Tyler Joseph wrote a song about a car radio and his band, Twenty One Pilots, formed by him and Josh Dun self-released that song in an album titled, "Regional at Best" and later re-released it in their next album, "Vessel," after signing with Fueled By Ramen. The song, literally called "Car Radio," became widely popular, and the band later chose to play it at the 2014 MTV Movie Awards ceremony when invited to perform there.
The first time I listened to this song, however, I felt tempted to dismiss it because I thought “Why would someone sing about a car radio−that sounds dumb and irrelevant to my life.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. I gave it another try and listened through several more times. Then it clicked.
What. Was. I Thinking. I really wasn’t thinking. The central idea of the song is so relevant to my life. The fact that I missed that idea on my first several times listening proves the validity of the song’s message in my life. But what is this song’s message?
The song’s message is to think… which sounds simple at first, but in context means a lot.
Tyler Joseph, the song’s creator, found that he (and I think many of us) tend to coast through life without taking time to think about important life questions whether we’re checking our phones when we wake up, listening to music on the way to our jobs or classes, hanging with friends, watching TV, and using our phones again before we go to sleep. We don’t set aside time to think.
This changed for Tyler one day when he was running late to class. He accidentally left his car door unlocked and returned to find his GPS, car radio, and all of his CD’s stolen and gone. At the time, he did not have the financial means to replace them, so he drove sitting in silence for a while.
Tyler Joseph later said, “When I get in the car my first reaction is to put the radio on and for a while I wasn’t able to do that and finding out that once I removed that piece of me I realized that sometimes music can act as a distraction and can get in the way of where your mind wants to go." The song begins:
I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire, exhale desire
I know it's dire my time today
I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence
Sitting in silence on his car rides until he could replace his radio, Tyler Joseph began to ponder his existential questions. This seemed daunting at first, but he later said that he found those times of reflection essential in helping him overcome his battle with the fear of the unknown. The song goes on:
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
I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence
In my life, moments of silence seem hard to come by since I can get wrapped up in going from point A to point B without thinking or even wanting to think about important and troubling existential questions like “Why am I alive? What am I doing?” “Is living worth it?” and “Is this all there is?” Quiet is violent:
I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear
Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my, too deep, please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound
Some answers we will never find. Other answers might be closer than they seem. Whether we find out the answers or not in life or even in the figurative language of this song, we will still need to choose whether to be in a state of peace or fear about what we know and don’t know. We're battling fear:
There are things we can do
But from the things that work there are only two
And from the two that we choose to do
Peace will win and fear will lose
It is faith and there's sleep
We need to pick one please because
Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive
And I will try with every rhyme
To come across like I am dying
To let you know you need to try to think
I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence
Tyler Joseph found peace. Whether or not he found answers to his questions, I cannot say. Yet, he says that peace will win and fear will lose, and attributed that to his faith which allows him to be awake, think, and be alive. He said he writes these songs so others will take time to think too. I have these thoughts:
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit
I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire, exhale desire
I know it's dire my time today
I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence
I certainly do not have all of the answers, and I do not think anyone can.Yet, I have found peace like Tyler Joseph. I found my peace in God. Check out both of their stories sometime. There is perhaps more to a car radio than one might think. Sit in silence for yourself sometime and think about life.
Also, consider this quote from the Bible in your silent sitting.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, New International Version.)
