#'I wish fob was playing a good album'

[thekidsare-not-alright]

pro tip don't read wwwy comments. yucky bad no nos. it's okay they're all wrong

[crunchycrystals]

ok it takes me a while to form opinions on albums so know rn that my opinions on ttpd are 100% going to change so much this week but like i like a handful of them????? but id really prefer if shed start focusing more on quality over quantity

[earlgreytea68]

in my feels about so much for stardust tonight shes such a gorgeous album. i wish more ppl appreciated her..... my starry eyed love <33

I do think she's very much appreciated by the fandom, afa I can tell, and in a way I think that's mostly what the boys care about at this point, that we're with them still and that we loved it and felt it and got it. Like, honestly, I'm not sure they ever expect that and I'm not sure that's why they made the album but I am sure that they have been absolutely delighted for the past fifteen months that we all showered the album in so much love and affection.

I am with you that I am completely bewildered it didn't get more love from people outside of the FOB circle. Like, just bewildered that I didn't even see a lot of major outlets even cover it. I would say they're just not a big enough band anymore to garner notice, except even that seems like it depends on the metric you use to measure it. I see a ton of coverage of a lot of bands that are playing much smaller venues than Fall Out Boy is able to play, so it's more a metric of, Idk, radio play???

Or maybe just a function of "for whatever reason, the powers that be in the industry have never been big on Fall Out Boy." Which I think feels true to my very limited expertise in any of this. They're an easy punchline for people. I think all the time of the time I mentioned them to a friend while wandering through a farmers' market and a guy literally had to swivel his head around to interject into my conversation how terrible a band Fall Out Boy is, and I was just like, ........this is wild, how much they're despised, that you need to mansplain this to me, a stranger you've never met, in a crowded farmers' market. ANYWAY.

I am no music critic, so I can't actually judge good or bad music (although I do think I can judge a little bit good or bad lyrics, having a degree in English during which I read tons of poetry). So Idk why Stardust didn't get more love from other people! Since I think the album is start-to-finish genius! But I am glad it got love from the people it got love from, and that the boys know all about it, and got to have an incredible tour around it during which they got to feel all of that love, and whatever to the haters. I am still so happy, and feel so lucky and fortunate, that I lived through Fall Out Boy releasing another album and it was this one. Just amazing.

[cboffshore]

introducing there's a light on: a character playlist experiment

Or: what would happen if I made a Nadakhan character playlist, but only let myself use Fall Out Boy tracks?

Tracklist and notes below the cut, as usual.

A word before we begin: This is both a very intense character exercise and a very casual affair. Very intense in that each song here was heavily vetted over a period of a few months (and, of course, we know I've been doing Nadakhan character work for years on end now), and very casual in that the decision to create this playlist was a quick one, almost a joke. I chose Fall Out Boy for no other reason than, thanks to a new album release and concert cycle in 2023, the fact that I was very into Fall Out Boy. It was a good choice, though; FOB harbors a lot of unique, complex themes that lent themselves nicely to this project. There's also the unique meta angle of lead singer Patrick Stump performing in a style that ordinarily doesn't pair with the genre FOB calls home and pulling it off pretty much flawlessly, which is a neat parallel to Nadakhan's entire origin story.

Some of the songs here are so on the nose you'd think they were written for Nadakhan; others might be here for a single, perfect lyric, or even just Vibes. I should also note that there is no particular order to these songs. I could very well have lined them up to match his seasonal arc, but as a nod to the common critique (and astute observation) that Nadakhan is pretty erratic, I let each song fall wherever it lay while I was tossing them into the playlist. I'll do the notes for these in order of the playlist for ease, though. Additionally, these aren't comprehensive notes - truly, I could write an essay for a lot of these individually. (Please, please, please ask me about songs on here. I might have more to say.) For now, these are just the strongest correlations I picked up.

Of course, I think the best way to get through this playlist is to go listen and just... think about his character. Drop the preconceived notions and the runaway fanonization. Think of what he does, and when he does it, and who's close to or far away from him.

Enough of my blabbering. You're about to get enough of that from Pete Wentz's poetry.

"Love From The Other Side" opens with sweeping, mysterious orchestral work that crashes, hard, into angry drums and screaming guitar work. From there, the entire song acts like an overture for the rest of the playlist: themes of growing up, getting out, and feeling out of place. The lyric that cemented this song's place on the playlist ties into Nadakhan's relationship with his father, as well as his hidden self-esteem issues as he tries to live up to his final promise: "This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me, loose/Like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit." I also particularly like the bridge line "Give up what you love before it does you in" - a gorgeous little nod at the end of the season, where what he works so hard for does indeed drown him.

"Baby Annihilation" is a unique one - fully spoken word by Wentz, with a surreal, dreamlike backing track. I chose this one for its impressive lyrical parallel to a line Nadakhan speaks during the finale: "But you know what they say: if you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself." After the fact, however, I thought it sounded a little more like someone else - possibly Jay - talking about the experience itself, or perhaps Nadakhan himself looking in after everything crumbled. It's less of a song and more a series of cryptic observations that I can't quite break down - which parallels how I feel about analyzing Nadakhan. There's always something that feels a little off.

"My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" is classic FOB, and again, opens with a delightfully parallel line that lights up like a caution sign warning you what Nadakhan's main tactic is: "Be careful makin' wishes in the dark, dark/Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark." Tonally, this one is fast, angry, and strong - it sounds like fight music, honestly. It's an anthem all around, complete with layered group vocalizations in the back that remind me of an entire crew singing at once.

"27" is the single most Nadakhanish song I have ever, ever heard. I could go into extreme detail on every line here (and honestly, maybe someday I will!), but I think his attitude towards his crew and how he hides his plans from them is best summed up with this sequence:

My mind is a safe And if I keep it then we all get rich My body is an orphanage We take everyone in Doing lines of dust and sweat

This is one of those songs you need to put both earbuds in for and just... listen. Nothing else. Hands in your lap and think of him as a character, and suddenly every line should fall into place. (Also, sick guitar solo!)

"I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers" is here for a very specific part: the first verse. While the whole song is a nice fit, I absolutely have to highlight the opening few lines, because... wow, if this isn't a perfect fit, I couldn't say what is:

You're a canary I'm a coal mine 'Cause sorrow is just all the rage Take one for the team You all know what I mean

I shouldn't need to explain this one too much. (Also, yes, this is what I named that essay after.) After this point, the lyrics touch on themes of desperate (if ill-fated) love, followed up by wailing vocals in the closer and some very iffy-sounding cheering that fits well with his desperation to be someone.

"Bishop's Knife Trick" was one of the first songs that I knew had to make it onto this playlist. Most striking is the repeated line "The glow of the cities below lead us back/to the places we never should have left," which reminded me both of the floating landmasses and of Nadakhan running away from home. I also think the bridge, with its hourglass imagery and themes of desperation and refusal to let go of the past, is beautifully fitting. This, too, has a haunting, grand tone to it: lots of echoey effects and dramatic chords and reverb.

"West Coast Smoker" includes two very important components for this project: a line specifically about being the last of one's kind ("I'm the last of my kind/and that's all that should matter to you") and a female guest vocalist. The former line ties in nicely with Nadakhan's superiority complex, that belief that he deserves more power than he has simply because he has any power at all (and the whole realm collapse thing, too). The latter, however - in the form of Debbie Harry of Blondie - is a neat little meta thing that I only recently noticed. The first time I ever heard this song, I thought the backing vocals were Stump doing some weird falsetto, or maybe someone else entirely from the band. Honestly, I could barely even hear those vocals. Turns out, that's not the case! When I learned the truth, my entire perception changed. In a similar way, once you realize how much of Nadakhan's story (and all of Skybound) is driven by women (regardless of how they're treated), you never quite see it the same again. Nadakhan's motivated by an undercurrent of female influence in the same way that Harry's vocals lend something unique to this track.

"Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet" starts strong with a nice parallel to Nadakhan's signature persuasion tactic: "When he walks into the room, the walls lean in to listen" and only gets better from there. My favorite part of this song is the infamous "Wish I didn't, I didn't..." sequence that culminates in a very apt line: "Don't just want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness." We know Nadakhan's bitter about having to make other people's dreams come true by virtue of who he is; in an attempt to single himself out, he twists that power, ensuring he makes it out of the footnotes and into the main text of everyone's story. Finally, I love the line "It's a sign - what if you peaked early?" Because he did, in fact, peak early. Twice, actually. First, his heyday before his imprisonment; then, as Flintlocke points out, the brief period where he fully controlled the skies and had already won. Oh, and the fact that the entire song reads like a man trying to convince someone he's trying to woo to leave their existing relationship for his sake? Sounds familiar...

"Heaven, Iowa" is desperately, gorgeously sentimental - a simple, surreal plea to be remembered well, and to be loved. This specifically ties into the moment in the season finale, where he desperately (and apparently repetitively) asks Delara if she still loves him: "Tell me, when the party ends/Will you still love who I am?" (Once again: crashing guitars and layered vocals add extra depth. I love the way this one shifts from simple maraca backing to absolutely wild, desperate percussion and backing choir.)

"I've Got A Dark Alley..." is another sentimental one, maybe a little more platonic or even introspective, that examines failure and disappointment. It also reflects, quite simply and beautifully, how Nadakhan pushes people away and digs his own grave by refusing to let others in:

And the record won't stop skipping And the lies just won't stop slipping And besides my reputation's on the line

"Heaven's Gate" is one of the very few genuine love songs FOB has ever crafted, and it's perfect for what little of the Nadakhan-Delara dynamic we see. There's the rebellious imagery of breaking into heaven, but the lovely faith of knowing one's partner will help them out; there's a near-obsessive note of devotion. It's even a waltz! Most fitting, though, is the line "everything else is a substitute for your love," which I think nicely represents how Nadakhan brushes off his relationship with Delara early on. Sure, it fuels so much of his plot, but he hides it by just keeping busy and hoping those actions all help him in the end.

"Sophomore Slump or Comeback Of The Year" is both confident and insecure - trying to convince the listener that the singer is something special, but being a little too desperate about it at points. I added this one specifically for the pairing of "I'll keep singing this lie if you'll keep believing it" and "the best part of 'believe' is the lie," both of which are desperately repeated. I also appreciated the the bitter remembrance of better times: "the kids you used to love/but then we grew old."

"The (Shipped) Gold Standard" is a restless track, flipping between memories, doubts, impossible future plans, and a desire to be honest without the ability. I do hear Nadakhan's fear of vulnerability here: "I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs/but I'm afraid that someone else'll hear me." Oh, and the whole "business of souls" bit, which occurs in a bizarrely angry section of the otherwise very smooth song - almost like the mutiny breakdown.

"From Now On We Are Enemies" is so, so much. "A downward spiral, just a pirouette/Getting worse til there's nothing left" is an apt summary of his story, for starters. Beyond that, this song is somewhere between a confession and an analysis, a self-critique, in fact. Just... go listen to this one. Seriously. Every line here works. There's desire, there's hatred, there's fear... it's delicious.

"The Music Or The Misery" is here specifically for the line "I am indifferent (yet I'm a total wreck)/I'm every cliche, but I simply do it best" as a neat nod both towards his hypocrisy at calling Jay an avoidant coward despite doing the same thing and his meta origin as a mashup of classical literary and pop culture sources.

"Jet Pack Blues" is also only here for one specific part (as well as its overall melancholic tone and church chimes). That would be the weirdly pointed "Did you ever love her? Do you know? Or did you never want to be alone?" that occurs multiple times and reminds me immensely of Jay's accusation in episode 60. Although I like to believe that Nadakhan's love for Delara was genuine (and inf act the only thing keeping him tethered at all), it's never definitively answered, and it haunts me. Was he using her? Was she using him? Was it ever real love, or was it an excuse for power? Jay was onto something, honestly.

"Pavlove" is a song with a weird, weird history. Up until very recently, the only official way to access it was to own a specific version of the album it served as a bonus track on; otherwise, piracy! Or the one YouTube listing for it. Anyway, I like the history of this song as fun nod at the limited knowledge of Nadakhan post-Skybound - he might be a historical figure, but besides Jay and Nya, nobody else has those direct memories of interacting with him so recently. This one works lyrically, too - "I want to make you as lonely as me" and "I'm not ready for a handshake with death, no" both reflect his vindictive yet terrified personality. And all the mirror imagery! And "It's three drinks too late to talk to anyone but myself" indicating his tendency to hide things? Perfection.

"So Much (For) Stardust" is "Love From The Other Side" after it's been put through an emotional wringer. If "Love..." is Nadakhan immediately post-release, "So Much..." is him watching his world collapse and realizing that maybe, just maybe, he messed up and wasted his time. It's got themes of lost confidence and insecurity, and the painful truth that sometimes, you do need to lean on others - a fact Nadakhan refuses to accept that then ends his reign. He also attempts to get back to his glory days, which is gorgeously reflected in the lyrical callback to the first track on this playlist:

In another life you were my babe In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime What would trade the pain for? I'm not sure

I used to be a real go-getter I used to think it'd all get better

Most painfully, I love the way this song ends as a parallel to how Nadakhan's plans crumble. First, the instrumentals fade out; then, the backing vocalists, until it's just the lead singer pleading with a musical void.

"Chicago Is So Two Years Ago" is a weird, weird way to close the playlist, which means it's great that this isn't any sort of meaningful order. This a little more upbeat than other tracks here, but the themes of homesickness, avoidance, and bitter nostalgia remain. Also, this is where the title of the playlist comes from:

But there's a light on in Chicago And I know I should be home

Just remember: Chicago and Djinjago have the same number of syllables. Do with that information what you will.

[riddlerosehearts]

okay so, long list of fall out boy concert thoughts mostly for myself and also for anyone who cares:

-i've been pretty excited about getting to see bring me the horizon open for them, and they were soooooo fucking good and got me so hyped. oli got off the stage and walked through the crowd at one point which was pretty cool. wish he had come close to me.

-love from the other side is SO hype and so amazing to see live.

-songs like uma thurman and save rock and roll that aren't normally favorites of mine are also hype just because of everyone singing and dancing and having fun and all the awesome fun stage effects! i was in the vip box area and had a great view of said stage effects. i hadn't watched many tourdust videos before so most of them were a surprise to me. loved the underwater background and bubbles some songs had and the spooky forest looking background, loved all the colorful fireworks, fucking loved when they had a giant doberman and it lip sycned during this ain't a scene it's an arms race and pete made it look like he was putting his head in its mouth. wish i got a photo of that.

-i got chicago is so two years ago in the TTTYG slot and i'm happy with that!

-i am still reeling from getting to hear calm before the storm and disloyal order of water buffaloes. it's 2023 and those two songs are permanent fixtures on the setlist. what the fuck.

-have to be honest that i got disappointed for a second when the opening chords to bang the doldrums played for the IOH slot just because like i don't get to go to multiple shows in one tour and don't know when i'll ever get to go to another show where i have a chance to hear hum hallelujah. so yeah i wanted to hear it because it's probably my favorite FOB song.

-BUT after that second of disappointment i was still fucking hyped and dancing and singing wholeheartedly to bang the doldrums because it's a banger, it's something they only started playing live on this very tour, and it's the one that was almost a shrek song, so can i really complain?

-got headfirst slide in the folie slot, it would've been super cool if they switched it for 27 again but i love headfirst slide too so no complaints there!!

-PATRICK PLAYED I'VE GOT ALL THIS RINGING IN MY EARS AND NONE ON MY FINGERS FOR HIS PIANO SOLO?? thank you patrick i love you i owe you my life

-i'm so glad we got one of the best MANIA songs for the tour, last of the real ones was so fun.

-umm okay so oli sykes may not have walked close to me but FUCKING. PETE WENTZ. GOT OFF THE STAGE DURING DANCE DANCE AND WALKED RIGHT BEHIND MY SEAT!?!?! i think my brain broke and i like almost died for a minute. i did not think to record a video of him walking by 😭 i panicked and snapped a blurry photo.

-AND THEN AFTER I GOT DONE SINGING ALONG TO HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE!!! THEY SUBJECTED ME TO FROM NOW ON WE ARE ENEMIES AS THE 8 BALL SONG!!

-look, the only reason i didn't put from now on we are enemies on my 8 ball wishlist was i didn't think they would even consider it. i thought it was just too delusional of a pick. i recorded a video of it and i'm pretty sure it starts with me shouting "HOLY SHIT" right at the opening chords and continues with patrick being inaudible because i'm screaming the lyrics

-made me sad that not many people seemed to know the song though :( like i GET IT because a song that was only ever released NOT EVEN as a b-side but on their 2009 greatest hits album and then never ever played live is a pretty big deep cut. but i wish there had been more energy for it. it does help that pete said "that went better than i expected!" afterward, and hey, i bet some people at that show heard it for the first time ever and loved it.

-the flame effects during my songs know what you did in the dark were sooo cool and fun and so were the big sparkly fireworks during thnks fr the mmrs and the confetti everywhere at the end.

-i saw someone say they should take saturday off the setlist. that is the most wrong opinion i've ever heard. fall out boy shows closing with saturday is a 20-year tradition still going strong and i'm so glad i finally got to experience it.

[beyondplusultra]

saw you mention fob new album - thoughts on Heaven, Iowa being an akeshuake song from Akira's perspective?

That's actually one of my favorite songs from the entire album!! I see it from both their perspectives, with the first verse being from Goro's perspective and the second from Akira's! The chorus and bridge fit both of them, of course :)

Other stuff from this album that hit the akeshu feels were these lines specifically from Love From The Other Side:

This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me, loose Like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit I'd never go, I just want to be invited

Every lover's got a little dagger in their hand

I saw you in a bright clear field, hurricane heat in my head The kind of pain you feel to get good in the end, good in the end Inscribed like stone and faded by the rain: "Give up what you love Give up what you love before it does you in"

And just the entirety of Baby Annihilation:

An alligator prince with crocodile tears, too many to count Permanent head-cold dreams awash in your love, fallin' in and out Time is luck, and I wish ours overlapped more or for longer Orange leaves but we're the ones falling off trees The first time I took the mask off, just had another one on underneath I'm just melted wax on a birthday cake, another year fades away Charcoal crushed, pixie fever, angel dust Stuck in a wasteland we covered in glitter and broadcast just for a little serotonin Self-sabotage at best, under your spell But you know what they say "If you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself" This palace was crystal, but the world was a cruel joke What is there between us, if not a little annihilation?

[petewentzisblack1312]

hey dils! you’ve mentioned that when you arent listening to fall out boy, you’re most likely listening to punk (specifically black punk) — can I ask what drew you to fall out boy, then? was it the band’s background in the hardcore/punk scene? was it something else?

im always really fascinated to learn what draws someone to a particular type of music or artist!!

(for me, it’s probably how patrick layers his vocal harmonies. there is something really striking about the choral aspects of fob’s work (ioh especially), probably bc I grew up in the religious south).

hi!! so i actually got into punk music through fob and narrowed my attention on black punk becaaause i got tired of hearing white people sing fuck the police. fall out boy was my first foray into alternative music! actually ive told this story before but i saw a picture of an emo guy when i was like 6 or something and was like I Am Never Getting Into Rock Music Ever What The Fuck Thats Scary and then i got into fall out boy and did an art project where i had to draw peoples eyes and i googled pete wentz and i found the picture. bc it was pete wentz. full circle.

what really got my attention was the music, the first song that got me into them was immortals bc i heard it in big hero 6 and i thought it sounded so good and there was a quality to it that was really appealing to me, it sounded so unique to anything id ever heard before, and i listened to the rest of the album (on shuffle) and realised that was the fall out boy ness of it all. and then i listened to srar on shuffle, and then i listened to folie on shuffle and disloyal order came on and i was like wtf is this on shuffle why did the first song play and i was about to hit shuffle again and then. the organs. and i understood what music could be in the moment i heard patricks voice crooning over the organs and the lyrics clear as day, clear as crystal, clear as the voice of god in a mad mans head, i knew this was my kind of music. and no other band has ever done what fall out boy has done for me. paramore also sounds very unique though i have to give them credit they also sound good as hell. but i prefer fob. fob lyrics are a huge draw for me too! they both work in tandem for me.

and THEN. i found pax am days. and i found out i like my music hard fast and sloppy. and i got into punk music! i really like political music, and punk music does that for me. also sometimes i wish fob songs were faster and i realised its because i am a hardcore punk rock girlie.

anyway if i had to be specific about what i like about fall out boy, its the arrangements! the music has a lot of moving parts, and the lyrics are sung intentionally. thank you for the question i needed a distraction.

[allsassnoclass]

your opinions on the current/upcoming fob tour(s)? -💙

hi megs @igarbagecannoteven!

so I got to see FOB on their first round of so much for (tour) dust, but I saw them at their somerset show, which was rained out (hazards of outdoor venues). after bmth (fantastic live band btw, the energy in the crowd for them was great and they were really great to see even as someone who only knows a few songs) there was lightning so we were told to shelter in place in our cars for a whole hour before they let us back in, and then we got an abbreviated set because the venue had a strict curfew, so I didn't get the full experience (rip to patrick's piano time, which they skipped for our show :( )

that being said, what i did experience was amazing! i LOVE that they included headfirst slide, because that song SLAPS live, and i like the magic 8 ball song idea (especially after learning that originally they weren't going to do a different song each night??? and then they liked it so much and it had such a good reaction that they relearned their old songs for it the day of). the one thing is that i wish we did get slight mania representation (at least for a magic 8 ball song here or there, something besides last of the real ones). i also am so so so extremely jealous of the people who got to hear all of my favorites off of ioh live. the set design and vibe was interesting, and i'd have liked to see the whole thing to see the different visuals for every song/section

as for the upcoming tour, i'm honestly a little confused about it. i feel like they don't usually tour the same album twice, especially since they're repeating the usa but they haven't done south america/an official asia tour. that being said, i'm selfishly so thankful for it because i have an opportunity to see them again lol and this time it's at an indoor venue so we won't get rained out! i'm excited to see what they change and what they keep the same (please let there be patrick piano time PLEASE also THE FACT THAT HE PLAYED SPOTLIGHT ONE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I COULD CRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and i'm glad that they're having a good enough time out on the road to add another tour on so close to the last one. it seems like they really enjoyed this one, which i'm glad for

ask me my opinion on things!

[thekidsarentalright]

ok bestie i’ve been thinking abt the setlist for so long bc i’m gonna be at the first show(!!) which is like. terrifying in a good way lmao 😭 i’m like “how much are they gonna damage me emotionally with this set?” so i have a Lot of thoughts lmaooo

for stardust songs, the title track would fuck me up the most, i’m SO hoping for that one… but if there’s only a few songs from it i think what a time to be alive is my other biggest hope just bc i rlly want to scream the bridge 😭 but i’ve Also been wanting i am my own muse as an opener… idc if it’s unlikely, that would go so hard!! tbh i’d be fine with any of the songs from stardust bc that album is glorious. pete could literally do baby annihilation and i’d be cheering lol

also YESSS to the idea of rotating songs!! especially if they’re like what tswift does for surprise songs. that would be amazing bc it makes whatever song u get special, yk? esp if they’re songs that haven’t been played in a long time (or ever! my tswift show got songs she’d never played live before and it was Fucking Insane, so i rlly want fob to do something similar and just go crazy w it)

also rlly excited abt deep cuts/older songs… if they do headfirst slide or calm before the storm again i think i’ll faint. absolutely can’t believe those are the realistic options lmao… everything abt that is insane. i think there was an interview from like last year where they got asked abt gin joints and were like “maybe we’ll have to learn that one again” so i’m also hoping for that! or if we’re getting more unrealistic… god there’s so many songs i’d wish for 😭 bishops knife trick or jet pack blues would actually destroy me. or lake effect kid!! and ofc, manifesting tkaa for u <33

- 🧋 anon

SO sorry for answering this two days late i got so distracted but AUGH i forgot you were going to the very first show that is SO scary and exciting, ur gonna have to come tell me all about it im living vicariously thru u going so im basically going too <3 fksjdnfs

i SO hope they do the title track but if theyre only doing a few from stardust like pete (known liar) said, i 100% feel u with what a time to be alive, that's my number one absolute hope to hear too, but yeah literally any stardust song would be great. i am a huge proponent of fob is so good they could play literally any song and i wouldnt fucking care it would be a joy to hear live!!!!

YESSSS i am so so manifesting something like that like. how special would it be if each show got a slightly different set?? esp if it was songs they never really do like u said!!! idk the likelihood of that but with how they're hyping up this tour, saying it's visually unlike anything we've seen before and that they're playing older songs idk... i feel like anything is possible!!!

literally if u told me a year ago realistic setlist options for fob were headfirst slide and calm before the storm i would pass out i cant believe that bro!!!! also cant believe gin joints is also a possibility??? like ohhh my god we r gonna be fed so well. im wishing for all the same unrealistic ones as u for real, i got to hear lake effect kid during my second mania tour show and my god i would LOVE to hear it again. also think them debuting like. bob dylan or super fade or something would be incredible but. very unrealistic kjfnsdkfj

[leave-me-alone-please]

Ok, idc idc you will now get my live reactions to the new FOB Album.

Love from the Other Side is a great Song. We been knew. I love the lyrics, I love the melody and I know it by heart already. This Was the Song that got me excited for this Album. Also I live for racoon Joe. I am especially in love with the prechoruses. But the 'give up what you love before it does you in' in the bridge Hits hard too.

Heartbreak feels so good is the other track i already knew. It is fun but for me personally the post-chorus is a bit to empty and take away from the rest a bit. Like the part with lyrics is great but then the 'ooooh' Part just makes me get tired of the Song quicker which is a bit sad because the rest of it is dope even through it is very repetitive.

Hold me like a grudge: The Bass line is really dope. The buildup towards the chorus progresses really nicely. Ooooh, the chorus hits hits. I love this. Even tho it is simplistic and very Pop and Patrick Sounds like Michael Jackson in some lines. The claps and Percussion give it a nice dynamic. I really feel the chorus lyrics wise. Very nice.

Fake out: oh this is giving One Direction vibes lol. It's a bit boring. Nah, this sounds like another boring love Song. Bit dissapointing. Ok, some of the lyrics are pretty. But it's just too generic overall. Oh, there was a bit of acapella, it's such a cheap move but I love it Every time. But Yeah, this is not it.

Heaven, Iowa: is this a balad? Oh it's a pretty epic balad. Sounds like a movie soundtrack. Oh no, this was a straight up Panic! line. Ok, I love the gitar in the second chorus. This might grow on me a lot. Nah, I don't like the bridge. Hm, this is quite the mixed bag. I'll have to See about this in a Week I'll either love or hate it. But the gitar is beautiful and Patricks' voice is of course also gorgeous so they got that going for them

So good right now: that is a fun Song right out the gate. This is a cleaning Song. And that says a lot because i need the brigh test Songs i can find for cleaning. Oh this makes me wanna dance. Yes, the chorus is lyrically also not very complex but it is fun and it matches the Song and sometimes that's all we need. Great Song.

The Pink Seashell: oh, interesting sampling of Ethan Hawke. It's a nice speech.

I am my own muse: Violin? Violin. Oh, this is a whole orchestra! Woooow, I love this. The harmonies?! Hell yes! This Song is legitimatly amazing. It is also sampling a really famous peace of classical music I think. And the guitar coming in with the orchestra? The Horns with this Bass line? I am in love. Wow, applause. This Was a journey and I ascended.

Flu Game: this is a fun track. It's in line with Dance Dance vibe wise. Very Fall Out Boy. Nothing New, solid Song. Weird Video game waiting screen outro

Baby Annihilation: hm, the speech is a bit too 2012 Tumblr girl melodramatic but that is Pete at his core, isn't it?

Zen years: Ok, the Song itself starts beautifully. The Electronic Sound is a nice Touch to an other wise familiar sounding Song. Hm, it's a bit forgettable in big parts. Ha! This part is the melody of 'what makes you beautiful' by one Direction. I knew it sounded familiar. Lol.

What a time to be alive: this is a fun track. The plucked Bass is dope. Very Disco track. I really like it. Ye, this is a Song for going to uni in the korning. Yes, I too am ready to livestream the apocalypse. This is a great summer Song. The lyrics are also pandemic inspired which is rather ridiculous on such an upbeat Song.

So much (for) Stardust: Violin, Piano, moody Song. Sudden trumpet. James Bond Song vibes. Subtle keychange i think. I want to hear this Song played in a church. It is a very specific vibe that I really enjoy. Great ending for an album. Ooooh, reference to the first Song of the Album. They're going full circle. Another sublte changeup and we're going back to a last chorus. Oh they brought in a choir for the end. I just kinda wish they hadn't done a fade out end.

[skzingitup]

ALBUM REVIEW TIME 👹

Since it seems FOB will be releasing a new album/new music soon, why not do an album review for their recent release that I never got round to listening to. MANIA

This review is dedicated to @bambino1294 as it is her fave 🫶🏻

Lets get started 🎆

Stay frosty royal milk tea - 7/10 - wow okay cool start right off the bat!! ARE YOU SMELLING THAT SHIT!! Different to what i’m used to hearing from FOB but its a welcomed difference!! Oh that bridge was so nice!! Yeah this slaps

Last of the real ones - 7/10 - this stating is giving coldplay 😭 its good tho!! When those guitars kick in 🤌🏻 it sort of looses its steam in the verses a little but it’s not enough to ruin anything!! Just makes that chorus hit. Strong final chorus. This is really good!!

HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON’T - 6/10 - a more tropical beat from FOB?? Kind of slays. Okay FOB x KARD performance when?? I am a sucker for when we just get a section of vocals without the instrumental!! It hits everytime!! I cant say this is a song I would choose to put on, but if it came on shuffle i would vibe so hard!! THE VOCALS IN THE BRIDGE??? heaven!!

Wilson (expensive mistakes) - 9/10 - oh this is good!! Yep that chorus!! Slays!! ILL STOP WEARING BLACK WHEN THEY MAKE A DARKER COLOUR!!!! I don’t even have much to say, this is just a whole vibe and i’m in love!! Gets a point deducted because the bridge didn’t hit like the rest of it. But still a huge slay!

Church - 8/10 - this one started out in a very imagine dragons way and i’m living for it!! I love his voice sm btw, i feel like i haven’t said that yet. There is just something about imperfect vocals that just hits so much better. Its the emotion 🤌🏻 yeah this one is groovy!! IF YOU WERE CHURCH I WOULD GET ON MY KNEES. so true!!

Heaven’s Gate - 10/10 - OMG THAT GUITAR IS THE PROGRESSION FROM EVERYBODY HURTS!!! I CAN PLAY THAT IN MY SLEEP!!! FUCK this is so good!! that chorus?!!!! Heaven’s gate?? More like i am actually in heaven!!! This would make a cracking TV drama song!! FUCKING HELL NO THIS IS RLLY GOOD

Champion - 6/10 - the guitars in this one 🤌🏻 IF I CAN LIVE THROUGH THIS!!! Literally my life motto atp. This feels like rock mixed with some classic hiphop in the verses. Its really good!! Yeah I like this one but again Idk if i would choose to listen to this one often. I would vibe if it ever came on randomly tho!!

Sunshine riptide - 6.5/10 - oh this is scratching my brain so well. oHH YEAH. The second verse??? Very different but not unwelcome. The instrumental for this one is so good tho. The bass 🫶🏻 the adlibs in the back 🤌🏻 yeah i think i like this one!

Young and Menace - 7/10 - that build up was so fucking good!! HOLY SHIT I was not expecting that Chorus!! This is so interesting!! It is definitely for a certain vibe, but I am on board!! This would have gone so hard on youtube fan edits back in the day!! This is real noise music!! Stray kids wish they could do this /j

Bishops Knife Trick - 8/10 - nice start!! Love the piano!! Solid drop to the chorus. Very much vibing with this one!! Has a nostalgic feel to it, would be amazon on a late night car ride!! Yep that bridge into final chorus really made the song!! A vibe 🫶🏻

This was a fun listen!! Its a really strong album. Heavens gate is now like one of my fave songs ever

[verdantcactus]

Comfort-thing tag list!

I got tagged by @lcphotowerx for a tag game, and lord knows I love a good tag game

Off we go:

Comfort Food:

anything my dad cooks really but with a specific focus on chicken that he makes.

If I am home and thus away from dad cooking, it's shitty takeout like applebees or something.

Comfort Clothes:

I have basically a comfort uniform that I will wear every day if you let me: Band t-shirt, leggings, tall knit socks, combat boots, severely oversized flannel, beanie I can stuff my hair into so it's not touching me.

Comfort Song:

Oof. For me it's basically anything that I listen to. My whole life is comfort music on at all times. But if you were pressing me to narrow it down, comfort ALBUMS would be revenge or bullets from MCR. Comfort single one off songs would be Lake Effect Kid by FOB or Joyriding by Frank Iero.

Comfort Movie:

Anything Disney animated that I watched a lot as a kid really. But if pressed right now it would probably be like Emperor's New Groove or the animated Robin Hood.

Comfort Book:

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I should re-read fangirl. but also a lot of frequent flier fanfics would count here. I re-read more fic for comfort than books these days.

Comfort Activity:

Making fanfic into books... playing video games... Listening to albums on vinyl... sitting outside and staring off into the middle distance with music on.

Comfort Games:

Pokemon crystal, persona 3 or 5, Catherine.

...not all of my comfort games are very comforting lol

Now I get to tag people! Feel free to join in if you wish but the tag comes with no requirements @cadencekismet @thewordworrier @robinruns @gay-vampire-with-a-violin @whatareyouon93

[thedevilsinthenextroom]

Quick jumbled thoughts while I listen(not including the singles)

-

Happy When I Die - I like the instrumental a lot. But uh I kno we said we wanted somber Funny and what not, but his part was mildly concerning. Also this comment on the video killed me

-

Go To War - dope. I didn't recognize Danny's voice at first but holy crap it's so good! Felt like this albums We Are ya kno?

-

Lion Eyes - fuckin SLAPS. Mother Murder mixed with the band Set It Off vibes but AHH!! IMMEDIATE FAVORITE!

-

Ruin My Life - Party By Myself and Guzzle Guzzle fused. I love it

-

Reclaim - AH I LOVE THIS ONE TOO. Huge Linkin Park vibes! Danny sounds amazing on the chorus. J-Dog's parts were so cool too, his scream was such a good touch

-

World War Me - THE CHORUS SCREAM??? AMAZING!! Johnny fuckin killed this one, bruh

-

Alone At The Top - this reminds me of something from the 2000s, like paramore or something ya kno?? Danny with the Lorene Drive vibes tho! I really liked this one, felt some weird nostalgia!

-

Alright - ok but fall out boy and imagine dragons vibes?? Chorus reminds me of Irresistible from FOB just slower and softer. I really like this one! This one is another favorite!

-

Hourglass - I swear to god, as this one started, I thought it was Sweet Child O' Mine from Guns N' Roses lol. This feels like I'm watching an anime opening or like a battle theme to a video game.. my point is I dig it. Really fun song!

-

Dangerous - OOOO. was the first noise I made when it started lol. Gives me Godsmack vibes with the instrumental, I fuckin love this one too!! "I WISH A MUTHAFUCKA WOULD". Solid line. J-Dog stans how u feeling?? um FUNNY MAN WITH THE SPANISH? SIR?? "Órale Chicas" SWOON. ANOTHER FAVORITE

-

In conclusion, THIS ALBUM IS SOLID and I will not be skipping a single song. Lion Eyes is my new jam and I will be playing it on loop for the next week. YEEHAW HOMIES

[earlgreytea68]

Loved your take on patrick's new(ish) song! I think a lot of it probably has to do with the movie it's from, but it's fun to speculate and I love reading lyric analysis like that (and I totally lean toward it being "know" instead of "no" I was thinking that as I listened). I also like that it seems like Patrick's taken influence from Pete's lyric writing too. (Side note but I wish fob would release some new stuff because I feel the lyrical analysis of some new stuff would be so fun haha)

Patrick's definitely been influenced by Pete as a lyricist. It always makes me think, like, from the age of 17 on, the person who taught Patrick how to write lyrics was Pete. Of course he sounds inevitably a little like Pete: Pete's the one who taught him almost everything he knows about words in songs. The way Pete plays with words, the way he seeds ambiguity into his statements and layers meanings onto phrases, this is what Patrick learned. I don't think he's as good at it -- Pete is really very, very good at writing -- but it's so sweet to me how much he clearly absorbed Pete's lyrical style. Patrick was writing lyrics before Pete, of course, but I think Pete's approach gradually altered the way Patrick's head thinks about lyrics over the years.

And yes, presumably the song is really about the movie, whatever the movie is lolololol

I have, like, this entire ~~theory about the hold-up on new stuff out of FOB. It involves the fact that we're in this confluence of truly irritating circumstances for them as a band. Hella Mega Tour made total sense for them as a thing when it was going to be a quick summer tour as a reset after getting out of their record contract. Instead we had a pandemic and the quick summer tour has dragged out into three years of their band. They're essentially an opening act on HMT, with a very short set and an audience that's not exactly theirs. That makes it a difficult place to try out or promote new material. So there's not a lot of incentive to release anything new while they're still in the middle of the HMT commitment, because they can't actually properly promote it.

And then there's the fact that they *are* out of contract. This means they have no record label demanding an album out of them. Which is probably a good thing since they're still stuck in the HMT commitment and, again, don't have the time/space to add in their own tour right now. But it also puts them in a curious position. Like, if Pete Wentz is thinking about his band, and I assume at times he still is, he's got to be wondering if a new album even is the way forward, or if albums are dead and they should try something else? Idk, the Pete who lives in my head would be thinking about these things, but the real Pete Wentz is probably just playing tennis and enjoying his money lol, who knows? But I don't know what anything new out of them would really look like at this point when they have no contractual obligations.

I assume they are not done making new music. But I guess who knows about that, too? Pete and Patrick are both compulsive creators, they have been since childhood, Patrick is always writing songs and Pete is always writing poems, and I doubt either one of them will just stop at this point. I'm sure the pandemic slowed them down the way it slowed down many people (except Taylor Swift) who just couldn't find ways to be creative in the middle of the crisis. But Patrick clearly has been composing all along. And learning sixteen new instruments to play, or whatever. And I find it difficult to believe Pete suddenly stopped writing when he's written his whole life and has been on the record talking about needing creative outlets. Maybe things like tennis and his radio show satisfied that creative outlet need for him, but again, from the POV of this writer, writers gonna write, most of the time.

And so then, again, I find it less likely that they would stay creating *independent* of each other. Even during the hiatus when they weren't speaking, Patrick was writing songs for Fall Out Boy. And Pete is usually very vocal about how Patrick is the creative partnership that works best for him, so I doubt he'd want to start over with someone else. And also they're on the record that they don't hang out without writing together, because of how Patrick is, so I've got to assume that some kind of writing has happened at some point or will happen in the future.

Andy is always up for anything, of course. And I think Joe would be happy to put some stuff together (assuming his absence from the hockey thing was just a scheduling conflict or something, which I don't think we really have reason to think anything different).

So all of this is massive speculation and who knows what any of these people are actually doing but I would like to think that there is a possibility they will write new music at some point.

[dog-teeth]

whatre your thots on the gecs remix album? :0

tbh i think 100 gecs music is already so so expertly mixed that i dont see the appeal of making a remix album, like they collab with soo many cool artists on it i just think it would be cool if they worked on new music w those artists. i was like ... FALL OUT BOY??? BLACK DRESSES??? DORIAN ELECTRA??? KERO KERO BONITO ??? RICO NASTY ???? the 2 original songs are pretty good especially toothless i really really fuck with.  i desperately wish fob had sung the ‘you were all work and i was all play’ verse at the end of hand crushed by a mallet it would have rocked my world thats like my fav verse in any gec song, maybe tied with the into+first chorus of money machine. also all of ringtone and stupid horse but ya.

only rly vibe w the black dresses mix, the intro of hand crushed that fob sings, toothless, came to my show (some parts of that one rly grate my ears tho not in a good way like it sometimes is), & the dorian electra mix though mostly for dorians voice i dont like the beat mix as much

as always mad respect for the artists involved w the project & i’m not here to just criticize !!

[prettyoddfever]

P!ATD in summer 2007

THE MAIN POST

Some stores still had a release date of late summer 2007 for P!ATD’s second album. Even at the start of July, HMV had the 8/20 release date posted:

Then MTV reported towards the start of July that a spokesperson for P!ATD confirmed that the second album would not be released in 2007 (this news happened before Summerfest). MuchMusic shared the same news a few days later and said that the band was still working on writing songs. The second album was expected in January or early February 2008 at this point.

SUMMERFEST

here’s a tag for the event. 

here’s a playlist

the event was on July 7th in Milwaukee and the venue seated around 23,000 people.

Eric Ronick wasn’t at shows in 2007, so Brendon did the piano parts. Bden’s solo piano cover of Round Here was still amazing.

A lot of fan commentary from Summerfest revolved around what the guys were doing offstage and on the side of the stage while other bands played. Most of it wasn’t very important: the 3 girlfriends were there, Jon apparently seemed annoyed with Brendon’s general existence, Ryan was drinking a beer while watching TAI, and Brendon mostly hung out with Zack or by himself. Brendon also came out to sing with The Hush Sound. 

Brendon & Ryan left each other alone, so there were no Ryden moments for people to share. But Jon wore flip flops onstage so that was fun too?

P!ATD played Summerfest instead of Live Earth but here’s a FOB moment there that mentions them.

Brendon’s voice was pretty rough throughout this show... it definitely wasn’t one of his best performances. 

One fan spent a LOT of time making some stuffed cats to give each guy at the meet & greet. Ryan thanked her and said he’d give it to his dog lol. The poor girl. That still makes me laugh though.

Brendon was still wearing his white shirt and black tie. One review of Summerfest said: “Frontman Brendon Urie's New Wave skinny tie and white dress shirt were sartorial emblems of Panic's tendency to smash together old stuff in a frenzy that makes it seem new to those who haven't heard any of it before.” Because Brendon was clearly trying to make a statement when he grew up dressing like that in the Mormon church too.

The most notable part of the show was obviously when the band decided to play a completely new song from the material they’d been working on at the cabin that spring. Ryan had mentioned in recent interviews that they would probably play new material, but that they still had to figure it out because “there are a lot of things that we've demo-ed but there's stuff that's missing from the songs that we wouldn't be able to play live right now.”

The band played a song that fans ended up calling “True Love” or “It’s True Love” (here are some videos). A fan who saw the setlist said that it had been listed as “NYC,” but I think the general consensus was that this wasn’t particularly exciting because it could easily just stand for “not yet confirmed.” Anyways, I thought Brendon’s voice wasn’t having a good day at Summerfest in general... I wish we could hear a recording of It’s True Love from another day too. I genuinely loved the song, so its reception still makes me a little sad. It felt like the majority of fans completely hated it and were absolutely brutal. There were seriously thousands of comments online tearing the band apart. Even fans who were at Summerfest said the crowd didn’t seem too impressed with the new song. 

Yes, the song was a repetitive fairy tale cliche... but who knows where it fit into the album’s storyline or what the tone actually was! Brendon said that a lot of the cabin album was satirical. This song was being judged like it was a serious single that was meant to stand on its own, though. A decent amount of fans got really upset that Keltie had ruined Ryan and made him want to write stupid love songs that sounded like a middle schooler (even though Keltie confirmed to fans that the song was not about her). A few other people were saying that this garbage was proof that Brent was clearly the mastermind behind AFYCSO lol. Basically, a huge amount of people were hating on the lyrics (but some people still seemed to love the melody, Brendon’s vocals, or other small parts). 

The band absolutely saw what so many people were saying online. There’s no way they could’ve missed that even if they didn’t lurk (which Jon did). Right after Summerfest they decided to scrap the cabin album and completely start over. The album’s release date had been pushed back before Summerfest, though, so it sounded like the band was maybe already uncertain about their new material before the overly negative response.

THE CABIN ALBUM GETS SCRAPPED

In a nutshell: the cabin album had become too complex and the band wasn’t really having fun with it, so they scrapped the songs after Summerfest and started over. They later talked about how they’d decided to stop overthinking the songwriting process, go on inspiration, and keep it simple.

Jon said the process of starting over was “actually quite liberating.” Ryan said it became easier to move forward after the band decided to abandon the cabin album. He also seemed relieved about the change in direction. He talked about how he’d been writing the lyrics alone that spring, but now the whole band was contributing to the process.

The main thing that matters here in terms of events is that they had left LA, moved back to Vegas, and were now in a practice space in the same building where they wrote AFYCSO. (I’m not entirely certain when the band left LA, but Ryan said around the start of August that they’d left LA & returned to Vegas “a month ago.”)

Some fans had fun suggesting titles for the scrapped album later that fall... here are some favorites I saved:

I Write Songs Not Albums

There’s A Good Reason The Release Date Got Moved Honey

Whoops We Didn’t Do It Again

Better Than Brent

Lying Is The Best We Can Do Because We're Afraid To Come Out

But It’s Better If You Do Release an Album

The Only Difference Between Starting Over and A Sophomore Slump Is Press Coverage

We heard some basic news about the scrapped album by early August, but it became bigger news that fall.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE REPORTING

The fact that there was so little to report about the band in 2007 really showed which news sources were more reliable… and where most writers got their info from haha. There were a lot of variations on the story about how P!ATD was writing in a cabin and then scrapped that album.

Basically, MTV wrote a few articles after actually talking to the band and then Kerrang, NME, Rolling Stone, and a bunch of other sources all paraphrased those articles and recycled the quotes for several months. Here’s MTV’s article from early August. (I’m not saying MTV was always accurate btw... but that specific article had good info because it was mostly direct quotes from the band instead of James Montgomery’s explanations). Then this clipping below was from Kerrang in late August... notice how the quote that MTV had attributed to Jon accidentally got switched to Ryan:

And this article from NME was a total fail on every level lol. They copied the info from the MTV article, but somehow managed to mess up almost everything… they said that the band had debuted It’s True Love at Virgin Fest (it was Summerfest a month earlier). Then they attributed Jon’s quote to Ryan, missed the part where Ryan said they wouldn’t be using It’s True Love on the next album, and skipped the news that the band was starting over... so that meant some other writers assumed that all of the newer info in August should be lumped onto whatever they already knew about the cabin album. That’s why you’d see some confused journalists in October/November who suddenly thought the new album was getting scrapped.

Other sites like Buzznet just cited whatever NME had written and this turned into a bad game of telephone where all of the info sounded relatively similar, but still had big errors that could be confusing if someone only read a couple articles without following the evolution of how the news had spread. Other mistakes weren’t too important, but they were still entertaining… like NME said in a different article that the band “wrote their first batch of songs in an isolated cabin deep in the Nevada desert.” Another story made it sound like the guys needed to hike a snowy mountain to reach their remote hut lol.

Oh, and NME waited until October to post an article that the band had scrapped their album, so at that point some fans panicked that it had happened all over again. I think NME might have only said that because Rolling Stone got really confused that month.

At the end of the year MTV said that the failed second album "has been about as well-documented as it has been confusing.” And we were like no –– none of this was confusing unless you’re a reporter who’s trying to write a quick article without paying attention… y’all just confused yourselves.

A NOTE ABOUT “RYHO”

It was a well-known fact in 2006 that Ryan was straightedge/sober (Spencer was too, but he got less attention from the media). Being straightedge kind of became part of Ryan’s whole image (here’s a random example) and a LOT of fans really connected with that. Then Ryan got drunk for the first time at the end of 2006, and we started seeing pictures of him partying with friends in early 2007 before he even went to the cabin.

By summer 2007 Ryan was like a completely different person. I get that the drugs & alcohol probably helped him become more outgoing, but I also think he was just becoming way more confident & comfortable as he grew up. And so many fans seriously hated the change (this topic might seem like insignificant gossip, but it does factor into band-related events later).

Fans were still randomly criticizing the other 3 guys too, but that stuff seemed like the regular complaints that happened just for the sake of complaining when people were bored (ex: the same people who used to say that Brendon didn’t smile enough were now saying that he smiled too much and it looked scary). The stuff about Ryan was different… like there were some consistent themes in what fans were criticizing throughout the last half of 2007: Ryan dressed like a hippie now, he was too in love with Keltie, and he partied a lot. Basically, he was changing.

It was honestly like some fans were angry at this new version of Ryan for taking the old version away from them… or like they had some kind of ownership over Ryan and a say in what he was “supposed” to be like. There was tons of drama over the fact that we were seeing lots of pictures of Ryan partying with various friends (some of whom posted detailed stories about their nights or how drunk everyone was). Some fans said Ryan was a hypocrite or a liar and tried to make him out to be an alcoholic, but I think most of the complaints were actually rooted in something bigger: Ryan looked happy.

I think certain fans liked the idea of a shy, wounded guitarist who needed to be saved or *understood* or whatever… you know the cliche I mean?? But now Ryan had Keltie, was partying a lot with a wide range of friends, and seemed to be closest with Jon in 2007 instead of Brendon. I remember a decent amount of fans actually admitting that they wished Ryan would go back to being depressed. Some people liked him more that way but others just thought his bitter lyrics were better. Even if other people wouldn’t admit those things, their main criticism still seemed to revolve around the fact that Ryan was living his life & having fun. 

I saved one fan’s post because it summed up a lot of the complaints this year:

The nickname “Ryho” really took off in late 2007.

Obviously a ton of fans loved Ryan (and a lot of the kids who were bashing him still claimed to love him too). The petty criticism just became annoying. People slammed his new clothes, his new hairstyles, the way he carried himself or talked, his weight/body, his “creepy” fingers, and the “girly” things he told Kerrang he liked (pumpkin spice candles, vanilla milkshakes, his puppy, and Titanic). Even the kids who used to love Ryan’s mild arrogance were now holding it against him. A lot of the fans who were criticizing Ryan in the last half of 2007 jumped right back to being his “fans” once the Pretty. Odd. era got going and things were interesting again, but I guess it shouldn’t have been surprising that so many fans were able to easily switch to bashing Ryan once again in spring 2009.

OTHER STUFF FROM THIS SUMMER

here’s a picture tag (that category is mostly stuff from June – August outside of the shows, but I put August in Europe in this tag).

It sounded like Jon was living with Ryan, so the band would often get together at Ryan’s place to work on songs.

A group of fans started this rumor and it was actually picked up by legit news sites haha.

Some pockets of the internet sounded like they were anticipating a sophomore slump since most fans hated It’s True Love and the band was changing their direction this far into the writing process. MTV put the band on their “anti-buzz” list and said “why will [the next album] suck? Jeez, why won’t it?” with nothing substantial to back up that claim. MTV seemed like they wrote whatever they thought people wanted to read... if they sensed that the public opinion might be going downhill, they’d distance themselves from any former enthusiasm and hedge their bets (which is what they started doing to Ryan in summer 2009). 

2+ years between albums is a big chunk of time when you’re in middle school, so a lot of the previously intense fans found new interests and drifted away from the fandom this year.

P!ATD’s German site was updated with the news about the postponed album. It said “Neues Album in Sicht Ja, Sommer ist nichts geworden - Aber macht nix. Das neue Panic! At the Disco Album ist für Frühjahr 2008 geplant.” The part that made me laugh roughly translates to “Yes, summer didn't happen - but it does not matter.” 

I think my 18-year-old self would be very disappointed if I didn’t include a note here about how Ryan & Spencer were really really ridiculously good-looking in August 2007. In hindsight, I also think Ryan’s style peaked that month. I mean, his style was obvs great other times too... but August 2007 was like perfect. I did not understand why so many fans were hating on that look at the time.

FOB was still working IWSNT into some of their shows. Pete also used lyrics from Nine in the Afternoon in August… “eyes the size of the moon” was a blog post title and something about nine in the afternoon was a buzznet picture caption. (update: this does not mean that P!ATD copied the lyrics from Pete lol. it means that Pete would subtly hype new material his bands were working on). We heard that song for the first time on August 5th... I moved everything about the August shows into this post.

there were fan rumors that Keltie & Ryan broke up and that they were getting married soon. some fans were reallllly invested in their relationship.

Zack put some videos on his youtube channel this summer. Those ended up getting deleted, but luckily other fans uploaded them. Here’s the one with Spencer + the tray (which was filmed in late 2006) and then Spencer + ice (from March 2007 in Atlanta).

there were SO many fan projects for the guys omg. I know I mentioned this in the spring post, but I just really need to emphasize how ridiculous it got (especially once Projects! at the Disco got rolling). There was even a project where fans would mail a lot of flip flops to Jon... idk what he was supposed to do with all of those. There was also a project to submit pictures of your feet in flip flops for Jon’s birthday. Ryan got things like a mix cd, a montage of video greetings, a collection of pictures of fans wearing Ryan-style makeup, yet another scrapbook, a list of fan messages, etc. Spencer got the sneakers, fan-decorated drumsticks, a binder of letters, and some other stuff. People were still fighting to be in control over the various projects lol. Here’s one account who did birthday videos that are still up.

Wikipedia was being edited by people who definitely hadn’t been around during the Fever era, and who didn’t really have a good grasp on basic info about the band. Wikipedia even said that Jon had replaced Brent before the European tour in spring 2006 ha.

The flood of silly fan edits on Wikipedia that had been going on in early spring 2007 had decreased by this point, but this description was on P!ATD’s Wikipedia page for a decent stretch of time this season: “It is rumored that their sophmoric concept album is a semi-autobigraphical tale about a group of young kids training to join the circus (ala Disney's Totally Circus) and their journey from their small town Neveada homes into drugs, homosexuality, and eventual superstardom. The concluding track "The ringmaster becomes the student as they make him deserve " ends the album in an epic manner as the final practice before their concluding show turns into a drug induced all male orgy. The line "I pulled out and blew on the God damn floor" is repeated as a thunderous collection of drums and piano bring the track and story to its climactic conclusion.”

this was the best thing to come out of July (skip to 5:09):