Crossing A Line

"Crossing A Line" is the first single off of Post Traumatic by Mike Shinoda. The song had its premiere at 106.7 KROQ FM's Kevin & Bean Show at 7 AM PT on March 29, 2018. It was released as a double single with "Nothing Makes Sense Anymore".

Background

In late February 2018, Mike Shinoda started posting various photos and videos of himself, Brad Delson and Ethan Mates at The Village Studios in Los Angeles, which started speculation about new solo music from Mike being on the way. He confirmed this at the shooting for the "Crossing A Line" music video, saying, "I love to make art and I love to make music, and one reason I get to do that is because of you guys. I am just really, really grateful for that. [...] I have been writing songs in the moment. As I went on, not every song was a sad song. And they've been about a lot of things. I've started to put them together and it looks like it'll be an album. It isn't an album about grief, but it starts there."

Mike told Genius, "Crossing A Line is actually about venturing out into the unknown, down a path of uncertainty. Sometimes, making the decision to follow a path means separating from what is "normal" or "expected" of you. In this case, my career and lifestyle were inevitably going to be changed forever, and I needed to seek out a new artistic, creative, professional path that was healthy for me."

About the overall song, "Grief is a very personal thing. And 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. So I decided to make this a solo album. But I worried that my band mates, some of my best friends, would feel abandoned. Looking back, I'm very grateful the other four guys have been super supportive of my solo music. But there was a moment in the beginning, before I told them, that I wondered if they would not be."

About the first verse, "This song is not just for me and my friends; it is for anyone who has to make a hard decision about their life–one where other people may not support them. Thankfully, my friends ended up being supportive. That’s not always the case; if someone is going through it, I hope this song gives them a perspective to stick to their gut and do what they need to do, in spite of how other people feel."

About the second half of the chorus, "Here, "Crossing A Line" means deciding to do something that is risky. Starting a solo project from the ground up, as opposed to using an existing platform (Linkin Park or Fort Minor) will inevitably be more work, harder to do, and may not agree with everyone. But I realized that it was the right thing for me."

About the second verse, "Part of making hard decisions in life is looking at your motivation. Any time I make a big decision, I ask "why am I doing this?" What I was looking for at this moment was reassurance that my closest friends understood that I was not abandoning them."

About the line "you're not gonna like where this goes, no", "This line might have been a little over dramatic. But it sang well :)"

Finally, "This song is not written in response to "haters," since there were none at the time I wrote it - I hadn't released any new music yet."

Tracklist

Digital Single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Crossing A Line	Mike Shinoda	4:02
2	Nothing Makes Sense Anymore	Shinoda	3:33

Music Video

Music Video

On March 8, 2018, Mike Shinoda announced on Twitter he was in Los Angeles shooting a new music video and invited fans to meet him outside of Tower Records at 8:30 to be a part of the video. Once there, he requested fans to turn their phones off and played "Crossing A Line" twice via Bluetooth speaker. He said the song would not be heard for a while as he was still making the music and asked everyone to keep the song title a secret. The video shoot was impromptu. Later in the night he went around Hollywood and into The Roxy to shoot more footage.

Rough Sketch Version

Before the official music video, Mike Shinoda shot and edited a rough version of it by himself. This original version was released on June 15, 2019. Mike wrote, "Before we shot the actual video for Crossing A Line, I went out to Sunset Blvd late one night and shot a rough version by myself. It uses an unfinished version of the song. I thought I would share it to celebrate 1 year of Post Traumatic."

Adam Ruehmer wrote, "I remember being sent this video before we went out to shoot the real video. It was the first time I heard the song. Pretty sure I told @lorenzoerr right then that we had to release this version of the video at some point. Glad we finally could! Love this."

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Studio

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Crossing A Line	Crossing A Line / Nothing Makes Sense Anymore Post Traumatic	4:02	2017-2018	March 29, 2018
Crossing A Line (Radio Edit)	Crossing A Line (Promo)	3:34	2017-2018	March 29, 2018	Shortened intro.
Crossing A Line (Music Video) [Rough Sketch Version]		4:14	2017-2018	June 15, 2019	Rough mix. Fewer layers.
Crossing A Line	Post Traumatic - Instrumentals	4:03	2017-2018		Official instrumental version.

Live

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Crossing A Line (Live In Moscow, 2018)	Soundcheck Session: Live In Moscow	4:47	September 1, 2018	November 15, 2018	Video only.

Live

"Crossing A Line" was first played at Mike's first ever solo show. Mike plays guitar on the song, making it one of the few songs where he plays an instrument. The song was dropped from the Chinese shows on the 2018 Asian tour, likely due to China's strict censorship policies. These were the only headlining shows the song wasn't performed at.

Promotion

On March 21, Mike went live on Instagram and, without saying a word, played various instrumental sounds from the song.

Official promotion for the single started on March 26, 2018, when Mike Shinoda posted three images on Instagram forming a black line over a white background. The first teaser for the music video was posted on March 27 and featured Mike drawing inside a bathroom at The Roxy. A second teaser was posted on March 28 and featured Mike singing while walking in the streets of Los Angeles and while driving his car.

Mike went to the Kevin & Bean Show on March 29 for the premiere of the song.

Personnel

• Written and produced by Mike Shinoda
• Vocals by Mike Shinoda
• Mixed by Manny Marroquin
• Mastered by Michelle Mancini

Lyrics

Album Version

They’ll tell you I don’t care anymore
And I hope you’ll know that’s a lie
Cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for
But to get there means crossing a line

I don’t know how to warn you for what I’m gonna say
Cause you’re holding so tight to what I’m taking away
I got demons inside me so I’m faced with a choice
Either try to ignore them or I give them a voice

And it’s keeping me up at night
Worried it’s not alright
Holding back things you don’t know
And it’s keeping me up at night
Worried it’s not alright
You’re not gonna like where this goes

And they’ll tell you I don’t care anymore
And I hope you’ll know that’s a lie
Cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for
But to get there means crossing a line
So I’m crossing a line

It’s not about status, we know it never was
Cause what good is the kingdom when you’re missing the love
This is not a goodbye now, I’m not going away
No I don’t have the answers but I do have the faith

And it’s keeping me up at night
Worried it’s not alright
Holding back things you don’t know
And it’s keeping me up at night
Worried it’s not alright
You’re not gonna like where this goes, no

And they’ll tell you I don’t care anymore
And I hope you’ll know that’s a lie
Cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for
But to get there means crossing a line
So I’m crossing a line

And they’ll tell you I don’t care anymore
And I hope you’ll know that’s a lie
Cause I’ve found what I have been waiting for
But to get there means crossing a line
So I’m crossing a line
So I’m crossing a line
So I’m crossing a line

Gallery

• 

  Mike Shinoda and fans in Los Angeles.

External Links

• Crossing A Line (Music Video): YouTube