"I Drive Me Mad" (stylized as "i drive me mad") is the third track and third single on the Teenage Angst EP by Renforshort (stylized as renforshort). The song received a remix by Mike Shinoda and was set for release as a digital single on June 9, 2020. Despite the release being postponed, some digital stores had the remix available in the original date. The remix was officially released later that month on June 26th.
Background
Lauren Isenberg, known professionally as Renforshort is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Toronto. Her debut extended play, Teenage Angst EP, was released on March 13, 2020.
About the track "I Drive Me Mad", she said, “I was in the studio and I got a really worrying phone call and I just freaked out and had a really bad panic attack. We had this producer and writer fly in from New York, and it was my last day in the studio, and I was like, 'I can't not write a song.' And we were like, ‘Let's write a song about this panic attack you just had, because it's so fresh.’ The whole track has the feeling of an anxiety attack: In the pre-chorus, it starts speeding up and your heart rate is speeding up as well, and then in the chorus, everything just crashes. And with the lyrics, I was just like, ‘What am I feeling right now? I feel like I'm hyperventilating.’ It was super easy to write, because it was something that was so fresh—I was still freaking out when I was writing the song. That was when I started feeling more comfortable writing about my personal experiences of mental health.”[1]
Remix
Three different projects named "Drive Me Mad Remix", "Drive Me Mad Remix 2" and "Drive Me Mad Remix 3" were seen in Mike Shinoda's computer, among the recent files of Ableton, during his live stream on April 29, 2020.[2] The original song was in Mike's *BREADCRUMBS Spotify playlist. The remix was accidentally released early by Napster and other retailers in early June, but was pulled.[3]
On June 24, 2020, renforshort announced the release date of the remix as June 26, 2020.[4] renforshort posted a text message conversation with Mike, where she said, "Yooo just got the artwork for the remix! What do u think, should we drop it this week?!" and Mike replied, "Wow! That looks amazing. LETS DROP IT".
Mike joined renforshort's Instagram Live on June 25, 2020. On the stream, Mike talked about the remix having more than 50 layers and said that that he and renforshort sent the song back-and-forth quite a few times to get it right, doing more then ten revisions.
He later showed on Twitch the actual project of the remix, playing some isolated tracks, saying that he did the opening sound with the OP-1 and also talking about the time change. The original track speeds up from 94 BPM to 110 in the chorus, coming back at 94 BPM in the second verse. He wanted to keep it at 110 BPM but it felt rushed, so he slowed it down at 108 BPM.[5]
The next day on June 26, he hosted renforshort on his Twitch live stream, which was his first official interview on his stream. On the stream, Mike said, "Her manager reached out and said, "We heard you and Lauren have shot a few messages back and forth on Instagram." She said thanks for including me on your playlist. Her manager reached out about the remix thing, and I was like "wait a minute, this person is like, seventeen. like, she's probably just like a child and I was concerned... I don't want to waste my time working with an immature kid who isn't going to take things seriously or whatever, but low and behold she's a really talented and put together artist.""[6]
About the original song, Mike said, "The dynamics of the song – the production, her voice, and the way the song speeds up into the chorus – all those things felt exciting to me. I also connected with the lyrics, the idea that you make yourself a little crazy. I'm pretty sure she's the first person I've heard use the term 'pre-traumatic stress!'" On creating the mix, Renforshort added: "The process was really cool. Mike sent me a couple versions and we just sent notes back and forth until it was perfect! It was really cool to hear my song be given a different life completely, it's a very strange cool thing!"[7]
He added, "It's really fun to work with new artists because of the variety that it brings into the creative situation. She's super young, but knows what she’s doing with her music. This would be the moment where she throws in a self-deprecating comment, but my instinct is that she's got a ton of raw talent and I'd love to see where she takes that. The biggest challenge for any artist in her position is to really unlock her voice and a unique way to communicate their intention. I've been listening to her a lot."[8]
Music Video
A music video for "I Drive Me Mad" was directed by Lebni Avitia and released on February 27, 2020 12pm est.[9] It was inspired by her battle with anxiety.[10]
Directed by Lebni Avitia
Director of Photography: Dennis Grishnin
Executive Producer: Chris Martin & Riley Kirkwood
Producer: Gabriel Badejo
Production Designer: Electra Porado
Post House: Artjall
Production Company: The Post Office, Inc.
Special Thanks: Another Reality
Versions
Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| i drive me mad | i drive me mad
teenage angst EP |
2:57 | 2020 | February 27, 2020 | |
| i drive me mad (Mike Shinoda Mix) | i drive me mad (Mike Shinoda Mix) | 2:44 | 2020 | June 26, 2020 |
|
Personnel
- Written By Jesse Fink, renforshort, Jeff Hazin & Kellen Pomeranz
- Background Vocals: Jeff Hazin & Jesse Fink
- Bass: Jeff Hazin
- Guitar: Jeff Hazin & Pom Pom
- Percussion: Jeff Hazin
- Studio Personnel: Andrew Wuepper
- Mixed By Andrew Wuepper
Lyrics
I can't quite help it, it's overwhelming
Sometimes I wanna stick a cigarette in my
Eyes closed, not sleeping
I'm stressed, you're dreaming
You're softly breathing
While I'm hyperventilating, pacing, I'm losing my patience
Feeling bad 'bout shit I didn't do
So dramatic, panicked, I got pre-traumatic stress 'cause nothing happened yet
But it did in my head
I drive me mad
I drive me absolutely crazy, I feel bad
For you 'cause I'm so fucking paranoid and sad
All the time, you could blame it on my mind
And now I'm mad, I drive me mad
(Ah-ah)
I know it's stupid, it's just hard being human
Some days I wake up and I feel like I just wanna
Dye my hair neon green, so I can forget I'm me
Don't wanna think about drinking a glass of gasoline
I'm hyperventilating, pacing, I'm losing my patience
Feeling bad 'bout shit I didn't do
So dramatic, panicked, I got pre-traumatic stress 'cause nothing happened yet
But it did in my head
I drive me mad
I drive me absolutely crazy, I feel bad
For you 'cause I'm so fucking paranoid and sad
All the time, you could blame it on my mind
And now I'm mad, I drive me mad
Ah-ah
Ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
I feel bad for you
You-ooh, you-ooh
'Cause I drive me mad, too
(I drive me mad)
I drive me absolutely crazy, I feel bad
For you 'cause I'm so fucking paranoid and sad
All the time, you could blame it on my mind
And now I'm mad, I drive me mad
(Ah-ah)
Gallery
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Single
-
Mike Shinoda Mix
-
Text message announcing the release
.jpg)
External Links
References
- ↑ teenage angst EP by renforshort on Apple Music, 2020
- ↑ Revisiting first few jams, answering questions! (Get your shinodabucks on Twitch) - YouTube, April 29, 2020
- ↑ "I Drive Me Mad" by renforshort (Mike Shinoda Mix) - Newswire - Linkin Park Live, June 11, 2020
- ↑ Ren on Twitter: "Friday @mikeshinoda, June 24, 2020
- ↑ Today: Looking at my new remix of RenForShort's "I Drive Me Mad," AND making a new track - YouTube, June 25, 2020
- ↑ Chatting with RenForShort, drawing and taking fan requests! - YouTube, June 26, 2020
- ↑ Listen to Mike Shinoda's mix of Renforshort's 'I Drive Me Mad', June 26, 2020
- ↑ NME: Mike Shinoda on writing an album on Twitch, 20 years of ‘Hybrid Theory’ and Chester Bennington’s voice, July 8, 2020
- ↑ LauREN on Instagram: “i drive me mad out everywhere! video out 12pm est!! :p”, February 27, 2020
- ↑ Rising Pop Singer Ren Releases 'I Drive Me Mad' Music Video | PEOPLE.com, February 28, 2020
- ↑ renforshort - i drive me mad (official video), February 27, 2020