Had a great time at Sundance this past weekend.  This was the premiere of the film with the new score.  All the award-winning showings of the movie up to this point have been with the previous score, and the reviews have been amazing…so I was a bit nervous to see how critics reacted to it with the new music.  Needless to say, I was relieved to see that people still liked it, some saying they even liked it more with the new music.

I went to the premiere with an old friend, Ken Block.  Most of you probably know him from this.  Ken started DC shoes back in the day, and is a pretty inspirational and fun dude.

With the premiere over, and a change to relax, we got together with some mutual friends to hang.  Met Steve Berra.  Awesome dude, I could have talked to him for hours.

Did a little press too, with the director (Gareth Evans) and my scoring partner (Joe Trapanese).  Great guys.

Wrapped up the weekend with a party for The Raid, and a set by Deadmau5.

All in all, a great trip.  Lots of awesome reviews about the film and the new score.  Here’s a new (super bloody) taste of what you’re in store for when the movie comes out in a couple months…

I like New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s one of the best moments to reflect on where I’m at and where I’m going, and to make a simple effort to direct the course towards a place that I’d like to be in the future.  This year, mine comes from a classic tenet of design I learned in college: less is more.

There’s a lot of “more” around.  I’m at the mercy of it at times (maintaining this blog, my Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Viddy while I work on my band stuff and other stuff at the same time).  But there are moments when the “less” really shines.  As I was working on some new music tonight, I was thinking about how few instruments and gadgets I’m really using in the studio, for example.  Sometimes, zeroing in on a few things that you like best can really help define what you’re doing.  It can also give you more time to effective in what you’re doing.  Rather than screwing around with 50 gadgets, you’re going deeper using the 5 that are your favorites.  As Buckminster Fuller might say, “do more with less.”

I like being busy and I’m fine with dabbling in a lot of different creative pursuits.  And I don’t expect for my “less” to be anything like anyone else’s “less”.

But like most of us, the noise out there in the world is deafening, and it pays to shut it off for a minute and focus.

LP radio has been updated with some new music and words.

Click here to listen.

EDIT: For people outside the US, listen on this page (the widget for listening is on the right):

http://www.iheartradio.com/cc-common/news/sections/special/linkinpark/?_show

Here’s a link, for those who want to listen or subscribe in Spotify:

http://open.spotify.com/user/m_shinoda/playlist/03HKjLOo4LIhU6c2lD8E23

Editor’s note: I would have included Meg Myers’ “Monster” and Azelia Banks’ “212″, but they were not available on the Spotify service.

And video of the year goes to IS TRPOICAL for this gem, “The Greeks”:

“A Wonderful Xmas Time (Explicit)” by Apathy and Scoop Deville (GBC).

Shouts out to PigeonsAndPlanes for the heads up.  I don’t like to put anything on my “best of the year” lists without having listened to it for a while…but if this is as good in two weeks as it is today, Meg Myers could be making the year-end list.

Click here to download 3 songs.

Click here for her Tumblr.

EDIT: should have added this:

Post some ideas, questions you want answered, etc. below…

EDIT: For those of you outside the US, can’t you listen to it at the link?  It’s here:

http://www.iheartradio.com/cc-common/news/sections/special/linkinpark/?_show

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Got our awards in the mail today.