Lane Boy

"Lane Boy" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots, for their fourth studio album, Blurryface. "Lane Boy" was released on YouTube worldwide on May 4, 2015,[1][2] being released as a single on Google Play Store on the same day.[3] The music video was released on July 20, 2015.[4][5]

"Lane Boy"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Blurryface
ReleasedMay 4, 2015
Genre
Length
  • 4:13 (album version)
  • 3:56 (video version)
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)Ricky Reed
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"Tear in My Heart"
(2015)		 "Lane Boy"
(2015)		 "Stressed Out"
(2015)
Music video
"Lane Boy" on YouTube

Background

In an interview with Alternative Press, Tyler Joseph said he wrote the song wanting to talk about what he was feeling and his frustrations, as opposed to something artistic and added that, "I remember showing that song to some people and they said, 'I don't think you want to say that...'" Consequently, Josh Dun, the band's drummer, told him to "say it."[6] Joseph also stated during an interview with Fuse that the song was "that song on the record where you kind of break that fourth wall and you can look into what it's like to really be a normal person in our position."[7]

Remix

An official remix of "Lane Boy" was created by hip hop record producer DJ Premier.[8] In an interview with Complex over e-mail, Premier explained, "While I was in L.A. recording with Dr. Dre for the Compton soundtrack, one of my homies told my tour manager to check out Twenty One Pilots. I bought Blurryface and liked it immediately, so I started looking for videos as well. I saw the 'Lane Boy' video and loved the concept of the song and video. It's about refuting the idea that artists should stay in a 'lane' or be defined by a particular style or sound."[8] "Lane Boy" was the song DJ Premier desired to remix afer watching the videos.[8] Twenty One Pilots sent the stems for the track over to Premier and told him to rock out with it.[8] For the remix, Premier decreases the tempo of its instrumental in order to give the track a slow, mellow vibe.[8] Towards the end, he integrates his trademark scratching.[9]

Alexa Shouneyia for Billboard stated, "If you loved Twenty One Pilots' 'Lane Boy' before, get ready to fall in love all over again with DJ Premier's remix... DJ Premier definitely takes the track into his own lane."[9] Jessie Morris from Complex described the official remix as an "essential new banger."[8]

Composition

“Lane Boy” is an alternative hip hop song infused with reggae and rock that runs four minutes and thirteen seconds.[15][11][16] The genre-bending track has textures that feature an unorthodox mix of musical styles, including jungle, dubstep, hip hop, ska rock, EDM, pop and dancehall.[14][17][12][18][19][20] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 160 beats per minute.[16] "Lane Boy" is composed in the key of A minor while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and four notes from a low of F4 to a high of C6.[16]

The song's breezy instrumentation maintains a distinctive Caribbean groove, which is underscored by a plucked melody and Dun's drumming.[21][22] Joseph delivers his lyrics in a hard, staccato style of rapping over a kaleidoscopic mixture of electronic beats, chattery programming and bouncy reggae rock.[21][18][14][23][24] With a frenetic vocal style, he both raps in double-time and belts melodic lines as the composition meanders into dub-inspired passages before entering a convulsive drum'n'bass section.[13][25][22] The track's instrumental pauses during the middle to accommodate for an urgent dubstep breakdown replete with pulsating electronic dance music.[18][23] It then transforms roughly halfway as grizzly synths are introduced alongside robotic voices, distorted bass and two-step drumming.[22] At its conclusion, the musical composition exhibits electropop aspects.[25]

Lyrically, "Lane Boy" is a scathing indictment of narrow-minded music industry practices.[18][21] The song acts as an exploration of the band's experience working in the contemporary music industry and defiant defense of their experimental musical approach.[26][25] They convey the conviction of his personal nonconformist spirit.[18] Joseph raps, "Honest, there's a few songs on this record that feel common / I'm in constant confrontation with what I want and what is poppin.'"[13][19] The song harbors something of a mission statement.[11] During its chorus, a languid vocal tone commands, "You should stay in your lane, boy."[22] Joseph continues by singing, "They say, 'Stay in your lane, boy' / But we go where we want to".[11]

Reception

Billboard's Garrett Kamps compared "Lane Boy" to the work of Jamaican sound engineer King Tubby while labeling the single "especially schizoid."[13] Jason Pettigrew for Alternative Press remarked, "'Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless,' warns on the furious reggae/jungle/dubstep hybrid 'Lane Boy.' And he's absolutely right; great art is rarely made by normal people."[12] He cites it as "the most attitude-laden track in the TOP songbook."[18] Kerrang!'s Sam Law opined, "'Lane Boy' pips 'Ride' by dent of its richer lyrical treatment. Cruising on that breezy instrumentation, we get wave after wave of attitude as Tyler unloads on music industry narrow-mindedness ... before showcasing the mercurial best of the TØP sound with a barrage of tongue-twisting staccato rap and explosions of EDM/dubstep colour. A song to overtake to."[21] Rolling Stone Australia writer Rod Yates deemed the song "a defiant defence of their genre-hopping."[26] Madison Desler of Orange County Register quipped that the song's refrain, "may be the best explanation of their genre-busting approach.'"[27] Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer opined, "the ending of 'Lane Boy' evokes the best electropop aspects of Vessel.[25] Going further, Smith stated, "It's far from being a flawless song – and that’s the whole point."[28]

Music video

The music video for "Lane Boy" is slightly shorter than its album version, and shows Joseph walking in the forest at nighttime with two men behind him in hazmat suits while Dun plays at a concert; he (Joseph) finds a floral shirt (which he puts on) and joins Dun on stage, before long, the crowd crouches down along with Joseph, afterwards jumping at the same time he does after 2 minutes within the video. The music video ends with Joseph performing a short dance and then bowing to the crowd.

Live performances

"Lane Boy" has since become a crowd favorite at live concert venues.[27][24] Twenty-One Pilots performed "Lane Boy" during a concert held at Comerica Theatre on in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona October 14, 2015. The deo began their performance with video effects of men in hazmat suits and gas masks dancing before shifting to live stage performer dancing in hazmat suits and gas masks, all  while in keeping with the songs lyrics.[29]    They performed the song an at the Forum in Inglewood, California during their Emotional Roadshow World Tour, placing emphasizing the reggae beats and rhythms during their arena performance.[24] 

While still on the tour the duo provided a live rendition at the Honda Center in Anaheim on February 15, 2017. The concert was a spectacle, featuring two stages and a giant hamster ball.[27]

Twenty One Pilots performed "Lane Boy" before an audience at sold-out concent at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 5, 2019.[14] "Lane Boy" was among the tracks the duo performed during a medley for a concert held at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on their Bandito Tour. Joseph performed wearing a scarf over his head while smoke filled the stage as men with gas masks sprayed more down onto the crowd.[30]

Track listing
Digital download / stream
No.TitleLength
1."Lane Boy"4:13
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Lane Boy"4:13
2."Lane Boy" (video version)3:56
3."Lane Boy" (instrumental)4:13
4."Lane Boy" (TV track)4:13
5."Lane Boy" (a cappella)4:13

Personnel
  • Tyler Joseph – vocals, ukulele, synthesizers, bass, programming, guitar, keyboards
  • Josh Dun – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[34] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Worldwide[3] May 4, 2015
Fueled by Ramen
UK Radio October 21, 2016 [5] Airplay Fueled by Ramen
gollark: WHY is a very unique æsolang.
gollark: ++search !eso WHY
gollark: I've been here for several quintillion CPU cycles.
gollark: Channels are not used under any circumstances for their intended and designated porpoises.
gollark: I'll happily engage in random esolang-unrelated discussion.

References
  1. "Twenty One Pilots - "Lane Boy" (Audio)". YouTube. May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  2. "twenty one pilots Stream New Song, Lane Boy". Kerrang!. May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  3. "Twenty One Pilots – Lane Boy". Google Play Store. May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  4. "Twenty One Pilots - "Lane Boy" [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  5. "Radio 1's New Music Friday Playlist 21/10/16's playlist's Top Tracks - BBC Playlists". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  6. Pettigrew, Jason (June 20, 2016). "How Twenty One Pilots Were Almost the Next Mumford And Sons". Alternative Press. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  7. Sherman, Maria (August 3, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Chat About "Lane Boy" at Lollapalooza 2015". Fuse. Fuse Media, LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  8. Morris, Jessie (November 21, 2016). "Premiere: DJ Premier Remixes Twenty One Pilots' "Lane Boy" Into a Banger". Complex. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  9. Shouneyia, Alexa (November 21, 2016). "DJ Premier Adds His Own Flavor to Twenty One Pilots' 'Lane Boy'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  10. s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Recensioni | Dischi | Twenty One Pilots - BLURRYFACE su Rockol". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. Greene, Andy (January 14, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots: Inside the Biggest New Band of the Past Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  12. AltPress (May 19, 2015). "twenty one pilots - Blurryface". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  13. Kamps, Garrett (May 19, 2015). "Pop Duo Twenty One Pilots Makes a Hot Mess (in a Good Way) on 'Blurryface': Album Review". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  14. Tady, Scott (June 8, 2019). "21 moments at the Twenty One Pilots show". Ellwood City Ledger. Gannett Co. Inc.
  15. s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Recensioni | Dischi | Twenty One Pilots - BLURRYFACE su Rockol". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  16. Joseph, Tyler. "Twenty One Pilots 'Lane Boy' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  17. Schulz, Schulz (December 22, 2018). "Review: Twenty One Pilots pull a repeat performance out of the bag". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  18. Pettigrew, Jason (September 26, 2019). "Twenty One Pilots Songs Ranked In All Of Their Pop Majesty". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  19. Curtin, Kevin (October 2, 2015). "ACL Fest 2015 Saturday Record Review – Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface (Fueled by Ramen)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  20. s.r.l, Rockol com. "√ Recensioni | Dischi | Twenty One Pilots - BLURRYFACE su Rockol". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  21. Law, Sam (April 24, 2020). "The 20 Greatest twenty one pilots Songs – Ranked". Kerrang!. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  22. Parker, Jack (May 29, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". All Things Loud. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  23. "Twenty One Pilots pull out all the stops at explosive 'Bandito Tour' show in Milwaukee". milwaukee.
  24. Larsen, Peter (July 24, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots perform at the Forum in Inglewood on Saturday". Orange County Register. Ron Hasse.
  25. Smith, Troy L. (May 18, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' leaves a haze of disappointment (album review)". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  26. Yates, Rod (May 11, 2015). "Twenty-One Pilots – Blurryface". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  27. Desler, Madison (February 16, 2017). "Twenty One Pilots at Honda Center a spectacle with two stages and a giant hamster ball". Orange County Register. Ron Hasse.
  28. Nickoloff, Anne; Smith, Troy (July 5, 2019). "All 65 Twenty One Pilots songs ranked from worst to best". The Plain Dealer. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved April 22, 2020.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. Hillman, Mitchell (October 14, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Fans Are Truly Fanatical". Phoenix New Times. Kurtis Barton.
  30. Porter, Sierra A. (October 26, 2019). "Prepare for liftoff: Twenty One Pilots takes fans on journey of hits in Des Moines tour stop". The Des Moines Register.
  31. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  32. "Hot Rock Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  33. "Canadian single certifications – twenty one pilots – Lane Boy". Music Canada. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  34. "American single certifications – twenty one pilots – Lane Boy". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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