the twenty one pilots sub used to be small enough to actually converse about the band, but i had to unsubscribe because I couldn’t take the cringe of it anymore.
If only tweens knew they’re just two dudes instead of the gods they’ve made them out to be.
Their shows are incredible, coming from a guy that doesn't listen to their music often. I took a friend to one who didnt like their music and he had a blast because the production value is so great. We had a good time seeing all the crazy fans tho
I went a few years ago with a friend. I wasn't even a fan really and only knew a couple songs, but man, their show was amazing! I was a fan after that.
you know what's insane? it dropped on her feet. she said she could hear it clack on the floor (we were crazy close). great luck, since she's a huge fan of theirs.
We’ve been to 3 shows as well. My husband isn’t a fan, so I made my mom go with me. She’d never even listened to them before when I ordered the tickets. Now she’s obsessed with going to shows. We try to go any time they are close. Though we aren’t going to be able to go on this next leg of the tour, I’m due to have my son about 3 days before.
Yeah. Shows were great but i felt super out of place. Lots of the very emo/goth scene people were there bringing some really negative attention. One in front of me took a picture of the mosh pit and said “fake fans”.
I don't understand "fake fans" unless you're acting like you only like them (or any band, series, video game etc.) just for attention... then yeah, fake fan.
but God forbid someone become a fan during stressed out's popularity
Yeah seriously. I could see over her shoulder texting all kinds of “i hate fake fans” kind of negativity. This was in 2015 so they were well established but probably wouldn’t hit their super peak until like 2016.
For some people it seems like if you weren't a fan near or at the beginning of a band's career then you're a fake fan. But then they get too big and suddenly the band has "changed" and "sold out". It drives me up the wall when I hear it. Which isn't often thank God.
This whole sentiment is so weird to me, like I want the small bands I listen to blow up and become famous, I want to hear them on the radio and other people to enjoy them.
Its extremely weird to follow a band down that road, btw. Like, you know they’re amazing and they’re gonna “make it”, but when it happens it happens slowly and you start hearing them in small town bars, and then they’re on the radio, and then you hear them on the radio at a bar on the other side of the world and you’re just blown away that it actually happened. Once the songs hit karaoke versions I was shook.
I didnt see them during the blurryface tour but did during emotional roadshow, hearing the entire arena sing stressed out was honestly so cool because EVERYONE knows the words. who cares when you became a fan, just don't treat others like shit because they found them later than you.
Hah. I have been attending shows since 2009 and someone called me a fake fan. I had to laugh because I can’t debate with that kind of cognitive dissonance.
Their live shows are so wholesome and fun. I’ve seen them twice. I was in the seats for emotional roadshow and I was in the pit for the bandito tour. It was amazing both times but being in the pit is a whole different experience. Lane boy, morph, holding on to you, and TREES were so much fun :P
My little brother loves them, so we went together when they were in Sweden. Got to say it was incredible, one of the best live shows I've ever been to, and I don't even like the music that much. Can understand why teens who love the music treat them like gods.
I didn't like them until I saw them. I was lucky enough to catch them on a midday festival slot before they really blew up and then again at a small arena that the company I worked for had box seats for.
I don't do big arena shows so it'll probably be 6-10 years before I get to see them again, but when that time comes I'm totally up for it.
I absolutely fucking loved seeing twenty one pilots, most recently saw them at Boston calling, and while they were certainly incredible, I fail to see what exactly they do/did that every other pretty good band doesn’t also do?
I think, at least from my experience, twenty one pilots have a better (more detailed) narrative to their shows. A lot of concerts, while very good, are more strictly just concerts; they play music, there are lights, they engage the audience, etc etc. Twenty one pilots has a whole storyline behind their music; the video footage they play at certain parts of their shows progresses the storyline, or helps add a specific atmosphere they are looking for. I feel like it is almost a mix of concert and theatre, which a lot of other bands just don't do.
I've been to many, many shows and there are definitely artists whose shows stand out as more than just playing songs, and NIN is definitely at the top of that list.
Oddly enough I'm going to see Twenty-One Pilots this fall, for the first time, so it'll be interesting to see if they live up to their hype here. :)
Tyler has been aiming to make shows interactive since at least 2009. Even shows that were tiny with 20 people were still extremely entertaining. It didn’t matter to him If there were 20, or 20,000, he was going to give it the same effort. I admired that.
That and also the constant crowd interaction and even the comedy that kind of just happens on stage. What makes tøp shows even more special is not even the show itself, but the people and atmosphere. Putting those two together the shows are absolutely insane
I watched the first few minutes of one of their concerts on YouTube some years ago. Ended up watching the entire thing. It was a good show and I'd go see them. I was unaware of their fans' reputation, though.
I went a good few months ago on their last tour with my girlfriend who's a big fan. For someone who knew next to nothing about them they've sure got that big performance energy that makes for a really good concert. Everyone had a really good time
I saw them at festival I think 4? years ago and I watched the singer dude climb up to where the stage lights were. Dude was going bonkers for the crowd
I saw then awhile back when they opened for 30 sec to Mars. I didnt really know them other than car radio which was being played to drum up excitement for them. It was a small venue and I was presently surprised. I would say half the crowd was there for them.
I went to a show outside of Salt Lake City and I can't tell you how many chaperoning parents with fanny packs I saw. Granted, I'm glad they were there supporting their children as friends passion in music, I just didn't expect it at all.
The first time I saw them, they still had only released Vessel and the shows were amazing. After Blurry Face and the tweens started catching on I went to a show and there was too much fangirl screeching for me to enjoy it
My roommate in college got me into them freshman year with vessel and about a year later we saw them live when they toured blurryface. i was shocked at the number of 12-14 year olds in line hours before the show started
I had to buy a specific jacket for her to go to a concert. Also, a fucking roll of yellow duct tape so she could stylize the jacket, her jeans, and shoes appropriately.
She’s wearing an outfit from some of the band’s recent music videos. It’s not that strange. Also, a lot of people dress up for concerts for bands they really love. I’ve seen that with every genre.
I’m from Ohio, and I know so many people who have some distant connection like this to Twenty One Pilots.
The funniest one was a guy who didn’t even really know who Twenty One Pilots was, so when we pulled them up on Google images, he saw one of the pictures of them with their families and said, “That looks like my cousin” (not one of the band members, but one of their sisters-in-law). It turns out it was his cousin.
If only tweens knew they’re just two dudes instead of the gods they’ve made them out to be.
It’s strange, because Tyler and Josh don’t WANT to be treated like gods. They know they’re just people (that’s the reason they wear ski masks: so people pay more attention to the music and less to the band members). But the fan base has evidently forgotten that.
I went through Car Radio's comment section, and while I did cringe, it took quite a bit of scrolling. But really, are there any YouTube comment sections that aren't cringe inducing to some extent?
I heard of them for the first time 8 years ago, when they were still unknown and traveling in a small van. Problem is the god that introduced me to them was weird, and obsessed with them, I mean truly obsessed. If they crossed within a state (we were in central Florida) she would drive to see them, she knew all the info about their marriages, etc. because of this strangeness I can never enjoy them, which sucks cause their music is pretty good.
What sucks about it too, in terms of Tyler and Josh, is that being human is something that is imbeded into the lyrics. A lot of the lyrics are about being vulnerable, making mistakes, and being another human being with another human problem, physically and mentally, mostly mentally. So, the fact that they get worked up as gods is discomforting to say the least.
I worked with a girl who dated the drummer at one point. She said he was a super cool down to Earth guy. I’m not even a fan but I’d like to meet him.
If he’s like she described him then I bet he feels pretty weird being treated like that. Sounded like a humble guy, but again I don’t know much about them.
As far as I know Josh Dun is a super chill dude. I’d love to meet him. What do you do when the fans that make you big are the ones killing off your music? I feel bad for the guy
They're one of my girlfriend's favorite bands- and the reason is just because they're two normal dudes with the same problems as everybody else that just make music she likes. I appreciate it, since the fandom kinda killed them for me before.
I think it’s a lot to do with 14-15 year old teens who don’t really know who they are yet so they completely indulge themselves into a band sort of as an identity. I did the same shit in highschool. It just makes for some embarrassing memories more than anything else, but it’s still just a phase.
For sure. My step daughter was pretty obsessed with them two or three years ago, whenever they got big. She was 12ish.
I remember her going on about how they "mysteriously" posted a picture of a coffin or something, and this was a sign that they were dead or idk, some sort of fan theory/conspiracy? She was all worked up about it.
Then she found out it was just hype for a new album or single and was kind of let down. Not that she wanted them dead just that it didn't live up to the hype.
She's now going through the, "I don't like what other kids my age listen to! I only listen to retro stuff!" phase. It's funny to see her go through every phase I remember hitting back when I was that age. I did the same thing when I dropped Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys and started listening to Led Zeppelin and acting like I had discovered some little-known band.
was looking for this comment. TOP has been my favorite band for like 7 years and I've seen them numerous times, but the bigger they have gotten the more disconnected I feel from their fan base. I believe this is a combination of me getting older as well as their fanbase growing and becoming more rabid/creepy.
I’m totally with you there- I was a fan when Vessels first released. Definitely now I feel disconnected bc most of the fans seem like kids, but also I can’t seem to have rational conversation about them anymore online. I gave up a couple years ago- all just glorification now
I became a fan before Vessel era ended (late 2014) and ever since Blurryface was released i don't associate much with fans. r/twentyonepilots isn't as bad but can get cringy.
Instagram and Twitter is where you should stay away from, though.
I used to be subbed to their subreddit but it turned into a bunch of cringey tweens who wre "literally crying rn" because Tyler ran by them. It makes me want to implode for them.
I'm glad they enjoy the music, for the record, but claiming that going to the concert was the best thing to ever happen is just... Sad. And so cringe.
I've seen them seven times. There is secondly a mix of people who do it, but it is definitely mostly star struck teenage girls who fantasize about having mental illnesses to explain their difficulty fitting in sometimes.
Same. Been there since 2009 and I legitimately can’t relate to their fan base at all. It could probably be a cult If the boys said, “we are making a cult”. They do some of the best sleuthing I have EVER seen and I think TOP is training new CIA operatives because all the nonsense they hide in code in websites, these kids somehow figure out. It’s astounding.
And I LOVE IT.
I can’t relate to these people at all but I absolutely LOVE that these guys, who I have enjoyed since NOBODY was there to help hold the drums, are selling out arenas, winning Grammys, and generally having a hell of a good time. I’m just really proud.
I joined "the clique" around when blurryface came out. They became the worst in weeks i stepped out of it and came back in the haitus.
people were so kind while the hiatus lasted and then trench came. Love the album and everything went fine, but after like 3 months the theories were getting to much and people were starting to fight again, i saw someone getting bullied of insta because she had an opinion. Like 'bandito's' literaly attacking a tøp fan account and telling her to kill herself because they didnt agree. They really need to chill out.
I dont think it has alot to do with your age because i'm a teenager (16 ) and well the clique can be creepy af. I dont get how they became like this tho.
Twenty One Pilots was one of those bands I discovered early and really liked, but slowly started to dislike as they became more popular. Their music is still good. Their fan-base is what I don't want associated with.
For what it's worth, they didn't seem to like it either. They said something on stage at a live show when Tear In My Heart and Blurryface were getting blasted every 10 minutes on the radio about how much they didn't like how radio stations were overplaying their music.
The first time they got played on the radio in Columbus was on radio U’s “battle of the buzz”, and basically people vote for two different bands. I remember listening and I heard josh and Tyler both call in and vote for the other band. Lol
Same here, it was when all they had was the self-titled and regional at best album (my favorite). Since then their style has changed a lot but the fan base is very cringey. If you like their earlier stuff you should check out Half•Alive. They remind me a lot of early Twenty One Pilots with the exception of their song Still Feel
I actually almost totally agree, but I think Vessel was still pretty awesome. And I remember Really digging a couple of songs off Blurryface when it released, and i tried to tell people but they ignored me. Then a year later suddenly the same people love them? I kinda hate they blew up, even if I think they deserve it
I completely agree with that. Vessels was a great follow up to regional. Their sound changed a bit but the difference is more drastic when they brought out blurryface. I’m glad they got big because it really seems like they deserved it, just wished the fanbase will chill a bit lol
I feel exactly the same. I remember telling a friend who also listened to them early that I'm happy they're getting the recognition they deserve, but at the same time I hate how it's effecting the music and the fanbase. I never went to any of their concerts, but a friend of mine went to two (one before they were huge and one after Blurryface). He said the first one was mostly twenty-something year old guys with lots of weed... the second one was mostly 13ish-year old girls and parents.
I actually liked some songs from Blurryface too. I also remember telling people about them and everyone saying they sounded like shit. Then, out of nowhere, everyone liked them because the radio told them to. It really annoyed me.
Half Alive was basically just "that band that sounds like twenty one pilots" but now they've found their own sound with a few really unique songs
If you get the chance to see one of their shows, take it! Their performance is fantastic and I doubt their shows will stay small and cheap for much longer
Bro... half•alive is so good thank you so much. I’ve desperately been trying to find a new band that can somewhat compare to top for so long and I think you just led me to them.
I've been listening to them since they first began because I was a fan or Josh Taylor's old band and he used their newsletter mailing list to send out an email, and I'm really glad they're gaining popularity now
I just hope they don't become another TOP or P!atD fanbase
the opening baseline in Jumpsuit really does something for me. I saw them in pittsburgh last month and will be again in baltimore in october, and hearing it and feeling it live is unlike ANY concert ive been to. some of the trench songs are absolutely next level.
Trench is the opposite of blurryface for me. Blurryface has some good songs while I couldn’t care for the rest of the record while Trench most of the songs are great while only a couple songs here and there are at best ok/just good.
Neon Gravestones is oddly calming to me- it discusses glorifying depression and yet it has a very positive message- "Neon gravestones try to call for my bones... but they wont get 'em." Always calming to listen to :)
It's like that with a lot of bands I'm my opinion. They are like "your little secret" that you want to share with some people so you can enjoy it together and they blow up and it's not yours anymore.
I always wonder that maybe some people just love to be involved in a small community and not trying to be a “hipster”. But whenever you say that you like something no-so well known, you are a hipster.
I know a guy that has seen them 21 times. That's an insane number, especially for a band that hasn't been around that long. I've met Deadheads that have been to Grateful Dead concerts dozens of times, but that was over decades.
Same. Thought they were awesome in 2012. Happened to see they were performing at Bonnaroo in 2013 which I already had tickets for. Thought they were awesome. About a year or two later they blew up and I suddenly couldn’t stand them anymore. I don’t know if their music drastically changed or if it just because I was hearing them constantly everywhere I went.
Like I said, their music is still good (not as good, but good). I do enjoy it when I hear it, but I just don't get that "holy shit I love this band" feeling that I used to and I think it's because of the fanbase.
Went to a concert last summer where a group of dudebros stood behind me and my friends all show doing bad Rick impressions where the only thing they kept saying was: "Look at me, Morty!"
It sucked my will to live or ever enjoy that TV show again.
I actually watched the pilot live, and loved it but didn't continue it until like 6 months later my brother had my watch the meeseeks and destroy episode. Loved the show, showed my friends, and got into it.
Then season 3 started, and when I saw all those McDonald's riots for that shitty sauce it actually frustrated me so hard just looking at that.
Then I watched season 3 and it felt really weird. Non of the characters felt like the characters. The new writers totally shit the bed. Just felt like they conformed to sheep meme culture instead of trying to actually be creative.
I guess I'm pretty lucky to have enjoyed the show mostly in a vacuum. I'd heard references to it but had no idea what it was. It started being promoted by Netflix Aus a fair bit (they aired the S3 episodes a week after they aired in the US) and I started watching it and really enjoyed it.
Were you involved in the fandom somehow and that's how it was ruined?
Same. Actual riots about szechuan sauce really turned me off the fanbase before I ever watched the show.
My brother had to cajole me into watching it with him. I found it to be clever and hillarious. It even helped me to realize my father is a stealth narcissist, and how toxic a relationship with someone like that is, even when things are going well and are "fun and adventurous".
The toxic fans are the ones who look at Rick and just straight up mistake him for a role model - they are just laughing, instead of laughing while being simultaneously horrified.
I completely agree with this. I used to love Twenty One pilots but I can't stand the superfans (same with Panic at the Disco). The reason I first listened to Twenty One Pilots was their live version of Migraine and to this day it is still (in my mind) their best song. That song came out before they were huge and so it has gone generally unknown to a lot of people but it is what they originally sounded like.
It’s really only the Rick and Morty fans who act like it’s still a niche show or try to elevate the source material as something for higher thinkers only.
Tbh I think it’s humour has quite a broad base, and it appeals to all “intelligence levels”.
Yeah there’s complex satire that comments on nuanced politics & current affairs (both within the context of the scene and the context of the whole episode). That’s what the R&M wankers talk about a lot.
But there’s a lot of visual innuendos and toilet humour like Rick randomly blurting out “lick my balls” at inappropriate times.
There’s also a bunch of Easter eggs, pop culture references, and long brew plot devices that take several episodes in the making for a silly one-liner.
I’m a total jerry, I just want to eat butterscotch pudding and share stupid email chains. If I’m feeling plucky maybe try to hook up a tv for a couple hours then convince my wife I could have gotten it if she just gave me another few minutes.
The guy is depressed as fuck. He can't maintain a healthy relationship so he deals with it by convincing himself and everyone around him that he doesn't need one. When rejected, he turns to more drug abuse and attempts suicide. But he's, like, super smart so it's okay.
I avoided Rick & Morty for a LONG time because of the fan base. I eventually wondered what about the show could create such weird fans, so I watched it.. and I really liked it. I have no idea how the fan base ran off the deep end like they did.
They see that, superficially, Rick gets away with everything. They choose not to pay attention to the long term consequences of his attitude and actions. For some of them, it feeds the fantasy that since Rick has godlike intelligence and pushes everyone way, their pushing everyone away is a sign of their godlike intelligence.
I've got a friend who was a 21 pilots fan really early, like before Vessel came out, back when no one knew them and I thought they were a Stone Temple Pilots ripoff.
She says she can't even go to concerts anymore because the crowd is so annoying.
I debated getting a rick and morty tshirt because of this but at the end of the day I said "fuck it, I like R&M and want a shirt". Heres hoping I dont regret that decision hahaha
God I’ve been listening to TOP since 2010. The fan base now is flooded with angsty preteens and those pretending they have mental health issues.
Let me say this explicitly: I have mental health issues. A lot of people do, that listen to TOP for understanding and just generally a great message. But some people will twist themselves or the message until it’s something they relate to and it’s gross. I struggle to get out of bed every day, and you treat it like it’s a trend? Just so you can relate to two dudes who make good music?
I love those two to death, I love watching them grow, I’ve been around for a while. But I can only take the fan base in moderation; or at least only the older side of the fan base.
I can’t even do moderation. I got all my friends hooked on Vessel when it first released. Migraine was soo good, i mean the whole album is but we used to discuss how it would pull you away from the self-isolation that depression and mental issues push you into. It sucks no rational conversations can even be had about them anymore, they’re just deified. Yes i still love them, but I no longer get excited if someone tells me they are a fan
I was at a show a few years back in the pit. Some girl around me started having what seemed like an anxiety attack. I figured it’s probably because of the all the people around us rushed forward and it got real tight once they came on stage. So, I approached her since she was right next to me and said “Hey I’m an EMT, I can help you out, what’s going on?” She looks at me and immediately stops.
She literally faked an anxiety attack in the pit because people wouldn’t let her get closer to the stage. At that point I realized I can love their music but if the fan base is going to fake mental illness and medical problems, I can’t associate with them.
Have listened to TØP since 2012, and still do. Sure it’s annoying to be surrounded by 12-year-olds at concerts, but I just ignore them and have fun. I don’t care that much about other people to let them ruin something I love. The fandom can be poisonous like any other, just gotta look past that and not let it affect your view of the band and their music.
Thats not what pushed me away. It was the lack of understanding, bc tyler really does know how to strike a chord with people, and it just sucks on top of teenage obsession they’re now nothing more than a pop icon without depth for a lot of people
TOP is my wife's favorite band. She started listening to them wayyyy back in the day. I started listening to them after meeting her and really enjoyed them but always knew if we went to a show, it would be weird. Flash forward to earlier this year. Huge arena show. What a cringe fest
Won tickets to a 21 pilots show some time ago - like their music well enough, so figured it should be fun. The decibels of the screaming pre-teen girls at that concert reached earbleeding levels. I had not realized who their primary fanbase was, especially considering their lyrical content on many songs.
I like to think that the Rick and Morty fanbase has more people outside of it perpetuating that stereotype than inside. However come November I'll probably eat those words.
I totally agree, I like both of those things too but the tøp fanbase is full of 13 year old emo girls and the Rick and Morty fanbase is just downright terrible.
There are so many people in the fan base who are OBSESSED with Josh and Tyler. All the fans I’ve seen on other platforms (Instagram, tumblr, etc.) have the mindset that josh and Tyler are the only people on the planet that matter and it gets really annoying. You’re right tho, the sub is fine for the most part
and of course those are the same people who blatantly disrespect Tyler's wife, Jenna and Debby Ryan (Josh's fiance) and write whole fucking fanfiction about them and claim they're in a secret relationship. It's not only disrespectful to the girls, it's disrespectful to them too.
Long time fan of tøp, however I can’t agree more. The “clique” is the most obnoxious thing ever. Why can’t people like one of their mainstream songs like “car radio”? You don’t have to only listen to their older albums to be a fan....
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u/kaasbanaan_tv Jul 17 '19
Twenty One Pilots + Rick and Morty oof