Mike Shinoda's debut album, Post Traumatic, hosted a variety of songs that showcased the rollercoaster of emotions that the singer dealt with after the passing of bandmate, Chester Bennington. While at the beginning of the Post Traumatic era, the first few music videos were all filmed and improvised by Shinoda [Place To Start, Over Again, Watching As I Fall], the later singles and subsequent videos got more creative and Make It Up As I Go is definitely one of the standouts. Featuring not only K.Flay on vocals, but Lucas Amador and Concha Núñez as actors, the video succinctly tells a heart-wrenching story while incredible visual effects of layered papers and eye-catching graffiti adorns the whole production.
However, it wasn't just the video itself that turned heads and left fans excited, but the cryptic announcement was made to be uncovered by fans working together to put the together the clues. Mike tweeted a link to gather addresses and proceeded to send pieces of the announcement to different people, with the majority of them working together to decipher the clues on the Linkin Park subreddit or using the hashtag Post Traumatic puzzle on Twitter. The hype surrounding the video when the case was finally solved made it one of the most anticipated videos of any of the singles and foreshadowed the style of effects that would be used in the video.
Interestingly, it's a wonder that the track came to be on the album, as the song was originally meant to be featured on One More Light before being removed from the 2017 release due to not making the cut. In an interview with Kerrang!, Shinoda says, "We wrote this at the end of One More Light, but it wasn't quite right. Months later, I came back to it and rewrote everything other than the chorus. K.Flay is incredible - she's so smart, confident, an incredible writer, and a great performer."
In an interview with Rolling Stone, K.Flay said, “We were talking about how it’s comforting to think that anybody knows what they’re doing but we’re all inventing life moment by moment." She continues,“That’s a headspace I’m in frequently, and I think it was definitely connecting with Mike’s headspace, too. I don’t know if I’d call it an urgency, but Mike had a real sense of purpose,” she says. “I just got the sense he wanted to make things, and I totally get that. I think in the face of all types of uncertainty, it can be affirming and beautiful to make stuff.”
"Grief is a very personal thing," Shinoda commented in a feature with Genius. "As I was making these songs, I realized two things I needed as I processed everything were a.) an ability to process and talk about things directly from my point of view and b.) feeling like I was regaining control of my life, and creating my own momentum."
While the overall tone of the song has underlying themes of loss and self-doubt, the presence of optimism and willingness to carry on still resonate in the lyrics. "Make It Up As I Go is an important song, because it's an acknowledgement that nobody has all the answers, and I certainly don't know where this is going to take me. But I'm more open than ever to the ebbs and flows of the direction," Shinoda stated in a feature with Kerrang!.
Regardless of what Shinoda plans on doing next, we can be sure that he will keep honouring Chester's legacy and allow the fans to grieve and heal alongside him. “I want you guys to know, you are 100 percent allowed to have any feelings you have, and my feelings are about celebration because Chester Bennington was one of the best singers of all time. We were all just fortunate to know him.” It's clear that no matter what, Shinoda will keep making Chester proud.
Listen to the band on Spotify or YouTube. Follow the band on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or visit their official website. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised, help and resources can be found at Buddy Project.org.
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