Late Sunday night, I was procrastinating and spending time looking at band websites. At 12:03 AM I was on the Fall Out Boy website and almost screamed. They had released a new music video (and song): “The Phoenix” which will be on their upcoming album Save Rock and Roll. If your middle school and high school years were like mine, you listened to a lot of Fall Out Boy, and watched the video for “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” twenty times in a row. If you were not like me and did not do that, I recommend you start doing so now. This April marks the first album the band will be releasing in four years, after what was called an indefinite hiatus. In honor of that, I present music that will make you think of the good times in grade school.
From Under the Cork Tree (2005)
This was the soundtrack to my middle school years. Thankfully, it reminds me of the good times and not the general horror of those three years. I can still remember the day when I was IM-ing my friend and she told me to watch the video (you know, back when chat rooms were a thing). Since then I have been hooked. My personal favorites, the ones that have survived the most overhauls of my iPod, are “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” and “Dance Dance.”
Infinity on High (2007)
I absolutely love this album. There was a time right when I first bought it that I listened to it for a week straight. I may not remember all of the lyrics anymore (or the song titles, because they challenge Panic! at the Disco for length), but this album will always hold a special place in my heart. Make sure that you listen to “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” “Golden,” and “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs.”
Folie à Deux (2008)
I may be mistaken, but I think that the majority of this album is still on my iPod, which is quite impressive. Words cannot describe how much I adore this album as a whole (and the fact that it has not ever been taken off my regrettably small iPod Nano certainly says something). It is a different sound from the other two (and 2003’s Take This To Your Grave), but still undeniably wonderful. As you dust this CD off, make sure that you check out “Disloyal Order of Buffaloes,” “America’s Suitehearts,” “27,” and my personal favorite, “Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet.”
Save Rock and Roll (2013, dropping April 16)
Don’t give me that look. I know that it isn’t out yet. But the quality of the two singles, “The Phoenix” and “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” are so high that I preordered the album blindly. Now, I am not telling you to do the same thing, but I am telling you to listen to them. Even after four years, they are still the Fall Out Boy I know and love.
So, collegiettes, pull out those CDs that I know you still have, and jam out to music that reminds you of simpler times this week!