Music has always been an essential part of my life. As long as I can remember, I've attached memories and meanings to songs without even realizing it. As I've gotten older, music has become even more integrated into my life; so much so that my chosen minor is music. Over the past few years, I've used music as something of a coping mechanism; a tool to get me through my mediocre life.
During my freshman year of high school, I saw a musical performance at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards that changed my life. The band that was performing had their faces covered and everyone in the audience had on black ski masks. The performance was riveting, emotional, and intriguing. I found out a few days later that the band was "Twenty One Pilots" and they had performed their song "Car Radio." I had seen their name floating around on the internet every once in a while but I had never listened to their music. After watching their MTV performance, I listened to their third album, "Vessel," on repeat until I had memorized every word of every song. I then sought out their first two albums and quickly developed a connection to their music. Never before had I related and connected to music this deeply.
For those of you who have never heard of or know little about "Twenty One Pilots," they're made up two members: Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, who both hail from Ohio. What initially drew me to their music was the fact that mental health and the idea of feeling perpetually alone are major themes across their discography. Instead of writing about love, sex, and drugs (which I also don't mind in music), Joseph, the lead singer, writes about things that have meaning and substance, which isn't to say that other artists don't. Besides that, their music is very different. The band doesn't quite fit into one genre, rather, they take influence from a multitude of musical genres, the most prominent of which are electronic, rock, rap, and alternative.
It sounds super angsty, but when I started listening to "Twenty One Pilots'" music during my freshman/sophomore years of high school, I started feeling like someone finally understood me and could relate to me. Their music made me feel like I wasn't alone after all. As someone who has had their struggle with mental health, their music was important for me to hear. I jumped at the chance to see them play in my hometown at the end of 2015 and I've seen them twice since then. I remember just holding my friends and sobbing after the first time I saw them. I would be lying if I said their music didn't help me through my toughest times the past four or five years.
However, the last time the band dropped an album was early 2015 and, about a year ago, the band essentially put their social media accounts to sleep and decided to hide from the public eye and take a hiatus. I had almost forgotten they existed until a few weeks ago. Hints and rumors of new music started floating around Twitter and fans went crazy. Then, the band started posting again on their social media accounts. They posted pictures of an eye opening up and nothing else on July 9 and 10. On July 11, the band dropped two singles, a music video, a worldwide tour announcement, an album announcement, and a completely redesigned look and logo.
The minute tickets for their tour went on sale, my friend and I spent $100 each on floor tickets for the Tampa show in November. We've been to almost all of their shows together and I'm so excited to experience one with her again. "Twenty One Pilots" shows are extraordinary and unlike any concert I've been to before.
It's impossible to explain, or to understand, how a band could mean so much to a person. It's difficult to imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't discovered "Twenty One Pilots" five or so years ago but, considering I got a tattoo in reference to them, it's safe to say I can (literally) no longer live without them.
