Fall Out Boy have racked up not one but two greatest hits albums. Their discography has sold more than 30 million copies, they've spawned several genre-defining acts, and they're still touring the world as they always have. But as their latest album Centuries comes out, a whole new generation of listeners is only starting to discover their back catalogue.
There's a lot to learn from the early days of Fall Out Boy. The band - singer/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley - started out as a pop-punk act. But as the emo backlash hit, Stump found his voice through a more synth-funk approach.
Then, the band branched out into more adult music. On their 2008 record Folie a Deux, they embraced a more mature outlook, critiquing themselves and their relationship with their fans.
They also wrote songs critiquing fame itself. It's a hard balance, but it's one that worked out well for the band.
When This Ain't A Scene (Light Em Up) was released in 2006, it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for four weeks. It was a breakthrough single, and is Fall Out Boy's highest charting song to date.
The song is a classic example of the band's ability to switch between punk-y and pop-punk elements in their songs. In the words of Pete Wentz, "it's an incredibly vital song in our discography."