Twenty One Pilots

I’ve got it real, real bad for TOP. Their best known stuff is nothing to write home about but there are all these Holy Shit level songs I’ve been finding recently.

It seems to me Radiohead fans could appreciate them.

Anybody else?

What are these "Holy Shit level songs"? I'll give them a go.

Sure thing. I’ll pick three.

1. Goner

Studio is great but I’ll put in a live version since it just has that live poignancy.

It’s a very simple song but those can pack a lot of punch. This one builds slowly from a bare piano and vocal, with recursive lyrics that build tension. The payoff is a screamed verse at the end.


2. Addict With a Pen

More complex song but also starts with piano and vocal. Builds to dreamy electropop and rap. Very powerful lyrics. This one is probably my #1 favorite, 10/10 on the Holy Shit scale for me.


3. Ode to Sleep

First two are melancholy so I’ll shake it up with a banger. I guess I’ll go with this one, one of the more popular tunes (above two are deeper cuts). It’s electro-rock-rap with a great hook.

So I always HATED their radio hits, and that's all I knew them by. That and my then-girlfriend's ending up settling on a dude who was really into the band quite discouraged me from digging deeper lol

Goner is amazing. You were right about its simplicity; I kept waiting for the inevitable anthemic pop chorus to kick in, but it never does. That song is super restrained and thoughtful.

I couldn't vibe with Addict With a Pen. The singer just sounds too much like Eminem that it is sincerely difficult for me to concentrate on much else.

Ode to Sleep suffers from the same Eminem effect, but that second verse is outstanding so I don't mind it there. So maybe I'll end up liking his rapping and like more Twenty One Pilots! Anyway, what I most admire about this song is its complexity in structure. He, whoever, has a great singing voice. It shows here, and it especially showed in the rather poignant Goner.

Thank you for the thoughtful recommendations! I guess its a band I'll be giving a shot!

Really cool.

I could give a shit for Heathens, Ride, and Stressed Out. But the more I dug the more gold (to my ears) I found.

If at any point having three more recs would be of any use just lmk.

I don’t know tons about the band but the impression I have is that it’s one guy (Tyler) and his drummer. Tyler seems to be the songwriter, lyricist, singer, player of piano and keyboards and whatever. And the other guy, Josh, is a sick drummer. While there is a lot of electronica, having real drums (plus sometimes real piano) really connected with my ears.

Tyler does have a unique voice and could be a bit grating or flat for some, but for me seeing his range lets me enjoy the uniqueness. He has a couple of rap modes, a nasal drone, a lovely falsetto, etc.

Tyler and Em are both midwestern white boys, so there is some similarity there. Em is a way better rapper, probably a better singer, way better flow, crazy powerful voice. But I like what Tyler does, and his lyrics connect with me, and he does a lot with what he has.

Oh, and sorry about the girlfriend, bro. That’s rough.

Hometown is a good song


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Hadn’t heard that one yet, thanks, I like it and added it to the playlist. 

Haven’t worked on Blurryface much. There’s a huge range in their catalog from slick pop to quirky to raw. I like some of the slick pop but really liking their raw stuff, especially the debut album.