteora," "Hybrid Theory" and "Reanimation" for just 99 cents per song on iTunes. Update from LP Newsletter: Please note that the CD/DVD versions of both Live in Texas & Collision Course WILL NOT be available in Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia until next week due to technical issues. However, the audio versions of these albums WILL be available today. Click here for Linkin Park Catalog + Exclusives on iTunes.

Multiple Grammy award-winning band Linkin Park (www.linkinpark.com) and Apple® today announced the availability of the entire Linkin Park catalog on the iTunes® Music Store (www.itunes.com). For the first time, fans of the band can download their favorite Linkin Park songs for just 99 cents per song, or the band's albums with new, exclusive digital booklets. The hit albums "Meteora," "Hybrid Theory" and "Reanimation" include two bonus tracks along with a track that is exclusive to the albums on iTunes. iTunes will also offer both audio and video downloads of the concerts that are currently available as the "Live in Texas" and "Collision Course" CD and DVD releases.

"We were really excited when iTunes told us that we were one of their most requested acts," said Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park. "We will never ignore our fans and the timing seemed right to make our music available, with some special additions."

"We're thrilled to bring Linkin Park to iTunes Music Store customers around the world," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "Fans are going to love being able to purchase the entire Linkin Park catalog and exclusive tracks available only on the iTunes Music Store."

Linkin Park and producer Rick Rubin are currently working on the band's third full-length studio album, and this month debuted one of their new songs at Summer Sonic in Japan where they headlined two shows for over 85,000 fans. -- Full press release

Additional report from Billboard

Linkin Park hits iTunes, new album not quite ready

Linkin Park, one of the few major acts that had yet to make its music available via Apple's iTunes Music Store, has changed course and pacted with the service. Three of the group's albums are available beginning today (Aug. 29), each with two bonus tracks and a third iTunes exclusive cut.

In addition, iTunes is selling the video content featured on the group's "Live in Texas" and "Collision Course" DVDs. We were really excited when iTunes told us that we were one of their most requested acts," group member Mike Shinoda says. "We will never ignore our fans and the timing seemed right to make our music available, with some special additions."

In late July, Metallica made its music available on iTunes for the first time, leaving the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and Garth Brooks among the remaining major holdouts.

Meanwhile, Linkin Park is still at work on the follow-up to 2003's "Meteora" with producer Rick Rubin. The as-yet-untitled new album was originally expected by the end of the year via Warner Bros., "but at this point we don't see that happening," Shinoda told fans last week during an online chat. "We're doing really well, but we just need a little more time."

"We have narrowed it down to about 30-50 songs, and some of those are heavy, some are softer and some are in between," he continued. "So far it has a different sound that I cannot describe. It sounds like it's older, but not vintage. More organic in some spots, like just yesterday we recorded a song with no samples that is completely raw. Other songs are full of samples."

One new song, provisionally named "Qwerty," was debuted earlier this month in Japan. "We did those lyrics on the plane on the way to Japan," Shinoda said. "I'm not sure if it'll make the album, but we liked the song enough to play it."

In related news, Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington makes a cameo in the film "Crank," which opens Friday (Sept. 1) in U.S. theaters.

The Doors Celebrate New 'Perception'
posted by Jas, 08/27/06
Chester talks about the Doors in the upcoming Doors Anthology

In an essay to be released in the upcoming Doors Anthology, 'The Doors in Their Own Words,' several of today's greats, including Scott Weiland, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, and Daron Malakian of System of a Down talk about the band's influence. "It's something that will always be timeless," Bennington says. "If it came out today it would be amazing, just as amazing as it was when it came out then. Certain types of music and certain groups will go on forever."

Mike's comment on Bon Jovi
posted by Jas, 08/25/06
New Zealand's The Rock FM did a special show celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bon Jovi's breakthrough album Slippery When Wet today and there are interviews and comments from stars who have been touched in some way by Bon Jovi including Mike Shinoda who said, "I was a huge fan of Bon Jovi and their album, I loved them. I had my cousin, who's good at drawing, to draw me a huge poster of Jon Bon Jovi, which was cool. But it became a bit weird and then became cool again." Thanks to breakdown conspiracy for the transcript.

Audio Download: High quality of QWERTY
posted by Jas, 08/25/06
LP Association has a high quality mp3 of QWERTY up for download.. whoa! ho! much better! *bangs head* \m/

Pic of Mike
posted by Jas, 08/24/06
MarissaE found this picture of Mike when he visited the Ch 10's Video Hits studio during Fort Minor's tour in Australia in March

Video Download: Summer Sonic Festival - 'Faint'
posted by Jas, 08/24/06
Chesterchaz found the link to the 'Faint' video performed by Linkin Park at the Summer Sonic Festival, it could be the video to be posted on MTV Japan website tomorrow. Download from rapidshare, megaupload or turboupload

Linkin Park in Taiwan in 2007
posted by Jas, 08/23/06
kevinshih reports that according to concert organiser, BBH, Linkin Park is coming to Taiwan in 2007. Please remember that the new album will only be coming out next year tour dates may change.

Mike's LPU chat transcript
posted by Jas, 08/22/06
Thanks to Legacy at LPU for the transcript, here are some of questions asked.

Re: the new album
i don't know yet. we're still working on it. we have narrowed it down to about 30-50 songs, and some of those are heavy, some are softer, and some are in between. origianlly, we thought we'd have an album out at the end of this year, but at this point we don't see that happening. we're doing really well, but we just need a little more time.

i don't know how soon...that's why we thought we'd play the new song live, to give you a little insight into how things are going. it will sound familiar, and you will recognize it as LP; but so far it has a different sound that i cannot describe. it sounds like it's older, but not vintage. more organic in some spots, like just yesterday we recorded a song with no samples that is completely raw. other songs are full of samples.

lots of variety at this point--but we don't know which songs will make the final album. this is the most fun i have ever had recording an LP album. it's been great. rick rubin is a great coach--he just keeps us pointed in the right direction, and we push as hard as we can. our music taste (LP and rick) are so eclectic, it's fun to work together.

Re: QWERTY
the song known as "qwerty" -- a rough title BTW -- is actually still in progress. we did those lyrics on the plane on the way to japan! i'm not sure if it'll make the album, but we liked the song enough to play it!

Re: Collaborations
on the next album - collaborations? we don't really ever do collabos on our proper studio albums, and i think we're going to stick to that for now. we don't have any plans to work with other artists at this point.

Re: Ballads
i thought "easier to run" might have been a power ballad. but not that we have any intention of making one--that's just what the song decided to be. but if you mean power ballad like whitesnake / poison / LA guns / boston, then maybe we're not ready for that yet.

Re: Genre of the new album
i just think the styles we're mixing right now are all over the place. we have really been pushing things outside the box. but even like my fort minor album--it's a hip hop album, but a lot of the stuff isn't conventional. the LP album won't sound like FM. but it has it's own unique sound that still sounds like LP--just different.

Re: Losing their fans
was it 3.5 years? it doesn't feel like it...but the xero song (reading my eyes) we played recently in japan is almost 10 years old, so i guess it's just a reminder how time flies...to answer your question i think the fans will be there if they like the music. it doesn't metter how long you're gone, if fans like what they're hearing, they'll be fans. look at green day or metallica.

Re: New Orleans project
that's just starting. we're going out there september 7-12 (it's just after the one year anniversary of the hurricane)... for those who don't know, go to friendsandhelpers.org and click on the hurricane katrina link i hope you all can help out in some way--if you're in LA, drop stuff off at mr. hahn's shop (SURU on MELROSE) -- you can also shop at target online and buy stuff to be sent directly so go to friendsandhelpers.org and find out more. fort minor, linkin park, music for relief, nine inch nails, DC shoes, ecko, and others are supporting it. it's basically a back-to-school charity to get school supplies to the kids who need them / who were displaced by the hurricane

Re: Solo project
it was fun to do. i had a great time working on different types of music and doing my own thing. it was a nice break. the only disadvantage is that if there are any criticisms, they fall on me individually. but that's okay, i'm proud of the record and when people tell me they like it, that's a great feeling.

Re: Reading My Eyes
we actually just got the idea while we were in rehearsal. once we figured out the first few notes, the whole song came back to us. that was pretty cool, seeing as how we hadn't played it in almost 8 years maybe more? we actually had to download it online to remember how the song started!

Re: His lyrics
nothing is fiction. everything is from real life. a lot of it is made of morphed stories that are part chester and part me, because we write together sometimes. since we're both writing from our own experiences, the ideas of the songs tend to blend together in that way. we basically just try to depict the root emotion as accurately as possible. for example: my memory of a fight with someone, and chester's memory of a fight with someone could have very little in common at face value. but the root emotions of maybe not being respected or feeling disappointed -- those are the same

Re: 'Remember The Name' single
warner bros. is heading the charge on the REMEMBER THE NAME single...we think that it's a nice way to go out on this album--the song has been such a cult hit in the sports world, and people all over have requested it for other things. we're hoping to do a new video for it--the concept for it is really cool, i think. i hope that works out.

Re: His upcoming art gallery
i am planning to do my first galley art show (exciting!) -- it will be in LA. i don't know the date yet, but i want to show all the original paintings from the fort minor artwork, plus a handfull of new ones. all the paintings are acrylic / spraypaint / ink on canvas, and range from 24x24" to 36x48" in size. there will be paintings from private collections (mostly from my bandmates) and a bunch that none of you have ever seen. oh yeah, and i'll give more info on that art show when i get it together -- details on fortminor.com and myspace.com/fortminor

Re: Don Gilmore and Rick Rubin
don was alot of fun to work with on HT and meteora because he's really silly in the studio, and he makes great, exciting rock records. he has a very distinctive style rick is a legend. he's one of the most respected producers of all time. we can listen to a song one time, and immediately give you five things that you can do to it that will make it better. he knows his way around just about every type of music, and can really get your ideas and momentum going

Re: LPU 6 CD
don't know yet, but we want to make it REALLY good. more info to come, but i hope we can make it one of the best CDs yet.

Summer Sonic Festival on MTV Japan
posted by Jas, 08/21/06
Starting September 18 to 22 at 9 pm MTV Japan will be showing a series of interviews with the bands who performed at the Summer Sonic Festival including live reports and backstage reports, then on September 23 and 24 starting at 12 pm, 12 hours of live performances will be shown on MTV Japan, it's a collection of highlights, not an entire set of each band, I think, I'm using an online translator, any mistake in the info please let me know, all the details here. I've alerted my friend and she will try to record any LP interview or concert.

Meanwhile the MTV Japan website has started showing selected full song videos from the festival, no Linkin Park video yet, check the site again on Friday to see if they've added one. In the meantime watch Metallica's 'Creeping Death' *bangs head* \m/ die! die! die! \m/

Fort Minor won Teen Choice Award
posted by Jas, 08/21/06
Fort Minor won the Choice Rap Track award for 'Where'd You Go' at last night's 2006 Teen Choice Awards. Congratulations guys!

'Where'd You Go' nominated for VMA
posted by Jas, 08/18/06
I didn't know this till Mike mentioned it in the KROQ interview :-), Fort Minor's 'Where'd You Go' has been nominated for Ringtone of the Year award at the 2006 Video Music Awards, better than nothing right? LOL!. Click here to vote. The event will be telecast live on MTV on August 31 at 8 pm ET/PT, pre-show starts at 6:30 pm

New LP album in 2007
posted by Jas, 08/18/06
Breakdown Conspiracy reports that according to LP Fuse the new Linkin Park album will be released early 2007, this was revealed in an interview with Mike and Anna Shinoda on KROQ, details here, make sure you ask Mike for more details during the LPU chat next Tuesday. I kinda expected it, with Mike working non-stop and being the perfectionist that the guys are I knew there is no way they're gonna rush it. I say we bug the guys and demand the release of Chester's solo album while we wait, what say you? Update: you can listen to a streaming audio and download the file here, thanks to HybridMinor for the link.

LPU chat with Mike
posted by Jas, 08/17/06
From LPU Newsletter: Mike Shinoda will be chatting live with LP Underground members on Tuesday, August 22nd at 11:00am PDT! This is your chance to ask Mike everything you have been wanting to know about the LP recording process, what you can expect on the new LP album, Fort Minor, or anything you like. To chat with Mike, go to COMMUNITY and click on "Enter the Chat". The chat will last approximately 30 minutes so get there early.

LPU Interview with Mike Shinoda
LPU member mislvsches got her interview questions answered on video by Mike Shinoda. Mike talked about which artists he looks up to, his favorite TV shows, his craziest meet & greet story, and more. Log on to LPUnderground.com to see the video. Correction: It's not on the site yet, if you're a member you'll receive the link to the video in your LPU Newsletter.

LP Supports Friends and Helpers
posted by Jas, 08/17/06
From LP Newsletter: Linkin Park, Fort Minor and Music for Relief have teamed up with the non-profit organization FRIENDS AND HELPERS to help provide and hand out school supplies to students of various New Orleans Schools. The 17 schools in the Louisiana Recovery school district are being rebuilt after being damaged severely by hurricane Katrina and the resulting floods. Schools in the Recovery Districts are those that need the most academic and financial help.

This Friday August 18th Mike Shinoda will appear on Los Angeles radio station KROQ's the Kevin and Bean show to announce the bands' participation in the event. They plan on traveling to the schools to begin handing out supplies to school students on September 10, 11, and 12th. Visit www.KROQ.com to listen to Kevin and Bean if you are not in the LA area. For further information please visit www.friendsandhelpers.org

Celebrating 20 yrs of Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet
posted by Jas, 08/16/06
New Zealand's The Rock FM will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bon Jovi's breakthrough album Slippery When Wet on August 25 at 1 pm. The show will have have interviews and comments from stars who have been touched in some way by Bon Jovi including Mike Shinoda.

Audio Download: Summer Sonic After
posted by Jas, 08/16/06
Linkin-Photo has the mp3 of the full Summer Sonic After show which you can download here, if the site doesn't work for you, you can download the show at megaupload. If you want the songs in separate files go to this rapidshare link to download them (WinRaR required), thanks to Chesterchaz for uploading it. Now if you want to download the full mp3 of just QWERTY you can download it here or listen to a streaming file here or at You Tube here, here and here. Thanks to the original person who captured the show, whoever you are. Also thanks to Patrick, Ftpfreak, Feenix, Bear, Andy, Anisyah, Ryan and Sarah Jane for your emails, you guys rock! \m/. Update: Lyrics for QWERTY here

Chester the pharmacy dude
posted by Jas, 08/15/06
Anders reports that Chester has been credited as the pharmacy dude in "Crank" at IMDb.

New LP song.... not!
posted by Jas, 08/15/06
A few people have asked about the "new Linkin Park song" posted at YouTube here, it's not, Chester and Mike did a track called 'Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This)' available on Handsome Boy Modelling School CD called "White People" which was released in 2004. The footage is from an old LP concert, savvy? Update: Chester93 wrote in to say that this Chester's part is called 'Hardly Breathe', it's a remix of 'Rock and Roll' by Hydroponikz, you can download the full mp3 of this part here.

QWERTY video
posted by Jas, 08/14/06
sqalljapan and fabiofky have posted at YouTube video clips of some of the songs Linkin Park played at the Summer Sonic Festival including the QWERTY song and Chester singing 'Where'd You Go' during the Fort Minor set. Click on their username for more clips of the other songs. Both LPA and LP Brazil have the clips up for download so I'm not gonna waste my time grabbing and uploading them again. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

Summer Sonic Festival Photos II
posted by Jas, 08/13/06
Sunday's photos from the Summer Sonic Festival are up, Fort Minor's pics here LP pics here. Tokyo set list below