Tune Talk: Fall Out Boy is Definitely Worth a Listen

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Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is my absolute favorite band. I can’t tell you in one article how much they mean to me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried with them, laughed with them, or rolled the window down with the sun shining in my face and belted along to one of their songs. They’ve been with me through thick and thin, and they mean so much more to me than “just a band”. They’re a huge part of who I am, and they helped to make me who I am. When I got to see these guys last year, it was such an emotional experience. I can safely say that these four dorky boys in this band are my heroes, and their songs bring back so many great memories for me. I’ve been a fan of this band for seven years, and finally getting to see them was one of my biggest dreams.

You can’t imagine what it was like to finally see them walk out on stage and hear their music blaring live for the first time. After their three, almost four year hiatus, Fall out Boy fans thought we’d never hear another note played by our boys, but when they came back February 4th of last year, they became a sensation over-night (yet again).

Thriller by Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy started in Wilmette, Illinois in 2001. Four boys from a small town that were all in bands of their own came together to create this pop punk superstar band. They released their first full-length album in 2003, Evening out With Your Girlfriend, but weren’t completely satisfied with the sound. Just a few months later, Take This To Your Grave boomed onto the punk scene with surprising force. This album sky rocketed the band to the hardcore and punk holy grail, the Warped Tour in the summer of 2004. The band only played for five dates, but on one occasion had to cut their set short because the crowd was too large and the stage had collapsed. The band continued with three other highly successful albums, From Under the Cork Tree, Infinity On High, and Folie a Deux, respectively, before their hiatus. In 2013, however, they came crashing back onto the music scene with a surprise comeback on February 4, releasing a new music video with the song “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” and a release date for their album Save Rock and Roll.

It’s nearly impossible for people to not have heard of this band, especially with “My Songs” playing almost on the hour on hit music stations. But if you want to delve into their music a little bit deeper than just what the shallow teen-girl-madness-driven that top 100 stations will show you, I recommend my favorite album in the world, From Under The Cork Tree. It has the perfect blend of rock chords and head-banging melodies and lighter pop styles, but the meaningful lyrics that have been a huge part of making Fall Out Boy the icon they are since the very beginning.

None of their albums are bad, and I would highly recommend any of them to start with. My first, personally, was Infinity On High, which holds a special place in my heart and always will. This album has a great variety of sounds from post-hardcore, pop rock, and a somewhat orchestral sound. Since their return, Fall Out Boy has released two full-length albums- Save Rock and Roll, which is definitely their most mellow album, with a more pop sound than the others, and Pax Am Days, an album that the band had been waiting to release for years that has a hardcore, intense sound reminiscent of sounds like the Ramones.

“So long live the car crash hearts, cry on the couch of the poets come to life, fix me in 45.” –Fall Out Boy, “Thriller”