With thirteen songs reaching the top twenty over the past twelve years, Fall Out Boy has surpassed the likes of Blink 182, All American Rejects, Bowling for Soup, and Boys Like Girls, as the second most popular and enduring punk rock band ever, right behind Green Day. A case could be made they have even surpassed Green Day because while Green Day emerges with a mega album every 4-6 years, Fall Out Boy has been a consistent mainstay over the past twelve years. When Fall Out Boy takes the stage tonight, they will be the biggest band to ever play at Universal, the only people that come close are American Idol alums Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry. Since I love Fall Out Boy, I thought it would be fun to rank their 13 songs that have hit the top twenty songs in America, here it is:
13. Centuries (2014): Centuries probably does not deserve to be last on this list, but the NBA turned this into one of the most overplayed songs of all time, making it much more annoying than it actually is. This song was the anthem of the 2015 NBA playoffs for ESPN, and therefore was played no less than 200 times per game, practically every single commercial break. Eventually you wanted to cover your ears whenever it came on.
12. Beat It (2008): When you remake one of the most popular songs from one of the biggest musical legends of all time, there are always going to be people who say it sucks. The fact is it cant be better than the original, so its a huge risk to take on such a task. Fall Out Boy did a really good job adding their own flavor to a classic without disrespecting it. It was about as good as a remake can be, which is still only good enough for twelfth on this list.
11. Young Volcanoes (2013): Probably fall out boys mushiest songs as its much more mellow and low key than most of their songs. It works for a bit, but is not one of their songs you can listen to endlessly without getting sick of.
10. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up) (2013): Another song used by the NBA as their playoff anthem. I find the verses to be very powerful and the song has a great rock vibe, but the constant repeating of "Light em up" in the chorus makes me think of this as more of a fun song to play at sporting events rather than a fun sing along song for the radio.
9. Irresistible (2016): Fall Out Boys newest hit is a lot of fun, and practically the opposite of the previous song in that its strength lies in its awesome chorus while the verses are its weak point. With this song only having been out about a month its hard to gauge if this one will the enduring popularity some of their bigger hits have had.
8. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race (2007): Now we are getting to the really good stuff. With this song, Fall Out Boy established itself as a very unique band. With a purposefully uneven pace, purposefully overly wordy chorus, and purposefully long song title, Fall Out Boy proved they could step outside the box of "normal" bands and still be successful. They also continued a tradition of "punk" bands having at least one song that disses mainstream celebrities like Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears.
7. Uma Thurman (2015): This song would be lower on this list it if wasn't for the insanely catchy inclusion of the Munsters theme song. Another song where the chorus is very catchy but the verses are kind of weak.
6. I Don't Care (2008): A straight up hard rock break-up song. The Chorus and verses both are on point and its relentless in terms of how powerful the music and lyrics are. This was the song that after some of their earlier hits proved that Fall Out Boy may be around for the long run with their versatility.
5. Dance, Dance (2005): After their first big hit Fall Out Boy needed to churn out another one to prove they weren't going to be a fluke one hit wonder. They hit it big with Dance, Dance, an insanely fast paced song you can't help but jam out too. With two massive hits in short order Fall Out Boy put themselves on the map as Superstars.
4. The Phoenix (2013): Right up there with "I Dont Care" in terms of adrenaline pumping hard rock. This song also has a huge nostalgia factor for me as it was the song used as the opening dance for Bill and Ted in 2013, and to this day remains by far the best opening dance of the six years of Bill and Ted I've seen.
3. Thanks for the Memories (2007): If you were to poll the population to rank these songs, this is probably the song that would get the most number one votes, but I like to be a little different. Still, I cannnot deny this songs greatness. In terms of empowering break up songs, this is right at the top.
2. Alone Together (2014): Again, if you were to poll the population, this probably wouldn't make many peoples top five, but again I like to be a little different. This song may be a little mushy and soft for Fall Out Boy, but the lyrics are perfect and the powerful way they break into the chorus gets me every time, a true powerhouse song.
1. Sugar, We're Going Down (2005): Fall Out Boys first mega hit is still their best. Story time: Its August 2005 and I have just moved to Wisconsin. Every day during the remainder of summer break I bike down to the Holtz's house in the afternoon and we all watch "TRL" together on MTV, which counts down the most popular music videos of the day, and every day Sugar We're Going Down is number one. This song is the total package, fun, great chorus, great verses, doesn't take itself too seriously, but isn't just a joke either. Fall Out Boy broke onto the scene and hasn't left all these years later.
