Line #12 Music/TitusAndronicus


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/titus_andronicus_terminal5_11-300x199_2907.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Tramps like us, BABY WE WERE BORN TO DIE!]]
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4	Titus Andronicus is a punk/indie band from Glen Rock, New Jersey comprised (as of July 2017) of [[IAmTheBand Patrick Stickles]], Liam Betson, R.J. Gordon and Chris Wilson. They have released five albums, 2008's ''The Airing of Grievances'', 2010's ''The Monitor'', a ConceptAlbum based on the dual lives of a young man in New Jersey and a Union soldier in the CivilWar, 2012's ''Local Business'', 2015's ''The Most Lamentable Tragedy'' (a MindScrew of an album that can be best described as a mental illness rock opera) and 2019's ''An Obelisk''.
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6	Imagine Music/BruceSpringsteen crossed with Music/NeutralMilkHotel crossed with Music/TheClash and you're about halfway there.
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8	They are named for the quite bloody and violent [[Theatre/TitusAndronicus Shakespeare play]] of the same name.
9	----
10	!! Titus Andronicus provides examples of:
11	* AuthorAvatar: The protagonist in ''The Most Lamentable Tragedy'' is at least partially based on Stickles himself.
12	* ConceptAlbum:
13	** ''The Monitor'' uses the American Civil War as a metaphor for the struggles of a young man in modern New Jersey.
14	** Stickles has explained that the 5 different "acts" in ''The Most Lamentable Tragedy'' are meant to represent the protagonist going through different stages of manic depression.
15	* DarkReprise: "Titus Andronicus Forever" at the beginning of ''The Monitor'' and "...And Ever" at the end.
16	* DespairSpeech: "Four Score And Seven"
17	-->''It's still us against them it's still us against them it's still us against them it's still us against them it's still us against them it's still us against them it's still us against them AND THEY'RE WINNING!''
18	* EpicRocking: Basically all of ''The Monitor'', but special credit should go to "The Battle of Hampton Roads," a nearly 15 minute song named for the first naval battle between ironclad ships. With a bagpipe solo.
19	* GeniusBonus: With song titles like "[[Creator/PieterBruegelTheElder Upon Viewing Brueghel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus]]" and a concept album about the Civil War with a recommended reading list, this is a given. Patrick Stickles is a very smart, very well-read guy and it comes through in his lyrics.
20	* IAmTheBand: Inarguably, the band revolves around Patrick Stickles. See RevolvingDoorBand below for the extent.
21	* LocalHangout: Shea Stadium, the DIY venue in New York where the band practices and where Stickles worked as a ticket taker.
22	* OdeToIntoxication: Both the sarcastic and non-sarcastic variety.
23	* PerishingAltRockVoice: If Conor Oberst had become a punk rocker, he would be Patrick Stickles.
24	* RevolvingDoorBand: One of the more notable examples in Indie Rock, with 18 former members and counting.
25	* ShoutOut: To absolutely everything including Creator/WilliamShakespeare, Albert Camus, the CivilWar, Music/BillyBragg, Music/BruceSpringsteen, Series/{{Seinfeld}}, Creator/HunterSThompson, and ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', to name just a few.
26	* SpokenWordInMusic: ''The Monitor'' contains readings of speeches and writings by UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln and Creator/WaltWhitman, among others, performed by fellow indie rock artists such as Craig Finn of Music/TheHoldSteady and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak.
27	* StrawNihilist / TheAntiNihilist: A common thread throughout Stickles' lyrics is his own indecision between falling into nihilism completely or finding his own purpose in life.

Context Music / TitusAndronicus