What A Time To Be Alive … but people forget. Time passes, and people forget. They forget the real meaning of the word “respect” … People forget that Patrick Stump, for instance, is 38 years old. Pete Wentz is in his 40s! My point? My point is, Fall Out Boy are still being criminally under-rated and under-appreciated, and I’m still here to say it. Under-rated? Under-appreciated? A band that have been on the go since 2001, but still So Good Right Now. They have sold all those units, hit all those hits …
“It’s judgement that defeats us” – as Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) says in Apocalypse Now – a movie based on a Joseph Conrad novella. Fall Out Boy, a band named after a character in The Simpsons. Which has more cultural significance? I said already, in case you weren’t listening – “judgement defeats us”.
Fall Out Boy “under-rated”? They boast the best lyricist since Elvis Costello and/or Joe Jackson, the best singer since Barbra Streisand, an incredibly astute, versatile guitarist who can DO IT ALL (all the best, Joe), a drummer who DOMINATES LIVE SHOWS ON HIS OWN. And the live shows never, never, ever disappoint.
Wentz? Is he the new … Bob Dylan? Too much. Springsteen? Too much. Paul Weller? Mmm … this is a “punk” band after all, is it not? Forget the pigeonholes. Ultimately, there is no “too much”. If you feel like telling me I’ve over-sold it, listen to Heaven, Iowa. Luxuriate in the climactic title track. Get back to me, I’m available on most platforms and active on the Fall Out Boy Can Do No Wrong chatroom (I made that up, I think).
Excuse me if I’m getting carried away, but I am currently AT WAR with other reviews (For) So Much (For) Stardust. AT WAR. Those other guys state the banal, state the obvious: “Delicate piano keys … cinematic string arrangements … angry edge … quick-witted … confident return …” Errr, excuse me, that’s all a given. Instead of the cliches, let’s just say what’s true, what’s real …
This album, this latest offering, can’t be rated out of five, or out of 10. It’s FALL OUT BOY. The guys have “dropped” a new album, like Tchaikovsky “dropped” the 1812 Overture. Many major outlets have failed to review it at all. The first 49 seconds of the first track is everything we love about music, is it not? And it’s all uphill from there.
Patrick, take a bow. Pete, publish your lyrics, publish your stories, publish your next novel. We’re all with you. Except those who don’t get it, take it for granted, nod their heads and say: “Oh, yeah … Fall Out Boy? I’ve heard of that.”
The Fall Out Boy album this reminds me of most is Folie a Deux, which a lot of “fans” hated!? How shallow, how “on the nose” are we, us shallow music fans? Ignorance is bliss?!
“Real” bliss is the next great new album. Give this one your full attention, and try to imagine, in your worst nightmares, a time when these guys aren’t around …
So Much (For) Stardust, by Fall Out Boy, is out now via Fueled By Ramen