Grace Bong
I’ve tried to come up with so many different ways to start this, so I’ve decided to just start at the beginning.
Sometime in 2013, I heard this song about some guy’s car radio getting stolen. I didn’t think about the meaning of the song at the time, but I loved the way it sounded. I was 13 at the time, so I didn’t have an app like Shazam to tell me what the song was. I accepted my loss and moved on.
In 2015 I was a freshman in high school and decided to take an art class. I ended up sitting at a table with another girl who loved music just as much as I did.
She mentioned this band called twenty one pilots. She spoke about them with so much enthusiasm. I could tell that she loved this band more than anything in the world. It took a few months of her talking about this band before I decided to check them out myself.
I started simple with their newest album, Blurryface. I first listened to “Stressed Out” because it was the most recommended song. I fell in love with the meaning of the song. These two guys, who I still didn’t know the name of, wrote songs about things that I could relate to without it being the most basic song in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I love artists like One Direction and Ariana Grande, but their songs that get played on the radio are always basic. They’re written that way so people will memorize them and love the songs. This band wasn’t that way. When listening to the song, I wasn’t thinking, “this song was written for the radio.” I could tell this band didn’t care about how much radio time they got, they just wanted to make songs that their fans would love.
I ventured on to listening to all of their albums, (self-released and studio released) learning a little bit about Tyler and Josh, and watching music videos and interviews. When I stumbled upon that song talking about Car Radios, I couldn’t even begin to describe to you how happy I was. I had found that song.
And now you might be thinking to yourself, “Why is she writing this?” and responding to that question in the simplest terms, I want to thank Tyler and Josh.
Tyler is the main lyric writer for the band and he writes from the heart. That’s something I admire. He writes what he knows, and that’s what helps you understand and relate to his lyrics. But it’s the way he writes that makes me love the songs so much. The lyrics are so descriptive and they mean so much. They’re written from someone who has gone through emotional pain, and that reflects in Tyler’s lyrics.
Tyler and Josh introduced me to a fandom that I now consider my family. Everyone in the clique is so nice to everyone else no matter what form of social media you are on, where you come from, or what you look like. The clique is a fandom who works hard to get the band where they are, and Tyler and Josh never fail to notice that. The clique is so talented in the artwork they produce and even if you aren’t talented with art, they still make sure you know that you’re important. I couldn’t ever imagine leaving a family like that.
This thank you letter wouldn’t be complete without some thank you’s from the clique themselves. I asked the biggest Facebook group dedicated to twenty one pilots for their thank you notes.
I was overwhelmed by the response I received. I didn’t imagine receiving that many comments on my post. I couldn’t pick just a few and post them because everyone has a reason to thank Tyler and Josh. Because of this, I have made a separate article dedicated to the clique’s thank you’s to Tyler and Josh.
Here are a few thank you’s from the clique:
Growing up diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome it was difficult to fit in with other people. I struggled with purpose and identity. When I found tøp I learned that sometimes it’s okay to stand out. Sometimes it’s okay to not be okay. And I stayed alive. I’m incredibly thankful for them and their music. Power to the local dreamer |-/ -Ethan VanBoxel
On the 29th of March, I went to the Adelaide show. I was in the lower balcony near the door where you run to backstage. During car radio, Tyler smiled at me and we made eye contact. That means so much to me, just the fact that you noticed me. Thank you, for everything, and thank Jenna too. And Zack, Jay, Maddy, Kelly, Chris, Abigail, Ashley, Jordan, Laura, and Bill. Thank you to everyone.
Love from Madi.
Stay Street |-/
Thanks for always being there in a way where we, the skeleton clique, can just listen to Tyler’s voice sing the words that we need to hear when others can’t say it themselves and the way Josh’s drumming moves the beat and make the music actually come to life. If it wasn’t for you guys a lot of us probably wouldn’t be here today. So once again thank you so much for keeping us alive |-/ -TessaThank you for everything you have done, and especially for the music you perform. You are both inspirations to me, and you taught me how to find purpose in my life. -Olivia Flora
I had a clique member send me a poem for the guys and I fell in love with it.
•The Three Lines•
I once drew three lines on my finger
I didn’t know what they meant
But I love how many weeks later they still linger
They now have a meaning to them
only I know what it is
They’re their 24/7, through A.m and P.m
I once drew three lines on my finger
I didn’t know what they meant
but I love how many months later they still linger
I get asked questions about it a lot
I don’t dare explain because only few would understand
Also because the three lines are in a special spot
I once drew three lines on my finger
I didn’t know what they meant
but I love how many months later they still linger
I have to thank two people for these three lines
I heard of them before they were even famous
Now I see them all over the world on many signs
I once drew three lines on my finger
and it was all because I heard a band that consisted of
just a drummer and a singer
________________|-/________________ -Lily Anna
I really don’t know how to wrap this up, so I’ll just leave it with this.
At my TOP show, I looked at my brother and said, “I think that’s where Emily and Megan are sitting.” The mother behind me looked at me and said, “Do you have to friends that need pit tickets?” I told her yes and she handed two tickets over to me. She told me Ticketmaster had double charged her and because my friends already had tickets to the show, she didn’t mind just giving me the tickets so they could move up and be in the pit and her and her daughter had already been to three shows.
I managed to get ahold of Emily and told her I had the tickets. I got to spend the show with people who genuinely loved TOP.
Tyler ran by me during Car Radio, I have a mason jar full of confetti from the show, and I’ll never forget January 29, 2017, in Moline, Illinois.
