Overcompensate – Twenty One Pilots

When Tyler Joseph (lead singer and producer) and Josh Dun (drummer) stood on the Grammy stage with their pants off in 2017, I wasn’t their biggest fan. Stressed Out had been one of the biggest songs of the year but the unique combination of rap and pop didn’t really do it for me. That changed when I listened to their 2018 album Trench. Heavier rock songs like Jumpsuit drew me in. Then I joined the Twenty One Pilots subreddit. I learned that Joseph has been telling an intricately thought out story since 2015, building an entire world and creating videos that bring listeners in. I found out that Trench is a place where the city Dema is occupied by “evil” people who he and Dun have been trying to overthrow (here’s the long version if you’re interested). It’s all meant to illustrate Joseph’s mental health journey which has deeply connected with their cult-like fanbase (re: Reddit) and strikes me as a beautiful way to create music. They released the conclusion to that story a few weeks ago with their album Breach. I like the songs City Walls and The Contract but it made me go back to a song they released last year called Overcompensate. I probably listened to it several hundred times when it came out. It’s a great example of how Joseph uses production choices to illustrate the stories he tells. It opens with a simple piano (the only time a normal instrument other than drums appears) and then escalates into a kind of underground Berlin techno piece which then leads into the actual song itself. The dry syncopated drums and production that Dun contributes anchors the track. Joseph finally comes out as the main character in the broader story, “Where I’m from, I was born right here, just now / Originated right in front of your eyes / If you can’t see, I am Clancy, prodigal son.” One thing I’ve been drawn to in their music is the choices that they make sonically. It’s bass, synths, drums, and perfectly constructed ear candy. Sonic elements that fly around your head making it feel like you’re watching a movie. The song is a great entry point to the band if you’ve never listened.

Pride (In The Name of Love) – U2

Burning CDs was a relatively short lived phenomenon but it was a great one. You could make a playlist on iTunes and burn it so you could have a curated listen in the car, or you could burn an entire album that a friend had so you didn’t have to buy it yourself. I can vividly remember a shiny silver CD-R with the words “U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb” written in black sharpie. It was my introduction to the band when a family friend (who also introduced me to Oasis and WWE’s Monday Night RAW) burned it for my brother and I. Over the last few years I’ve been getting more into their earlier music. I had a professor in college who was insistent that the early songs are the only good songs and that they went downhill when Bono put on the glasses. I disagree but I was listening to The Unforgettable Fire last week and kept going back to this song. I’m drawn to the space that the guitarist (who calls himself The Edge in WWE fashion) creates with a single guitar usually playing higher on the neck (rather than traditional bar chords). Bono’s melodies are guttural and catchy but also still reminiscent of their punk roots in this era.

Vipassana Meditation

I was in therapy a few weeks ago and we were talking about how I sometimes forget to breathe. It’s not that I actually forget to breathe (I don’t think that’s possible), it’s more that I am holding my breath at times throughout the day. It’s apparently stemming from some deeper disconnection with my body or just being in fight or flight all day (I don’t really know, that’s why I’m in therapy). My therapist recommended I try vipassana meditation in the morning so I’ve been listening to this 10 minute guided one every day and it’s been helpful. Sometimes when I have time I’ll do the 30 minute version which is also good. It’s essentially guiding you through focusing on your breath and then placing your attention on different parts of your body. Don’t forget to breathe!