Thriller (Fall Out Boy song)

Last updated

"Thriller"
Song by Fall Out Boy featuring Jay-Z
from the album Infinity on High
Released5 February 2007 (2007-02-05)
Genre
Length3:30
Label The Island Def Jam Music Group
Gnome-mime-audio-openclipart.svg
"Thriller"
Jay-Z's introduction to "Thriller" opens and introduces the album. [1] Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman plays a strong "chugging pulse". [2]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Thriller" is the first track on the album Infinity on High by Chicago band Fall Out Boy. Named after Michael Jackson's 1982 album Thriller , the track begins with a spoken word introduction by rapper Jay-Z. The song is written in the style of pop-punk and features heavy guitar riffs and the pop style vocals of lead singer Patrick Stump. It was written as a reflection of the band's previous two years and it was also commentary on the band's popularity. Reviewers have described it as one of Fall Out Boy's heaviest songs.

Contents

Background and composition

Fall Out Boy began recording their sophomore album Infinity on High after finishing a tour for their album From Under the Cork Tree. [3] They released Infinity on High in February 2007, [4] from which "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" and "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" had been previously released and had reached the Billboard Hot 100. [5] [ relevant? ] The album led with "Thriller", which was named after the 1982 Michael Jackson album Thriller, [6] [7] and which itself led with a spoken introduction from Jay-Z, who owned the record label that produced the album, Def Jam Recordings. [2] [8] Pete Wentz told the music television channel MTV that the band called Jay Z on the phone to get his introduction for the song. [9] In an interview with Fall Out Boy, drummer Andy Hurley stated that the opening parts in "Thriller" were copied from "Islands to Burn" by Racetraitor, a band he once drummed for. [10]

The song was created as an reflection on the band's previous two years. Some lyrics reflect on previous mediocre album reviews the band received. The lyrics also call out the rise of the band's popularity, "But by fall we were a cover story". [11] In context the song's opening lines are, "Last summer we took threes across the board, but by fall we were a cover story now in stores. Make us poster boys for your scene, but we are not making an acceptance speech." [12] A line in verse two of the song is "the only thing I haven't done yet is die/ and it's me and my plus-one at the afterlife." [13] The song also features the lyric "Fix me in 45" which refers to the way singles were released on vinyl records. [8]

Critical reception and performances

Some reviewers complained that the album did not have a hardcore edge, but the song "Thriller" was an exception. [2] Slant Magazine said the song features "a crunching, emo-fied knockoff of the riff from Metallica’s "One"", [11] while Jack Phinney of the Northern Valley Suburbanite reviewed the album and called the song "spectacular". [14] Alternative Press opined in February 2023 that the song was dominated by the soaring vocals of Patrick Stump and his pop arrangement, and described it as the tenth heaviest song in the Fall Out Boy body of work. [15] Writing in August 2023, Tamzin Kraftman wrote that the song's "chugging pulse", played by Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman, "electrifies the track". [2] In February 2013, the band led a concert at Webster Hall with the track; Rolling Stone's Andy Greene opined that, upon launching into the song, the audience's "squeals were deafening". [1]

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Take This to Your Grave</i> 2003 studio album by Fall Out Boy

Take This to Your Grave is the debut studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on May 6, 2003, by Fueled by Ramen. When the band was signed to Island Records, the label employed an unusual strategy that allowed them to sign with independent label Fueled by Ramen for their debut and later move to Island for their second album. Sean O'Keefe had helped with the band's demo, and they returned to Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin to record the bulk of their first album with him. Living on a stranger's floor for part of the time and running out of money halfway through, the band recorded seven songs in nine days, bringing them together with the additional three from the demo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Stump</span> American musician (born 1984)

Patrick Martin Stumph, known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Wilmette, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Hurley</span> American musician

Andrew John Hurley is an American musician. He is the drummer for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Prior to Fall Out Boy, Hurley played in several hardcore punk bands. He joined Fall Out Boy as the full-time drummer in 2003 and was in the band's lineup until its hiatus in 2009. Following that, he formed the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman; the group went on hiatus after its debut album, Ironiclast (2010), due to band members focusing on their original bands' new album cycles. Hurley moved on to hardcore punk band Enabler which released a debut album and toured in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Trohman</span> American musician

Joseph Mark Trohman is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the American rock band Fall Out Boy, as well as the lead guitarist for heavy metal supergroup the Damned Things. Fall Out Boy began in 2001 as Trohman and Pete Wentz's side project from the hardcore punk scene they were involved with, and the band has scored four number one albums on the US Billboard 200, as well as numerous platinum and multi platinum singles in the US and abroad.

<i>Fall Out Boys Evening Out with Your Girlfriend</i> 2003 demo album by Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend is the debut mini-LP and the second extended play (EP) by American rock band Fall Out Boy. Recorded in two days around February to September 2002 on a low budget, the rushed schedule left the band discontent and ceasing to call it their debut album. Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend was released in 2003 through Uprising Records against the band's wishes. In 2005, Uprising released a remastered reissue as Evening Out with Your Girlfriend, without the band's involvement, following the band's very successful major label debut From Under the Cork Tree. It eventually sold over 127,000 copies in the United States by August 2008, according to Billboard. The photograph on the cover of this album was shot by Adeet Deshmukh in Chicago's Pick Me Up Café located at 3408 N. Clark Street. The girl who is pictured on the cover is a waitress at said café, and her name is Lavinia, as noted in the booklet of the album.

<i>Infinity on High</i> 2007 album by Fall Out Boy

Infinity on High is the third studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on February 6, 2007, by Island Records. Recorded from July to October 2006 at Pass Studios in Los Angeles, California, its music was composed by lead singer and guitarist Patrick Stump and the lyrics were penned by bassist Pete Wentz. The album features collaborations with new producers and guest artists, such as Babyface and Jay-Z, and sees the band experimenting with genres including R&B, soul, and flamenco. Fall Out Boy also utilized instruments such as horns, violins, and pianos, which had not been used on previous releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Carpal Tunnel of Love</span> Song by Fall Out Boy

"The Carpal Tunnel of Love" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy from their 2007 album Infinity on High, released as the album’s lead single on December 12, 2006. It is the tenth track on the album.

<i>Leaked in London</i> 2007 EP (live) by Fall Out Boy

Leaked in London is a live EP that was recorded by American rock band Fall Out Boy on January 29, 2007. It was released in response to the band's third album, Infinity on High, being leaked onto the internet on January 19, 2007, three weeks before its official scheduled release. The EP could be downloaded from the band's website between Tuesday, February 6, 2007 and Tuesday, February 13, 2007 using the CDPass software along with inserting a physical copy of Infinity on High into the CD-ROM drive of one's computer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall Out Boy</span> American rock band

Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band originated from Chicago's hardcore punk scene and was formed by Wentz and Trohman as a pop-punk side project; Stump joined shortly thereafter. The group went through a succession of drummers before Hurley joined. Their debut album, Take This to Your Grave (2003), became an underground success and helped the band gain a dedicated fan base through heavy touring.

<i>Folie à Deux</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Fall Out Boy

Folie à Deux is the fourth studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on December 10, 2008, by Island Records. As with their previous two albums From Under the Cork Tree (2005) and Infinity on High (2007), its music was composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, with lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz. Regarding the writing process, the band considered Folie à Deux to be their most collaborative record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Care (Fall Out Boy song)</span> 2008 single by Fall Out Boy

"I Don't Care" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the lead single from the group's fourth studio album Folie à Deux in 2008. It was first available for listening on the band's website on September 3, 2008. The song impacted radio on September 16. It is its album's best known song, being certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of two million units, with over 500,000 sales in its first four months alone. In the United States, the song reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, placing lower than the No. 2 lead single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", of the band's previous 2007 album Infinity on High. It received radio play at Modern Rock and Pop stations, charting at No. 21 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 22 on Pop Songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Damned Things</span> American heavy metal band

The Damned Things was an American rock supergroup most recently consisting of Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley, and Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano. The band's name is inspired by the lyrics in Ram Jam's 1977 version of "Black Betty".

<i>Save Rock and Roll</i> 2013 studio album by Fall Out Boy

Save Rock and Roll is the fifth studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was produced by Butch Walker and released on April 12, 2013, through Island Records. On October 15, the album was re-released with PAX AM Days, an extended play the band recorded shortly after Save Rock and Roll's release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Phoenix (Fall Out Boy song)</span> 2013 single by Fall Out Boy

"The Phoenix" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy for their fifth studio album Save Rock and Roll (2013). The song was written by the band in collaboration with Butch Walker, who handled production. After being released to digital outlets on March 24, 2013, in advance of the album's release, "The Phoenix" impacted radio on July 16, 2013 as an official single. The song charted for 1 week then fell off. An accompanying music video was also released as part of the ongoing series The Young Blood Chronicles, serving as a prequel to the video of the album's lead single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark ".

<i>The Young Blood Chronicles</i> 2014 film directed by Adam Donald and Andrew Zaeh

The Young Blood Chronicles is a 2014 American musical film composed of music videos produced by Fall Out Boy, featuring each song from the group's fifth studio album, Save Rock and Roll (2013). The eleven separate videos were uploaded online gradually, but also link together to form the narrative film, which made its premiere on May 21, 2014 on television network Palladia. The film stars the members of Fall Out Boy – Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley – and also features guest appearances from 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Foxes, Courtney Love, Elton John and Tommy Lee. The Young Blood Chronicles was also released as a limited edition DVD on July 14, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hold Me Tight or Don't</span> 2017 single by Fall Out Boy

"Hold Me Tight or Don't" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on November 15, 2017, through Island Records and DCD2. It was released as the fourth single from their seventh studio album, Mania. A music video was released with the single.

"Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on January 11, 2018, through Island Records and DCD2. It was released as the fifth single from their seventh studio album, Mania. A music video was released with the single.

"Love from the Other Side" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on January 18, 2023, through Fueled by Ramen and DCD2. It was released as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, So Much (for) Stardust.

"So Much (for) Stardust" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on February 28, 2024, through Fueled by Ramen and DCD2. It was released as the fourth single from the band's eighth studio album of the same name, So Much (for) Stardust.

References

  1. 1 2 Greene, Andy (18 April 2013). "How Fall Out Boy Rose Again". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kraftman, Tamzin (16 August 2023). "The Genius Of… Infinity on High by Fall Out Boy". Guitar.com. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ↑ Sciarretto, Amy. "Fall Out Boy: Interview with Patrick Stump". The Aquarian. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. ↑ Hogwood, Ben (5 February 2007). "Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  5. ↑ "Fall Out Boy | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (24 January 2007). "Infinity on High". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Jody (2 February 2007). "Infinity on High". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  8. 1 2 Powers, Ann (4 February 2007). "LPs? Hold that Swan Song". The Los Angeles Times. p. 69. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  9. ↑ Welch, Ben (15 September 2016). Fall Out Boy - Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name of This Book So We Wouldn't Get Sued: The Biography. London: Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN   978-1-78606-321-2 . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Zorgdrager, Bradley (23 November 2017). "Andy Hurley Reveals Hardcore Beginnings of Fall Out Boy Riffs | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  11. 1 2 Shetler, Scott (16 February 2007). "Review: Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Koster, Kyle (22 July 2022). "Fall Out Boy Albums, Ranked". The Big Lead. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Abdurraqib, Hanif (14 November 2017). They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us. Columbus, Ohio: Two Dollar Radio. ISBN   978-1-937512-66-8 . Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  14. ↑ Phinney, Jack (21 February 2007). "'Infinity on High' is loaded". Northern Valley Suburbanite (South). pp. A36. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  15. ↑ Zucker, Noah (20 February 2023). "15 of Fall Out Boy's heaviest songs of all time, ranked". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Apar, Corey. "Infinity on High - Fall Out Boy Album". AllMusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.