Neon Gravestones

File:Neon Internet Cafe open 24 hours.jpg

The song was written and recorded by Tyler Joseph in his basement and produced alongside Paul Meany of alternative rock band Mutemath.{{cite AV media notes|title=Trench|others=Twenty One Pilots|year=2018|publisher=Fueled by Ramen}} Apart from the band's drummer Josh Dun, Joseph, and Meany, no other person, including friends and family members, was allowed to be present during the songwriting process; this was to not influence the song's direction.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kerrang-uk/20181010/282020443249601|title=Twenty One Pilots – Part two of our guided tour of Trench with Tyler and Josh – Kerrang!|website=PressReader|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221230528/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kerrang-uk/20181010/282020443249601|archive-date=December 21, 2018|url-status=live}} Some publications, including Billboard, have interpreted the "neon", which is often used for advertising, as a fake light, attracting someone towards death.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8478509/twenty-one-pilots-trench-decoding-meaning|title=Twenty One Pilots' 'Trench': Decoding the New Album's Hidden Meanings|magazine=Billboard|first=Paige|last=Williams|date=October 5, 2018|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006121307/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8478509/twenty-one-pilots-trench-decoding-meaning|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://culture.affinitymagazine.us/review-a-track-by-track-analysis-of-twenty-one-pilotss-trench/|title=Review: A Track-by-Track Analysis of Twenty One Pilots' 'Trench'|last=Gallagher|first=Addison|date=October 20, 2018|website=Arts + Culture|language=en-US|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222034318/http://culture.affinitymagazine.us/review-a-track-by-track-analysis-of-twenty-one-pilotss-trench/|archive-date=December 22, 2018|url-status=live}} Several music journalists have described the ending as directly linked to Trench's penultimate track, "Legend", which pays homage to Joseph's late grandfather, Robert, who appeared on the cover of the band's first major-label album, Vessel (2013).{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/twenty-one-pilots-trench-album-review-1202971674/|title=Album Review: Twenty One Pilots' 'Trench'|first=Chris|last=Willman|date=October 7, 2018|work=Variety|access-date=October 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007224725/https://variety.com/2018/music/news/twenty-one-pilots-trench-album-review-1202971674/|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2017586/twenty-one-pilots-trench-review/franchises/the-week-in-pop/|title=Twenty One Pilots May Not Be For You (Because They're For Everyone)|date=October 11, 2018|website=Stereogum|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011233925/https://www.stereogum.com/2017586/twenty-one-pilots-trench-review/franchises/the-week-in-pop/|archive-date=October 11, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/twenty-one-pilots-trench-2611885879.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3|title=Twenty One Pilots Get Sensitive on 'Trench'|first=Joshua|last=Copperman|date=October 12, 2018|website=PopMatters|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223100336/https://www.popmatters.com/twenty-one-pilots-trench-2611885879.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3|archive-date=December 23, 2018|url-status=live}}

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| quote = I think at some point, "We hear you and we are here for you and we understand you" ...There's a point where that doesn't help. And what's the opposite of that? That's a challenge to step up and defeat something. To win.

| source = –Tyler Joseph, speaking to Alternative Press{{Cite news|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/twenty-one-pilots-neon-gravestones-interview/|title=Choosing life: twenty one pilots avoid the glow of 'Neon Gravestones'|date=October 6, 2018|work=Alternative Press|last=Pettigrew|first=Jason|access-date=October 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008045637/https://www.altpress.com/features/twenty-one-pilots-neon-gravestones-interview/|archive-date=October 8, 2018|url-status=live}}

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In an October 2018 interview with Kerrang!, Joseph revealed that he was uneasy about the placement of the song in the middle of the Trench, having heard concerns from outside opinions that it affected the flow of the album. He decided to keep the song in its place, believing it to be "the heart of Trench". Joseph was also worried about the sensitivity of the track, as was Dun, but both agreed to keep the song on the album.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kerrang-uk/20181003/282565904081589|title=Twenty One Pilots: They're back! And their journey to create Trench is a story that could only come from them... – Kerrang!|first=Emily|last=Carter|work=Kerrang!|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219134219/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/kerrang-uk/20181003/282565904081589|archive-date=December 19, 2018|url-status=live}} Executives at Atlantic Records were also "extremely concerned" by the song, with Joseph recalling in an interview that they described it as a "giant landmine in the middle of the record" and were concerned that if its message were misinterpreted it could potentially be career-ending for the band.{{Cite news|url=https://www.altpress.com/news/twenty-one-pilots-tyler-joseph-vialism-dema-theory/|title=You still haven't discovered everything twenty one pilots hid in Dema|date=May 4, 2020|work=Alternative Press|last=Dowd|first=Rachael|access-date=May 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505104809/https://www.altpress.com/news/twenty-one-pilots-tyler-joseph-vialism-dema-theory/|archive-date=May 5, 2020|url-status=live}}

Some publications noted that the song could have been written in response to various celebrity suicides, such as those of Chester Bennington and Scott Hutchison, and the popularity of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Joseph also explained that the song was "a reaction to what was happening in our culture", but added that he was still proud of "our culture," although his pride in it had been declining. He nonetheless "felt inclined to bring up a new perspective – a perspective that comes off a bit more aggressive and more of a challenge". In another interview, Joseph said he feared it would border on disrespect if he answered a fan's question on whether one particular death had caused him to write the song.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccJyYRcAs0g|title=Twenty One Pilots Press Conference at Wells Fargo Center, October 28, 2018|work=Radio 104.5|publisher=YouTube|date=1 November 2018|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109045944/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccJyYRcAs0g&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=9 November 2019|url-status=live}}

{{Listen

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|description=A 29-second sample of the song "Neon Gravestone", a slow-burning hip hop piano ballad. Tyler Joseph raps lyrics which attack the glorification of suicide.

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"Neon Gravestones" is a forlorn, slow-burning hip hop piano ballad that runs for a duration of four minutes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/10/05/review-twenty-one-pilots-score-again-with-terrific-trench/38064435/|title=Review: Twenty One Pilots score again with another genre-bending album, 'Trench'|last=Kennedy|first=Mark|date=October 5, 2018|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006122801/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/10/05/review-twenty-one-pilots-score-again-with-terrific-trench/38064435/|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}} According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a fast tempo of 150 beats per minute.{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0191694|title=Twenty One Pilots 'Neon Gravestones' Sheet Music in B Minor – Download & Print|last=Joseph|first=Tyler|date=11 December 2018|publisher=Musicnotes|access-date=February 8, 2019}} "Neon Gravestones" is composed in the key of B minor. The song has a basic sequence of Bm–F{{music|sharp}}m₇–A₆–Esus2–G_maj13–G₆–G_maj7 during the introduction, changes to Bm–F{{music|sharp}}5–A_sus2–EG–G₆–G–G₆ in the verses and chorus and follows A–Bm–Em₆/G–D at the bridge, interludes and coda as its chord progression. The musical composition is built on swirling piano and jittery calibrated drums. A somber {{music|time|6|8}} piano riff runs throughout atop electronic percussion, steadily picking up pace over time. Joseph alternates between singing and spoken word rapping, while pitching his voice to sound "especially fragile, hoarse, and tentative."

Lyrically, "Neon Gravestones" criticizes the media's glorification of suicide. Joseph challenges pop culture at large for not taking the mental health of troubled musicians more seriously while reckoning with the aftermath of numerous celebrity musicians who have taken their own lives. His balladic lyrics address the suicide crisis as well as other forms of untimely death. The song contains plainly introspective lyrics where Joseph frankly discusses suicide, speaking with first-person singular pronouns rather than in royal "we".{{huh|date=May 2024}} Joseph argues that there is a culture of romanticizing celebrity suicides, and grapples with the idea that some artists who choose to leave the world may have done so with their legacy in mind. These tendencies communicate a message that "an earlier grave is an optional way." Joseph closes the song by pleading for suicide not to be glorified, and advising the listener to instead pay respects to the elderly who have remained alive.

During his songs, Joseph often engages audiences in a non-literal approach.{{cn|date=May 2024}} However, "Neon Gravestones" is one of the tracks on Trench where he abandons characters and concepts, and instead directly states what he means.{{not in source|date=May 2024}} Joseph explained that the lyrics were "black and white" rather than metaphorical like most of the band's songs,{{Cite web|title=twenty one pilots Explain Why They Won't Add More Band Members Any Time Soon|url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/twenty-one-pilots-explain-why-they-wont-add-more-band-members-any-time-soon/|date=November 9, 2018|website=Kerrang!|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219230408/https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/twenty-one-pilots-explain-why-they-wont-add-more-band-members-any-time-soon/|archive-date=December 19, 2018|access-date=December 19, 2018}} as he didn't want "beautiful, pretty metaphors" distracting the listener from "the importance of the topic".{{Cite web|title="Why not dream big?" – Twenty One Pilots are shaking things up|url=https://www.readdork.com/features/why-not-dream-big-twenty-one-pilots-are-shaking-things-up|last=Shutler|first=Ali|date=April 12, 2019|website=Dork Magazine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413000012/https://www.readdork.com/features/why-not-dream-big-twenty-one-pilots-are-shaking-things-up|archive-date=April 13, 2019|access-date=April 13, 2019}} He also described the track as "a view into the deeper reasons for what's going on in Dema that feels like I have to leave". Joseph later told Alternative Press that the song was one that "you have to live with for a while", one "you have to give oxygen and let it breathe". Dun added that the two of them generally agree with regards to spiritual or political subjects, which was one of the reasons why they made the track.

The song was met with positive reviews from music critics, though most noted that it may attract some controversy for its unconventional take on suicide. Billboard journalist Paige Williams wrote that the song may redeem the band from those who saw them as glamorizing depression in the past. Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone said the song "is the most intense look at fame... moody and reflective".{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-twenty-one-pilots-still-stressed-more-cohesive-on-trench-733620/|title=Review: Twenty One Pilots Still Stressed, More Cohesive on 'Trench'|first=Christopher R.|last=Weingarten|date=October 5, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006121713/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-twenty-one-pilots-still-stressed-more-cohesive-on-trench-733620/|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}} NME's Gary Ryan called the song a highlight of the album, an "elegiac, touching broadside against the fetishization of the 27 Club".{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/twenty-one-pilots-trench-review|title=Twenty One Pilots – 'Trench' review|website=NME|first=Gary|last=Ryan|date=October 5, 2018|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015093020/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/arts/music/twenty-one-pilots-trench.html|archive-date=October 15, 2018|url-status=live}} Stereogum{{'}}s Chris DeVille called the song "an unusual message in modern pop music, but unsurprising for a group that put their grandfathers on the cover of their major-label debut." Joshua Copperman, writing for PopMatters, deemed the song "the most compelling track" off Trench, but called its ending "too pat" compared to the rest of the song. Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press placed it at number 29 on his ranking of all of the band's songs as of September 2019, hailing the song as "a brave statement in a troubling time".{{Cite news|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/twenty-one-pilots-songs-ranked/|title=twenty one pilots songs ranked in all of their pop majesty|date=September 26, 2019|work=Alternative Press|last=Pettigrew|first=Jason|access-date=October 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930235509/https://www.altpress.com/features/twenty-one-pilots-songs-ranked/|archive-date=September 30, 2019|url-status=live}}

Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic was more critical of "Neon Gravestones" regarding its message, arguing that to "deny" fans the right to pay homage to any deceased artist upon their death may be too cruel considering the impact of and affection attached to the artist's work. He continued, writing that "the song is less a coherent argument than a series of questions—tough ones about the departed, and tougher ones for those left behind".{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/10/twenty-one-pilots-tackle-suicide-trench/572173/|title=Twenty One Pilots Interrogate the Rock-and-Roll Suicide|first=Spencer|last=Kornhaber|date=October 5, 2018|work=The Atlantic|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006131451/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/10/twenty-one-pilots-tackle-suicide-trench/572173/|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}} Pettigrew noted in an interview with the band that the song was one of the most controversial of their career. Calling it an "anti-suicide-glorifying anthem," Chris Willman of Variety said the song may be debated "not just by fans but some of the mental health specialists who track pop culture's statements on this stuff in the months to come". Martin Williams of The Herald predicted that the song would "undoubtedly receive a kneejerk response of insensitivity to victims with lines like: 'I'm not disrespecting what was left behind / just pleading that it does not get glorified'".{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/16968479.album-review-have-twenty-one-pilots-lost-the-plot-with-their-controversial-take-on-suicide/|title=Album Review: Have Twenty One Pilots' lost the plot with their controversial take on suicide?|website=HeraldScotland|first=Martin|last=Williams|date=October 8, 2018|access-date=October 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008223704/https://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/16968479.album-review-have-twenty-one-pilots-lost-the-plot-with-their-controversial-take-on-suicide/|archive-date=October 8, 2018|url-status=live}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Trench and Twenty One Pilots' official YouTube channel.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U8OAC6sN9I|title=Neon Gravestones|work=Twenty One Pilots|publisher=YouTube|date=4 October 2018|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108111247/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U8OAC6sN9I&gl=US&hl=en&has_verified=1&bpctr=9999999999|archive-date=8 November 2019|url-status=live}}

Recording and management

• Published by Warner-Tamerlane publishing Corp. (BMI) and Stryker Joseph Music (BMI)
• Recorded in Tyler Joseph's home studio, Columbus, Ohio
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City

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Twenty One Pilots

• Tyler Joseph – vocals, piano, bass guitar, synthesizers, programming, songwriting, production
• Josh Dun – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Paul Meany – synthesizers, programming, production
• Adam Hawkins – mixing
• Chris Gehringer – mastering

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{{Twenty One Pilots}}

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Category:2018 songs

Category:Songs written by Tyler Joseph

Category:Twenty One Pilots songs

Category:Spoken word

Category:Songs about suicide

Category:2010s ballads

Category:Popular songs based on classical music