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Rating: In just under 4 days, the new album by Fall Out Boy, "Infinity on High," will be released.
The emo/pop-punk band, accused by many of being a manufactured product, has overcome general skepticism thanks primarily to the lyrics written by bassist Pete Wentz. This particular individual is something of an idol for young girls, let's say the emo lad who is so trendy now and scores more than anyone else.
Tattooed, perpetually sullen, he attempted suicide in 2005 by ingesting several pills. It was precisely in that year that the group signed with a major label, Island, and became known to teenagers glued to TV and MTV. So, after the global success, largely due to the singles "Sugar, We're Going Down" and the playful "Dance, Dance," we have in our hands this album of pure and simple pop-rock.
Therefore, if you're looking for something original or heavy, don't look for it in this band with such a "damned" name. Catchy tunes, easy to hum along to and very similar to one another, will make many people happy. However, it should be noted that they have a decent drummer (with a grind-core past... yes, you heard right...) and a singer who is good not only at singing (as is appropriate) but especially at interpreting lyrics that aren't his own. The album's title, "Infinity on High," is taken from a line in a letter written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo in 1888 ("be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all"), in which the painter describes his recovered health and the vigor it allowed him to impart to his new works.
The album was mainly produced by Neal Avron, who had also handled their previous production, and by BabyFace, one of the most important r'n'b producers. It all opens with a sort of introduction to the public given by rapper Jay-Z in the song "Thriller." It is followed by "The Take Over, The Breaks Over," where you can appreciate the talented voice of Patrick Stump, featuring guitar solos by Ryan Ross (Panic! At the Disco) and Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory).
The third song, and also a single, is "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race." Right after comes the first tear-jerker. Then a fleeting song of about 2 and a half minutes titled "Golden." In between, a bit of punk-rock ("Hum Hallelujah," the title...). Certainly worth mentioning are "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" and the very fast "You're Crashing, But You're No Wave," featuring singer-producer Butch Walker. It all closes with the decent "I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers." Almost at the end of the song, you can hear the applause from the audience (evidently satisfied...) and a voice urging us to hit the "repeat" button.
One last curiosity: to incentivize the purchase of the album rather than its free download from the web (already possible illegally for a few days), by inserting the original CD into the computer player, it will also be possible to access a free EP downloadable from the internet titled "Leaked in London," which the group will record on January 29th in England at the Hammersmith Palais in London, on the occasion of the last concert of their short tour in the United Kingdom.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Thriller (03:29)
Yeah, what you critics said would never happen
We dedicate this album to anybody people said couldn't make it
To the fans that held us down 'till everybody came around
Welcome, it's here
--------------------------------------------------------------
That summer we took threes across the board
But by fall we were a cover story
Now in stores
Make us poster boys in your scene
But we are not making an acceptance speech
I have found the safest place to keep all of our mistakes
Every dot-com's refreshing for a journal update
So long live the car-crash hearts
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life
Fix me in 45
So long live the car-crash hearts
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life
Fix me in 45
I can take your problems away
With a nod and a wave of my hand
'Cause that's just the kind of boy that I am
The only thing I haven't done yet is die
And it¡s me and my plus one in the afterlife
Crowds are won and lost and won again
But our hearts beat for the diehards
So long live the car-crash hearts
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life
Fix me in 45
So long live the car-crash hearts
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life
Fix me in 45
Long live the car-crash hearts
Long live the car-crash hearts
(Long live the car-crash hearts)
Long live the car-crash hearts
Long live the car-crash hearts
Long live the car-crash hearts
Cry on the couch all the poets come to life
Fix me in 45
--------------------------------------------
Young! F-O-B Let's go.
03 This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race (03:32)
I am an arms dealer
Fitting you with weapons in the form of words
And I don't really care which side wins
As long as the room keeps singing
That's just the business I'm in
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
I'm not a shoulder to cry on but I digress
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate
I wrote the gospel on giving up
(You look pretty sinking)
But the real bombshells have already sunk
(Prima donnas of the gutter)
At night we're painting your trash gold while you sleep
Crashing not like hips or cars
No, more like p-p-p-parties
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
Bandwagon's full, please, catch another
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate
All the boys who the dance floor didn't love
And all the girls who's lips couldn't move fast enough
Sing until your lungs give out
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
(Now you)
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
(Wear out the groove)
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
(Sing out loud)
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
(Oh, oh)
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate
I'm a leading man
And the lies I weave are oh so intricate, oh so intricate.
05 Hum Hallelujah (03:50)
It's all a game of this or that, now verses then
They're better off against worse for wear
And you're someone who knows someone
Who knows someone I once knew
And I just want to be a part of this
The road outside my house is paved with good intentions
Hired a construction crew 'cuz it's hell on the engine
And you are the dreamer, and we are the dream
I could write it better than you ever felt it
So hum hallelujah, just off the key of reason
I thought I loved you, and it's just how you looked in the light
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
I sing the blues and you swallow them too
My words are my faith, to hell with our good name
Remix up your guts, your insides x-rayed
And one day we'll get nostalgic for disaster
We're a bull, your ears are just a china shop
I love you in the same way, there's chapel in a hospital
One foot in your bedroom, and one foot out the door
Sometimes we take chances, sometimes we take pills
I could write it better than you ever felt it
So hum hallelujah, just off the key of reason
I thought I loved you, and it's just how you looked in the light
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
I sing the blues and you swallow them too
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelu
(Hum hallelujah, hum hallelujah)
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
I sing the blues and swallow them too
So hum hallelujah, just off the key of reason
I thought I loved you, and it's just how you looked in the light
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
A teenage vow in a parking lot, 'till tonight do us part
I sing the blues and you swallow them too.
06 Golden (02:32)
How cruel is the golden rule?
When the lives we lived are only golden-plated
And I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me
Though I carried karats for everyone to see
And I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies
And all the lovers with no time for me
And all of the mothers raise their babies
To stay away from me
Tongues on the sockets of electric dreams
Where the sewage of youth drown the spark of my teens
And I knew that the lights of the city were too heavy for me (Too heavy for me)
Though I carried karats for everyone to see
(Everyone to see)
And I saw God cry in the reflection of my enemies
And all the lovers with no time for me
And all of the mothers raise their babies
To stay away from me
And pray they don't grow up to be.
07 Thnks fr th Mmrs (03:23)
I'm gonna make you bend and break
(It sent you to me without wings)
Say a prayer, but let the good times roll
In case God doesn't show
(Let the good times roll, let the good times roll)
And I want these words to make things right
But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life
"Who does he think he is?"
If that's the worst you've got better put your fingers back to the keys
One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See he tastes like you only sweeter
I'm looking forward to the future
But my eyesight is going bad
And this crystal ball
It's always cloudy except for, except for
When you look into the past, look into the past
One night stand
One night stand
One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See he tastes like you only sweeter
They say I only think in the form of
Crunching numbers in hotel rooms
Collecting page six lovers
Get me out of my mind
Get you out of those clothes
I'm a liner away from
Getting you into the mood
One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night yeah, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See he tastes like you only sweeter
One night and one more time
(One more night, one more time)
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter
One night yeah, and one more time
(One more night, one more time)
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See he tastes like you only sweeter.
11 Bang the Doldrums (03:31)
I wrote a goodbye note
In lipstick on your arm
When you passed out
I couldn't bring myself to call
Except to call it quits
Best friends
Ex-friends till the end
Better off as lovers
And not the other way around
Racing through the city
Windows down
In the back of
Yellow-checkered cars
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
This city says wt up ya'll?
Come hell or high water
When I'm feeling hot and wet
I can't commit to a thing
Be it heart or hospital
Best friends
Ex-friends till the end
Better off as lovers
And not the other way around
Racing through the city
Windows down
Yellow-checkered cars
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
The tombstones were waiting
They were half-engraved
They knew it was over
Just didn't know the date
And I cast a spell over the west
To make you think of me
The same way I think of you
This is a love song
In my own way
Happily ever after
Below the waist
Best friends
Ex-friends till the end
Better off as lovers
Racing through the city
Windows down
In the back of
Yellow checkered cars
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
You're wrong
Are we all wrong?
Best friends
Ex-friends till the end
Better off as lovers
And not the other way around
Ex-friends till the end
Better off as lovers.
12 Fame < Infamy (03:06)
I'm a preacher sweating in the pews
For the salvation I'm bringing you
I'm a salesman, I'm selling you hooks and plans
And myself for making demands
When I'm home alone I just dance by myself
And you pull my head so close, volume goes with the truth
Signing off, ''I'm alright in bed but I'm better with a pen''
The kid was alright but it went to his head
I am God's gift but why would he bless me with
Such wit without a conscience equipped?
I'm addicted to the way I feel when I think of you, whoa
''There's too much green to feel blue''
When I'm home alone I just can't stop myself
And you pull my head so close, volume goes with the truth
Signing off, ''I'm alright in bed but I'm better with a pen''
The Kid was alright but it went to his head
When I'm home alone I just can't stop myself
And you pull my head so close, volume goes with the truth
Signing off, ''I'm alright in bed but I'm better with a pen''
I'm alright in bed but I'm better with a pen
I'm alright in bed but I'm better with a pen
The kid was alright but it went to his head.
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Other reviews
By Trimalchione
It will certainly please everyone to launch into a wild moshpit following the strong melodies and precise and fresh rhythms of the American band.
The first three songs deserve a mention: "Thriller," "The Take Over, The Breaks Over," and the hit single "This Ain't a Scene, It's An Arms Race."
