Music / Blurryface

My name's Blurryface, and I care what you think.

I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard
I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words
I wish I found some chords in an order that is new
I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang
I was told when I get older, all my fears would shrink
But now I'm insecure, and I care what people think

— "Stressed Out"

Blurryface is the fourth studio album by American music duo Twenty One Pilots, released on May 17th, 2015 through Fueled by Ramen.

The album was named after a character created by the duo; Tyler Joseph, one half of the duo, stated that the character of Blurryface "represents all the things that I as an individual, but also everyone around, are insecure about." While he and Josh Dun, the other half of the duo, generally refrained from referring to it as a Concept Album, each of the album's tracks deals with this character or what he represents to an extent. Tyler further visualized the Blurryface character by dressing as him for the concerts, music videos, and photoshoots of the album's cycle. This included him wearing black paint on his hands and neck, which he explained was symbolic of him feeling like his insecurities suffocated him and made him doubtful about what he creates. The character of Blurryface also influenced the distinct red-and-black color scheme of the album, which contrasted from the red-and-blue scheme the band had previously used, as Tyler realized that blue "was not a part of the character" while developing him.

The album marked the band's major commercial breakthrough, becoming their first and currently only album to debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200, generating several hit singles ("Stressed Out" and "Ride") which reached the top five of the US Billboard Hot 100, and selling 6.5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. The same year, it became the first album of the digital era to receive at least a Gold certification for every single track. Further milestones achieved by the album include staying on the Billboard chart for four consecutive years and becoming the most streamed rock album of all time, with over 6.7 billion plays.

The band embarked on two arena tours to support the album; the first, simply titled the Blurryface Tour, began under a week before the album's release and spanned almost exactly a year, while the second, the Emotional Roadshow World Tour, began less than a month after the previous tour's end and concluded roughly eleven months later.

Blurryface was supported by six singles: "Fairly Local", "Tear In My Heart", "Stressed Out", "Lane Boy", "Ride", and "Heavydirtysoul".

The character of Blurryface plays a major role in the conceptual storyline initiated with the band's following album, 2018's Trench, revolving around a dystopian city named Dema. This storyline also includes their sixth album, 2021's Scaled and Icy, and is slated to conclude with their forthcoming seventh album, Clancy.

Tracklist

1. "Heavydirtysoul" (3:55)
2. "Stressed Out" (3:22)
3. "Ride" (3:35)
4. "Fairly Local" (3:27)
5. "Tear In My Heart" (3:08)
6. "Lane Boy" (4:13)
7. "The Judge" (4:58)
8. "Doubt" (3:11)
9. "Polarize" (3:47)
10. "We Don't Believe What's on TV" (2:57)
11. "Message Man" (4:00)
12. "Hometown" (3:55)
13. "Not Today" (3:38)
14. "Goner" (3:57)

Can you save my heavy dirty tropes?

• Album Title Drop:
  • Blurryface is directly name-dropped in the pre-chorus of "Stressed Out" and indirectly name-dropped in the second verse of "Goner".
    "Stressed Out": My name's Blurryface, and I care what you think.
    "Goner": I've got two faces. Blurry's the one I'm not.
• Concept Album: Though Tyler and Josh were hesitant to refer to it as such, Blurryface is based around a character of the same name who represents the insecurities all people have. The album's tracks all deal with this idea to some extent and together tell a story of struggle and perseverance against these negative feelings.
• Downer Ending: The original version of "Goner" seems to insinuate Blurryface winning with its ending, as the recurring sound of its accordion creaking (producing noises not dissimilar to a tightening noose) and the song ultimately being swallowed by noises representing Blurryface (a character representative of dark thoughts and insecurities) imply that the worst has transpired.
• Every Car Is a Pinto: In the "Heavydirtysoul" video, the car Tyler is riding in falls apart, catches fire, and eventually explodes near the end of the video.
• Genre Roulette: Blurryface has an upbeat pop rock song ("Tear in My Heart"), a pop reggae song ("Ride"), an indie/ska song ("We Don't Believe What's On TV"), a Lonely Piano Piece that turns into a rock song ("Goner"), and an alternative/pop reggae song that turns into drum-and-bass ("Lane Boy"), just to name a few.
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: "Tear in My Heart" opens with a shout of "안녕하세요" (An nyeong ha se yo), Korean for "Hello" or "How are you?"
• One-Word Title: "Heavydirtysoul", "Ride", "Doubt", "Polarize", "Hometown", "Goner"
• Silly Love Songs: "Tear In My Heart", which is about Tyler's wife Jenna.

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I've been thinking too much, I've been thinking too much, help me