After Chicago-based Fall Out Boy's apparent overnight success with their 2005 hit "Sugar We're Going Down," the band has ruled over what's left of the pop-punk genre with an iron fist. Beyond record sales and popularity, the band has developed, somewhat ironically, a huge cult following that idolizes bassist Pete Wentz as the immaculately conceived prophet of "the scene."
What is "the scene," you ask? Roughly defined, it is everything that has to do with the newest, trendiest music, fashion and lifestyles. Fall Out Boy's newest release "Infinity on High" proclaims in its first single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" that the scene has spiraled out of control, feeding off whatever it can get its hands on - a handy example being pictures of Pete Wentz's genitals that somehow made the leap from his Sidekick to the Internet.
Fall Out Boy would be perhaps the most sickening musical act on the market if they took themselves - or their music - seriously. But their huge appeal and amazing palatability lies in the fact that everything they do, say and write is done with a sharp tongue buried in their collective cheek. Fall Out Boy is perhaps best described as the anti-U2: they know that they only have an impact on the relatively miniscule music scene that encapsulates them, and that the real world could care less about what they have to say.
Their music, especially their new album, recognizes and exploits this understanding. The first track, named "Thriller" - a poke at the phenomenal success of Michael Jackson's 1982 album of the same name - speaks directly to the critics, both in the media and in the scene, who claimed that the band was a lackluster one-trick pony. "I can take your problems away/with a nod and a wave/of my hand," the lyrics read, acknowledging with satire-soaked words that this album will not answer the listeners' plea to "fix me in 45."
Fall Out Boy is most certainly a one-trick pony, but they are better at their particular trick than any other pop-punk act in quite a while. On first listen, "Infinity on High" may sound like the same song repeated 14 times, but only because the human mind can only take in so many catchy-as-hell choruses at one time. After a few listens, it becomes infectious, crawling through the listeners' heads at all times, whether they want it to or not.
Defining this CD as more soulful or more raw would frankly be incorrect. The album isn't overproduced either, and though legendary producer Babyface worked on a large number of the tracks, it certainly has no sound reminiscent of R&B. The point of the album is not the style; it's the music.
The song "THNKS Fr TH MMRS" (thanks for the memories) is perhaps the best on the album, accomplishing the laudable act of cramming sincerity, insult, irony, bitterness, anger and nonchalance into one destined-for-radio single. "Thanks for the memories/ even though they weren't so great," the lyrics read.
In the end, one fact remains: Fall Out Boy knows how to write catchy songs, and they acknowledge and utilize their talent in this area. For that, they deserve respect. The last thing the scene needs is another Tom DeLonge, who left Blink 182 to start his self-proclaimed "best band ever," Angels and Airwaves. Pete Wentz is right: "this isn't a scene, it's an arms race," and Kim Jong-Il has nothing on Fall Out Boy - except maybe the hair.
