Twenty One Pilots - Heathens

In hindsight, I'm kind of glad twenty one pilots are around and doing what they do. I may get annoyed when they clog up the alternative charts or have their cringey fanbase clog up cyberspace, but the important thing is that they do weird things. Even in their most popular songs, like this one, weird things are happening, and for something like this to break through into the mainstream in all of its weirdness means that it's easier to accept. I mean look at the shock and horror that occurs when anything remotely unsettling breaks through. I find that often people will evaluate music based on how it compares to what they've been nurtured on to be comfortable with. Anything outside of that will feel foreign and uncomfortable, even if that shouldn't be the case.

Other than that, twenty one pilots serve well as an entry level band. That's not meant to be derogatory, some of my favourite media is distinctly entry level and that which I continue to enjoy just as much if not more than the stuff they eventually lead me to. You need entry level stuff to shine a light on things that are either obscured, or feel like too dangerous a step to take. I'd be lacking in self-awareness to not realise that for a 14 year old now, twenty one pilots are what Muse were for a 14 year old me. I'm sure some day in the future, I'll be able to strike up a great conversation about a mutual love of music with someone who got to said stage thanks to discovering twenty one pilots and going out from there. So never take my disgust as a disapproval for yourself. Love the music you love, it's a great feeling.

(This song genuinely has a fair amount of potential that is squandered by its structure. It takes too long to kick up a gear and by the time it finally does, it ends too quickly. The production is a little muddy, but the song hits the vibe it's going for well.)