See also: 2020 interviews
Zane Lowe interviewed Tyler Joseph on December 9, 2020 in promotion of the new single Christmas Saves the Year.[1] They also briefly discussed the upcoming album.
Note that there were some audio issues when the call began. This transcript begins when they were able to properly connect.
Transcript[]
Christmas Saves the Year[]
Zane Lowe: We’re live on apple music radio right now with Tyler Joseph from twenty one pilots. If you just joined us, I was just asking him about the origin of this beautiful, wonderful kind of Christmas moment right here. Where'd it come from, bro?
Tyler Joseph: Can you hear me alright?
ZL: Yeah. You sound good so far.
TJ: Cool. I would put on this song - just some changes - and at the same time, I started putting up decorations. I was looking up [cuts out], “Oh, it’s a Christmas song.” [cuts out] I guess I committed to... I told my mom and my mother-in-law - everyone who ever asked me, “Hey, would you ever write a Christmas song?” - I've always told them, “No way. That's not my thing.”
TJ: And then, I don't know if it was just the combination of working on that song at a piano while accidentally staring at Christmas decorations first going up, and that combined with being a dad for the first time - experiencing Christmas through a little girl's perspective. It kind of all came together.
ZL: And it did, man. It's a beautiful Christmas moment. It's funny, whenever new artists come through, you realize. I always think that there's an unspoken pressure because you think about the Christmas classics. Ad you don't think about that when you're making your own music. You're not thinking about that when you're making a twenty one pilots album, like, [mockingly dramatic] “How's it going to measure up to my peers or the music that's come before me?” But with Christmas songs you can't help but think about the classics. You can't help but do it!
TJ: There's definitely a few components that make a Christmas song what a Christmas song is. And I knew that I could either reinvent the wheel or I could try to lean into those assets that we're so used to, whether it's some of those jingle bell things. I mean, if you listen to the end of the track, at the very end you can even hear me fly in a “ho ho ho” at the very end. So if you’re ever wondering if I was leaning into those Christmas attributes or not, that says it all.
TJ: You know, actually, I texted the guy that I have mix all my stuff. I gave him a heads up because this all happened really fast. Which a lot of the stuff that I've been doing does, where it's just like, “Hey. Here's a song. Let's go, let's go!” Really been testing my label and other people that are used to having months to prepare for a release. Really been testing that because, you know, having the studio in the house, wanting to turn stuff around so quick.
TJ: But I texted my mixer. I was like, “Yo, a Christmas song is coming down the pipe. Get ready. Clear your schedule. I'd like to get this mixed and done in a couple days.” And he goes, “Oh cool! Are you recording a classic or writing an original?” I just texted - I said, “Both!”
ZL: [cracks up] Ladies and gentlemen! In case you were wondering, Tyler Joseph knows exactly how good his band is! Don't go anywhere bro. I need a couple more minutes with you off the back of this. Check this one out.
[“Christmas Saves the Year” plays]
CSTY: Production[]
ZL: It is both! Oh my gosh, man, not just drawing on the inspiration in terms of the iconography and the imagery of Christmas - the “cheap decor and flavored cheer” - but also with the arrangement and the music too. You know, that little Vince Gerardi, that kind of like beautiful lilting piano and those dry drums and everything. It's got that classic Christmas feel about it in the production as well. Was it fun to do? Did you enjoy doing it? Just kind of something in between?
TJ: I did. And actually, a lot of times a new song can be inspired by a new piece of gear. I got this outboard gear called Melotron that has all these amazing kind of old-timey recordings with all the mess-ups and all the -- you know, it was amazing to deep dive into this new piece of gear. It just fit with all those sounds and all those layers.
TJ: I had a lot of fun showing self-control. That's one of the first things that I know I have to learn as a producer. My first drum pattern on that song was so many kick drums. It was like a con like that, [beatboxes the drum pattern]. That was what I first heard and then I realized, “No, no, no, no. You gotta reserve the kick drums for just the ones, and then every once in a while on the ups.”
TJ: A lot of times I used to find a drum pattern that I love and then loop it through the whole section. What I did is, I actually went in at specific moments where - either the upbeats on some of those kind of like off-snare rim shots, and then some of the other, just, hat inflections - I would go in and mute and add and just ever-- So, the drum pattern almost never is exactly the same throughout the song.
ZL: The drums are sick. But they always are! I mean, we've nerded out about this before. You know how I feel about you and drums. I think that you've got a real ear for making those an essential part of the process. It makes total sense because outside of your own skill set, the only additional member of the band - and collaborator - is behind a kit. So it's got to be an essential part of what drives the band.
CSTY: Inspiration[]
ZL: Hey, what's up with the Christmas movie? I mean, it is a Christmas movie, you're right. The hook is a Christmas movie: “Christmas Saves the Year”. Why don't you write it? You should write it!
TJ: [laughs] I don't know, I mean, what I was doing: I always need to put myself somewhere when I'm writing a song. This song in particular, I have a few friends who live in some bigger cities that have these small apartments, man. They have these small rooms. There's a lot of people who don't have the space to move around. I'm lucky enough out here in Ohio. I've got some land that I can go out and actually get a breath of fresh air. But there's a lot of people going through this right now that--
ZL: It's been hard on the inner cities, for sure.
TJ: --their version of Christmas is going to be the tiniest little decoration that they can look at as they're trying to weigh the options of whether or not they should see their family this year and stuff. That's where I put myself when I was writing this song. This idea of referencing old Christmas past and trying to create a new memory but it's going to be a different one. It's minimal.
ZL: You know, I've been lucky enough to catch up with you a couple of times now this year, which is rare. You don't run into a room to talk about music. I respect that about you. When we spoke last time, you talked about how quarantine was affecting your creative process. And twenty one pilots, you’re not afraid to present a future, be it bold, brave, or dystopian. Depends on how you feel.
Upcoming Record[]
ZL: But this year, I can imagine, it has put you in a really - as we say goodbye, just to get an insight into what’s coming - must have impacted your creative space, because you’re a sensitive human. You must be feeling and seeing what’s going on out there and experiencing it in your own microscopic way. It must be influencing your music, you know?
Tyler Joseph: It is. It absolutely is. This new record I’m working on, it’s some of the most taxing stuff that I’ve ever dove into. It has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not bouncing it off of people. I’m not on tour as I’m writing it. I’m not thinking about how it may impact people live in that moment. I’m in a vacuum here, writing songs.
TJ: I think that there’s still an opportunity to create some awesome stuff in that environment, but it’s scarier than ever at the same time because you haven’t bounced it off anyone. You’re just going to show up one day and get to say, “Here’s the album.”
ZL: It must - in a weird way - feel like your first record. It’s not like you were bouncing your first records off people either. You didn’t have an audience.
TJ: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that ever since we’ve gotten an audience, one of the things I’ve tried to do is get back to that moment. Get back to writing music in a place where I didn’t know if someone was going to hear it or not. And with everything being so still up in the air with what it looks like for us - and our career - because live music is so important to us.
TJ: You know, when a band or artist reaches out and asks me, “How do I get going? How do I get started?” For us, our equation involved going out and playing shows. With that not an option, it’s like, “Man, I don’t know what to tell you right now.” So there’s a bit of the unknown - a bit of desperation that brings me back to when I first started writing songs - and that’s why I’m so excited about some of this new stuff. I can’t wait to show it to you, man.
ZL: I can't wait to hear it, bro. I'm super excited. Everybody is. I mean, people are thrilled to have you back. We love the way you move: little or no warning whatsoever has become the M.O. now for twenty one pilots fans. You know, “Just wait for it. There it is. Okay, cool.”
Christmas with Rosie[]
ZL: So Christmas - the holiday season! As you said, you’re a dad now. What a beautiful addition to this whole experience. In fact, I think, until you become a parent, there's a certain period in your life where you're between being a kid (where it still matters) and being a parent, where the holidays really becomes about showing up for your family and doing your thing and being present, and stopping your ambitions long enough to be able to share with your family, and tell stories, and just be a part of the unit, right?
ZL: It's different now. You've got your own unit. It must feel really exciting to know that you've got this song but you've also-- you can disappear out the studio and move into a whole different experience now that you're a dad.
TJ: Yeah no I mean, when I play the song for her she lights up. I can see her light up. I was working out the second verse with her sitting on my lap as I was sitting at the piano. It was stuff like that, that I'll personally never forget. Every time I hear the song again, I'll remember her when she's that age -- you know, 10 months old, sitting on my lap. She's holding down the low keys, hitting everything wrong, and I'm still trying to work through that second verse. That's stuff that you can't manufacture. That's real for me.
ZL: [laughs] Tyler, at last you've got somebody you can play music to and just enjoy that process, as opposed to staring at them intently, wondering what their reaction is gonna be so you can alter the snare.
TJ: [laughs] Yeah exactly! She loved it! She loved it. She didn't have any critiques on the mix.
ZL: [laughs] It was good to see you! This is a great record. You know, I'm hard on Christmas songs. Like I said, you can't show up unless-- you can't be a modern band and show up unless you're going to hit us with the Coldplay “Christmas Lights” vibe. I mean, that's the bar. That's the bar that you've got to beat, that's been set by your contemporaries in terms of, “All right,” Chris Martin's like, “I know what I got to achieve here.” And there are a few that come through every year that are able to do that. You've done that, man. I love it. This song is a stunner.
ZL: We're gonna get straight into [unclear] - brand new world first play. Love this record. We'll talk about it, gas it up afterwards. But Tyler, have a fantastic holidays, man. Be safe; be well. Let's get through it and get you back into a space next year with music and touring, man. We appreciate you.
TJ: Thanks, man. Peace.