Raging Against the Rock-and-Roll Suicide

Twenty One Pilots Tackle the Topic of Suicide on the Track "Neon Gravestones" off of Their New Album Trench

If you've been even paying the slightest attention to social media and iTunes charts this weekend, you know that Twenty One Pilots are back with a new album called TRENCH. The band has been known to openly discuss topics like depression and suicide in their music, but the new track Neon Gravestones takes it to a new level. Tyler Joseph (the group's lead singer) has caused some controversy over how he handles the topic of celebrity suicides in this new track. The "neon gravestones" represent culture making dying young seem glamorous and a good way to receive extra attention, streams, and sales in the music industry. He goes on and describes how the "neon gravestones call for my bones," and how he won't give in by saying "But they won't get them." He also rips into culture with the line "I'll mourn for a kid, but won't cry for a king." One last bomb Joseph drops in this track is "Promise me this, If I lose to myself, you won't mourn a day, an you'll move on to someone else," obviously calling out how we give too much sympathy to those who have fallen victim to suicide and saying he doesn't want to be glorified in that way if he does the same thing. Some people think that the song is insensitive to celebrity suicides while others praise it for it's honesty and bringing up a very timely discussion.

Personally, I don't find the song Neon Gravestones insensitive at all. I think it's a brilliant way to bring up a topic that REALLY could use some discussion and change. I noticed the trend of sales and streams rising after popular artist XXXTENACION died in late June and realized how messed up the whole thing was. I'd barely noticed any of his songs on the charts while he was alive but all of a sudden his albums and singles were making huge leaps on the charts after his death. Some people call it "mourning," but I, like Tyler Joseph, think it just glorifies early death/ suicide (the neon on the gravestones signifies glorification of death). If you really loved and cared about an artist, you would have bought their music while they were alive. Sometimes controversy from a song is good because it forces us to discuss uncomfortable, yet important topics. This song will have a definite impact in the music business. Twenty One Pilots isn't just some underground band; they're one of the most popular alternative bands of this decade. It was very daring for them to be so brutally honest about this topic and this will encourage other artists to be just as honest and unafraid of dark topics. Since Twenty One Pilots are so popular, thousands of people will have heard this song and may be influenced to rethink how they mourn celebrity victims of suicide. If listeners actually change their ways, we may see less leaps in sales and streams of music from recently passed artists. Suicide may also be seen in a different light. Anyone can become victim under any circumstance and the more awareness that is spread about that, the better. It should also not be treated with as much sympathy as much as action. The music industry in particular has created more awareness and taken more action recently and consumers can start to spread the message of prevention and how we should treat someone of high status and someone of no status the same. The trend of suicide prevention related music will continue until there is change and Neon Gravestones has done a great job of taking the next step in the right direction.

You can listen to the track here and form your own opinion:

https://youtu.be/5MeQ9rA2Ifg