#tøp analysis

[tabris-the-seventeenth-angel]

ever think about how the "i don't wanna be here" panic and terror of next semester and the "hoping they misplaced my reservation" quiet anxiety of center mass essentially conveys the same thing (a fear of being in the place you're currently in) but in two wildly different tones because the implication of next semester is that the speaker is young and not used to being in uncomfortable places while the implication in center mass is that the speaker is older and more used to uncomfortable situations and how that applies to tyler's anxiety about the music industry and how his emotions about it haven't changed over time but that he's simply gotten better at handling it?

[groovyghostnotes]

The Difference Between Red and Yellow Banditos (tøp analysis/theory)

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

there’s an interesting lore implication in torchbearer’s FPE letter. in it, he reports that their rebellion has support from both yellow and red, implying there’s some sort of difference between the two. as if they’re two separate groups who have come together to fight a common enemy. this shows the color of tape is not just an aesthetic choice, but marking what “team” the person is on. the evidence is subtle, but there are some indicators on what each side represents. so we’re gonna break it down!

Red

red are the fighters. they are actively fighting against the bishops. they are often found in dema, sparking the revolution from the inside. it also seems like they are being led by clancy. unlike yellow, red is a color the bishops can see. it almost seems like red are mocking the bishops, using their color as a sign of their rebellion. safe to say, they aren’t afraid of being seen. they want to be seen, since they are leading the movement.

another interesting thing about red is the placement of their tape. unlike yellow, there isn’t much variation of the tape’s placement. like clancy, all the reds wear it on their shoulders. this might represent the “cover me” sentiment. since they are charging into battle, it makes sense they would want backup.

just as a side note, i do want to address the yellow banditos who are seen with reds in the overcompensate video. while they’re wearing yellow, it’s still on the shoulders. i can only assume these are the banditos that want to fight, but also want to remain hidden. bishops cannot see yellow after all. perhaps they will change to red once they gain the courage. it’s just a transitional phase from yellow to red. this is also what happened to clancy. yellow to red, but always on the shoulders.

Yellow

yellow banditos are who we were introduced to first, and arguably who we know more about. yellow are the helpers, much quieter in their approach but still important. unlike red, we rarely see yellow facing dema head on. not until paladin strait, which was after torchbearer said they were willing to join the fight. up until that final battle, however, yellow works to help those escape dema. instead of wanting to destroy dema, like red, yellow is more focused on helping those stuck in the city. it seems like only a few yellow (who may arguably switch to red) live in dema. most of them stay in trench, moving into dema only to rescue people.

where red wants to be seen, yellow wants to stay hidden. they wear yellow, a color the bishops cannot see. there’s also much more variation in the tape placement.

we can assume yellow are taping what they want to protect the most. for example, torchbearer taped his heart and his tyler tattoo. marking what’s important with yellow keeps it safe from the bishops. it also seems like torchbearer is in charge of yellow group.

Together

torchbearer and clancy being leaders of both groups may explain why they’re going into battle with their respective colors. clancy is leading red, and torchbearer is leading yellow.

red and yellow have different goals, but they work much better together. red are brave, wanting to fight head on. they wish to be seen, sporting the very color the bishops use. but they can’t fight their battle alone, they need support from yellow. a loyal friend who will cover them no matter what. and yellow needs fighters to end dema for good. in a way, red and yellow complete each other. it’s no wonder why they finally teamed up.

side note: i’ve always been team red myself

[suns-blood]

i've never heard of the car allegory theory, can you give me a summary pls :-)

All I've ever wanted is someone to ask about the car allegory! Ahhhh tysm for asking

The car allegory mostly comes from self titled (which I know intimately lol). A lot of the songs mention cars or vehicles in some way. From songs like "a car, a torch, a death" and "taxi cab" it can be assumed that cars represent our lives.

For example the lyrics:

And I begin to envy the headlights driving south

I want to crack the door so I can just fall out

(From a car, a torch, a death) can be interpreted as Tyler envying people who get to lead their lives towards a better place (south)(this was before they started using the east as a symbol for salvation). In this case cars would represent our physical bodies rather than our entire existence as Tyler expresses a wish to separate his soul from his body.

The entirety of the second verse of taxi cab is also filled with car allegories. If you want I could share some examples but I don't want to make this post too long.

Another important bit of car allegory comes from the heavydirtysoul and jumpsuit music videos. In hds mv Tyler is in a car, being driven by Nico. According to the Car Allegory, thay would mean he is not in control of his life, depression is. At the end, the car catches on fire. We can assume this fire to be a way to start a new life/leave your old life behind. Fire is also an important symbol of the banditos because of how real and alive and unpredictable it is, in contrast to the neon lights which the bishops use because of how controlled those are. In jumpsuit, Tyler returns to this car, his old life, and gets a jacket from the trunk (at the end of the mv). I like to interpret that as him having to return to his old life in order to get what he needs (his bandito jacket) to go forward (to trench).

In it he also says "you were asleep, time to wake up" before the car bursts on fire again, essentially reigniting it and considering what fire could symbolise, i think that's really fucking cool.

Cars are mentioned in their songs a bunch more times but I haven't gotten to all of those instances yet lol. Anyway I hope this made sense to you! Any and all questions are welcome :)

This is like my favourite part of tøp song analysis so thanks for letting me ramble about that

[groovyghostnotes]

Why is HAIR Important to twenty one pilots? || An Analysis + Video

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this is something i just posted a video on (link at the end) but i also wanted to type it up here. anyone else notice how often tyler/clancy shaves his head? this pops up in THREE music videos, but i rarely see anyone talk about it.. soooo let’s talk about it.

now first i want to talk about the spiritual significance of hair outside of the twenty one pilots universe. some cultures do believe that hair holds energy. by cutting your hair, you’re letting go of that negative energy. it allows you a fresh start, and symbolizes personal growth. i do believe this is the point twenty one pilots is trying to make in their storyline, with a few differences depending on which video you’re talking about.

Car Radio

car radio didn’t give us much to work with, other than showing tyler shave his hair off. i assume this is symbolizing tyler’s attempt to start over. he’s wanting a fresh start, and to leave those negative thoughts behind him. that’s about as far as this music video goes with this theme.

Levitate

levitate gives us the same symbolism as car radio, just with some more context. at the beginning of the levitate video, clancy is introduced to the bandito camp. the banditos promptly shave his head. considering trench represents a transitional period in the mental health journey, the banditos might be giving clancy a fresh start. by shaving his head, they’re allowing him to leave who he was in dema behind. he can start over as a bandito.

Snapback

once again, snapback gives us what the other two did, just with a different perspective. in the snapback video, we see tyler have a conversation with a different version of himself. but.. one tyler has a shaved head and the other has longer hair. the buzzed tyler might be the one wanting to let go of his past, and move on. the longer hair tyler might represent the tyler living through those negative events, which his hair now holds the memory of.

Summary

considering tyler often refers to his life as “chapters” i think this hair theory would align with how he thinks. it also goes with the idea of how he keeps presenting himself as different people (clancy, blurryface, etc). the symbolism of him shaving his head shows that he’s trying to move on, to let go of what he’s been carrying for so long.

you can check out my youtube video on this topic here:

Bonus

josh has dyed his hair every. single. era. perhaps he too is representing different “people” through the use of his hair. it’s also a great way to advertise the new album’s colors lol.

[groovyghostnotes]

The Torchbearer is a Guardian Angel

(sorta)

again, this is something i’ve talked about more in depth on my youtube channel. you can find that video here: https://youtu.be/s4Z32ZzooAM?si=cC9PCoB8LzthKUQ2

basically, there’s a lot of evidence that suggests torchbearer/josh might represent a guardian angel, and tyler’s relationship with religion. the first piece of evidence for this is quite literally in his name: torchbearer. the guy who holds light. light is a concept brought up a lot in christianity. like the concept of god being “the light” in a person’s life.also the opening statement in the bible is quite literally “let there be light.”

the torchbearer also brings light, both metaphorically and literally. literally, because he runs around holding a torch. but metaphorically, since he’s the guiding bandito who helps those out of dema. banditos are also a symbol of hope, their presence can bring a “light” to the dema citizens.

i do want to bring up torchy’s first official appearance in the storyline, because the symbolism is fascinating.

we first see the torchbearer in the jumpsuit music video. while he doesn’t do much, his placement in this video still says a lot. he’s up on this cliff, looking down at clancy. the other banditos are there, with the big bright sky behind them. they are physically looking down at clancy, as if they’re heavenly beings watching a mortal. they’re so high up, it does look like they’re literally in the sky. you also have clancy/tyler physically looking up at them. as if he’s looking to some supernatural force to help him. and they do. they don’t interfere more than just throwing flower petals, but their presence alone helped motivate tyler to fight back. this reminds me alot of the song “march to the sea” where tyler talks about how religion helped him to find the bigger picture in life. i believe the banditos are telling a similar story here.

torchbearer also has superpowers, and no i’m not talking about his godzilla ones (what’s up with that?) in the navigating music video, we found out he has the ability to be in different places at the same time. that alone suggests some sort of supernatural being, but it’s more than that. torchbearer is always by clancy’s side. he’s the protective, guiding force that always saves clancy. sounds very guardian angel like, no? clancy is also the only person that can see torchy, at least when he’s astral projecting himself somewhere else. a protective force only one person can see reminds me alot of “true” stories involving guardian angels. plenty of people testify that “someone” saved them, but they were the only person who actually saw that person there. torchbearer will always cover clancy, even if he’s not there physically.

the angel symbolism gets even more on the nose with the heathens music video. and yes, i’m counting it. i know it’s not a video about the official storyline, but it’s still very important to the lore.

in the heathens music video, josh has a whole slew of fake tattoos on his arm. one of those appears to be a cross. another is a symbol for guardian angels. it’s a fictional symbol as far as i know. i believe it’s a rune that pops up in shadowhunters. even still, it’s a curious detail to add when you consider josh’s role in this video.

much like the torchbearer, josh is playing a guide. he’s helping tyler escape prison, being with him every step of the way. much like torchbearer, it seems like josh isn’t actually there. first of all, he’s playing drums in prison. i don’t think you can do that. second of all, they always add this glowing light around him. as if he really is some angel that’s helping tyler escape. lastly, he’s no where to be seen at the end of the video. when tyler is caught, it’s only tyler. if josh had physically been there, odds are he would’ve been busted with tyler. once again, it seems like this video is suggesting josh is taking on an angelic role of some kind.

i think it’s really sweet tyler chose his best friend to play such an important role. whether he genuinely means religion or not, i believe there’s something to be said about the casting. there’s certainly people in my life that feel like they’re guardian angels. i do believe friends can serve as a guiding light, whether you’re religious or not. tyler obviously loves josh a lot, and that’s so :,)

anyways, thanks for coming to yapville, i hoped you enjoyed your stay.

[groovyghostnotes]

why does twenty one pilots keep bringing up 2?

so i made an entire youtube video about this, which you can check out here: https://youtu.be/dv88GvfEuG0?si=Sy8M--fu2S0HbPxp

but while listening to midwest indigo, i noticed the repetition of “two” references in the lyrics: “and he cancelled twice” and “what’s your ETA? TWO MINUTES!” ironically enough, there two references to two in this song. knowing tyler joseph never does anything accidental, i decided to dig deeper.

two comes up again in overcompensate with the lyrics “don’t sleep on a boy who can fall asleep twice.” clancy even holds up two fingers, which mirrors jenna’s gesture in the midwest indigo video. at this point i was convinced i was onto something, and continued my studies.

there’s a couple of other references to two in their discography. there’s “i’ve got two faces” in goner, “i start to part two halves of my heart in the dark” in blasphemy/anathema, and “i wish that i had two faces” in clear. there’s even a song titled “two” from regional at best. two also includes the lyrics “i’m two.”

i did some digging as to what 2 could symbolize, and i found some interesting themes: duality, union, and balance. all of those themes could apply to the story twenty one pilots are telling. it might also be why two keeps popping up.

duality: the separation of tyler/clancy and blurryface. tyler turning his negative feelings into a person he can literally face.

union: both sides of tyler coming together, the good and bad. a person can’t be entirely bad or good, those things have to coexist. the recent developments of clancy (possibly) becoming a bishop might represent tyler finally accepting the darker side of himself.

balance: as stated before, good and bad has to coexist. we can’t have light without darkness, and we can’t have darkness without light. life is full of ups and downs. it’s the balance that makes us appreciate life in full. dema and trench, bishops and the banditos, all exist in a balance. it’s the give and take that parallels how life works.

i talk more about these points in the youtube video, but since i’m new to this tumblr thing i figured i’d give yall the highlight reel :3

[groovyghostnotes]

25 and twenty one pilots || Numerology Analysis

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whoaaa guess who’s back with a back to back twenty one pilots analysis?? meee

twenty one pilots are teasing 25 again, so let’s talk about how that might be significant.

before we get into it, i did post a video about this, and also mentioning the times the band has teased 25 and what i think it might be leading up to. you can check that out here:

but anyways. i looked at two specific routes when analyzing 25. numerology and its biblical meaning.

here’s what i found.

Numerology

major themes:

- spiritual guidance

- new perspectives

- union of the body and soul

- balance

- peace

- freedom

- power

- growth

clancy, as a normal character in fiction, had a lot of development in his story. he started out as a citizen in dema, to joining the banditos and ultimately defeating dema. surely this has given him a sense of power and freedom, if he is successful in defeating dema. he has grown as a character and as a person.

if clancy becoming a bishop is true, then this would go alongside this idea of balance and union. tyler has represented many characters throughout the story. clancy, blurryface, basically most characters are tied to tyler in some way. however, if clancy becomes a bishop, its both of those halves coming together. tyler is no longer represented by many characters, but one. clancy would accept that balance, that life is made up of up and downs.

Biblical Meaning

considering how big of a theme christianity is in this band, this is someone i had to look into.

here’s some major themes 25 represents in the bible:

- grace upon grace

- forgiveness of sins

- new beginnings

- divine perfection

the “forgiveness of sins” idea might be clancy finally letting go of the darker side of him through defeating dema.

“new beginnings” is a big one, to me at least. this 25 thing marks the end of the storyline. this starts a fresh start for the band. they are free to start another story, to take their music in another direction. but it also gives clancy a new beginning in his own story. with dema gone, he is free to live his life however he deems fit, with the lessons he gained along the way.

feel free to share your own 25 thoughts. i have no idea what’s going on anymore.

[groovyghostnotes]

Analyzing the “Glowing Eyes” in “The Contract” by twenty one pilots

finally posting an analysis video about the contract. this is about an interesting connection i found with the audience in the contract music video. watch here: