Tours Through Discographies: Fall Out Boy

   In my emo sequel blog, I talked about how Fall Out Boy was one of the most crucial bands in getting me into punk music. I remember being in my freshman year of high school and texting one of my friends that I was so obsessed with Fall Out Boy that I couldn't go a few hours without listening to them. I later saw them live in like 2017 or something with my best friend, and I really wanna see them again. 

  Pretty much since I got into them, they've been a mainstay in my top ten. They're tenured. They get benefits. 

1. Take This To Your Grave (2003)

    This album has a lot of well-placed angst. Early Fall Out Boy had a penchant for giving their songs titles that are nowhere to be found in their lyrics, and that's most songs on this album. That being said, that and some other stuff made this album a little harder for me to get down, but I do love it. It's a true early-2000's pop-punk classic, and songs like "Saturday", "Dead on Arrival", and "Where is Your Boy?" truly put Fall Out Boy on the map.

Favorite tracks: "Where is Your Boy?", "Chicago is So Two Years Ago", "Grenade Jumper"

2. From Under The Cork Tree (2005)

    Being their sophomore album, this album has a track called "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year". This album, I assure you, was definitely comeback of the year. It's arguably their best album. And the long, irrelevant song titles are in full force here. This album spawned the mega hits that are "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" and "Dance, Dance". A pretty objectively iconic pop-punk record.

Favorite tracks: "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More 'Touch Me'", "Sugar, We're Goin' Down", "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year"

3. Infinity On High (2007)

   This album is pretty much as iconic as its predecessor, if not more so, but IMO just slightly not as great. Which I feel bad saying something negative about this album, because it's so good. Fall Out Boy were pretty much scene legends at this point, and this only accelerated it more. Surely they had plenty more albums before they broke up, right? Right?

Favorite tracks: "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs", "Hum Hallelujah", "You're Crashing, But You're No Wave"

4. Folie à Deux (2008)

    This was the last album they made before they broke up. But don't worry, it's my favorite. Patrick Stump has always been a soul kind of guy, you can hear it in his voice. And he got to let that shine here more than any other record. This album has their signature sound from the past three, but with a lot of soul, blues, and hip-hop influences. It was a formula that Fall Out Boy tried and did very, very well with. 

Favorite tracks: "20 Dollar Nose Bleed", "What a Catch, Donnie", "The (Shipped) Gold Standard"

5. Save Rock And Roll (2013)

   Yes, they broke up. But, no fear! They came back! This was their big comeback album. Coincidentally, it was also the newest one when I got into them - so it has a special place in my heart. Every single song is great, and they literally made a music video for every track that, when put together in the right order, make a little movie. This album had to be big, with it being their comeback, and it certainly was. They got freaking Elton John.

Favorite tracks: "Alone Together", "Where Did the Party Go?", "Save Rock and Roll"

6. American Beauty/American Psycho (2015)

    I understand the complaints about this album, as it was a pretty poppy sound for them. But, I like it. Some of my favorite Fall Out Boy songs are on this one. They did a remix album of this that they called Make America Psycho Again, where it was every track remixed and with a different rapper featured. Kinda weird. But, the base album is pretty great, at least to me.

Favorite tracks: "The Kids Aren't Alright", "Jet Pack Blues", "Favorite Record"

7. Mania (2018)

   Ah, my least favorite Fall Out Boy album. Don't get me wrong, it's Fall Out Boy - bad Fall Out Boy music is still great music. It's just a little too poppy/electronic for what I like from this band. Even Joe Trohman, the guitarist, said in his book that he's not as fond of this one because it uses so little guitar, so he wasn't doing very much. But I think it gets a little too much of a bad rap - theres some gold here. Not a lot, but there is some.

Favorite tracks: "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)", "Heaven's Gate", "The Last of the Real Ones"

8. So Much (For) Stardust (2023)

   What Mania lacked, this album definitely made up for. I hope Joe is happy with this one. This was one of my top three, down-to-the-wire contenders for my favorite album of 2023. They got Ethan Hawke! It feels a lot like a return-to-form, and the tracks feel pretty powerful. And it has a doggo on the cover! And the added-later bonus track is their update to Billy Joel's iconic "We Didn't Start the Fire".

Favorite tracks: "Heaven, Iowa", "The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years)", "We Didn't Start the Fire"