Fall Out Boy

2001–2002: Early years

Fall Out Boy was formed in 2001 in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Illinois by friends Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman. Wentz was a "visible fixture" of the relatively small Chicago hardcore scene of the late 1990s, performing in groups such as Birthright, Extinction and First Born. He was also part of the metalcore band Arma Angelus and the more political Racetraitor, "a band that managed to land the covers of Maximumrocknroll and Heartattack fanzines before releasing a single note of music". Wentz was growing dissatisfied with the changing mores of the community, which he viewed as a transition from political activism to an emphasis on moshing and breakdowns. With enthusiasm in Arma Angelus waning, he created a pop-punk side project with...

2003–2004: Early success and Take This to Your Grave

The band booked a two-week tour with Spitalfield, but Pareskuwicz was unable to get time off from work and Kunasch was kicked out of the band as the group "had all gotten sick of him". Kunasch was temporarily replaced by friend Brandon Hamm on guitar, alongside drummer Chris Envy from the recently disbanded Showoff, but both quit prior to the kickoff of the tour. The band invited Hurley to fill-in once more, while Stump borrowed one of Trohman's guitars for the trek. While most shows were cancelled, the band played any show possible: "Let's just get on whatever show we can. You can pay us in pizza", remembered Wentz. As the tour concluded, the general consensus was that Hurley would be the band's new drummer, and the band began to shop...

2013–2014: Reformation and Save Rock and Roll

Stump and Wentz met up for the first time in several years in early 2012 for a writing session. Wentz reached out to Stump after he penned his letter, as he too felt he was in a dark place and needed a creative outlet. He was at first reluctant to approach Stump, likening the phone call to reconnecting with a lover after years of acrimony. "I know what you need – you need your band", Wentz told Stump. "I think it's kind of weird that we haven't really seen each other this year. We paid for each other's houses and you don't know my kid", Wentz remarked. The result, "three or four" new songs, were shelved with near immediacy, with the two concluding that "it just wasn't right and didn't feel right." Several months later, the two reconvened...

Musical style and influences

Fall Out Boy's music has been primarily described as pop-punk, pop rock, emo, pop, alternative rock, emo pop, and punk rock, with elements of electronic, R&B, soul, funk, orchestral, disco, blue-eyed soul, electropop, power pop, new wave, and hardcore punk. The members of the band were in hardcore, metalcore, and grindcore bands, and Pete Wentz self-describes the band's sound as "softcore" due to their incorporation of hardcore elements. Fall Out Boy's influences include Green Day, The Damned, Sex Pistols, Metallica, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and Weezer.

Sugar, We're Goin Down

"Sugar, We're Goin Down" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released to US radio on April 4, 2005, as the lead single from their second album, From Under the Cork Tree. Two different CD singles were released with different B-sides, Part I with a green cover and Part II with a red cover.

With music composed by vocalist Patrick Stump and lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, the single reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Fall Out Boy's first top-10 hit and exploding the band into the mainstream, exposing them to a new audience. It spent five weeks in the top 10 and 20 weeks in the top 20 out of its 42 chart weeks.

Background

"Sugar We're Going Down"'s lyrics have been called "almost nonsensical." Patrick Stump told Rolling Stone that he deliberately slurred the lyrics in the song's chorus to make it sound better, saying that he "was trying to do a straight punk song for fun" and adding, "I saw those lyrics and just kind of barked them out. But there was something about the rhythm of it, where I was like, 'Hmm, that actually might be too good for just a shitty punk song.'" Contrary to popular belief, instead of going through thirty versions before going back to the first one, Stump clarified the song went through countless rewrites until they landed on the final version which was chosen.

Music video

The official music video for "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was directed by Matt Lenski, and has been described as "bizarre." The music video centers on a boy who has deer antlers on his head (played by Donald Cumming). While he is walking around, a younger boy throws a shirt at one of his antlers and gives him the middle finger. While he is sitting at a cemetery and eating, a kite falls onto his antlers and a girl tries to recover it, and they become friends. The girl's father disapproves because the boy has antlers, asking him to leave his daughter alone. Frustrated, the boy decides to try to cut off his antlers with a variety of tools, but she stops him. Later, the couple goes to a bowling alley. When the girl's father sees they are still...

Reception and legacy

Blender ranked "Sugar, We're Goin Down" at No. 4 on their "100 Greatest Songs of 2005" list and About.com placed the song at No. 3 on their "Top 100 Pop Songs of 2005" list. It was also nominated for the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2006. In 2009, Phoenix New Times writer Martin Cizmar wrote that "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was possibly "the most listened-to emo track of all time".