Song of the Week: Car Radio

I was quick to brush off Twenty One Pilots after hearing their hit single "Tear in My Heart" everywhere I went. I'm very suspicious of any song with a catchy hook that the general public enjoys and plays constantly, so I tend to disregard artists who write these songs as pandering to masses and having little creative value. Well, I was proven only half right.

After reading enough blogs (here, here and here) and having enough friends vouch for them I gave them a try and as I started listening I was struck not only by the seriousness with which the Columbus duo crafted the music and lyrics of their non-single tracks but also by the way they subtly layer these same themes into the songs that people mindlessly sing to. Through an aggressive and masterful melding of rap, rock, reggae and pop, TØP tackle topics as grave as suicide, maturation, identity and existential affirmation. In trying so hard "to make people think" and get their message out to as many individuals as possible, they become the most reluctant pop act I've ever known.

I've listened to three albums by Twenty One Pilots and connected very much to 2013's Vessel. Below is one of my favorite cuts from this record.

"Car Radio" by Twenty One Pilots

Sometimes quiet is violent,
Kelvin