Megan Lenius Isn’t Playing Your Game.
I’ve said this before, a good song is still a good song even when you strip it down to the bare minimum in the arrangement. Singer, songwriter and performer Megan Lenius is a Twitch streamer I happened across on Twitter in 2020 where I heard her track ‘Not Your Game’ in a vocal and acoustic guitar format. But, worlds would collide and this track would go on to be so much more…
Image Credit: Ryan Hegseth
Minnesota musician Megan Lenius has been singing all her life and playing guitar since the age of six. Originally going out under the name of Megan Elizabeth, she put out her ‘Just A Little’ EP in 2017, with two standalone singles in 2019. ‘Alison’ was released in September, with ‘Used’ coming out in November. The latter was recorded with members of Prince’s New Power Generation band, along with forthcoming single ‘I Can’t’. Since becoming a Twitch streamer and partner, Lenius has amassed a following of over 43 thousand. She streams between Thursdays and Mondays, with her actual schedule available on her Twitch channel.
This is the part where worlds collide. Musician, producer and songwriter Mike Shinoda, of Linkin Park and Fort Minor fame, has become somewhat of a Twitch streamer too. Over the course of the pandemic, Shinoda created instrumental tracks that have been released on his ‘Dropped Frames’ albums with three volumes so far and occasional collaborations.
From the start of 2021, Mike Shinoda has branched out into producing tracks for other artists under the banner ‘#ShinodaProduceMe’. Artists were invited to submit tracks for him to listen to, as well as followers of his streams putting forward artists too. In a matter of hours, Shinoda turned Megan Lenius’ acoustic demo into the version she has since released as a single. Let’s take a look at that journey.
You can hear that Not Your Game already has everything that makes it great in this version on Megan Lenius’ Twitch channel. The acoustic playing is rhythmic and suggests the kind of beat that could be put behind it. Megan’s vocal is oozing passion, and when that happens, it’s easier to build something around it. I’m reminded of Alicia Keys here, and the benefit of seeing this performance as well as hearing it is totally felt, how Megan pours every bit of her soul into her playing.
‘Come on! It’s soulful! Come on. Come on. Woo! Let me- Give me the audio! Give me- Give me the track! Give it to me, give me-’ – Mike Shinoda
…and it was clear that Mike Shinoda agreed. The recording he’s reviewing here is not the same one as above, but this is what Megan Lenius does - it’s another brilliant performance. Following on from this, Shinoda would produce most of the track building on just Megan’s vocals and acoustic guitar in one session at the end of January. The two hour and forty-minute Twitch stream almost brought the song to completion. Shinoda then sent the track back to Lenius, where she changed some of her vocal performance to suit his production, as well as adding more guitars. Then in a second session, Mike polished off what he had, with Megan releasing the song as a single at the end of March.
And what a result. What an amazing track the two created together. From the very start, you can hear different elements in the introduction from Mike Shinoda’s Nord Stage 2 keyboard set to an electric piano sound, to vinyl noise, guitar and a hi-hat beat, all before Lenius’ vocal comes in. ‘All these pretty girls want me around, they don’t talk to me like I’m the only one…’ The entire lyric sounds like it deals with the subject of online dating, and the minefield it has become in the past decade.
Shinoda spends plenty of time on producing Megan’s vocal, experimenting with reverb and harmonies. The early lines are drier, though later background vocals are opened out with echo. Something that obviously isn’t present in the vocal/acoustic version is the array of harmonies heard here, which are expertly sung by Lenius, and take this song to another level.
With the vocal comes a thumping bass. In his first stream, Shinoda tries three different ways of approaching the bassline, first with a software 808, then a Nord upright bass, and finally an electric bass guitar (a Fender Precision) he plays himself. Elements of the 808 and electric bass are used, with the Nord confined to the bin.
Initially I thought there would be more keyboard layers, but these ended up being quite minimal, though no less essential. As well as the previously mentioned Nord electric piano, there’s also a conventional piano sound, but one of my favourite parts of this song is the gospel church-inspired organ he plays on the Nord. A really great sound that’s wonderful to hear in isolation on the first stream.
The electric guitar he uses early on is an Epiphone Casino to play brief distorted lines. Megan Lenius plays a 1960 Gibson LG0 and 2016 Gibson Hummingbird Pro for her acoustics and a Blak & Blu Epiphone Casino (which is slightly different to the John Lennon inspired one Shinoda uses). Though Megan’s initial recording only contained acoustic guitar, her later contribution adds electric guitar to the track too. Let’s talk about the drums.
Prior to the first session, Mike had already created the 1950’s inspired hi-hat loop, and the base drum kit that’s used throughout Not Your Game. Later on he would add more modern percussion sounds, creating several layers of drums which can be heard in the choruses; ‘I’m Not Your Game, you play when you are lonely, you need someone to say that you’re not broken, to validate your words and make you feel like you’re the only one. I’m Not Your Game.’ Every time I listen closely to Lenius’ words, I’m struck by how gifted she is with melody, and her ability to execute it with all the little nuances in her vocal for this song. As well as all the programmed drum parts, Mike Shinoda also adds live percussion (including handclaps), with the most notable being tambourine which is isolated at the end.
Image Credit: Ryan Hegseth
One of the most fascinating things about watching this production come together is how a part seems finished, then on a whim Shinoda will remove a section to let Megan’s vocal breathe, and how it instantly makes the song sound better. There are a number of these whims, tiny edits that make you wonder why you, a mere mortal, ever considered the original part he removed wasn’t perfect in the first place. But this is the experienced producer at work. Truly it’s a privilege to be able to watch, especially when I was so invested in the track before all the extra layers were added.
And to round all this creativity off, Not Your Game also has a video to match. Put together by fellow Twitch streamer Middream (@middream_la), it features a multitude of Megan Lenius personalities (all collected below), and a deeper storyline involving a parallel universe. One of these includes a Megan that smashes the door to pieces with an axe and uses it for firewood in her cabin – my personal favourite.
Megan Lenius’ Not Your Game was a great song before, but my love for it has only deepened in this new single version. Hopefully one day I might see it performed live. Keep reading for my Q&A with Megan Lenius, find out more about Not Your Game, other aspects of Megan’s career, and future releases!
1. I have to say I'm so happy this song is out. I remember seeing you play an acoustic version and I loved it from the very first time. How long have you had this song written?
I wrote this song about a year ago!
2. Lyrically, 'Not Your Game' is pretty damning. Is it inspired by real events?
It is inspired by real events. I wrote this song after a break up and returning to dating. It had been a minute and my brain was not used to the game that is associated with it.
3. Mike Shinoda chose this track as part of #ShinodaProduceMe, what were you doing when you found out he was going to be working on it?
I had just got done meditating and was laying down for a nap. He had sent me a DM and I woke up to the notification. I yelled a lot, it was great!
4. Originally, was there a plan to release 'Not Your Game' in the acoustic arrangement or were you planning to record a full arrangement of it prior to the creation of this version?
I had always planned to find a really good producer to work on the track. I didn’t have much of an idea how I wanted the full version to sound so I knew I needed to get a good producer, just didn’t expect it to be Mike Shinoda! Lol
5. Was there a bit of you that thought 'Oh god, what if Mike Shinoda ruins my song?' Would you have locked it away forever?
I had no doubt in my mind that Mike would make my song amazing!
6. Mike Shinoda has released a lot of different music over the years, what's your favourite work of his (aside from your track!)?
It's really hard to choose a favorite when everything he has made is so great!
7. In a way, streaming is still performing live. But what's the situation with playing gigs in your state? Have you been able to perform live at all in the past year?
I have not performed live in the last year. Before the pandemic I was fortunate enough to be able to do a lot of fly in gigs and perform around conventions that were happening.
8. You've gotten to record with members of Prince's New Power Generation, what was that experience like?
It was incredible. It’s always an amazing experience watching expert musicians play. Their ability to add to the song was insane.
9. Is your track 'I Can't' still forthcoming? What can you tell us about that song?
It is still forthcoming. It will be out later this year after my single Hit Of You. I Can’t is one of my oldest originals and my community on Twitch has been asking for it for years.
10. You've had some pretty big moments during your streaming career! What's been your favourite?
Outside of having a song produced by Mike Shinoda. Twitch is featuring me on a Billboard in Times Square this month for women's history month. That’s still surreal to think about.
11. I can't believe it's almost April. What have you been listening to in 2021?
I’ve been really into Remi Wolf lately!
12. Your 'Just A Little' EP was released way back in 2017, could fans see another collection of songs coming out in 2021?
Releasing a new collection of songs is definitely on the agenda to happen in the next year or so!
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The music of Megan Lenius is available to stream and download in all the usual places.
Follow Megan Lenius’ Twitch channel here.
For more information about Megan Lenius, visit her official website.
Follow Megan Lenius on Instagram and Twitter @meganlenius, and on Facebook @meganleniusofficial.
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