Kinda Review: MANIA - Fall Out Boy Album

Hi and welcome to another "Kinda Review". I am not a music critic at all. I just listen to a lot of music and like talking about it.

Today, I'm talking about Fall Out Boy's 2018 album, MANIA. Now, I understand that people's feelings about the new album differ. Some, like me, love it while others hate it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I absolutely love the album. It is my most played album of all the new albums of 2018. I can't even pinpoint why I love this album more than the others, I just do.

In most of my "Kinda Reviews" I go through the lyrics of the song, and I don't think I'll do much of that in this one, because analyzing the lyrics take too much time and I'm not trying to take three days to write this post, like for the Waterparks Kinda Review. With that said, I will point out my favorite lines in the song.

This is very overdue, being that MANIA came out in January, and this is going up in November. I'm sorry I didn't realize I wanted to write about music on my blog sooner.

As always if I cannot insert the video, It will be linked in the song's title. I'll try to insert music videos, but if I cannot, I'll insert the audio videos and I'll link he music videos in the titles.

1. "Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea"

The album opens with this song and it's such a bop. It amps you up. Of course, I have to point out the line "eau de resistance". It's French, but this isn't the first time Fall Out Boy have used French in their songs. "Eau de resistance" when put into Google Translate - because I am a noob - translates to "resistance water". Maybe it's a reference to the wave on the cover? Which, by the way, I didn't know was a wave until I inserted the album cover at the top of this post. Again, I admit I am a noob who doesn't notice much. I LOVE the Tonya Harding reference. "I'm 'bout to go Tonya Harding on the whole world's knee". I love it mostly because I didn't know who she was, but than I, Tonya came out with Sebastian Stan and

I may add more memes in my posts.

Another line I absolutely love is "some princes don't become kings" and I am very much thinking of getting that as a tattoo. All of my tattoo ideas are song lyrics because again, I AM A NOOB. Except for one idea, though which is a certain person's silhouette, but I'm keeping that idea to myself until I get it done. This song is just so flipping good and this is just the FIRST song.

2. "The Last Of the Real Ones"

THAT PIANO AT THE START! I love this song. It's one of my most played off the album. While it is not my #1 favorite song off the album, this song does have my favorite lyrics off the entire album and probably out of any song ever which is "I wonder if your therapist knows / Everything about me". I do not know why I love those lines so much. I just love this song so much. All the metaphors and space imagery is nice. The chorus is so dang catchy. Also let us not leave out "I'm here at the beginning of the end / Oh, the end of infinity with you". This song is just so good. I can't put it into words. IT IS A BOP! Let's be real. Every song on this album is a bop. BUT THIS ONE IS SO SPECIAL! At the beginning, you get just piano and then you get just piano and Patrick's vocals. I can write a whole book on Patrick Stump's vocals. He is so good. You guys know by now. I AM A SUCKER FOR GOOD SINGERS!

3. "HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T"

Another song. Another bop. This is only the third song and you can already tell the album is promising. The whistling, the lyrics, Patrick's vocals. It's all GREAT. Can I just admit that whenever I hear "And when your stitch comes loose / I wanna sleep on every piece of fuzz / And stuffing that comes out of you" for some reason makes me think of Imagine Dragons' music video for "Radioactive" when the teddy bear fights. I don't know why that's always the image I get, but it is. Patrick's vocals on the bridge. I'm never ready for Patrick's vocals. I know his voice is so amazing and yet he never ceases to blow my mind.

4. "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)"

QUESTION: Is the title a reference to Cast Away? I watched that movie when I was a lot younger and it traumatized me a bit. This song is great and I was able to insert the music video above, which is also iconic. The most iconic lyric from this song is "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color" and most if not all Fall Out Boy fans can relate. There was really a whole summer where it was in the 90s and I still wore a black sweater every day. Don't know why, but that line reminds me of that summer. Shout out to 14-year-old emo me. I cannot talk about this song without mentioning the wonderful "I was I was I was I was" meme that came out of this. I think this is hands down the most iconic song off the album.

5. "Church"

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG OFF THE ALBUM! I don't know why this song sticks out to me more than the other songs, but I love this song so gosh darn much. Maybe because as a kid who grew up in the church and now resents it, I like that in a way this song kind of disrespects the church. Just like Hozier's "Take Me To Church" which is also a GREAT song. The lyrics "If you were church / I'd get on my knees / Confess my love, I'd know where to be / My sanctuary, you're holy to me" is very much church imagery, but not actually about the church. What is is about will be left for debate because why not? I really do love the music video. Can Fall Out Boy please perform this at my funeral, while I'm in the cremation chamber? All of the money I leave for my funeral will be for hiring Fall Out Boy and John Tartaglia.

6. "Heaven's Gate"

We need to talk about Patrick's opening vocal performance on this song because it's iconic. He is an icon. This is a slower song compared to the five before. The first verse is what would be playing during the prom in an 80s high school movie. It's got such a nice start to the song with just calm soothing music and Patrick's vocals. Then the pre-chorus is when it gets more "umph". Then the chorus takes us all the way. I love the way this song is structured. I love the whole heaven imagery and yes, Patrick, I will give you a boost over heaven's gate and I would sneak you a wristband. If you don't get it, listen to the song.

7. "Champion"

This song is not just a bop, but a song that has helped me. I have had a really bad breakdown this year. I have been dealing with an ongoing battle with depression and anxiety. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, MANIA has been my most played album of 2018. This song specifically has been a go-to song in my moments of weakness. And there have been plenty this year. Another tattoo idea I have is to get the chorus "If I can live through this / I can do anything". Seriously most of my tattoos will be song lyrics. It's also a good thing to live by. Whenever something happens just think "if I can live through this, I can do anything" and that has helped me a lot this year and has helped me keep going. But besides my personal bias, it's such a good song. The music video is an interesting concept. Fall Out Boy isn't real. Watch the music video. It's linked in the title.

8. "Sunshine Riptide" ft. Burna Boy

I'm going to be honest, this isn't my favorite song on the album. This is my least listened to song, but it's not a bad song.  Just not my cup of tea. It has nothing to do with Burna Boy. I didn't know who he was before the song, but I don't mind his part of the song. Looking at the song in parts, it's a really great song. I love the beginning. I like Burna Boy's verse. But as a whole, it's just not my favorite.

9. "Young and a Menace"

THIS SONG IS THE BIGGEST BOP OF THE ALBUM FIGHT ME! Please don't actually fight me. I cannot defend myself. But I remember being incredulous when I first heard this song. My best friend didn't like that it sounds overproduced, and I agree. However, we often forget that Fall Out Boy is a POP-punk band. Yes, they are a rock band, but they often identify under the genre, pop-punk and honestly, as compared to other bands in that genre, they very much keep honest to the punk/rock side. While most pop-punk bands are turning into boy bands who play instruments, Fall Out Boy is still a rock band. I now very much love this song and I love the music video too.

10. "Bishops Knife Trick"

Before I talk about the actual song, we have to talk about the music video. It's linked in the title. The video is a recreation of Fall Out Boy's music video "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs". Except in this video, the band members are llamas and Patrick is the director, but he's wearing the same outfit as the chimp director in "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs". It's iconic and the fact that it really took people a little too long to figure it out makes me laugh because I realized it as soon as I saw Patrick. But mostly because I've seen the "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" video way more times than I should have. The song is really good. I have no musical terms that would help me explain why I love the sound of this song so bear with me. The guitar at the very beginning is so nice. Very pleasing to my brain, honestly. This is a song that I listen to often. Patrick's vocals, of course, are amazing, but that goes without saying. That man can sing anything and it'll be good. I listen to so much music, you'd think I can explain things better, but I can't and I am sorry. But I really love the overall sound of this song. It's one of my favorites to listen to on the album.

Overall, I absolutely love the album. I think everyone should listen to it. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I'm not going to be upset and make a big deal, because they did take some risks on this album. But for me, personally, I love it.

You're not more or less of a Fall Out Boy is you do or don't like the album. Part of being a good fan is being critical of the artist you love. And that's okay. I know there was some discourse over opinions on the album and I think that's dumb. I personally love the album, but my best friend doesn't. But we both love Fall Out Boy and in the end, that's all that matters.

Loving and supporting this band and being honest.  Don't hate another fan for disliking the album. And vice versa. We all have our own opinions and feelings.

Tell me what you thought about it. Did you love the album? Did you not like it?

The next Kinda Review will be iDKHow's 1981 Extended Play.

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• Casual Screaming About Fall Out Boy
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