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Fall Out Boy Are Still Confounding Haters by Refusing to Be Pigeonholed

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Oct 27, 2017.

  1. Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Annie Zalesk, writing for Stereogum:


    And make no mistake: Since Fall Out Boy returned from a nearly four-year hiatus in 2013, they’ve adapted quite well to the modern music landscape. The band has six RIAA-certified platinum singles, with three of these (“My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up),” “Centuries” and “Uma Thurman”) certified multi-platinum. Their two most recent albums (2013’s Save Rock And Roll and 2015’s American Beauty / American Psycho) are also certified platinum, and they play outdoor sheds and arenas, something few formed-post-2000 modern rock bands attempt these days.

    I enjoyed this piece.

     
    CoffeeEyes17 likes this.
  2. AllenRicketts

    Regular

    This was well written but like, okay, sure. Save Rock and Roll was as good as they can be as this modern incarnation of the band. They've legitimately gotten worse. It's nice to write about not pigeonholing a band but any one of us would be lying if we said we didn't have the urge to gatekeep normies from bands that came out of the scene.
     
  3. Nope.

    Nope.
     
  4. Analog Drummer

    Regular

    Good article. Really enjoyed the read. But also like Allen Ricketts above; while appreciating they’ve stayed relevant, it’s very hard for me to say they’re music has gotten better. I used to love those Wentz lyrics twisted in riddles and analogies. Now like he said it’s just watered down for the “normies”
    But kudos they’re still in stadiums playing for the kiddies
     
  5. ComedownMachine

    Prestigious Supporter

    I feel like one of the only people (on this site) that strongly prefers AB/AP to SR&R. It's actually my second favorite album of theirs
     
  6. rbf737

    Regular

    This gets completely forgotten whenever we talk about FOB now that they're bigger than ever but I just think back to when they went on hiatus and Pat put out Soul Punk.

    I remember that extremely personal blog post he made sometime after it came out where he revealed how he was incredibly depressed and felt like a has-been at 26 or whatever age he was, bemoaning how he had nearly gone broke making and touring on an album he was very passionate about but which neither critics nor fans received well, plus the fact that people would show up to his shows just to say they liked him better when he was fat and in Fall Out Boy.

    I'm no psychology major but it only makes sense that when he and Pete got back together and reformed the band that he was terrified of ever being in that position again so he went out of his way to create what he thought would be the most commercially relevant music possible.

    I ain't mad at them though; it's insanely impressive what they've accomplished since reforming when most other bands would have disappeared or gone the nostalgia route.

    For what it's worth I thought they got better with each release pre-hiatus culminating with what I thought was their opus in Folie, then I really dug Soul Punk, but since they reformed their music hasn't done much for me which I once viewed as being really sad given how much I loved them in the past but now I don't give much thought to.

    But Pat was just always one of my favorite songwriters before FOB reformed and I find his arc as a songwriter incredibly interesting given all that context. I'd love to hear him speak candidly about all of this sometime since achieving greater fame than they ever had pre-hiatus.
     
  7. TedSchmosby

    Trusted

    Sounds like what happened with Pinkerton, and people have no problem with others hating on post 1996 Weezer
     
  8. Some y’all are weird.
     
  9. Kingjohn_654

    Longtime Sunshine Prestigious

    Whoa. Some of my closest friends are normies.
     
    fame and AllenRicketts like this.
  10. Kingjohn_654

    Longtime Sunshine Prestigious

    If they're weird, does that make you a normie?
     
    Analog Drummer and Jason Tate like this.
  11. Kingjohn_654 likes this.
  12. AllenRicketts

    Regular

    I mean I resent some of my closest friends for owning trucks. I still love them.
     
    Analog Drummer likes this.
  13. AgainstMe182

    Newbie

    What in God’s name is a normie
     
  14. Kingjohn_654

    Longtime Sunshine Prestigious

    If you have to ask, you are one. Sorry pal.
     
    Analog Drummer and Turkeylegz like this.
  15. AgainstMe182

    Newbie

    I bet there is a strong correlation between people that use the word ‘normie’ non-ironically, and people who are unbearable to be around in real life.
     
    Raku, oldboot, AshlandATeam and 5 others like this.
  16. personalmaps

    citrus & cinnamon Prestigious

    Don’t really like fall out boy anymore but wow do I not give a shit abt keeping bands I used to like from “normies.” Did I stumble into someone’s livejournal or what?
     
  17. Pepetito

    Trusted Supporter

    Couldn't agree more.
     
    Muzick and AllenRicketts like this.
  18. Hazelnutsack

    Irregular

    The normie comments are laughably dumb but have to agree with fob being a generic case of a band with a promising beginning caving into the societal trends of whatever is getting the most radio play at the time. If you like that kinda stuff, by all means enjoy it! But don’t pretend like they’re doing anything interesting or better.
     
    kait_whiteside, Muzick and GEM37 like this.
  19. CoffeeEyes17

    Reclusive-aggressive Prestigious

    i do too! i love AB/AP and its maybe my 3rd favorite overall

    i think FOB have done a really really good job of shaking their old "emo" tag and becoming a pretty consistent rock/pop band. I've enjoyed everything theyve done, plus their b-sides/EPs, and im happy that theyre still around and still seem happy with the music theyre putting out.
     
  20. CoffeeEyes17

    Reclusive-aggressive Prestigious

    so have any of yall heard Thriller or A Rush Of Blood To The Head?
     
  21. Kingjohn_654

    Longtime Sunshine Prestigious

    Yeah, God forbid some of your friends have the capacity to help you move a sofa.
     
    Raku and AllenRicketts like this.
  22. Kingjohn_654

    Longtime Sunshine Prestigious


    Found the normie.


    jk ;)
     
  23. Dirty Sanchez

    Prestigious Prestigious

    I've heard The Canyon
     
    oldboot, Joe4th, Kingjohn_654 and 3 others like this.
  24. chcougar1

    Trusted

    I feel like Fall Out Boy has always sounded like Fall Out Boy. Sure they’ve changed a little bit over the years but it has never NOT been Fall Out Boy. Young and Menace still doesn’t seem like them but the other new tracks since do.
     
  25. DisloyalOrder

    Trusted Prestigious

    Like when pop punk was a societal trend back in the 2000s?
     
    Raku, AshlandATeam, Kiana and 2 others like this.