| "Don't Throw Out My Legos" | |
|---|---|
| Song by AJR | |
| from the album Neotheater | |
| Released | April 26, 2019 |
| Recorded | 2018 |
| Genre | Electropop [1] |
| Length | 4:10 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Ryan Met |
| Audio | |
| "Don't Throw Out My Legos" on YouTube | |
| Music video | |
| "Don't Throw Out My Legos" on Vimeo | |
"Don't Throw Out My Legos" is a song by American pop band AJR,appearing as the fourth track on their third studio album Neotheater . It uses an upbeat keyboard-based instrumental while discussing the difficulty of growing up.
"Don't Throw Out My Legos" was the second song written for Neotheater ,preceded by "Karma" and followed by "Next Up Forever". [3] The song describes the emotional hardships of moving away from one's parents, [4] with the band struggling to conform to the social construct of adulthood. [5] Rolling Stone praised the track's personality as "a saccharine but strangely affecting ode to lost innocence". [6] "Don't Throw Out My Legos" was the first song showcased of Neotheater ,receiving live performances during the AJR's The Click tour in 2018. [7] The lyric "People want shirts with the band name on it" would later inspire a shirt design with plain white color and "The Band Name" as lettering. [8]
During the Neotheater World Tour,AJR visualized the layers of the chorus for "Don't Throw Out My Legos". [9] The song's production began from sampling the sound of car keys being dropped, [10] being pitched up an octave and combined with a drum beat in 3
4 time signature and at a tempo of 147 beats per minute. The song's snare drum takes inspiration from the snare of the Beatles' "Penny Lane". This composition was then shifted into 4
4 time signature and included piano in the key of D major. Following the addition of bass and hi-hats,the band incorporated the Neotheater's theme of orchestral sampling by creating a melody out of viola and close harmony choirs to complete the chorus. [11] The pre-chorus and bridge of "Don't Throw Out My Legos" are piano-based with an ascending beat that leads into the chorus. [6] Riff Magazine compared these chord progressions to music from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . [12]
A music video for "Don't Throw Out My Legos" was released on Vimeo and Spotify,with the former being a widescreen video and the latter being a vertical canvas of the same footage. It features the band and other studio personnel creating and performing the song,interspersed with clips of the band relaxing in-studio with their Bouvier dog Shay.
Credits adapted from Tidal. [13]
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [14] | 26 |