Throughout the band's existence, the duo toured and recorded with a revolving door of musicians, and as of 2007, the band consisted of guitarists Mike Schey and Mark Buzard, bassist Don Raymond, drummer Adam Boyd, and its principal members, singer Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. The band chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit. Despite this critique of the music industry, the band's aptly-titled first single--"The First Single" (from their five-song debut EP on Western Tread)--became popular in the Southwest music scene. This success led to The Format's signing with Elektra Records in 2002. Their first major label release and full-length album Interventions and Lullabies was released in October 2003. However, Elektra began to fold into a merger just as the album was rolling out its promotion, leaving the band as merely an afterthought as label restructuring began. The band toured North America for about two years while making plans for a new album and waiting out industry red tape.
The Format released a second EP on Atlantic (which had absorbed much of Elektra's roster after the label folded) titled Snails in April 2005. Although the EP was not a conventional mass release, it could be purchased at any of the band's performances, from their online merch store, and on iTunes. Not long after the release of the Snails EP, The Format was dropped from Atlantic. Due to their frustrating experiences with major labels, the band chose to record and release their second full-length album Dog Problems independently on The Vanity Label. The July 11, 2006 release of Dog Problems came two months after the band released the album for download on their website, in a move to combat an early leak.
On February 4, 2008, The Format announced that they will putting the band on hiatus because of creative differences. Nate Ruess already has plans to release a solo album which is scheduled to come out later this year.
Nate Ruess, the band's singer and lyricist, left the following message on the band's website:
"We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough decision and we're both upset about it. While we accept there will be false speculation as to why, understand that Sam and I remain extremely close and in fact are still passing the twin peaks box set back and forth in an attempt to figure out who REALLY killed Laura Palmer. We also want to thank everyone with and within the Format, particularly Mike, Don, and Marko, whom without, none of this would have ever even been fully realized. We both suggest you support their musical talents and whatever they decide to do. And lastly we want to thank the fans who made this the best 5 years of our lives."
Ruess announced August 11, 2008 that he is starting a new project called fun. with Andrew Dost formerly of Anathallo and Jack Antonof of Steel Train.
The Vanity Label, an imprint of major label Nettwerk, is managed by the band.
Since the end of The Format, Sam has continued designing merchandise. He converted theformatmerch.com into hellomerch.com where he features his newest work.
On February 4, 2020, the band announced a return from their hiatus for a tour of special shows.
Let's Make This Moment a Crime
The Format Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's like nothing really matters
So let's make this moment a crime
I know, I know you're taking time
But I'll do my best to feel broke down
It's been a minute, a second
I'll wait for you to come around
But I know, I know you're taking time
Maybe it's just too late (I gotta get away)
Everything feels the same (I gotta get away)
Maybe it's just too late (I gotta get away)
Or maybe, baby
On and on and on you wait
And oh the days they fade away
And all the nights they've never felt the same
If I was wrong then I was wrong
And on and on and on and on
The things we do are never gonna change
Well you haven't got a lot to say
But you never want to stop
You always want to feel this way
I know, I know you're taking time
Maybe it's just too late (I gotta get away)
Everything feels the same (I gotta get away)
Tell me it's not too late
On and on and on you wait
And oh the days they fade away
And all the nights they never felt the same
If I was wrong then I was wrong
And on and on and on and on
The things we do are never going to change
We wait forever if ever
And you're too hip to saying never
I'll never get it, oh I shouldn't sweat it
Not like it matters it's over
Yeah at least till you come over
So much for shouters we're living under covers
So maybe it's just too late
Everything feels the same
Tell me it's not too late
On and on and on you wait
And all the days they fade away
And all the nights they never felt the same
If I was wrong then I was wrong
And on and on and on and on
The things we do they're never going to change
The Format's song "Let's Make This Moment a Crime" is about two people who are in a moment that they both know can never last. The two people in the song are taking their time, savoring the moment and living in the present, fully aware that the moment they're experiencing isn't going to last forever. They are doing something that they know they shouldn't be doing, and that's what makes the moment so exciting and memorable. The lyrics "So let's make this moment a crime" perfectly capture the feeling that they are doing something that they shouldn't and that makes it all the more exciting.
The song also has an element of regret to it. The line "The things we do are never gonna change" suggests that the two people have been in this situation before and that they know it's not going to end well. They are resigned to the fact that they will inevitably go their separate ways once this moment has passed. The lyrics "Maybe it's just too late" suggest that the people in the song have missed their opportunity to be together and that they'll always wonder what could have been.
Overall, "Let's Make This Moment a Crime" is a poignant and bittersweet song about living in the moment and enjoying the time you have with someone, even if you know it's not going to last forever.
Line by Line Meaning
We've just got to take our time
We need to slow down and enjoy the moment
It's like nothing really matters
We don't need to worry about anything else, just focus on this moment
So let's make this moment a crime
Let's make this moment so unforgettable that it feels like a crime
I know, I know you're taking time
I understand that you need time
But I'll do my best to feel broke down
I'll do my best to empathize with you and understand how you feel
It's been a minute, a second
It's been a short amount of time since we last spoke
I'll wait for you to come around
I'll wait for you to be ready to talk
Maybe it's just too late (I gotta get away)
Everything feels the same (I gotta get away)
Maybe it's just too late (I gotta get away)
Or maybe, baby
Maybe it's too late to fix our relationship, or maybe there is still hope
On and on and on you wait
You keep waiting and waiting
And oh the days they fade away
Time goes by and we lose the opportunity to fix things
And all the nights they've never felt the same
Our nights together used to be special, but now they're not
If I was wrong then I was wrong
If I did something to hurt you or our relationship, then I'm sorry
And on and on and on and on
We keep repeating the same patterns and mistakes
The things we do are never gonna change
Our actions and behaviors will never change unless we make a conscious effort to do so
Well you haven't got a lot to say
You don't have much to say about our relationship
But you never want to stop
Even though you don't talk about it, you don't want to end our relationship
You always want to feel this way
You want to feel the way you do when we're together
Tell me it's not too late
Please give me hope that it's not too late to fix things
We wait forever if ever
We keep waiting, hoping that things will get better
And you're too hip to saying never
You're too cool to give up on our relationship
I'll never get it, oh I shouldn't sweat it
I don't understand why you're holding onto our relationship, but I shouldn't worry about it
Not like it matters it's over
It doesn't really matter anymore because our relationship is over
Yeah at least till you come over
At least until we have another chance to talk about our relationship
So much for shouters we're living under covers
We used to argue and fight, but now we're just avoiding each other
The things we do they're never going to change
Our actions and behaviors will never change unless we make a conscious effort to do so
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind