Analysis of Backslide by twenty one pilots

[@garren2611]

That was a really good theory about 'Ned's Breads'. How it's a metaphor for Tyler's music as just something we buy, consume and then throw away. For me, though, I think I'll always just buy and consume haha

[@groovyghostnotes]

oh i am eating this content up like a pac man. but i always try to do videos like this to really appreciate what tyler is trying to say.

[@garren2611]

It's really amazing and powerful how most of TOP's music is so upbeat yet the lyrics have such a profound meaning! I just now discovered No Phun Intended too. Despite having terrible production, those songs are so well written. I love Prove Me Wrong!@@groovyghostnotes

[@chrisduncan4406]

I think this whole song is a double entendre. On one side, there is the obvious stuff like constantly stuck in cycles and trying to break the loop, always doubting yourself, thinking you can't do it again...pretty much what everyone else has already said. However, i think this song is almost like a sequel to chlorine. I don't have a lot of time because i need to go to sleep so I may edit this later to elaborate further but here we go. I think this song is also about the fact that he has made this whole world in his head, and now he has to stay in this lore with everything he creates which is very frustrating and limiting. He talks about being a champion in his own world, but now he is "drowning in the logistics" just trying to keep the story straight and progressing through every new song. The phrase "i feel the pull" i think is also a double entendre for "i fill the pool" which we know is from chlorine, that represents his creative side needing to be just right in for Ned to come hang out...well now the pool is full and it's too much, its over his head so his creativity is now limited. the phrase "ill take anything you have, if you could throw me a line" is both asking for a life line, but also a literal line in a song because his creativity is being so limited due to this whole world he has to abide by. He's asking if now is the time he should let go of all this lore so he can be free of its creative shackles, hence why he says he's not sure he could do this all again and start over. There's a ton more you can pull from with this idea, and I wouldn't put it past tyler to be that brilliant. maybe after class tomorrow i'll keep going, but I havent heard this idea or thought yet at all so maybe i'm just forcing my own thoughts here haha.

[@arian5607]

The bread metaphor 🤌🏼 The lines "Did you solve all of your problems? Thanks for asking, in a way but, Accidentally uncovered a new one yesterday" really just hit me hard! Instantly reminded me of when I finally figure out something abt myself but then something offers up a new perspective so I revisit it and I'm like 'Oh shit', which can be so disheartening which makes me start to spiral.

[@brink1738]

I really like Backslide in tandem with the first two tracks. Overcompensate is clearly this big show of confidence that the fight ahead is almost a guaranteed win. Next Semester introduces the anxiety of actually having to break the cycle and what that means to the point of panicking, eventually realizing that there will be a peace at the end if you start fresh. These moments of panic keep happening, but everytime, you get just a bit stronger when you get through it. Backslide is the continuation of this panic turned into doubt. We know this is a cycle and we know we keep doing it but the fact that we keep doing it makes us fear backsliding. I really like how the perspective on the bike shows Tyler trying to move forward but we never see what is in front of him, only behind him, which is what he fears. The three tracks show this rollercoaster of heightened confidence to reality. Just because we are confident that we can rid ourselves of the current problems does not mean a new one will not just appear as stated in Backslide. We fear getting help vs. doing the cycle over again because burdening our friends is worse than burdening ourselves with the continued cycle. We try to move forward but all we think about is what is behind us, making the future all the more daunting to the point where we will take anything if *something* gives us a hand, even if that outcome is worse than asking for help from a friend. Overall, we have a rollercoaster of confidence, anxiety, hope, doubt, and defeat within 3 songs sporting extremely different vibes. This album is going to be a heater.

[@groovyghostnotes]

it makes me excited what the rest of the tracks will bring. this is one of the rapids why i love tøp so much. everything they do is planned. it’s amazing to see an artist even plan out how the songs are going to be released. it’s neat, seeing how each song is a continuation of the last but also introducing its own thing. i am really excited to see what the rest of clancy will bring

[@carlabernal9142]

i think you're one of the best top related content creators when it comes to analyzin and explaining all the lore and the multiple meanings of their music. thank you

[@bangbangrogers2750]

They better sell the Ned bread at the merch stand 🙏

[@groovyghostnotes]

oh absolutely

[@hannahherrick9654]

What you say between 4:56 and 5:30 is sooo impactful!! The fact that you were able to see that metaphor and deliver it to us in the way you did is incredible!! Things like this is why I keep coming back and watching your videos! Keep up the GREAT work!

[@groovyghostnotes]

thank you so much!

[@bekdinning4542]

This makes so much sense- I was confused about the bread. You definitely have a talent for analysing and deep thinking. I also like to think that bread is a staple and a basic as well as giving us energy. Creativity is a necessity that we need and it can give us lasting energy for life.

[@orangemonks894]

Really like the interpretation of him throwing the bread all willynilly, and it being how he sees his music.

[@damianpryde2777]

Great thoughts, thanks!

[@Friend_from_Dema]

I really like your theory on the bread it makes sense and is kind of what I was thinking but it added more secure theories for me. I feel like it could also be some type of love either for himself or for his music. Like his love or happiness comes and goes. And no matter how hard he try’s it all goes to waste. This is also my new favorite.

[@jcBentleyB3]

Damn good look at this. I like this theory, but when I was thinking about it.. kept bugging me about the lost time of working so hard and losing love along the way(wether for the music or the loved 1s) and that bread was going to be his own love given, that he created ...but it went everywhere but to where it could go... it was so watered down by the end that he had nothing left to give to his best friend. And like you said...to enjoy the present moment😅

[@groovyghostnotes]

i love how patient josh is in this video too. he understands tyler’s struggles and will wait for him. everyone needs their josh friend

[@blvrryvhs]

this is what i wrote in my notes app like three minutes after watching the premiere in class: Considering that Ned represents creativity, the buns and Josh waiting on Tyler with his grill could be an allegory for Josh waiting on Tyler’s ideas to record music, and Ty caving to feelings of inadequacy on his creations, trying them, discarding them before getting to Josh and his drums, no matter how good the idea may have actually been. As Tyler repeats the cycle, tainting his ideas in the process, Josh waits patiently for his best friend, practicing his craft for when Tyler finally arrives with something useable. hearing you pretty much say exactly what i was thinking fueled my confirmation bias, and my ego is sky high rn 😌

[@silly_gumbus]

yayyyy another upload from my favorite woohoo!!!!

[@blvrryvhs]

Overcompensate, Next Semester, and Backslide being the single trilogy like Jumpsuit, NATN, and Levitate were for Trench works so well. It fits the theme of a vicious cycle, which is obviously the overarching theme of everything right now. Someone overcompensating for past mistakes and a lack of something, coming to the realization that they can’t change the past and they need to start fresh, making progress but eventually backsliding into old habits because they’re inevitable, then repeating the cycle over and over again. Clancy is already so good, May 24 can’t come soon enough.

[@indys_basement]

i just love your theories, i had the same vision as i watched the mv and listened to the song. something i felt as i was listening to it, is that it feels like this album is going backwards... I don't know how to explain it, backslide's lyrics made me feel that every next song is going to be about not being able to let go of the past or even succeeding at defeating your inner demons, kinda like we're going downhill again... Tyler started the album with something like overcompensate (which is about taking action and going for it no matter what because you feel confident) and then we have next semester that it still hopeful but we're already starting to be dragged back to a bad place even if safely i would say, seeing it in a positive way... and now we have backslide that talks literally about not wanting to go backwards but already doing that conscious and unconsciously... I don't know if this makes sense or even if i was able to explain it correctly 😅😂 i just have this feeling that Clancy the album is going to make us feel a lot of things and is about to go deep. like if we were to listen to the album backwards (like last track to the first track) then we would have a positive outcome, but naturally it would seem negative. but maybe I'm just tripping or being too deep sorry hahaha is something i think tyler would do, because either way it would feel like a cycle

[@xzile1045]

The throwing the bread is real though because how he makes his albums is for hundreds of mixes and sounds that he picks and chooses from nice job

[@xzile1045]

Welcome to twenty one pilots over a bread metaphore is awesome

[@SLHope4]

That is a really deep theory and I just have to compliment you on how deep you went. I think it fits and works out. I want to congratulate you on finding that out and I wanted to thank you for telling us because it definitely gives a different perspective on the song. P.S. I wish I could agree that this is going to be the best album. AND I LOVE IT. But when I think back to the others. I fall in love all over again with them.

[@sk1b1dis1gm4]

i think backslide is my fav song on clancy so far! cant wait for friday

[@michalvozar]

The Ned's breads theory is insaneeeeee! Good job detective!

[@keirabelle4077]

man i really hope they never feel like they need to keep pushing out content, because the whole point of art is to express yourself in a way that only you understand and if it resonates with others that just a bonus (goin with the kitchen sink metaphor here) Its the whole reason that a lot of big movie studios now don't have as good quality stuff as before. I wouldn't be mad if tyler and josh decided to stop making music. I'd be sad, but its their lives, and they shouldn't be creating only to have it be consumed.

[@starkattz471]

After watching your “none of this is real” theory, I actually did think about the lyric “I used to be a champion of a world you can’t see” the same way, which I think is really cool! ^^ Your theory made me think, and it made so much sense. You also did an amazing job determining the meaning of these details, I would’ve never thought of that myself, lol :,3 thank you for sharing 💙

[@ewolfgirl]

Great deeper analysis into this song; thanks for sharing! You said you're studying Psychology? Keep up the good work; I think you're a natural 👏 There are lots of ways to interpret most TØP songs; always layers! At first I thought Tyler was talking to God, and wanting to get back in touch with his Faith to help w/his depressive tendencies. This is one way to look at it. I also like what you said about him talking to his younger self, saying he should've loved him better (ostensibly when he was going through his darkest days), and 'do you think now's the time to let go?' I hadn't thought of the bread as a metaphor for his music. He kinda makes a face when he eats the bread, then tosses it, like it's not great stuff. Same w/the lemonade which he drinks, kinda sticks out his tongue, then tosses as well - bringing us back to Chlorine (lead is terrible in flavor but doubles as a paper maker 🎶) I'm wondering too if there's a reason Josh is making one single wimpy burger; is that a musical metaphor as well? 🤔 "The fact that hamburger buns are such an impactful metaphor...welcome to Twenty One Pilots!" YEP! I love analyzing the heck out of their songs. Glad I'm not the only one 😄

[@groovyghostnotes]

if you ask josh on twitter.. he said that’s what happens when you grill a burger for 9 hours waiting for tyler lol. and yes! i majored in psychology, and minored in english (actually graduating tomorrow lol) both of those have proven beneficial for my music analyses lol. there’s so many meanings to tøp songs.. and all of them are right. that’s one thing i love about tyler’s writing. he purposefully adds so many interpretations

[@ewolfgirl]

Damn, poor Josh was waitin 9 hours on them buns!! 😅 Happy Graduation! 👩‍🎓 All the best 🎉

[@caspoki]

i think he liked sai even if it was made for the charts, its just that he wished he didnt make it cuz ppl took it badly

[@anthonycourey]

Nice as someone who created a failed cinematic universe and wanted everyone safe and now to respect everyone's requests and for everything to be destroyed I completely understand everything

[@sarahVFC08]

Honestly I would go with the bread analogy if Josh wasn’t the one who directed the video. I think the bread is just bread here. there’s a wider concept to be evaluated.

[@0sheila85]

I think of the bread as material abundance like money made off the music. And he had to go through hell to get that bread to help Josh support him to eat to live.. and you think of all the ways you can use money. That was his music money.. and he gave some to his younger self as an adult bc the value and results of making money is viewed differently as an adult. So therapeutically he tells his younger self.. like I wish I would have loved you better.. this and that and then takes a bite and tosses it.. then goes through hell in this rocky time of darkness and depression to be the breadwinner for Josh to be able to eat .. and comes back with not much of anything and has to turn around and go through it all again. It's like he is channeling his inner child to figure out was all of it worth it to have that next to nothing barely usable bread.

[@spider-woman9482]

My thoughts: that ned bread looks bussin ngl, like hawaiian rolls. hope they expand on the irony and launch a bread product LOL

[@Tater102]

So you really don't think there is a single spiritual metaphor in there? Not a single message to God?

[@groovyghostnotes]

feel free to interpret this however you want to. thats how art is supposed to be. cool thing is, none of our interpretations are wrong. if you think its about God, then it is. you have your interpretations , and i have mine :)

[@Beccaboo739]

@@groovyghostnotes well, yes, for now. I mean, you can interpret a song however you like of course, and rn it’s a matter of brainstorming, but because Tyler is trying to draw more solid conclusions based on the lore in this album, it seems he must have a certain meaning he is going for and not just putting it out there to only be subjective, wouldn’t you say?

[@groovyghostnotes]

@@Beccaboo739 as i told the last person, if you think it’s about God, then it is. i’m not gonna argue with that. if you don’t agree with my answers, that’s fine.

[@Beccaboo739]

@@groovyghostnotes do you think there is an objective meaning Tyler intended?

[@groovyghostnotes]

@@Beccaboo739 yes, and this video was my answer to that. that being said, every songwriter has an objective meaning. but, music exists way beyond its creators intentions. once it is out in the world, it is no longer bound to what the artist meant it to be. especially when it comes to twenty one pilots. twenty one pilots have always pushed the message of creating, so you build purpose for yourself. they have always pushed their fans to create something only they can explain. so, i don’t think tyler would be upset if someone thought a song was different than what he originally intended. to me, it is someone talking to his past self. trying to change who he was, only to realize that will be a constant battle. that IS my guess at his objective meaning. if you think it’s something different, then go with that. also, some of the music videos have no meaning to the lore. so, in some instances, no, they have no objective meaning. at least in terms of the lore.

[@sw8819]

Maybe you’re just a nerdy English kid, maybe I’m just a nerdy Dutch kid, maybe we’re all just nerdy people but in any case we’re together ❤😎 Welcome back to trench!

[@groovyghostnotes]

i meant english, like the school subject lol. i got a minor in english, major in psychology. but cool you’re dutch!

[@sw8819]

Haha I’m dumb😂 but I’ll just excuse myself for this mistake because I study cs so I don’t need to have perfect English😎

[@Beccaboo739]

I think you are missing more spiritual components. Tyler almost always goes that deep.

[@groovyghostnotes]

as i’ve said before, people are free to interpret songs however they want to. this was just my own interpretation :)

[@FreyjaFoxx.x]

Yeah I personally think he's singing this to God. It's his feelings of not loving God enough and can he do so still, is it too late.

[@Beccaboo739]

@@FreyjaFoxx.x I agree. I guess we all can have our own personal opinion of what it means to us, but the question is, does an objective answer exist that Tyler Joseph meant when he wrote this. All though he may never come out and say it, judging by his character, the way he has written songs, and the fact that in 2020 he was still partnering to write worship songs to Jesus, I’d say my opinion of his objective intention is that he is writing to God.

[@nayla5605]

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