Eighteen and just out of high school, the F-Ups may be young, but the self-described outcasts and longtime friends have quite a handful of experience, having started their band in 1999 . After five relentless years of daily practice sessions and local gigs, they're living their dream of releasing a CD and going on the Vans Warped Tour to play alongside punk veterans like Bad Religion, Anti-Flag, NoFx, and the Vandals.
The F-Ups paid their share of dues playing in basements and pool halls across Rochester, but things didn't really start happening for them until they entered a talent contest hosted at Minneapolis's Quest Club. The first time they competed, they only managed to receive an honourable mention for being the youngest band ever to enter; but in the next year, they won first place.
Not surprisingly, the F-Ups hard work started to pay off as singer, guitarist, songwriter Travis Allen, bassist Andy Collett, guitarist Chris DeWerd, and drummer Taylor Nogo found themselves holed up at Terrarium Studios for a month and a half, recording their debut album with producer Brynn Arens, engineer Eric Olsen and mixer Tom Lord-Alge. The result is a super-tight, razor-sharp album that reflects the group's unusual maturity and dedication, but is as brash and bratty as one would expect from a gang of restless, adolescent punks with a moniker like the F-Ups.
The F-Ups self-titled debut is bursting, bubbling, and bristling with 12 high-octane high school anthems that grapple with the typical universal concerns of rebellious teenhood: namely, aimlessness and utter lack of ambition ("Lazy Generation," and "I Don't Know"); sexual experimentation gone awkwardly awry (the hilarious, Jerry Springer-esque tale of a trailer-park tryst, "Crack Ho"); and overbearing parents ("Screw You," which was the first song Travis ever wrote at age 13, and "Look At Your Son Now"). And what other fledgling pop-punk outfit would be ambitious and ballsy enough to cover Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes" on their debut release, and be able to pull it off?
"So many people don't give music a chance anymore; they think if it's not one certain style or doesn't look a certain way, then it must suck," groans Travis. "But we like all kinds of music. We don't really care about being considered 'underground punk' or 'pop-punk' or whatever. All of that is just about trends and fashion. So if people want to label us who cares? It's all the same to us. We just wanna play."
In a way, though their career is just beginning and they're barely out of high school, the F-Ups already feel they've made it. "If this were all to end tomorrow, just that we got this far is pretty cool," says Travis. "So we're just going to keep doing this one day at a time, not think about it too much, and have a good time."
Sure, it's a big opportunity, but with a healthy attitude like that, it's unlikely that this band will F it up.
Told You So
The F-Ups Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well just give me your best shot
You try and take it all away from me
Well here's your try
I hate to say I told you so
That I'll never fucking let it go
I'll tell you something that you outta know again So
All your problems fucking let em go
I'll tell you something that you outta know again so
You try to push it all back on to me
Well just give me your only shot
I'm gonna give it all right back to you
So here's your try
The lyrics to The F-Ups's song Told You So depict a sense of resistance and defiance against those who try to invade and take control of a person's life. The lyrics seem to portray a person who is fed up with external influence and attempts to exert control over their life. The lines "You want to know what's all inside of me" and "You try and take it all away from me" suggest that someone is trying to know too much and take control over the individual, which they resist in the line "well, here's your try".
The chorus of the song, "I hate to say I told you so, that I'll never fucking let it go" emphasizes their resistance and unwillingness to back down, even though it may not be easy. The lyrics "I'll tell you something that you oughta know again so" is a warning to the person who tries to take control that this person is not to be messed around with. The lyrics convey an overall sense of determination and strength in the face of adversity, with a refusal to give up even when faced with difficulties.
Line by Line Meaning
You want to know what's all inside of me
If you're curious about my inner self, go ahead and ask me
Well just give me your best shot
Feel free to try your hardest to find out what's inside me
You try and take it all away from me
You attempt to take everything away from me
Well here's your try
Give it a shot and try to take everything away from me
I hate to say I told you so
I hate to be right about my predictions
That I'll never fucking let it go
I won't forget about or forgive the situation
I'll tell you something that you outta know again So
I'll give you advice that you should remember
I fucking hate it when you let me now
I hate it when you inform me about your problems
All your problems fucking let em go
Stop holding onto your problems and let them go
I'll tell you something that you outta know again so
I'll give you advice that you should remember
You try to push it all back on to me
You try to make me responsible for everything
Well just give me your only shot
Try as hard as you can to make me responsible for everything
I'm gonna give it all right back to you
I'm going to make you responsible for everything
So here's your try
Give it a shot and try to make me responsible for everything
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TRAVIS JOHN ALLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind