A Lesson In... 06.23.09: Fall Out Boy

Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 06.23.2009

From getting named by a fan to collaborating with Debbie Harry, it’s been an interesting ride. In the first edition of “A Lesson In...”, Alistair McGeorge looks at the rise of pop-rock superstars Fall Out Boy.

Is everyone sitting comfortably? Ok, I'm Alistair McGeorge, and you're reading (hopefully deliberately) my first column on 411 Mania Music. I'll be taking a weekly look at various bands at various points in their careers, and combining their story with quick wit and expert opinion. Of course, by that I mean the odd joke and opinions not everyone will agree with, which I can make and stand by when I'm hiding behind my keyboard.

Anyway, this week's lesson is on a band that UK magazine Kerrang described in 2003 as "emo's next superstars". Six years, five studio albums and several reinventions later, Chicago's Fall Out Boy are one of the biggest bands in the world and have definitely out-grown their ‘emo genre' tag. Sure, Pete Wentz is still a whiny, annoying ass with a stupid fringe, but by and large they don't carry that tag any more. However, it wasn't always the case. Are you ready to take a look at how Fall Out Boy became the stars they are today? Ok…cue "Back To The Future" music…





In the beginning...

When fans in Chicago first saw Joe Trohman, Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump live in 2001, it was a completely different band to the one we see now. For a start, vocalist Stump auditioned to be a drummer, before his undeniably great vocal range was heard, placing him as the lead singer. Furthermore, for their first two shows, the trio (with T.J. "Raccine" Kunasch and Mike Pareskuwicz completely the line-up) didn't even have a name. At the end of the second gig, a member of audience suggested Fall Out Boy, and it stuck. It definitely sounds better than Crazy Cat Lady, and I doubt Comic Book Guy would've really caught on...

Regardless, the name was set and their first "album"- a 9-track E.P. called Fall Out Boy's Evening Out With Your Girlfriend- was released in 2002 on Uprising Records. It wasn't a bad E.P., but it didn't really set the world on fire like they eventually showed they could. Tracks like ‘Pretty in Punk', ‘Growing Up' and ‘Switchblades and Infidelity' are all solid, pop-punk songs that capture the sound of the E.P., and the band at the time.

There were already hints at things to come, with the longer, (arguably) wittier song titles coming through, plus titles inspired by movies and popular culture. The reference in ‘Pretty in Punk' is hopefully obvious- so obvious, in fact, that my Spell Check is asking if I want to change it to complete the name of the '86 movie.

Besides the start of a FOB pattern in naming songs, FOB's EOWYG also has a ‘demo' version of ‘Calm Before The Storm', which would be re-recorded for the band's next effort, one that really saw their star start to rise....



The rise of "emo's next superstars"

A change in line-up (Stump taking up guitar, Kunasch and Pareskuwicz leaving and Andrew Hurley taking up the sticks) and a move to label "Fueled By Ramen" saw the release of Take This To Your Grave. After Stump wrote the lyrics on the first record, Pete Wentz took over here and they began to shift to the whiny (read: emo) lyrics the band became (in)famous for.

TTTYG saw FOB's fame rise, as singles like ‘Grand Theft Autumn', ‘Dead On Arrival' and ‘Saturday' were catchy enough to get them some serious attention. The re-recording of ‘Calm Before The Storm' is one of many stand-outs on a fantastic album, and it led to many media outlets starting to rumble about this little pop-punk quartet from Chicago.

Now, I feel the need to say at this point- I am a big Fall Out Boy fan, although didn't hear about them until nearly 2 years after the release of the album. That said, this album cemented my opinion that they were a great band and one I "needed" to like. Sure, there are reasons to claim they've sold old (a phrase I hate to use- a band that makes music that happens to make money shouldn't have a stigma attached because of it), but I challenge anyone to listen to TTTYG, with its punchy riffs and catchy melodies and tell me that it's not a damn fine pop-punk album.

Despite a couple of the singles receiving mainstream radio airplay across the US, the album took a while to start to pick up in sales. It did well, but things improved when it went Gold after the release of the album that really put Fall Out Boy on the rock map.



Sugar...We're Goin' Down!

2005 didn't start in a positive way for the band, with bassist Pete Wentz overdosed on a sedative (Atvian), threatening the band's stability and his own life. In typical FOB fashion, this negative was turned into what became a great track (‘7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)') on another fantastic album.

From Under The Cork Tree marked the band's major label debut, and was a huge success. I mean, FOB are everywhere now, but this is really where the obsession began. The old fans hadn't quite started calling them sell-outs for signing with a major label yet, and the new fans were getting into them early enough to not be insulted for it.

The album itself got FOB fans all over the world, peaking at 12 and 9 in the UK and US respectively. With the release of the first single from FUTCT, I don't think it's too far-fetched to say the current music landscape changed. With ‘Sugar We're Going Down', FOB gained new fans and new exposure all over the world. It was a great summer tune, and a fantastic personal memory from seeing it live at a festival a couple of years ago. It isn't like the song was groundbreaking, but it was just so catchy, tight and radio-friendly that I think it's fair to say it's becoming a modern-classic, to an extent (let the flaming in the comments section begin).

Sure, it was everywhere and maybe got overplayed, but that was because it was that good. Sure, it may have got irritating after a while, but it's extremely catchy and good for a singalong. That, and I just loved the video. No idea why, but apparently the MTV Video Awards agreed with me, giving it the MTV2 Award in 2005. Anyway, you can see for yourselves:





The next single (‘Dance, Dance') did just as well in terms of sales, and also had a great video. These two tracks certainly gave FOB some name-value and established them as a big-time band. The last single wasn't as successful, but ‘A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me' was again a good song to promote the album with another great video. While the latter two singles took a while to grow on me, I'd say this album is some of Fall Out Boy's best work, and went a long way to place them near the top of the ‘rock world'.

I'll stop pretending that my opinion of the album is why you're here, and get back on track. Right- the album really gave them mainstream exposure, and towards the end of 2005 they headlined the Nintendo Fusion Tour. The tour saw them accompanied by several bands, including future friends and label-mates Panic (then with the ! still intact) At The Disco.



Fighting the scene...

2007 brought the band's second major label release, with the highly anticipated Infinity on High. In what seems to be a running theme with every new FOB album, this included some of their best work yet, and had the commercial success to back that up (although, obviously album sales don't always equal talent- just ask The Jonas Brothers or Coldplay). IOH reached 2x platinum, and debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200.

Lyrically, the new album dealt with many of the band's frustrations and troubles. ‘Hum Hallelujah' is, in my opinion, one of FOB's best song to date, and was about Pete Wentz's attempted overdose whilst listening to Jeff Buckley's ‘Hallelujah'.

Also written about was Pete Wentz's frustration with the emo scene. He said in an interview with Rolling Stone that: "There may be other songs on the record that would be bigger radio hits, but this one had the right message." However, ‘This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race' really shot FOB further into the mainstream, with a funny video, catchy riffs and a chorus that begs to be sung along to.

The album did seem to show Fall Out Boy shifting towards a more radio-friendly sound, with several tracks being possibly over-produced, and the introduction of some brass arrangements. That said, it's another fantastic album by the quartet, but not without its flaws. With hindsight, it almost seems a warm-up for what was about to arrive...



****...fill in the blanks

A live DVD (simply called ****: Live In Phoenix) bridged the gap between IOH and the band's next record. It enjoyed promotion in the form of a cover of Michael Jackson's 'Beat It', with John Mayer making a guest appearance. I realize many people will hate this song and say that FOB ruined a classic track, but it's fun, it was something they've been doing live for a while. Also…they actually did a pretty good job of it. Stump showed great vocals, the video was humorous in typical FOB style and it was another catchy song that got them a lot of radio play.

A viral campaign began shortly after, on Fall Out Boy's site, as well as those of their label-mates. The campaign involved an organization created by FOB for the purpose of promoting the album, called ‘Citizens For Our Betterment". After months of hints, Wentz finally revealed everything, and the new album was set for release on Election Day.



The madness of two...

Folie à Deux was put on delay when FOB decided this "was not the election to be cute". The album was postponed until mid-December 2008, and was released on time with the new release date. This proved to include some of FOB's most ambitious work, but really would not necessarily please older fans. There's not a lot here that would remind you of the band's first three albums (with the possible exception of ‘America's Suitehearts'). Lead single ‘I Don't Care' is definitely FAD's answer to ‘This Ain't A Scene', but didn't enjoy as much success in the chart.

The things that make this album so awesome and unique isn't just limited to FOB being ambitious and doing things they haven't done before. Don't get me wrong, this was also the case, with piano ballads and more harmonized vocals than FOB have used before. However, the main thing that makes this album seem special is really a number of people.

FAD features 10 guest artists, ranging from the names you'd expect (Panic At The Disco's Brendan Urie and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes fame) from ones that came as a big shock; ‘West Coast Smoker' features the unmistakable voice of Blondie's Debbie Harry.

‘What A Catch, Donnie' is a track I urge any music fan to listen to, and well as anyone who still insists on calling our Chicago friend's ‘emo' or purely ‘pop-punk', although not that there's anything wrong with that. Towards the end of the song, as Patrick Stump shows his fantastic vocal range several guest artists sing a line from a different FOB song, creating a very nice and moving look at the band's history over a relatively short space of time in a song that would be brilliant regardless.

The songs featured in the track include (in order):
-‘Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet' (Elvis Costello)
-‘Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy' (Gabe Saporta, Cobra Starship)
-‘Sugar, We're Goin' Down' (Travis McCoy, GCH)
-‘Dance, Dance' (Brendan Urie, PATD)
-‘This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race' (Doug Neumann)
-‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs'(Alex DeLeon, The Cab)
-‘Growing Up' (William Beckett, The Academy Is…)

It really is an awesome moment for anyone who's followed the band from the beginning, and a nice look at their biggest hits from each era.

Grading… Fall Out Boy

It'll be no surprise after reading this column (and thank you for making it this far if you have done!), I'm a huge fan of Fall Out Boy. I'll admit I only got into them after hearing ‘Sugar, We're Goin' Down' at a friend's house in 2005, but after that I sought out their earlier stuff and was hooked. They get a lot of stick for being ‘emo' and selling out, but really…their success speaks for itself. They're a band that's continually reinvented themselves with each album, and it'll be interesting to see where they go from here.

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Homework:

OK, at the end of each column from now on I'm going to give 3 clues for the subject of next week's ‘A Lesson In…'. Whoever gets the first correct answer will get to suggest a future subject for me to tackle. Here we go:
1. They have the same thing in common with both The Gaslight Anthem and Bruce Springsteen.
2. The vocalist for the band decided he wanted to be a singer after performing as Peter Pan at school.
3. The opening track on their second album was named after a deceased relative.

So, there you go. Any guesses can be left in the comment section or e-mailed to me at [e-mail]. So, I hope you've enjoyed my first column for 411Mania Music. Whether you did or not, I'd love to read your thoughts, and try to improve on what I can for next week. So, post your comments either ripping me apart or praising me and I look forward to seeing you all in class next Tuesday. Until then, have a good rest of the week. Class dismissed.