Twenty One Pilots, a musical duo composed of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun (Alas, only two people, rather than twenty-one, like you might have thought), hit the ground running last year when their hit single Stressed Out topped the Billboard top 200 chart in June of 2015.
Chances are that you’ve heard Stressed Out on Top 40 radio countless times and it quickly became your summer jam. The lyrics are relatable, the tune catchy, so what’s not to love?
What you may not know is that Twenty One Pilots offers so much more than just catchy summer tunes. Joseph’s lyrics provide a relatable voice to the millions of youth suffering from depression and anxiety, and the support they get from fans, affectionately known as The Skeleton Clique, is amazing.
Twenty One Pilots changed the pop-punk label as we know it, giving record label Fueled By Ramen’s success a huge boost after it peaked with acts like Panic! At the Disco and Paramore in the mid-2000’s. Twenty One Pilots' fan-base is like nothing you've seen before. Being a Twenty One Pilots fan is like joining a huge family that lifts each other up because of one common love. Add this to the already enticing blend of genres TOP creates, which I can best describe as ukulele-screamo-rap-punk (just listen to it, man), their incredible show quality, and the abundance of instruments that grace their stage, with Joseph on vocals, piano, tambourine, bass guitar and ukulele, and Dun on drums and trumpet, and it is really, really hard not to like this band. Plus, let's face it, they are adorable human beings.
Not enough for you? Check out the lyric quality of some fan favorites like Car Radio….
"Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
I hate this car that I'm driving
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel"
Need more proof? The incredible shows they put on should do the trick, like this live performance of Heavy Dirty Soul.
What keeps me around, though, is the heart of band. It's not just two guys, it's not just music, it's not just the fans. Just look at some fan responses to the question “why do you love Twenty One Pilots?” and you’ll know.
“I'd say one of the reasons twenty one pilots is amazing is because the band members are so relatable! Also, the chemistry between Tyler & Josh is so real and warm. (plus their music is A+)” (source: tentepralia)
“I like twenty one pilots so much because their lyrics honesty express what they're going through. Tyler is using his music to face his demons and it makes it really relatable and real. Plus their genre-less music means that there's a lot of diversity to their music, so it's easier for me to listen on repeat. They're realistic about their pain but there's hope there too. Idk man. Plus the fandom is bomb y'all are so nice” (source: obsessedwithjellyfish)
“I love Twenty Øne Piløts because they have an amazing purpose. They’re genuinely caring boys who want to save those struggling as they themselves are. They discuss the hard things, but unlike a lot of other band or songs that do the same, they offer hope. Suicide is not their goal, nor do they glorify it. They only look at mental illness as it is, an illness. Not a defining personality trait, not an identity, but a sickness in which we must recover from. Tyler is not some perfect Saint we look up to, but rather a friend we relate to. He has written multiple songs about failure, disappointment, defeat, all things even neurotypicals deal with. They have so much love in their hearts for young people trying to figure themselves and their lives out. Tyler’s writing constantly utilizes creative metaphors, well thought out explanations, and words so descriptive they paint a scene in your head. Above all, he somehow manages to make them rhyme. I discovered their music during a dark time and besides love the unique sound immediately, I was stunned to learn that someone else struggles with the EXACT same demons plaguing me. I was in love with the fact that my thoughts and feeling were perfectly laid out before me in a way I could have never organized them. When their most recent record came out, I was once again infatuated with the new music and greedily devoured the words. The fact that Tyler created a character and gave a name to his insecurities helped me also to separate myself from my problems. When you struggle with anxiety as I do, you almost lose control of your own thoughts. They get warped beyond recognition by insecurity and I forget to remind myself that is this not me and cannot possibly be the only truth. The fact that both of them have managed to exist so fantastically and to this day gives me nothing but unrequited hope for the future.” (source: beautybrainsandablackbelt)
Twenty One Pilots isn’t just a band, it’s a way of life.
Stay strong, live on, and power to the local dreamer. |-/
