Music Video: Twenty One Pilots

On February 3rd, 2017, the ever so popular band, Twenty One Pilots, released the music video for their song Heavydirtysoul.

The music video, directed by Andrew Donoho, is getting many positive reviews. According to Dylan Yadav writing for Immortal Reviews “Their music video for 'Heavydirtysoul' is dramatic and stays true to the song's meaning, but as a video itself it takes awhile to get going. twenty one pilots will be taking a break after they wrap up their touring this summer, so we can expect new music to be in the works before long. Hopefully they keep delivering the hard-hitting tracks.”

A little information about the band. The band was formed in 2009 by Tyler Joseph, consisting of Nick Thomas and Chris Salih. Thomas and Salih left and in 2011, Josh Dun, the current drummer, joined. They are from Columbus, Ohio.

They are known as many genres including Alternative, Ukulele Screamo, Electropop, and trash. Many fans state their genre as “Schizophrenic pop.” The reason they are enjoyed by many differs from person to person. “They’re dope” said Casey Jones, a fan of Twenty One Pilots and PACT Student, “It’s good music and there is a lot of emotion behind it unlike most bands today like pop.” she continued.

The video starts with the lead singer, Tyler Joseph riding in backseat in a car on the highway with a driver wearing black whose face isn’t shown. The car then loses its tire and the sparks hit the drums of Josh Dun (the drummer of the band) catching it on fire. The car continues to deteriorate as the song goes on. The driver then disappears from the car.

At this point, the car has lost all doors and the roof and moments later, the tires. Tyler Joseph then jumps out of the inflamed car and performs with Josh Dun as the burning car sits behind them. Seconds after the singer awakens and is seen in the backseat of the intact car driving down the highway.

Twenty one Pilots’ music’s meaning can be difficult to decipher. It is meant to mean something particular to individual fans. One person’s interpretation means something else to another. According to Clifford Stumme, “It’s cathartic for him and helps him to reach other people who experience the same pain.

Stereotyped rappers try to prove their own toughness or “badness” in songs about sex or murdering police officers, but Tyler’s “[r]apping to prove nothing, just writing to say something.”

Tyler’s different from most in two ways. One, he has something to say, and, two, he’s trying to add noise-something to take the space that would have been filled by the voices in his head, the words of Blurryface his dark alter-ego.

And Tyler knows that there are others like him “rushing to saying nothing” because it’s better than the darkness they feel.” He adds on “For now, the purpose of this song is to distract him from and to clean his “heavydirtysoul.””

Some people might not listen to them because they don’t listen to that genre of music or they might not listen to the radio. Most critics of twenty one Pilots think that they are “mental” and talk about emotional issues too much.

As mention earlier, twenty one pilots definitely talks about mental illness. However, this is what makes music great - there is something for everyone. It would be great if people could develop more awareness about mental illness, but it is still a stigmatized subject.

Twenty One Pilots is a band that means a lot to me and many people, including PACT student Bethany Flaten. “They have a lot of relatable, deep lyrics that help people express how they feel through their music. Their music speaks to millions on a personal level. The Heavydirtysoul music video is another example of their exquisite and soul-touching music.” she states.

They are currently the 29th most listen to in the world on Spotify. There is no reason for anyone not to give their music a chance and allow them to connect with you and temporarily relieve you of any difficulties in life or mental struggles.