2003–2004: Independent success
After the release of their mini-album, Fall Out Boy built a large following playing in the Chicago area. Drummer Andy Hurley, formerly of Racetraitor, joined the band, while Mike Pareskuwicz and T.J. Kunasch left. At this time, Stump also took over rhythm guitar duties. After signing to Fueled By Ramen, they released their first full-length album, Take This to Your Grave, on May 6, 2003.
With singles Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy and Saturday receiving video airplay on FUSE and mtvU and radio airplay on alternative stations across the country, the band soon gained a cult following. The album sold very well and eventually achieved gold status, but only after the success of their next album, From Under The Cork Tree.
In mid-2003 the band signed with Island Records, part of the super label The Island Def Jam Music Group along with Def Jam Records. While recording their mainstream debut, they released the acoustic EP My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue on Fueled by Ramen, May 18, 2004. It debuted at #153 on the Billboard Top 200, their first entry on the chart. The two-disc set included a DVD with videos, more acoustic performances, and a fan photo gallery.
2005–2006: Commercial debut
On May 3, 2005, Fall Out Boy released their major label debut, From Under the Cork Tree, which debuted on the Billboard 200 at #9, selling over 68,000 copies in its first week. The album achieved double platinum status and has sold over 2.5 million albums in the US alone. Earlier that year, the band’s stability was threatened when Wentz overdosed on the sedative Ativan in a failed suicide attempt. The track 7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen) from their album From Under the Cork Tree is based upon Wentz’s attempted suicide.
Their first single, Sugar We’re Goin’ Down, peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Pop 100 and #3 on the Modern Rock Charts. The video reached #1 on MTV’s TRL, where it was retired on August 26, 2005. The video also won the MTV2 Award at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, prompting a huge new interest and surge in sales. The band was also nominated for “Best New Artist” at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
The second single off the album, Dance, Dance, became their second Top 10 Single when it peaked at #9 on the Hot 100. It also reached #6 on the Pop 100 and became the bands top charted hit when it reached #2 on the Modern Rock Charts. The video for the song premiered on TRL on October 11, 2005; it soon reached #1 and was later retired on January 17, 2006. The third single off the album, A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’, was much less popular than both prior singles but still managed to peak at #65 on the Hot 100 and hit #1 twice on TRL, retiring on June 6, 2006.
2007: Continuing prosperity
Fall Out Boy’s third studio album, titled Infinity On High, was released on February 6, 2007. The lead single, This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race, debuted at the 2006 American Music Awards. The video debuted on MTV on Tuesday, December 19, 2006. In the album’s opening week, Infinity on High reached number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 260,000 copies.
“This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on February 4, 2007, making it their most successful song in the UK to date. The single also peaked on the U.S. Hot 100 at number 2 and the U.S. Pop 100 at number 1. The Carpal Tunnel Of Love (the second single released from the album) reached number 81 on the U.S. Hot 100 by way of digital sales alone. Thnks fr th Mmrs was released on April 9, 2007 and made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #12 on the UK Singles chart.
Showing their versatility, Fall Out Boy has collaborated with rappers Kanye West, Babyface, Jay-Z, and Timbaland. Babyface produced and Jay Z is featured on Thriller. They also worked with Timbaland on his new album Timbaland Presents Shock Value, where they are featured on the track One and Only, for which Stump and Wentz both contributed in writing. Stump was also featured on two songs with Gym Class Heroes (also signed with Fueled By Ramen), including their #1 Single Cupid’s Chokehold. He also was a guest vocalist on Motion City Soundtrack’s single, Everything Is Alright as well as contributing to If You Could Remember.
2008-2009:
On April 1, 2008, Fall Out Boy released their live album, **** Live in Phoenix. The album was recorded in Pheonix on June 22. It contained a studio recording of Micheal Jackson’s Beat It with John Mayer as a guest on the guitar.
On December 16th, 2008, Fall Out Boy released their 4th studio album, Folie à Deux (literally meaning “madness shared by two”). The lead single for the album, I Don’t Care was released September 8, 2008.
On November 17, 2009, Believers Never Die - Greatest Hits was released, featuring two new songs titled Alpha Dog and From Now On We Are Enemies. Along with the release of this compilation, Fall Out Boy announced that they were taking a break. "We're just taking a break and decompressing. We're not putting terms on when we're coming back. We're going to come back when everybody's excited about it and it's fun." said Pete Wentz to J14 Magazine.
2010-2012: Hiatus
In early 2010 the band entered a state of hiatus, with each member eventually going off to explore their own musical interests. Wentz formed DJ duo Black Cards with singer Bebe Rexha in July 2010, releasing an EP before Rexha quietly left the group in January 2012. Trohman and Hurley started the band The Damned Things with Scott Ian from Anthrax and members of Every Time I Die, releasing their debut album Ironiclast in December 2010.
Stump recorded his debut solo album Soul Punk which was released on July 26, 2011. Despite gaining generally positive reviews, ticket sales were poor with many Fall Out Boy fans unwilling to follow him in his new musical direction. This negative feedback caused Stump to create his blog entry "We Liked You Better Fat" in which he honestly aired his feelings, causing Wentz to reach out to him and ultimately begin collborating again musically in February 2012.
2013-2014: Reunion and Save Rock and Roll
During 2012, the band reformed and began attempts to reinvent their sound. Sessions were difficult, with early attempts a struggle to produce new material. On February 4, 2013 the band simultaneously announced their reunion, a new single My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) and the album Save Rock and Roll which was released the following month.
2014–2016: American Beauty/American Psycho
Centuries - the first single of Fall Out Boy's sixth studio album - premiered on September 8, 2014. Another song titled Immortals was released October 14, 2014, as part of the soundtrack for the Walt Disney film Big Hero 6. On November 24, 2014, the title of Fall Out Boy's sixth studio album was announced as American Beauty/American Psycho; the album was released on January 20, 2015.
2017–2022: MANIA
On April 27, 2017, Fall Out Boy announced that their new album was set to be released on September 15, titled M A N I A. The first single, Young and Menace was released the same day. The second single, Champion was released in the U.S. on June 22 and worldwide on June 23. On August 3, 2017, Patrick Stump tweeted that the album's release would be pushed back to January 19, 2018, because the band were not satisfied with the results of their work at the time.
A few months after the release of MANIA, Fall Out Boy released their ninth EP, Lake Effect Kid. It was released on August 23, 2018 through Island and DCD2. It features themes from their older albums as well as a song that was a demo for CitizensFOB Mixtape: Welcome To The New Administration -- which was a promotional mixtape for Folie à deux.
They then released Believers Never Die (Volume 2) on November 15, 2019. It is their second greatest hits album and was released through Island. It included two new songs, Bob Dylan and Dear Future Self (Hands Up) .
2023–present: So Much (For) Stardust
Fall Out Boy released a new single, Love From the Other Side, on January 18, 2023. The single featured the song, Love From the Other Side, as well as an edit of the track. After the release of this single, they announced that their eighth studio album, So Much (For) Stardust, was to fully release on March 24, 2023. This album marked the first time the band had released music through Fueled By Ramen since Take This to Your Grave, their 2003 debut album. They also once again joined forces with producer Neal Avron, who produced From Under the Cork Tree, Infinity on High, and Folie à Deux.
I've Got A Dark Alley And A Ba
Fall Out Boy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're the kids who feel like dead ends
And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses
I took a shot and didn't even come close
At trust and love and hope
And the poets are just kids who didn't make it
And never had it at all
And the record won't stop skipping
And the lies just won't stop slipping
And besides my reputation's on the line
We can fake it for the airwaves
Force our smiles, baby, half dead
From comparing myself to everyone else around me
Please put the doctor on the phone 'cause I'm not making any sense
Blame everyone but me for this mess
And my back has been breaking from this heavy heart
We never seemed so far
I'm hopelessly hopeful, you're just hopeless enough
But we never had it at all
And the record won't stop skipping
And the lies just won't stop slipping
And besides my reputation's on the line
We can fake it for the airwaves
Force our smiles, baby, half dead
From comparing myself to everyone else around me
To everyone else around me
Everyone else around me
Everyone else around me
"I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth" is a melancholic song that discusses the feelings of inadequacy that many young adults experience when they compare themselves to others. The song opens with the image of a joke that is so terrible it could be considered awful, just like kisses on the necks of "best friends" - a reference to some of the emotional confusion and pressure that young people can face in their relationships. The singer then admits that they feel like a "dead end," a sentiment that is reinforced when they talk about taking a shot at love and trust, which failed miserably.
The chorus of the song is about a record that won't stop skipping and lies that won't stop slipping. The singer's reputation is on the line, and they feel that they have to "fake it for the airwaves" to keep up with everyone else around them. This is a theme that many people can relate to - the feeling that they have to put on a brave face and pretend that everything is fine, even when they are struggling on the inside.
The middle section of the song is a cry for help. The singer asks for the doctor to be put on the phone because they feel like they are not making any sense. They then blame everyone but themselves for their problems, showing that they are not yet ready to take responsibility for their actions. The final lines repeat the idea that the singer and their peers never had anything, reinforcing the idea of youthful disenfranchisement.
Line by Line Meaning
Joke me something awful just like kisses on the necks of "best friends"
Make me laugh with something really twisted, like betraying a best friend through seduction.
We're the kids who feel like dead ends
We're the young and lost, already out of options.
And I want to be known for my hits, not just my misses
I want to be recognized for my successes, not just my failures.
I took a shot and didn't even come close
I tried my best and failed miserably.
At trust and love and hope
In my attempt to succeed, I lost faith in trust, love, and hope.
And the poets are just kids who didn't make it
The writers who create art are often just young people who are struggling to succeed in life.
And never had it at all
We never had the chance to succeed in the first place.
And the record won't stop skipping
My circumstances keep repeating and I can't escape them.
And the lies just won't stop slipping
The deceptions in my life continue to slip out despite my attempts to conceal them.
And besides my reputation's on the line
In addition to everything else, my public image could be destroyed by any mistake.
We can fake it for the airwaves
We can pretend to be happy for radio and TV appearances.
Force our smiles, baby, half dead
We have to grin through the pain, even though it's killing us inside.
From comparing myself to everyone else around me
Constantly measuring myself against others is a source of my distress.
Please put the doctor on the phone 'cause I'm not making any sense
I'm so lost that I need medical help to understand my feelings.
Blame everyone but me for this mess
I refuse to take responsibility for the chaos in my life.
And my back has been breaking from this heavy heart
I'm carrying a lot of emotional weight, causing me physical pain.
We never seemed so far
The possibility of success seems further away than ever.
I'm hopelessly hopeful, you're just hopeless enough
I'm still holding onto a sliver of hope, while you've given up entirely.
But we never had it at all
Despite our small hopes, we never had a real chance to succeed.
To everyone else around me
To all the people who seem to have it together while I'm still struggling.
Everyone else around me
All the people I compare myself to, who seem to have everything figured out.
Everyone else around me
The constant reminder of my own shortcomings compared to those around me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Andrew John Hurley, Joseph Mark Trohman, Patrick Martin Stump, Peter Lewis Wentz
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@KellieBeam
All I can imagine Patrick doing after filming these scenes is apologizing a lot.
@sibora4069
Ikr
@TaylahPlays
The people they done that stuff to probably got paid. If not IKR!
@KellieBeam
even if they were paid, I can still see him apologizing.
@f0xyLuv
Kellie Beam You know this stuff ain't taken seriously, right? xD They all know each other and worked together - they got paid and met rock stars. Why would he apologize afterwards when it was all made up from the beginning? :D
@KellieBeam
because he is such a sweet guy, he never does anything like this.
@gothgf5754
I ALWAYS FORGET ABOUT THE FUCKING CAT WITH THE SPAGHETTI
@taanadown2569
it Soooo annoying ....whyyyyy😭😭
@littlepanzo4425
it more fucking funny than annoying lol
@nellymarcelle
He's just creepy.