Baby Boy and Dog Breath, skeleton and alien, Little Bean and Drummer Boy…Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun go by a lot of names, the more prominent one Twenty One Pilots.
Now, you’re either one of two people: You’ve heard of Twenty One Pilots and actually love them to death, or you’re sitting here reading this post wondering why anyone would write about such an abnormal number of pilots.
And that’s okay, because I’m here to give you the 4-1-1 on just who these pilots are- And more importantly, how they are changing the face of music.
This is Josh Dun.
He likes to play the drums. He also makes weird faces.
He’s pretty cute.
This is Tyler Joseph.
He sings, raps, and occasionally plays the ukulele.
Also pretty cute.
Together they are Twenty One Pilots. (Yeah, that’s it. That’s all of them.)
Now you’re probably wondering where they other 19 pilots are, and the answer to that is…well…we’ll find out soon enough.
They are from Columbus, Ohio. And they aren’t afraid to show some hometown love.
Seriously. They love that place.
Vessel was their first major-label release, following their two previous albums, Regional At Best and Twenty One Pilots(Self-Titled).
They also put their grandpas on the cover.
Like I said, they are really cute.
Here is where things get interesting: they wear ski-masks. But before you click away in fear and uncomfortableness, let me explain. Aside from being a surefire attention-grabber, the masks are used to represent a group of people or an idea, one people can relate to easily. They want to present themselves as faceless, where their identities don’t take away from their message. “We’re trying to create something that people can make their own.” Tyler says.
But that was the Vessel era, back from 2013.
Enter Blurryface.
Released earlier this year, Blurryface encompasses the idea of having a split-personality. One good, and one very, very ugly. The sound is certainly darker than Vessel, but the lyrics remain substantive and sincere.
They’ve also introduced a new color scheme of black and red. Along with face-makeup and whatever that is on Tyler’s hands. Did I mention Josh’s hair? It’s great.
Tyler hasn’t spoken all that much on the meaning behind Blurryface, but from what the fans and I have gathered, it’s something like this: As previously mentioned, there are two sides to us; good and bad. Blurryface is the manifestation of the bad: fears, struggles, doubts, imperfections, insecurities. The part of us that we constantly fear will one day rear it’s head, will completely take over and drown us in something we promise we are not. Blurryface is the voice in the back of our heads, screaming we are not nor will we ever be good enough, that we should constantly readjust ourselves, making us care what people think. This idea is especially prominent in one of the band’s latest singles, Stressed Out.
If you thought that was heavy, wait until you dive into the staggering beauty that is Twenty One Pilots’ lyrics. One of Tyler’s most potent capability is his writing.
To list every dynamic lyric would be a waste, not only for this article but for you. It would take the fun out of listening. And we can’t have that, can we?
I will leave you with some of my favorite lyrics, though.
Are you searching for purpose?
Then write something, yeah it might be worthless.
Then paint something then, it might be wordless.
Pointless curses, nonsense verses.
You’ll see purpose start to surface.
No one else is dealing with your demons, meaning maybe defeating them could be the beginning of your meaning, friend.
Twenty One Pilots tour the US this fall. They have also released the music video for their new single, Lane Boy.
We hope you’ll give Twenty One Pilots a listen if you haven’t already. Not only has this band had a significant impact on my life and my perspective, but they have given a voice to many others. They have inspired, saved, and given people something they can latch on to when everything else is slipping through their fingers.
We’re Twenty One Pilots, and so are you. |-/