walking upstream…
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy formed in Chicago in 2001, when bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz and singer-guitarist Patrick Stump joined with guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, all veterans of the local hardcore scene who set out to write pop songs. Their 2005 major-label breakthrough 'From Under the Cork Tree' and its single 'Sugar, We're Goin Down' made them one of the defining bands of mid-2000s pop-punk and emo, pairing Wentz's confessional, wordy song titles with Stump's soul-schooled voice. Later records folded in R&B, arena-pop, and orchestral flourishes, and after a 2009-2013 hiatus the band returned to stadium-sized success.
the sound in question
2005
Sugar, We're Goin DownFall Out Boy
walk the tributaries ↓
The Get Up Kids1990s–2000s · Emo / Midwest emo / Pop-punk
Pete Wentz has said flatly that 'Fall Out Boy would not be a band if it were not for The Get Up Kids,' pointing to the Midwest emo band's blend of earnest, lovelorn lyrics and hook-driven melody as a direct model for early Fall Out Boy.
listen: upstream & here
1999
Ten MinutesThe Get Up Kids
2003
Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your BoyFall Out Boy
listen forCue The Get Up Kids' 'Ten Minutes' and then 'Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy': hear the same chiming, chord-driven guitars under a heart-on-sleeve chorus that turns teenage longing into a big, singable release.
Green Day1990s–2000s · Punk rock / Pop punk / Alternative rock
Green Day sits at the top of the influences Fall Out Boy have named, and Pete Wentz has described the band's core method as 'softcore' — hardcore kids writing pop songs — the same snotty, hook-first pop-punk that Green Day carried into the mainstream a decade earlier.
listen: upstream & here
1994
Basket CaseGreen Day
2003
SaturdayFall Out Boy
listen forThrow on Green Day's 'Basket Case' and then 'Saturday': listen for the same downstroked, breakneck power chords and a bratty, melodic vocal that piles syllables onto a chorus built to be shouted back.
Michael Jackson1980s · Pop / R&B / Dance
Patrick Stump has named Michael Jackson among his formative influences, and his singing brings a pop-and-soul phrasing and rhythmic snap to Fall Out Boy that sits well outside punk's usual range.
listen: upstream & here
1983
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'Michael Jackson
2007
Thnks fr th MmrsFall Out Boy
listen forPlay 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' and then 'Thnks fr th Mmrs' and follow the vocal: the clipped, syncopated, percussive delivery riding on top of the groove, hitting consonants like a rhythm instrument.