Culture Crash: The Internet’s Favorite Song Isn’t On Streaming

In September of last year, the band Twenty One Pilots released their album Breach, an alt pop rock offering from the hitmakers behind “Stressed Out,” “Ride,” and “Car Radio.” The album is a total force with an electricity and an urgency that’s potently felt in songs like “Drum Show” and “Center Mass.” One thing notably absent on the main album is its biggest social media hit by far: That would be a single-that-isn’t called “Drag Path.” 

Only ever distributed as a bonus song on a digital-only release of the album exclusively available for Breach’s first week of release, “Drag Path” isn’t on any CDs, vinyls, or streaming services.

Despite its complete unavailability, “Drag Path” is a juggernaut on TikTok. Over the song’s propulsive drums from Josh Dun, lead singer Tyler Joseph contemplatively croons about a “drag path etched in the surface as evidence I left there on purpose.”

Dramatic, inspiring, and more than a little bit haunting, “Drag Path” has been used to soundtrack countless videos that have scored millions of views on TikTok, ranging from gut-wrenching montages of couch cushions worn down by beloved pets who have died and one very specific TikTok of a pufferfish to an existential slideshow of ancient ruins and statues with the words “a drag path but it’s the way humans ache to be remembered.”

“Drag Path” is a moody song that’s resonating deeply, even though there’s no legitimate way for the song to rack up official streams. Instead of cashing in on their viral trend, Twenty One Pilots has let the song run rampant on social media without announcing an additional release or increased availability. Maybe the song itself is a drag path. Or maybe it’s just cool.

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