Fun Post Friday! Twenty One Pilots, Car Radio and MLM

Today's blog post is going to stray away from the psychological connection to MLM. Instead, I'm going to continue down the road of the philosophical idea of MLM.

I recently heard a song from one of my favorite bands of all time, and the best part about this band is to break away from the current trends while still hitting the main stream radio. This is extremely important, because they are reaching a large audience and can have a greater impact on my current generation. One of the recurring themes of this blog is the inability for MLMers to think critically, and to need a system, or a specific teacher to guide them toward success. The same can be said for the current popular music scene. There seems to be a limit on creativity and innovation. I fear we are more closed-minded with music, and there is a specific method to make a "hit".

When I was taking music, I learned the psychological aspect of how particular hymns, melodies, or jingles become popular. There is an emphasis on a very basic chord progression and very repetitive lyrics. The easier it is to understand and repeat the music, the more popular it tends to trend. Of course that is not the case for all music, but for the most part this is the case for main stream music, and this stems from the earliest developments of music. People yearn for understanding and to make sense of the information they are being given. Music is no exception to the rules of form and functionality.

The song that I am focusing on today is by the band Twenty One Pilots, and it is called Car Radio. Here are the lyrics:

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire, exhale desire
I know it's dire my time today

I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence

Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
I hate this car that I'm driving
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel

I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence

I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear
Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my, too deep, please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound

There are things we can do
But from the things that work there are only two
And from the two that we choose to do
Peace will win and fear will lose
It is faith and there's sleep
We need to pick one please because
Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive
And I will try with every rhyme
To come across like I am dying
To let you know you need to try to think

I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence

And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit in silence
And now I just sit

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire, exhale desire
I know it's dire my time today

I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence

I will start with the only negative I have with this song, and that is the overwhelming amount of repetition. I am not a repetition snob, but it is clear from the depth of this author's lyrics that it is designed for mass appeal.

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire, exhale desire
I know it's dire my time today

In his first paragraph, he describes sitting (presumably in the car), and he is going through an extremely emotional situation. He is too ambiguous to presume what is going through his head, but it is clearly negative as he refers to his time as being dire.

I have these thoughts, so often I ought
To replace that slot with what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole my car radio
And now I just sit in silence

The second paragraph describes these thoughts repeatedly coming to haunt him when the outside noise is turned off. It is very difficult for most people to deal with their day-to-day thought processes and emotions, and MLMs no this and take full advantage. They provide the mind numbing activities and structure to keep consumers hypnotized into a lull as they extract their dollars. The car radio, much like MLMs continuous training and development, is used as an escape from taking responsibility for thoughts and actions.

Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
I hate this car that I'm driving
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel

This is the epitome of the struggle every consumer has when they are faced with the reality of being involved in a MLM scam. They can hide their pride and continue in stride when the cd's are on and the plans are drawn, but when they have to sit and look at their business, it becomes all too clear it is more of an illness.

I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear
Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my, too deep, please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound

This is the confirmation that whatever he is dealing with is truly spiraling out of control, and it is making him question everything he has been told. This is the "Aha moment" where people start to question what our purpose is. I had this moment when I was shown the breakdown of the costs for my MLM. The fear of not knowing if I was going to be successful was pushed aside as I realized I knew I wouldn't make it if I stayed in line with this business.

There are things we can do
But from the things that work there are only two
And from the two that we choose to do
Peace will win and fear will lose
It is faith and there's sleep
We need to pick one please because
Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive
And I will try with every rhyme
To come across like I am dying
To let you know you need to try to think

This is the last non-repetitive paragraph, and in my opinion the best. This is the resolution of the interior conflict, and the answer becomes clear that the mind numbing radio was not good after all. He has successfully made the transition from being a programmed slave and reactivated his brain. This is the moment every MLMer comes to and there are only two paths. If they choose to ignore the facts, then they will become an MLMer for life and they will exile themselves from the community and their friends as they slowly funnel their money and time into the MLM. But if they choose to listen to that angry little thought in their head, then they can be granted clarity and make a healthy transition away from the poisonous MLM syndicate.

Here is the actual song, thank you for indulging me on this journey through music and philosophy with MLM.

If you have a story involving abuses from your upline and would like me to share it on this blog as a guest post, then please e-mail me and I will be more than happy to post it! Your stories are not as unique as you may think, and your stories are some of the most impactful resources we have to fight MLMs. I will keep your anonymity upon request.