There is Still A Light On In Chicago: Take This To Your Grave turns 20

This weekend Fall Out Boy's sophomore LP (yes I said sophomore), Take This To Your Grave, turned twenty and it definitely had me up late doing some heavy reminiscing. I started to take a stroll down nostalgia lane and found myself remembering the first time I heard them, saw them live, cried when I was indeed in a sophomore slump, secretly loved those subtle Pete screams on a few tracks and above all just reflected on how cherished this album really is.

I'll never forget the first I heard these OG Illinois sad boys. Grand Theft Autumn was pumping through the speakers of my friends beat up Honda Civic as we were parading around town blaring music and just doing typical high school kid shenanigans.

We had the song on repeat the whole damn evening and once I finally made it home, I needed to know who these fall out boys were and if where I could get more heart wrenching tunes and Patrick Stump harmonies.

I dove down the FOB rabbit hole and this album soon became another permanent resident in my 5 disc CD player and also, you guessed it, my banana yellow Sony Discman.

It wasn't just the witty lyricism, catchy riffs and vocal stylings between Pete and Patrick, this album brought a new meaning to emo kids, pop punk and teen angst.

The first time I ever saw them live was in 2004, at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ and they were opening for Taking Back Sunday.

It was honestly my first "pop punk" show and I had now idea what I was in for. My friend came in flip flops, I thought front and center was a safe bet and I found out quickly that this was my scene and this family around me would pick me up if I fell down, literally.

I cried a lot to this album, I blared it in my car when I finally had one, I quoted it in my emo journals when my heart was broken, as their lyrics just rang true and I felt comforted and understood. And of course, let's not forget, Pete Wentz was one of my first emo boy crushes (and still is). Swoon.

Lyrically, this album has some brutal one liners and when you heard them you couldn't help but say "Oof". And then if you were like me, you'd write them on your notebooks or put them on your MySpace wall. To celebrate the album entering its 20s, let's put those headphones on and let the boys deliver those words we sometimes couldn't say and go through some of those dark, witty and sometimes twisted clever lines.

Song: "Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today"

"To my favorite liar, to my favorite scar"

"Let's play this game called

"when you catch fire

I wouldn't piss to put you out"

Stop burning bridges and drive off of them

So, I can forget about you"

"Breaking hearts has never looked so cool"

(Oof. Case in point. Strong, dark and witty start).

Song: Dead on Arrival

"This is side one, flip me over. I know I'm not your favorite record".

“A rivalry goes so deep between me

and this loss of sleep over”

Song: Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy

"Someday I'II appreciate in value

Ge off my ass and call you, the meantime, I'll sport my brand new fashion of waking up with pants on at four in the afternoon"

Song: Homesick at Space Camp

"Tonight the headphones will deliver

you the words that I can't say"

“And I can't forget your style or your cynicism

Somehow it was like you were the first to listen to everything we said

My smile's an open wound without you

And my hands are tied to pages inked to bring you back”

Song: Sending Postcards from a Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here)

“I have seen sinking ships go down with more grace than you”

Song: Chicago is so Two Years Ago

“You want apologies?

Girl, you might hold your breath

Until your breathing stops forever, forever

The only thing you'll get is this curse on your lips

I hope they taste of me forever”

(If you don't scream this to yourself in your car, do you even Fall Out Boy, bro?).

Song: The Pros and Cons of Breathing

“I hate the way you say my name, like it's something secret”

Song: Grenade Jumper

“They'll say it's not worth it, so well leave this town in ruin.

Living like life's going out of style”

Song: Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over

“So now you're waiting up for

him...

You're wasting time, every time”

(Teenage me as I cried: "EVERY TIME").

Song: The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes

“I'm all ears and I'm all scars

To hear you tell me "Boy's like you, you try too hard, to look not quite as

desperate". I'm hanging on.

But I still know the way to make your makeup run.”

Now, some will say that this is their best album and have refused to treat their ears to the other gems these Chicago gents have given us. But what we forget and what we need to stop doing is putting our favorite bands and artists in a box and expect them to stay in it just to appease our ears and needs. They grow up and we've grown up with them. We may not like everything they offer us, but they put their heart on their sleeves, wearing it like a bruise or black eye, and then release it into the world for us to do what we will with it. These songs were a huge part of my youth. They taught me it was okay to express myself in ways that society told me weren't appealing and they made me feel less alone in my emo ways. And after 20 years their words indeed still make my makeup run.