By: Katherine Llave
Whether you’ve heard Fall Out Boy’s pop rock energy from their hit song “Centuries,” their emo anthem “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” or the iconic “Immortals” track that sets the heroic tone of Disney’s Big Hero Six, this band has certainly cemented themselves into the scene of rock music since the early 2000s. Their newest album, So Much (For) Stardust, is a captivating and astounding love letter to their earlier works, as well as a proclamation of their solidity and adaptability in defining their own music style that encapsulates their enduring vivacity and musical talent. Through their signature blend of soaring vocals from Patrick Stump, accompanied by the electric guitar from Joe Trohman, the riveting drum beats by Andy Hurley, and the witty lyricism and bass guitar by Pete Wentz, this band has delivered an album that acknowledges the passage of time since their humble beginnings and embraces the inevitable chaos of life. Although each song in the album is a gem, here are a few of my personal favorites that highlight this theme:
Hold Me Like a Grudge
“Hold me, hold me like a grudge / the world is always spinning and I can’t keep up”
Just as in their 2017 song, HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T, Fall Out Boy once again has a simple request: to be held. Driven by its prominent bassline and electric power chords, this song evokes a sense of dizziness and chaos, implying that being held will help to regain stability. “Hold Me Like a Grudge” sends the message that with every crazy thing happening in the world, including growing older, one just needs to find someone to hold onto and keep close. The imagery in this song as seen in lines like “I’m just a cherub riding comets through the night sky / Screaming at the stars like night lights” paired with witty word-play lyrics such as “You put the ‘fun’ into dysfunction” and “part-time soulmate, full-time problem” enhance the song as more than just a fun beat to bang your head to, but an intricately written piece of art.
Caption: Fall Out Boy performing “Hold Me Like a Grudge” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Source: Todd Owyoung/NBC)
Heartbreak Feels So Good
“You know it’s heartbreak / We could dance our tears away / Emancipate ourselves”
This track begins with a more synth-like sound and quickly transitions to a high tempo beat that provides a refreshing new sound and an ironic message: heartbreak feels… good? Rather than writing a heartbreak song that seems to wallow in sadness and misery, Fall Out Boy decides to proudly declare and celebrate this experience. The lines “And we could cry a little, cry a lot / But don’t stop dancing, don’t dare stop” are not only a nod to the age-old expression “the show must go on,” but an invigorating invitation to fully feel one’s emotions while still partaking in what life has to offer. The chord progression throughout the chorus echoes this sentiment by evoking a sense of pulling at one’s heartstrings while also becoming triumphant in the end, with the enunciation of the phrase “heartbreak feels so good.”
Fake Out
“Do you laugh about me whenever I leave? / Or do I just need more therapy?”
“Fake Out” utilizes a more poignant and bittersweet set of chords throughout the song, and this bittersweet feeling is reinforced with the observational lyric that if you “make no plans… none can be broken.” This song takes the listener through the experience of being left by one’s lover who had set their expectations too high, only to be let down in a “fake out.” Through this song’s emphasis on temporality— one moment someone is here and the next they have departed or moved on— it follows the common thread in this album of time passing by. There is also a sense of nostalgia in both the style of music and the focus of the song. The song itself sounds more like a classic old style rock song, reminiscent of their old days.
So Good Right Now
“Feeling so good right now / ‘Til we crash and burn somehow”
Beginning with upbeat vocals and a swing-like rhythm, “So Good Right Now” definitely throws you for a loop with how happy sounding it is compared with other Fall Out Boy songs. There’s a Disney Channel-like quality to the sound of this song, and it almost sounds… too happy. However, looking into the lyrics, this all seems to be the point of the song: to show that rush of feel-good adrenaline and happiness that comes right before the eventual collapse, or the “crash and burn.” The beat and background vocals reminded me of Fall Out Boy’s “Save Rock and Roll” album, particularly the song “Young Volcanoes.” This rhythm-driven, upbeat song is a vibe and an existential crisis all at once, getting you to wonder: at what point does it stop feeling good, and things eventually take a downhill turn? One lyric in the bridge suggests a possible answer: “Drifting from the start / I ripped myself apart / I’ll be whatever you need me to be.” When one has changed themselves too much for someone else, this good feeling soon fades away. Interestingly enough, in a later track, “Flu Game,” Pete Wentz refers back to this moment with the line, “I can’t be who you need me to be,” concluding that changing oneself to fit another’s needs is not possible for him.
I Am My Own Muse
“Smash all the guitars / ‘Til we see all the stars / Oh, got to throw this year away, we got to throw this year away like / A bad luck charm”
Trumpets and strings come together to form this triumphant and cinematic score. The orchestration of this song blew me away upon first listen, and the hard-hitting electric guitar and aggression from the lyrics make this an epic reclamation of the source of Fall Out Boy’s music, or maybe more specifically, Pete Wentz’s lyricism. “I Am My Own Muse” loudly and boldly marks Fall Out Boy’s music as something unique that is not simply a mixture of other musical influences, but from their own pain and experiences. Especially taking into consideration this track’s placement directly after the nihilistic monologue from “The Pink Seashell,” the triumphant embrace of chaos and pain becomes all the more apparent in this song.
Caption: Song Poster for “I Am My Own Muse”
(Source: @visualdisco on Instagram)
So Much (For) Stardust
“I used to be a real go-getter / I used to think it’d all get better / So much for stardust / We thought we had it all”
The album ends with this eponymous song that, in contrast to the rest of the album, sounds darker and more lamentable. Beginning with a solemn string melody and a set of piano keys that are strikingly reminiscent of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” (which was also referenced in their track “Heaven, Iowa”) this song gives the listener a bittersweet end to the album. The lyrics take a look at one’s pain, comparing it with others’: “Pretty positive my pain isn’t cool enough” and “Ache it ‘til you make it” show this constant comparison, especially in the context of creating art that is expected to express this pain. The song itself reflects a struggle for artists alike, as well as the tolls of fame. Towards the bridge of this song, there is an echo of a lyric in a previous song on the album: “What would you trade the pain for? I’m not sure,” from “Love From the Other Side,” and this callback struck many fans deeply as a reflection of the band’s struggles not only within the creation of this album, but throughout their entire career. Ultimately, the song ends with a fade-out of the words repeated by Patrick Stump and a chorus, and as the instrumentals fade, all that’s left are the ominous remarks, “thought we had it all” and “so much for stardust.”
“What a Time To Be Alive” for both fans from the band’s earliest days and the newest arrivals who have been living for this music. Even if you’re not a fan, I encourage you to give it a listen. So Much (for) Stardust is a lovingly crafted album that serves as a reminder of Fall Out Boy’s prominence in the pop rock music scene and their unbreakable punk spirit. This album may or may not be their last after over 20 years of producing music, but whatever happens to this band, they will be embracing the chaos through it all.
Caption: Behind the scenes of the music video for “Hold Me Like a Grudge”
(Source: @falloutboy on Instagram)
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