TW: discussion of suicide
As the much-anticipated album Clancy is set to release on May 17th, I’ve found myself revisiting all my favorite Twenty-One Pilots songs.
During a routine trip to the local health food store for groceries, I sang out –- error-free – the impassioned and esoteric lyrics of “Polarize” from their fame-finding album, Blurryface. There’s something deeply rewarding about connecting so wholly to someone’s art.
Clancy will clinch nearly a decade of lore. Through years of incurring a rapidly expanding fanbase, Twenty-One Pilots have invited their fans to connect with their music in novel ways. They’ve posted found-footage style letters from the character Clancy, created the dmaorg.info website dedicated to slowly revealing more about Tyler’s world of Dema, mailed out flash drives containing revelatory content to the first few fans who decoded the website, inserted easter eggs into album covers, and even put out a full-length movie with more content to analyze. It’s undeniable that Tyler Joseph (lead singer) and Josh Dun (drummer extraordinaire) have put in massive amounts of creative energy for their hybrid concept-album-turned-allegory experience.
Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun are also making music videos for every single track in Clancy. Can you name another artist who does this for their fans?
Or, conversely, is this even about the fans? I’m certain that mastermind Tyler Joseph is grateful for his massive fanbase –and he’s done nothing to imply that he takes us for granted – but I think he has a different motivation in mind. Purpose.
Purpose is something that the band upholds in utmost value. It’s prevalent in their lyrics, the logo, in interviews, and even within the storyline of Clancy and Dema.
Just as the character Clancy wrestles with purpose under the tyrannical rule of the Bishops in the oppressed (and, naturally, depressed) city of Dema, Tyler Joseph mirrors Clancy in his personal struggle with purpose. As someone who battled anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, Tyler knows a thing or two about feelings of lacking purpose. His answer? Create.
Weaving faith-related struggles and mental disorders, Tyler Joseph is rather clear about how he wants his listeners to overcome such a defeating lack of purpose. He encourages listeners to “create something only you understand,” just as he has with the band’s logo, the world of Dema, and the slow unfolding of his albums’ world to the fans.
When I moved to the rhythms and belted the satisfying notes of “Polarize” this morning, I wanted to write again.
It’s easy for a writer to lose momentum, motivation, creative energy, whichever label you want to place. Immersing myself in Tyler’s world picked me back up — and I think he’d be happy to hear it.
Jesus Christ’s call to be the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13-16) is encouraging for creative minds. We add beauty and flavor to a decrepit generation. It took Tyler Joseph’s wildly generative mind to remind me of that today.
To quote TJ himself,
Stay strong. Live on. Pass on these songs.
Leave a Reply