There's no other way to describe this cover song other than "haunting". Twenty One Pilots employ a musical style that can often be foreboding, brooding, and even dark. Their re-imagining this My Chemical Romance song seems pitch perfect though, considering it's subject matter (i.e. the title).
It comes with the my profession as a pastor to be with people in uncomfortable circumstances. Hospital visits are usually not super-pleasant, but as much as I can, it is my duty to point people to the hope of Christ. And yet part of my responsibility in those times is also just to sit with people. Empathize and sympathize with them. I cannot feel their discomfort and I cannot feel the same distress that their family members feel. I can listen, I can give them space to vent and ask impossible questions. God does that with us (google "lament Psalms"). And songs like this one remind me of the importance of compassion and empathy.
The biggest award show in the music business - The Grammys - were held last night.
My guys Twenty One Pilots picked up a golden statue and dropped their pants in the process. There were some legendary performers up for awards and on the docket for live performances - Beyonce, Adele, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga. The highlight of the night for me was Chance the Rapper performing a medley with Kirk Franklin that "took us to church" as they say.
He remixed Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God" classic and made it his own. Even if you can't keep up with his rap, the energy and emotion and joy is undeniably uplifting. And when you are able to digest his lyrics, the song's power is amplified even more.
Am I familiar with his entire catalog? No. Could his songs or his life have "objectionable" aspects that would bother the Pharisees among us? Probably. But when an artist like Kirk Franklin vouches for you, I'm willing to promote it too.
When a band plays a concert, they typically save their most popular song for last or for the encore. Twenty-One Pilots buck that trend, which is fitting because they are the sort of band that rejects labels and lanes. When they put on a concert, they play "Trees":
This is a song that fits the Ecclesiastes passages we looked at yesterday. "Trees" is a song that is aware of our mortality ("I can feel my death"). Yet it is a song that yearns for an encounter with the Divine ("Why won't you speak where I happen to be?, "I want to know You, I want to see, I want to say 'Hello!'"). I could be 'over-theologizing' and over-interpreting here, but knowing as much about the band as I do, I don't think I am. Ecclesiastes 2-3 laments how death is like a dark cloud hanging over our life's activities but points us to the 'eternity' that God has placed in our souls. This song highlights the same and celebrates it in fact. And for a final statement to be made to your adoring fans, I admire the approach T.O.P. have taken.
I was thinking of going a couple directions with this week's Music Monday selection. I settled on one that seems fitting for a Monday. Monday is when reality sets in. The joy of the weekend is but a distant memory and most of us have to get back to the real world.
So with that in mind, and after hearing one of my favorite group's current Top 40 hit numerous times this weekend, I'm going with "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots:
It hits a nerve to those of us who are still young enough to remember the carefree days of our childhood. Being an adult is great for many reasons, but if I'm honest - it stinks sometimes too.
I've said it before - I'm all in on these guys. Their latest album is coming soon and their latest video is out. I'm not qualified to say, but I will state it anyway - this is a quintessential twenty one pilots song. It mixes genres, has a catchy hook, uses fascinating-bordering-on-strange visuals, and actually makes you think the more you listen. Here is Ride:
One thing I've learned about music since my high school days is that songs can't always be taken straightforwardly or literally. There is often nuance and layers - music is art after all. And like some of the best paintings, songs must be absorbed, considered, and even re-evaluated - but more importantly they must be enjoyed for what they are. This defines the music of Twenty One Pilots to a 'T' in my opinion. Granted, I'm in no real position to assert my opinion as the defining word, but this group consistently pushes its listeners to go deeper and consider issues of real life. Even when they approach the most common of pop music tropes, i.e. the Love Song, they do it uniquely:
I'm surprising myself today in making this my first post featuring this group because I'm all-in with these guys and have been listening to their stuff non-stop for over a year.Their sound cannot be categorized, but like classic art you just know its good stuff.
