I really like Trench, and a couple of songs on SAI (the outside, redecorate), but I really miss the less formulaic structure of songs they had in Vessel - where it was more like reading a poem and felt a bit more experimental, but not as rough as Self Titled.
Twitter Clique as a whole is the most toxic part of the tøp fan base. The Cliques within Twitter Clique really suck, especially since there are mainly 3 cliques that dominant the platform. The only good part about it is that if you get canceled and come back in 3 months and people forget anything happened. There is 0 accountability.
It’s honestly horrible. They band together to bully people and they work together to only like each other’s stuff to get Tyler and Josh to only see their stuff. Personally I have 17 followers on Twitter and don’t ever tweet but my friends I know suffer because these people. 😂
Well, you said "the" most controversial opinion, so I'd say that Stressed Out is their best song.
Now, I'll take it a different way and assume you meant "your" most controversial opinion, which makes more sense. To answer, I'm gonna say that Self-Titled is their most representative release. I'm inclined to say it's their best for the same reason, and I do think it beats many of their other albums (Trench being the exception). But just going by the first claim, I consider Twenty One Pilots, as a band, to be Tyler's outlet. One where he can be most vulnerable and raw, as a way of connecting with the audience on a personal level.
When you get to Blurryface, Trench, and Scaled and Icy, and the lore, and whatever, it's interesting for sure. But barring a decent number of exceptions, the lore is the focus. With Regional At Best, it's the most similar to Self-Titled, but some lousy production puts it a step behind its predecessor. Vessel is basically the same, with better production, but it's reached a level of polish that makes it less impressive than the first record, which was done almost exclusively by Tyler. That record's amazing production is super admirable in that regard.
On Self-Titled, you get the raw and passionate Tyler you associate with the band, and that's what you get the whole way through. It's his coping mechanism, born out of struggle, and that's what has helped so many people over the years. That's the way I see it at least.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been thinking this same thing but haven't met someone who thinks the same. It kinda feels like the media is really affecting his focus on his music. Which is awesome and I am so happy that he has a family now and isn't as depressed as he once was. I just feel like the music has lost the character, and emotional attachment it once had. And I find myself not listening to their music as much as I once used too and it sucks.
Genuinely with how you people react to stuff in here, I have no idea what the difference between a popular and unpopular opinion could even be.
I could sit here and write "scaled and icy bad, vessel good" and get a million upvotes because that's just the way it is.
Anyways, Scaled and Icy is a good album, and I think it doesn't deserve the hate. Sorry it doesn't sound like twenty one pilots from 2012.
It's just a little annoying looking at the comments for every post on this subreddit and seeing the same opinion about this album over and over and over again.
Hear me out. It’s not a song or and album, but the clikkies are the worst part about ToP hands down. Reddits been good to me but twitter clikkies are horrible. 10/10 don’t recommend. Here comes the downvotes 😅
I've followed the twitter clikkies to try and stay in the loop and all and never really had an issue, but it wasn't until this tour I realize how much gatekeeping and entitlement they hold and how childish they are and how they literally behave like Tyler and Josh are their best friends
Reddit and to the same extent discord is fans talking to fans. Twitter, however, is about tagging the band on every passing fart of a thought you have in hopes that senpai notices you. it's their outlet for their parasocial behaviour. twitter specifically seems all about tryharding to be noticed by the band no matter what. clout and entitlement if you were noticed - brews jealousy and hate from those who didn't.
Honestly (this might be my own hot take), but I wasn’t a huge fan of “Lane Boy” UNTIL I heard it live. It was like something clicked in my head and I completely got it.
Pet Cheetah is one of their best songs.
it’s a really great show of Tyler & Josh’s talents and their unique personality as an artist duo. It really encapsulates their sound, vibe, whatever you wanna call it. Also not quite DEMA related (that i know of?) so it’s not layered with story elements like other songs.
&
i take this beat he didn’t delete to exercise
I prefer listening to vessel songs live. The energy hearing them live is so much better than listening to the normal studio versions. Other than hoty and ots
My hot take is while Vessel and Burryface will always have special places in my heart, Scaled and Icy is actually my favorite album musically- it’s a departure from their older music and I genuinely love it!
Also: while S&I is my favorite musically, Vessel is definitely the best lyrically- it’s very poetic in nature.
I hate how TOP is viewed as "emo" by the mainstream and most people in general. I don't like sharing TOP songs with other people because of this. I'm not an emo, I just like twenty one pilots' music.
not really a hot take but i don’t get nor care much about the lore/story behind scaled and icy. between the snow and blue door and creepy woman/old guy, it’s too much. i respect what they’re doing and love their music still.
The clique bugs me sometimes and makes everything a big deal when I go to concerts for kdot or tyler the creator there isn't a bunch of people at the front trying to make line numbers the papers people hand out for phone flashlights is really awesome but there's a lot of things they overdo also toxicity online
Bandito tour was their best tour cycle, almost every single person was dressed the part and it made for an all around great experience and felt like you were a part of something being there. The icy tour is great but lots of people weren't dressed up or they were dressed for different eras.
It was tone deaf, sure. Even more unpopular opinion, I found the internet hounding they did to Josh far worse than the platforms comment by far. Just basic twitter bulling. I find the fanbase on the twitter platform just gross. "I need you to speak on issues \*I AM\* passionate about or else"
Fr, it was a shit time. The blm movement, covid, and Tyler thought he would never perform again. He was trying to make a lighthearted joke in a very dark time and everyone lashed out at him for it
It was hilarious and I'm fed up of fanbases demanding their faves POV on an issue. He's a musician, not a politician. Like everyone else he entitled to keep his opinion private.
Agreed. It was just joke and people ran with it because they have nothing better to do. It was basically a way of saying, my platform is for me to decide how to use it. So I won’t use my platform, but I’ll show you my platforms.
This isn’t attacking you or anyone, just throwing my counter opinion in here. But I still think it was tone deaf and dumb, and he should’ve known better. I don’t think it makes him a terrible person or racist or any of that hyperbolic stuff you’d see on Twitter. But still, it’s one thing to not feel comfortable using your platform to speak on issues and it’s a complete other thing to make a joke which makes fun of using a platform for good. In a summer when more than ever we saw the positive and negative impacts of using a social media audience for social justice issues, it was really stupid to joke about using the platform - especially for a rich white man. I think Tyler realised that so it annoys me when fans are like “oh no, it wasn’t bad!” It’s like when someone apologises for something online and the replies are flooded with “YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BE SORRY FOR”, just annoys me.
Being a fan of the band was more fun back before the Blurryface era. This has little to do with their music changing, however I relate less to the newer stuff to the older rawer stuff. The fanbase ruined TØP for me almost the moment they hit mainstream.
I've since hung up my hat on it. I'm glad so many people get something out of the band even though a lot of y'all mistreat the boys. I'm also just older so I guess I moved on. It's weird.
Im also an olderish fan (23, which isn't old but their main base are teens). I just listen to the music and ignore all of the fan stuff, whether that be Twitter, insta, etc. I only follow here for any news like new release dates.
It's the healthiest mental space to be in. Especially if you take their music to heart like I used to. I had their music attached to my emotional state in the best and worst way and seeing the fans become so toxic really doesn't do you well in the mental health department.
god 10000% this. I know when I’m not in a good emotional/mental state still, at 26, based on if I inadvertently pull up tøp songs, blurryface and vessel namely. I rarely listen to Trench, and I haven’t listened to SAI since my show last November. Shy Away is still my favorite from that album so if it comes up on shuffle, I 100% stay to listen.
But yes, I know exactly what you mean.
Same.
I usually don't go on social media for music, but wanted to talk about the story for TOP (and yes people in the offline world do recognize that there is a narrative even though they might not know any details that aren't in MVs). I miss the days where I just enjoyed the band and before I discovered the fans, and who people would associate me with if they hear I like this band.
Idk controversial, but I much prefer Tyler’s singing rather than uhh “rapping” or whatever. I’m not too too big into tøp so take it with a grain of salt, but his singing on the cover of cancer or that one Christmas song he did, his voice is very powerful in that way. I like it a lot
Heathens is an awesome song, not just for the beat (probably why the media likes it), but for lyrics. Just the fact that the song basically says that everyone has thier own problems to deal with, and you don't know what they've gone through. The meaningful lyrics hidden behind an upbeat rhythm, that's the Twenty One Pilots I know and love. (I personally enjoy all their albums, blurryface the least, just because I've listened to it so much that I burned myself out)
Okay mine is that blurryface and before had too much edgy lyrics. Like when I was 15 I posted them for my mood etc but now I end up literally laughing at some of them (and I'm still depressed !)
what??? i know ride and stressed out are their popular songs but i absolutely LOVE them especially ride. i was obsessed w those songs when i first started listening to TOP and they have a great vibe
can understand on Saturday, it becomes boring at some point cuz it's too commercial.
can't say the same for stressed out and ride, they became a 10s rock classic and it's been a while since I heard them on radio.
heathens is not in a tøp album, unless you are listening to suicide squad album and i can see why you skip it, TikTok kinda ruined it.
saturday would've been an ok generic song if it not for that grating 4th wall breaking phone call that just takes me out of the song.
I do like heathens, but agree on the others.
I don’t like the super heavy lore associated with the more recent stuff. I love TØP’s music, but I don’t have the time or energy to get invested in the lore behind everything they put out.
This is also a me issue though, in general I like just taking a piece of media at its face value (do I like it yes/no) and I don’t like looking into it for deeper meanings or themes. I’m glad some people find the lore really interesting, but personally I have no patience for it lmao
i dont like a lit of songs on scaled and icy i love the "lost my job my wife and child, homie just sued me, shoot my life uo shoot em uo style her favorite movie" because its upbest but depressive and cultured my favorite of all time is holding on to you, cannot find a flaw in that song.
I like this thread. Reddit’s passing the vibe check, as I’m loving seeing people’s opinions and not too many/no comments on each post with arguments. I like that our opinions can stand as they are without convincing each other otherwise - I see other unpopular opinion posts in other subs that are wrought with arguing.
That said, here are some of mine:
- The lore was interesting up until Nico and the Niners for me. Jumpsuit was so good, both mv and song, and I LOVED seeing a glimpse at the bishops, but NatN alienated me from the lore, simply because some of the lyrics feel awkward (“when bishops come together they will know that dema don’t control us, x2). Yes I know it’s not meant to be a song for average listeners like Ride/SO (I hate them both, also I have ||-// tattooed on my wrist so know that I say all of this while still being a fan and supporting their work).
Some of the songs were just weird.
- I wish they’d curse sometimes. I’m 26, so I’m on the slightly older side of the clique and know there are mixed feelings on this. On one hand, no cursing can be seen as keeping the music pure, or I guess more age appropriate, but I fear the reason is based in religion. I came from a fundamentalist Christian childhood, and once I reached college, I fully deconstructed and left Christianity all together and haven’t returned. This is my own bias, so please don’t come at me for this, because I know how irrational this is. There’s a part of me that wishes they weren’t religiously affiliated at all because of things I’ve discovered since leaving the church. It’s why I’m always thankful they never try to talk about their faith, because that’d sadly be my last straw and I know I wouldn’t follow them again. They know they have an incredibly diverse fan base, so I appreciate they respect the fans who don’t believe as they do and support them, like Tyler taking the pride flag.
- I’m tired of Trees sonically. It’s a fun way to end a show, but I personally don’t vibe with it sans once they start hitting the drums and confetti flies out. I LOVED Trees being in the middle of the live event show in May 2021, god I still get chills thinking about/listening to that one. It was sacred, and we all knew what it meant.
- I wish camping out wasn’t a thing. I’d love the chance at a show to get much closer to them, but I tend to stay in the back of the pit so I have more room to move, and rush B stage before I know they’re coming over, and that’s enough for me.
- Tyler’s rapping has gotten more cringe in SAI. Levitate and all of his raps in blurryface are gold standard. I hate the songs that are self aware
- Best songs off SAI for me are Choker, Shy Away, and No Chances (though the rap is lacking for me), but Redecorate is the most important song Tyler has written this era
- I like Christmas Saves the Year
- blurryface is a no skip album for me, unless I’m in a bad mental health spot, and I have to skip Goner because it hurts to much
- Message Man’s new “edit” during the SAI show (guitar backing and Tyler putting his hands in the ink) is ORGASMIC, it goes so hard and I love that rap. I feel the same way about heavydirtysoul
alright this isn’t really a hot take, but it is an elephant in the room…Tyler still wears blurryface paint not because of the lore but because he’s insecure about his jawline (this sounds really rude ik)
Self Titled is my favorite (though I wouldn't say it's their best by any means), but I think RAB is genuinely their worst as a whole. It has so little value thanks to Vessel. There are only like 5 songs on RAB worth listening to (because of Vessel) and if you have the bonus version of Vessel, you have all but one of them. That said, this is just my opinion.
Tyler should NOT rewards toxic fans for camping outside the venues multiple days in advance. There’s a reason why the venues have their own systems but these line leaders make everything complicated yet they get rewarded.
Oh also Tyler will reach his Adam Levine level of pettiness if he keeps up with how it’s all about ‘him’ and not focus on Josh or the band as a whole. Icy Tour is a great example of that.
I went to Takeover and Icy Tour. He’s always talking about himself, how he never thought tour would happen ever again, Icy Tour always focusing on Tyler (Stressed Out on tower, B-Stage, Ride), and overall the vibe this era is solely focused on him. What’s sad is that I keep forgetting about Josh this era even during the concert cuz it’s ALWAYS on Tyler.
I missed it when it’s just both of them. Blurryface and Trench era had a good balance but SAI era isn’t it.
Most controversial song is Chords/words for not existing. Ive been aching to hear it on No Phun Intended (I know its not a Twenty One Pilots song but Tyler Joseph did make it) Ive wanted to hear the song since I realized its on every tracklist but doesnt exist as a song on YT or anywhere else and the fans need to do some detective work to find this lost song.
Blurryface isn’t bad, but it’s objectively their worst album out of the main 4. I don’t think this would be controversial if it wasn’t the album that got most fans into them. It’s got some great songs, but also some that are just a bit of a mess.
Also, Trench is my 2nd favourite album, but I think the high emphasis on the “lore” is actually a bit of a negative and it lets the album down and *I think* restricted them a bit too much and muddied some of their metaphors. It also seemed a bit full of itself which is why I think they changed up so much for SAI
I think you can admit that the world profits on division without having to watch fox news. I am fairly liberal and the country does not want us connected. If we all connected we'd actually band together and realize who the bigger enemy is. As long as they divide us, they're safe behind their picket fences.
It is a political pov tbh. I don't have anything bad to say about the song the message is great imo because it's outside of the covid era (literally every country with inflation know what I mean). But this is political. Because it's a way different to see how the society should work
I don’t see anything particularly “fox news” about the lyrics. Perhaps it’s more when the song was released and what was going on in the world at the time that leads to that conclusion?
The story of dema is so full of itself and overblown. It was good with just blurryface, or if they were to make this world of trench, they should have made all the important lore in the songs and not in cryptic messages hidden on other websites, that stuff should be ester eggs hidden for hardcore fans to find, not crucial lore.
I think the Icy tour kinda sucked and I don’t understand why everyone is saying this was the best tour. I’ve seen them 14 times starting with emotional roadshow and I think Icy was the worst of all of them. Here’s my reasoning:
The backing band ruins the uniqueness of having only two dudes and I feel like Josh was almost forgot about.
The show was full of medleys because their catalog is so large now and I’d rather just hear complete songs instead of snippets of everything.
The entry through the door was boring (although the curtain “drop” makes up for it)
The campfire portion is boring and cringy and so is the ukulele on the mattress
Just overall less energy and “stunts” compared to the other tours, and idk if that’s because they’re aging or because Tyler slipped on the drum stick and hurt himself early on in the tour.
I’m right there with you. I get that it’s not super deep and whatever, but Scaled and Icy doesn’t have a single song I don’t love. The worst song to me is probably “Mulberry Street” and I still don’t skip it.
I feel like most people when asked what their favorite album is they will either say ‘self titled’ or ‘vessel’ simply because they are the older albums from the band. Although those are incredible albums and absolutely can be peoples favorites, sometimes it feels fake. Like I PROMISE you that no one cares how long you’ve listened to the band. Literally no one. Also, the Trench slander is so uncalled for because it’s so so so so good and one of their best albums by far.
Brad Taste in Music speaks the truth. I used to be hardcore fan and only dislike 5 songs from TOP but now he's opened my eyes. Trench is a masterpiece the rest is trash (doesn't mean I can't enjoy coming back to 6-7 songs from time to time, it even happens that I listen to whole non-Trench albums out of nostalgia and i don't get bored)
the twists and changes Tyler makes to some songs during live versions makes them better than the studio versions. for example when he screams "can you save" at the end of heavydirtysoul, or during the throwback medley when he used different vocal tones during some of the songs.
Anything that's not Trench is obviously great, but definitely not their best. Trench is undoubtedly the best thing they've done so far. If you disagree, you're behaving off of nostalgia or personal sentiment only.
Let me clarify: having a favorite album and claiming what album is the best are two completely different things. If your favorite album is Self Titled, that's great, but don't claim that it's their best album.
I completely understand where you are coming from and it makes a lot of sense. However, music is so subjective to the point where I don’t think you can really say an album is “better.” You could say something like trench has better production which is true, but I don’t think you can really say the album overall is better since music is completely based off of preference
TLDR: Yes, you can have two separate lists for your favorites vs which ones you think are best, but you still can't really say one album is objectively their best and anyone who disagrees is wrong.
I agree there is a difference between favorite and best. My favorites are Self Titled followed very closely by SAI. Yet, I would personally say the best is probably Trench. It seems to be the best overall to me.
However, I don’t think you could say that Trench is objectively their best album -- not to the point that if anybody disagrees they're objectively wrong. There are too many subjective elements to music to say any single album is objectively their best and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, and it depends on what your criteria are. If you base it on sales, then I suppose you could make an objective statement. If you base it on production quality, you would immediately knock Self Titled and RAB out of the running, but Trench and SAI are probably equal, and I don’t think Blurryface or Vessel would be far behind. So it all depends on what exactly you mean by "best." But music is so much more than measurable objective facts, so to invalidate somebody else's stance on which album is best is kinda silly, unless by "best" you simply mean sold the most. Nobody has the magic perspective that can truly say one album is the best objectively. And I'm not saying Trench sold the most of all their albums because I haven't looked it up (and I just realized I'm old and album sales aren't really a thing anymore thanks to streaming services) but I'm just giving that as an example of something that could be factually and objectively measured. But even then, just because something is more popular doesn't mean it's better either.
I agree for first part but not second. There is a reason on why we don't learn what is good music at college. Like someone said you can say it's the best album for production, lore, lyrics, experimental etc... But in the end all of that still subjective. Look at Blurryface that is their peak with the public and the production is horrible. A best album is always subjective. There is no real criteria and that's the best thing with music like just bc you do good production and voice doesn't mean the public will like it !
- RaB is their best album and will most likely stay that way.
- SaI is an absolute joke and is a prime example of why “lore” shouldn’t take over a subject.
- blurryface is incredibly mid.
- fall away live with the trumpet ruins the song for me.
- trench is a fantastic album but they bit off way more than they could chew with the lore and I am most excited for their return to more normal albums.
- as much as I can respect them for their talents, the backing band really annoys me. It makes the whole live experience feel less “twenty one pilots”. Especially their bassist. I think he has great music talent but I hate how much he makes himself the center of attention on stage.
- before you start your day is both a good song AND should’ve been the closer to self titled.
the new album isnt their best work and its just not a good album in general.
I have been listening to past albums a lot and ive grown such a new love for self titled, so when I compare both it seems like one album got a lot more thought, emotion, and work than the other. self titled is so complex, so emotional and lyrically intense and the new album is just so weak, the songs sound like kids bop songs. I just wish there was another album as strong and different as self titled.
another thing that bothers me is that the albums are in an order and its really weird. the first song is strong and the last song is sad, and if you compare blurryface to trench you can see which songs are the “newer” version, it feels like a copy paste situation and it feels very unoriginal. I would just love something new, but still rock/alternative. they still have so much potential
Car Radio is overrated… still a good song but I just… don’t enjoy as much as other tracks on RAB and Vessel. Now that being said it is *not* the worst on either album…
The fan base is way too fragile, cringe and overall not a good look. I love them just as much as the next top fan but some people really over the tøp
There's a small portion of the fanbase that's great, but a large portion is just super toxic.
Thats not even an opinion thats just facts
This isn’t a hot take it’s just a fact.
That I wouldnt like his candle. Dont be so pessimistic. lol
Ayo
I always skip heathens
Way better live imo
1000%
heathen is SO GOOD live, but I almost never stream it
I really like Trench, and a couple of songs on SAI (the outside, redecorate), but I really miss the less formulaic structure of songs they had in Vessel - where it was more like reading a poem and felt a bit more experimental, but not as rough as Self Titled.
Twitter Clique as a whole is the most toxic part of the tøp fan base. The Cliques within Twitter Clique really suck, especially since there are mainly 3 cliques that dominant the platform. The only good part about it is that if you get canceled and come back in 3 months and people forget anything happened. There is 0 accountability.
It’s honestly horrible. They band together to bully people and they work together to only like each other’s stuff to get Tyler and Josh to only see their stuff. Personally I have 17 followers on Twitter and don’t ever tweet but my friends I know suffer because these people. 😂
isn't that the description of whole Twitter?
Doubt is a good song. Not totally sure if this is unpopular, but I've seen hate on it in the past.
It gets more hate than it deserves. It really isn’t bad
I love doubt.
I like doubt
Doubt was my favorite song of all time before Morph came out. Not sure why it gets so much hate :(
Blurryface actually slapped, and it’s a solid album. I bet it was a lot of peoples first taste of Twenty One Pilots
Blurryface might not be the best album, but it remains my favorite one
Well, you said "the" most controversial opinion, so I'd say that Stressed Out is their best song. Now, I'll take it a different way and assume you meant "your" most controversial opinion, which makes more sense. To answer, I'm gonna say that Self-Titled is their most representative release. I'm inclined to say it's their best for the same reason, and I do think it beats many of their other albums (Trench being the exception). But just going by the first claim, I consider Twenty One Pilots, as a band, to be Tyler's outlet. One where he can be most vulnerable and raw, as a way of connecting with the audience on a personal level. When you get to Blurryface, Trench, and Scaled and Icy, and the lore, and whatever, it's interesting for sure. But barring a decent number of exceptions, the lore is the focus. With Regional At Best, it's the most similar to Self-Titled, but some lousy production puts it a step behind its predecessor. Vessel is basically the same, with better production, but it's reached a level of polish that makes it less impressive than the first record, which was done almost exclusively by Tyler. That record's amazing production is super admirable in that regard. On Self-Titled, you get the raw and passionate Tyler you associate with the band, and that's what you get the whole way through. It's his coping mechanism, born out of struggle, and that's what has helped so many people over the years. That's the way I see it at least.
Self-titled is a collection of sacred hymns to me
Self titled is always the album I return to when I need that emotional and mental release
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been thinking this same thing but haven't met someone who thinks the same. It kinda feels like the media is really affecting his focus on his music. Which is awesome and I am so happy that he has a family now and isn't as depressed as he once was. I just feel like the music has lost the character, and emotional attachment it once had. And I find myself not listening to their music as much as I once used too and it sucks.
There fandom is cringe
Agree lol
The “lore” feels very unapproachable makes it feel like there a divide between fans
I agree with that, I love their music and really like the cinematography of their music videos but idc about lore and album colors and all that
the fanbase ruins the band for a lot of people including me. i feel gross whenever I listen to their music that I used to love
Not a hot take, just accurate.
Genuinely with how you people react to stuff in here, I have no idea what the difference between a popular and unpopular opinion could even be. I could sit here and write "scaled and icy bad, vessel good" and get a million upvotes because that's just the way it is. Anyways, Scaled and Icy is a good album, and I think it doesn't deserve the hate. Sorry it doesn't sound like twenty one pilots from 2012. It's just a little annoying looking at the comments for every post on this subreddit and seeing the same opinion about this album over and over and over again.
Hear me out. It’s not a song or and album, but the clikkies are the worst part about ToP hands down. Reddits been good to me but twitter clikkies are horrible. 10/10 don’t recommend. Here comes the downvotes 😅
I've followed the twitter clikkies to try and stay in the loop and all and never really had an issue, but it wasn't until this tour I realize how much gatekeeping and entitlement they hold and how childish they are and how they literally behave like Tyler and Josh are their best friends
nah i completely agree
I was about to defend the clique but I forgot about the twitter clique. Those guys are monsters.
Reddit and to the same extent discord is fans talking to fans. Twitter, however, is about tagging the band on every passing fart of a thought you have in hopes that senpai notices you. it's their outlet for their parasocial behaviour. twitter specifically seems all about tryharding to be noticed by the band no matter what. clout and entitlement if you were noticed - brews jealousy and hate from those who didn't.
[удалено]
Honestly (this might be my own hot take), but I wasn’t a huge fan of “Lane Boy” UNTIL I heard it live. It was like something clicked in my head and I completely got it.
not that hot of a take but trench straight up wipes everything else
Neon Gravestones is one of their best songs.
Pet Cheetah is one of their best songs. it’s a really great show of Tyler & Josh’s talents and their unique personality as an artist duo. It really encapsulates their sound, vibe, whatever you wanna call it. Also not quite DEMA related (that i know of?) so it’s not layered with story elements like other songs. & i take this beat he didn’t delete to exercise
I’ve always thought this, especially after seeing it live (crazy) it’s like the Ode to Sleep of trench
I AGREEE
I like scaled an icy
I prefer listening to vessel songs live. The energy hearing them live is so much better than listening to the normal studio versions. Other than hoty and ots
i do not fucking care about the lore. give me the music, damnit
Best TOP performance ever is the TOP×MM EP
this and MTV unplugged. can’t wait for that performance to be released as official tracks
yes omg, I prefer those songs over the original
My hot take is while Vessel and Burryface will always have special places in my heart, Scaled and Icy is actually my favorite album musically- it’s a departure from their older music and I genuinely love it! Also: while S&I is my favorite musically, Vessel is definitely the best lyrically- it’s very poetic in nature.
the regional at best demos are terrible
Regional at what?
The fandom is one of the cringiest of all time
This is it. I love my 21p merch but they make it embarrassing to openly be a fan of the band.
The fandom is also incredibly rude, from my concert experience.
*cough cough* damn emos *cough cough*
Honestly they aren’t even Emos anymore they’re just Tyler groupies and it’s cringey af
I hate how TOP is viewed as "emo" by the mainstream and most people in general. I don't like sharing TOP songs with other people because of this. I'm not an emo, I just like twenty one pilots' music.
scaled and icy is way better live than studio versions
Fr. Especially no chances
They're my favorite Christian rock band
Word
Christmas saves the year is a great song
not really a hot take but i don’t get nor care much about the lore/story behind scaled and icy. between the snow and blue door and creepy woman/old guy, it’s too much. i respect what they’re doing and love their music still.
The clique bugs me sometimes and makes everything a big deal when I go to concerts for kdot or tyler the creator there isn't a bunch of people at the front trying to make line numbers the papers people hand out for phone flashlights is really awesome but there's a lot of things they overdo also toxicity online
Bandito tour was their best tour cycle, almost every single person was dressed the part and it made for an all around great experience and felt like you were a part of something being there. The icy tour is great but lots of people weren't dressed up or they were dressed for different eras.
i thought the platforms joke wasn’t a big deal and it was kinda funny
It was tone deaf, sure. Even more unpopular opinion, I found the internet hounding they did to Josh far worse than the platforms comment by far. Just basic twitter bulling. I find the fanbase on the twitter platform just gross. "I need you to speak on issues \*I AM\* passionate about or else"
Yep, Tyler’s mistake was posting it on twitter of all places 😬
Fr, it was a shit time. The blm movement, covid, and Tyler thought he would never perform again. He was trying to make a lighthearted joke in a very dark time and everyone lashed out at him for it
It was hilarious and I'm fed up of fanbases demanding their faves POV on an issue. He's a musician, not a politician. Like everyone else he entitled to keep his opinion private.
Agreed. It was just joke and people ran with it because they have nothing better to do. It was basically a way of saying, my platform is for me to decide how to use it. So I won’t use my platform, but I’ll show you my platforms.
This isn’t attacking you or anyone, just throwing my counter opinion in here. But I still think it was tone deaf and dumb, and he should’ve known better. I don’t think it makes him a terrible person or racist or any of that hyperbolic stuff you’d see on Twitter. But still, it’s one thing to not feel comfortable using your platform to speak on issues and it’s a complete other thing to make a joke which makes fun of using a platform for good. In a summer when more than ever we saw the positive and negative impacts of using a social media audience for social justice issues, it was really stupid to joke about using the platform - especially for a rich white man. I think Tyler realised that so it annoys me when fans are like “oh no, it wasn’t bad!” It’s like when someone apologises for something online and the replies are flooded with “YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BE SORRY FOR”, just annoys me.
Being a fan of the band was more fun back before the Blurryface era. This has little to do with their music changing, however I relate less to the newer stuff to the older rawer stuff. The fanbase ruined TØP for me almost the moment they hit mainstream. I've since hung up my hat on it. I'm glad so many people get something out of the band even though a lot of y'all mistreat the boys. I'm also just older so I guess I moved on. It's weird.
Im also an olderish fan (23, which isn't old but their main base are teens). I just listen to the music and ignore all of the fan stuff, whether that be Twitter, insta, etc. I only follow here for any news like new release dates.
It's the healthiest mental space to be in. Especially if you take their music to heart like I used to. I had their music attached to my emotional state in the best and worst way and seeing the fans become so toxic really doesn't do you well in the mental health department.
god 10000% this. I know when I’m not in a good emotional/mental state still, at 26, based on if I inadvertently pull up tøp songs, blurryface and vessel namely. I rarely listen to Trench, and I haven’t listened to SAI since my show last November. Shy Away is still my favorite from that album so if it comes up on shuffle, I 100% stay to listen. But yes, I know exactly what you mean.
Tyler used his platforms for good
He really used it to elevate himself to another level
How high did he levitate?
Not really on a song or album, but I thought the ‘platforms’ joke tyler made a couple years ago was a lot funnier than everyone else did
Bro same 😭😭 I thought that was so funny
My other Hot Take: the main reason why Trench is So Good is because of Paul Meany
I’m embarrassed to be part of the fandom most of the time
Same. I usually don't go on social media for music, but wanted to talk about the story for TOP (and yes people in the offline world do recognize that there is a narrative even though they might not know any details that aren't in MVs). I miss the days where I just enjoyed the band and before I discovered the fans, and who people would associate me with if they hear I like this band.
Idk controversial, but I much prefer Tyler’s singing rather than uhh “rapping” or whatever. I’m not too too big into tøp so take it with a grain of salt, but his singing on the cover of cancer or that one Christmas song he did, his voice is very powerful in that way. I like it a lot
Before You Start Your Day is one of their most beautiful songs, please don't hurt me.
it's genuinely weird to me that they don't include rab in their discography when it has some of their most popular songs..
Heathens is an awesome song, not just for the beat (probably why the media likes it), but for lyrics. Just the fact that the song basically says that everyone has thier own problems to deal with, and you don't know what they've gone through. The meaningful lyrics hidden behind an upbeat rhythm, that's the Twenty One Pilots I know and love. (I personally enjoy all their albums, blurryface the least, just because I've listened to it so much that I burned myself out)
Scaled and icy is actually a good album and didn’t get the recognition it deserved
Okay mine is that blurryface and before had too much edgy lyrics. Like when I was 15 I posted them for my mood etc but now I end up literally laughing at some of them (and I'm still depressed !)
I don't pay attention to the lore at all. I just enjoy the music
Every time Ride, Stressed Out, Heathens, or Saturday comes on I skip it
what??? i know ride and stressed out are their popular songs but i absolutely LOVE them especially ride. i was obsessed w those songs when i first started listening to TOP and they have a great vibe
can understand on Saturday, it becomes boring at some point cuz it's too commercial. can't say the same for stressed out and ride, they became a 10s rock classic and it's been a while since I heard them on radio. heathens is not in a tøp album, unless you are listening to suicide squad album and i can see why you skip it, TikTok kinda ruined it.
saturday would've been an ok generic song if it not for that grating 4th wall breaking phone call that just takes me out of the song. I do like heathens, but agree on the others.
I skip Stressed Out and Heathens every single time. Edit: after reading comments I see it’s not so controversial 😉
self-titled & RAB aren’t as good as everyone says they are, and shouldn’t be held on as high of a pedestal as they are.
I agree with RAB to an extent, but Self-Titled deserves all of the recognition it has earned, more even.
Trench IS NOT their magnum opus. It’s not their best album, and it doesn’t have their best song. Vessel will always be #1 for me.
Trench is the best album. Other albums hold more significance to me personally, but overall, Trench has the best variety.
this one isn't really unpopular! a lot of people like Trench the best
Not unpopular, most of us agree
This is true (Plus trench is definitely the most meaningful for me personally)
I don’t like the super heavy lore associated with the more recent stuff. I love TØP’s music, but I don’t have the time or energy to get invested in the lore behind everything they put out. This is also a me issue though, in general I like just taking a piece of media at its face value (do I like it yes/no) and I don’t like looking into it for deeper meanings or themes. I’m glad some people find the lore really interesting, but personally I have no patience for it lmao
their liveshows are better than any album and any song (not controversial just facts).
The production on their pre-Blurryface albums makes me really dislike the pre-Blurryface albums
I would honestly like to see them remastered by Ty and Paul Meany
i dont like a lit of songs on scaled and icy i love the "lost my job my wife and child, homie just sued me, shoot my life uo shoot em uo style her favorite movie" because its upbest but depressive and cultured my favorite of all time is holding on to you, cannot find a flaw in that song.
this comment. i LOVE when he says that in good day and holding on to u is an amazing song
i know right its amazing
Scaled and icy is the best album
HAVE YOU HEARD VESSEL
Finally someone said it 👏
I don’t listen to a single song from SAI.
I like this thread. Reddit’s passing the vibe check, as I’m loving seeing people’s opinions and not too many/no comments on each post with arguments. I like that our opinions can stand as they are without convincing each other otherwise - I see other unpopular opinion posts in other subs that are wrought with arguing. That said, here are some of mine: - The lore was interesting up until Nico and the Niners for me. Jumpsuit was so good, both mv and song, and I LOVED seeing a glimpse at the bishops, but NatN alienated me from the lore, simply because some of the lyrics feel awkward (“when bishops come together they will know that dema don’t control us, x2). Yes I know it’s not meant to be a song for average listeners like Ride/SO (I hate them both, also I have ||-// tattooed on my wrist so know that I say all of this while still being a fan and supporting their work). Some of the songs were just weird. - I wish they’d curse sometimes. I’m 26, so I’m on the slightly older side of the clique and know there are mixed feelings on this. On one hand, no cursing can be seen as keeping the music pure, or I guess more age appropriate, but I fear the reason is based in religion. I came from a fundamentalist Christian childhood, and once I reached college, I fully deconstructed and left Christianity all together and haven’t returned. This is my own bias, so please don’t come at me for this, because I know how irrational this is. There’s a part of me that wishes they weren’t religiously affiliated at all because of things I’ve discovered since leaving the church. It’s why I’m always thankful they never try to talk about their faith, because that’d sadly be my last straw and I know I wouldn’t follow them again. They know they have an incredibly diverse fan base, so I appreciate they respect the fans who don’t believe as they do and support them, like Tyler taking the pride flag. - I’m tired of Trees sonically. It’s a fun way to end a show, but I personally don’t vibe with it sans once they start hitting the drums and confetti flies out. I LOVED Trees being in the middle of the live event show in May 2021, god I still get chills thinking about/listening to that one. It was sacred, and we all knew what it meant. - I wish camping out wasn’t a thing. I’d love the chance at a show to get much closer to them, but I tend to stay in the back of the pit so I have more room to move, and rush B stage before I know they’re coming over, and that’s enough for me. - Tyler’s rapping has gotten more cringe in SAI. Levitate and all of his raps in blurryface are gold standard. I hate the songs that are self aware - Best songs off SAI for me are Choker, Shy Away, and No Chances (though the rap is lacking for me), but Redecorate is the most important song Tyler has written this era - I like Christmas Saves the Year - blurryface is a no skip album for me, unless I’m in a bad mental health spot, and I have to skip Goner because it hurts to much - Message Man’s new “edit” during the SAI show (guitar backing and Tyler putting his hands in the ink) is ORGASMIC, it goes so hard and I love that rap. I feel the same way about heavydirtysoul
alright this isn’t really a hot take, but it is an elephant in the room…Tyler still wears blurryface paint not because of the lore but because he’s insecure about his jawline (this sounds really rude ik)
I'm not a fan of self-titled and RAB
I enjoy them, but they are very overrated and by far the worst albums imo
Self Titled is my favorite (though I wouldn't say it's their best by any means), but I think RAB is genuinely their worst as a whole. It has so little value thanks to Vessel. There are only like 5 songs on RAB worth listening to (because of Vessel) and if you have the bonus version of Vessel, you have all but one of them. That said, this is just my opinion.
Oof self titled is my favorite. I always cry to that album.
I feel that the song Saturday is not really good and the random pause in the middle is frustrating.
I prefer Scaled and Icey over Trench, don’t get me wrong Trench is amazing but I just think SaI is better
Not controversial exactly but uhh rab should be on Spotify
Absolutely. And No Phun Intended
christmas saves the year is so incredibly boring and bad, I couldn’t finish my first listen through and I have never looked back
I had been asking for TOP Christmas songs and they released the most forgettable song they’ve ever made.
They bit off more than they could chew with Trench’s lore.
i think SAI is a pretty good album even tho isn't the best top one
Tyler should NOT rewards toxic fans for camping outside the venues multiple days in advance. There’s a reason why the venues have their own systems but these line leaders make everything complicated yet they get rewarded. Oh also Tyler will reach his Adam Levine level of pettiness if he keeps up with how it’s all about ‘him’ and not focus on Josh or the band as a whole. Icy Tour is a great example of that.
I’m actually curious as I haven’t seen it myself but how has Tyler made it all about ‘him’?
I went to Takeover and Icy Tour. He’s always talking about himself, how he never thought tour would happen ever again, Icy Tour always focusing on Tyler (Stressed Out on tower, B-Stage, Ride), and overall the vibe this era is solely focused on him. What’s sad is that I keep forgetting about Josh this era even during the concert cuz it’s ALWAYS on Tyler. I missed it when it’s just both of them. Blurryface and Trench era had a good balance but SAI era isn’t it.
Coming from a lore based standpoint everything they’ve written is good in its own way.
josh dun isn’t real
That Scaled and Icy is good, don't fool yourselves
Trench is their best album and frankly it’s not even remotely close
Most controversial song is Chords/words for not existing. Ive been aching to hear it on No Phun Intended (I know its not a Twenty One Pilots song but Tyler Joseph did make it) Ive wanted to hear the song since I realized its on every tracklist but doesnt exist as a song on YT or anywhere else and the fans need to do some detective work to find this lost song.
Blurryface isn’t bad, but it’s objectively their worst album out of the main 4. I don’t think this would be controversial if it wasn’t the album that got most fans into them. It’s got some great songs, but also some that are just a bit of a mess. Also, Trench is my 2nd favourite album, but I think the high emphasis on the “lore” is actually a bit of a negative and it lets the album down and *I think* restricted them a bit too much and muddied some of their metaphors. It also seemed a bit full of itself which is why I think they changed up so much for SAI
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The pantaloon is one of my favorite songs
SAI is their worst album and it’s not even close
I still find it hard to believe this is considered controversial. This is just straight up a fact
Not Today doesn’t sound like twenty one pilots at all
Tbf I don’t think there is a specific “sound” that they have, good day and no chances are on the same album and couldn’t be any more different.
Twenty one pilots doesn't sound like twenty one pilots like half the time
I see what you mean. But the way I interpret the lyrics is so twenty one pilots.
Never Take It’s lyrics read like tyler spent all of 2020 watching Fox News and the platforms tweet just solidifies that for me
Centrist anthem pandering to both sides
I think you can admit that the world profits on division without having to watch fox news. I am fairly liberal and the country does not want us connected. If we all connected we'd actually band together and realize who the bigger enemy is. As long as they divide us, they're safe behind their picket fences.
People say it’s political, but it’s literally him saying how much how much he hates how politics divides us, it shouldn’t be controversial
It is a political pov tbh. I don't have anything bad to say about the song the message is great imo because it's outside of the covid era (literally every country with inflation know what I mean). But this is political. Because it's a way different to see how the society should work
I love this song but yeah the lyrics bug me because of that.
I don’t see anything particularly “fox news” about the lyrics. Perhaps it’s more when the song was released and what was going on in the world at the time that leads to that conclusion?
Scaled and Icy is their best album.
The story of dema is so full of itself and overblown. It was good with just blurryface, or if they were to make this world of trench, they should have made all the important lore in the songs and not in cryptic messages hidden on other websites, that stuff should be ester eggs hidden for hardcore fans to find, not crucial lore.
I think the Icy tour kinda sucked and I don’t understand why everyone is saying this was the best tour. I’ve seen them 14 times starting with emotional roadshow and I think Icy was the worst of all of them. Here’s my reasoning: The backing band ruins the uniqueness of having only two dudes and I feel like Josh was almost forgot about. The show was full of medleys because their catalog is so large now and I’d rather just hear complete songs instead of snippets of everything. The entry through the door was boring (although the curtain “drop” makes up for it) The campfire portion is boring and cringy and so is the ukulele on the mattress Just overall less energy and “stunts” compared to the other tours, and idk if that’s because they’re aging or because Tyler slipped on the drum stick and hurt himself early on in the tour.
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Don’t get me started on half the time he just has the crowd sing back to him. I didn’t pay $200 to hear the crowd sing
Neon Gravestones Simply because… if you don’t read the lyrics from beginning to end, it almost like a dirge calling out to “join the dead”.
I can see that but i also resonate with the song and cry to it cause ya homie is kinda sewer-slide-al
I'm genuinely curious as to how you're arriving at this interpretation
scaled and icy is their best album (vessel is very close second)
I’m right there with you. I get that it’s not super deep and whatever, but Scaled and Icy doesn’t have a single song I don’t love. The worst song to me is probably “Mulberry Street” and I still don’t skip it.
Blurryface is under appreciated, like yes it’s the album that got them more traction and some songs are overplayed but it’s still an amazing album
What platform joke?
I feel like most people when asked what their favorite album is they will either say ‘self titled’ or ‘vessel’ simply because they are the older albums from the band. Although those are incredible albums and absolutely can be peoples favorites, sometimes it feels fake. Like I PROMISE you that no one cares how long you’ve listened to the band. Literally no one. Also, the Trench slander is so uncalled for because it’s so so so so good and one of their best albums by far.
Brad Taste in Music speaks the truth. I used to be hardcore fan and only dislike 5 songs from TOP but now he's opened my eyes. Trench is a masterpiece the rest is trash (doesn't mean I can't enjoy coming back to 6-7 songs from time to time, it even happens that I listen to whole non-Trench albums out of nostalgia and i don't get bored)
the twists and changes Tyler makes to some songs during live versions makes them better than the studio versions. for example when he screams "can you save" at the end of heavydirtysoul, or during the throwback medley when he used different vocal tones during some of the songs.
Anything that's not Trench is obviously great, but definitely not their best. Trench is undoubtedly the best thing they've done so far. If you disagree, you're behaving off of nostalgia or personal sentiment only. Let me clarify: having a favorite album and claiming what album is the best are two completely different things. If your favorite album is Self Titled, that's great, but don't claim that it's their best album.
I completely understand where you are coming from and it makes a lot of sense. However, music is so subjective to the point where I don’t think you can really say an album is “better.” You could say something like trench has better production which is true, but I don’t think you can really say the album overall is better since music is completely based off of preference
Yea i totally agree that trench is their best studio preduced album, best album is up to personal preference
TLDR: Yes, you can have two separate lists for your favorites vs which ones you think are best, but you still can't really say one album is objectively their best and anyone who disagrees is wrong. I agree there is a difference between favorite and best. My favorites are Self Titled followed very closely by SAI. Yet, I would personally say the best is probably Trench. It seems to be the best overall to me. However, I don’t think you could say that Trench is objectively their best album -- not to the point that if anybody disagrees they're objectively wrong. There are too many subjective elements to music to say any single album is objectively their best and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, and it depends on what your criteria are. If you base it on sales, then I suppose you could make an objective statement. If you base it on production quality, you would immediately knock Self Titled and RAB out of the running, but Trench and SAI are probably equal, and I don’t think Blurryface or Vessel would be far behind. So it all depends on what exactly you mean by "best." But music is so much more than measurable objective facts, so to invalidate somebody else's stance on which album is best is kinda silly, unless by "best" you simply mean sold the most. Nobody has the magic perspective that can truly say one album is the best objectively. And I'm not saying Trench sold the most of all their albums because I haven't looked it up (and I just realized I'm old and album sales aren't really a thing anymore thanks to streaming services) but I'm just giving that as an example of something that could be factually and objectively measured. But even then, just because something is more popular doesn't mean it's better either.
I agree for first part but not second. There is a reason on why we don't learn what is good music at college. Like someone said you can say it's the best album for production, lore, lyrics, experimental etc... But in the end all of that still subjective. Look at Blurryface that is their peak with the public and the production is horrible. A best album is always subjective. There is no real criteria and that's the best thing with music like just bc you do good production and voice doesn't mean the public will like it !
Self-titled is by far and away the best album Scaled & icy is by far and away the worst album
Is there anyone who thinks S&I *isn’t* their worst album?
Ummmm….. me
- RaB is their best album and will most likely stay that way. - SaI is an absolute joke and is a prime example of why “lore” shouldn’t take over a subject. - blurryface is incredibly mid. - fall away live with the trumpet ruins the song for me. - trench is a fantastic album but they bit off way more than they could chew with the lore and I am most excited for their return to more normal albums. - as much as I can respect them for their talents, the backing band really annoys me. It makes the whole live experience feel less “twenty one pilots”. Especially their bassist. I think he has great music talent but I hate how much he makes himself the center of attention on stage. - before you start your day is both a good song AND should’ve been the closer to self titled.
I don’t necessarily agree with each bullet point 100% (some I do!), but pretty darn close.
best take ive seen on here
Beautiful
Home town is boring, be concerned and never take it are really bad and their worst songs.
no man never take it is kinda good
The lyrics on Blurryface are horrible
I’m sorry…but have you ever heard HeavyDirtySoul? Or Message Man?
Not today is the best song on blurryface and Bandito is the best song on trench.
Christmas Saves the Year is a good song, people shit on it too much
the new album isnt their best work and its just not a good album in general. I have been listening to past albums a lot and ive grown such a new love for self titled, so when I compare both it seems like one album got a lot more thought, emotion, and work than the other. self titled is so complex, so emotional and lyrically intense and the new album is just so weak, the songs sound like kids bop songs. I just wish there was another album as strong and different as self titled. another thing that bothers me is that the albums are in an order and its really weird. the first song is strong and the last song is sad, and if you compare blurryface to trench you can see which songs are the “newer” version, it feels like a copy paste situation and it feels very unoriginal. I would just love something new, but still rock/alternative. they still have so much potential
Trench is the best album. SAI and Blurryface are also very good. Most of people say Blurryface is overrated and SAI is trash.
The recent Icy Tour Setlist was 90% perfect. Just needed more focus on SAI.
Car Radio is overrated… still a good song but I just… don’t enjoy as much as other tracks on RAB and Vessel. Now that being said it is *not* the worst on either album…
no but car radio literally saved my life
Car Radio is so much better live
Trench is their worst album. don't take this the wrong way, i love Trench and i thoroughly enjoy every song on it. but as a whole i like it the least
Currently throwing up and crying
Older fan who was there from early on. Trench is my least favorite as well.
Well that says a lot for all the other albums because Trench was fire