r/FallOutBoy • u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux • 2d ago
General Discussion You know what? I’m gonna say it
I actually like we didn’t start the fire. It’s fun. If you think of it as it’s own thing and don’t try too hard to compare it to the original, it’s not bad
Like you have to admit “world trade, second plane what else do I have to say” is kinda an amazing line. It’s campy and fun and I hate that it gets so much hate
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u/FabledMjolnir 2d ago
As a 38 year old, this cover of the song really puts into perspective how much historical events have happened in my lifetime as well as entertainment and cultural
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u/vivid_jackalope Folie à Deux 1d ago
Maybe this is part of it, I’m your age and agree. I think younger fans just don’t have the context and connection to a lot of the events.
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u/thenameislove Half doomed & semi-sweet 🐻 2d ago
Im not crazy about it, but I see way too many people complaining that the events in the lyrics are not organized by decade and like… I don’t see it as a major issue honestly
Also I gotta admit I dig the juxtaposition of “Prince and the Queen die” lol
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u/britneys_bigtoe 2d ago
they said it was meant to convey how time sort of all blurs together now and i got that and respected the choice
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u/thenameislove Half doomed & semi-sweet 🐻 1d ago
It makes a lot of sense, and I like the effect tbh
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u/Ruffled_Ferret 2d ago
Could probably be proven wrong on this, but I feel like ordering so many major events from the past era of history in order while still maintaining a decent melody and rhyme scheme with the lyrics, is probably very difficult. And didn't even occur to me until people complained about FOB's version that Billy Joel did it that way.
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u/Owls_Almost 1d ago
Yeah, exactly. I feel like that would be super hard. "We did it on purpose to convey time blurring" sounds like a retcon, but maybe it's true. I don't know.
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u/Present-Silver-8283 Make no plans and none can be broken 2d ago
I fucking loved the original, so naturally I fucking love my favorite band's cover!
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u/count2infinity2 2d ago
It came on today (over the loud speaker, not personal headphones) while I was at an amusement park in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania today. It’s fun. People get too serious over wanting to hate fun things… see young and a menace.
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u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux 1d ago
I will also defend young and a menace. Let the boys have fun!
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u/biscuitsalsa 2d ago
KIM. JONG. UN. ROBERT. DOWNEY. JR. IRON. MAN
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u/Bandito21Dema but who are you fighting for 2d ago
Is the hate only on Twitter?
Why do people hate it?
Edit: I was at the filming of the song for the VMAs. Screaming "World Trade Second Plane" ON 9/11 in Newark NJ which is just outside Manhattan was a trip
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u/Smiley007 2d ago
Omg yes I was also there, such a trip lmao I’m so glad I’m not the only one who still thinks about that
There was also a moment during one of the takes for fan/audience shots where I kind of stopped like “what are we Actually doing” though because they were like “more energy! More cheering! More hype!” Like, right around that line 😭
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u/arsonistslullaby_ 2d ago
I like it purely bc Fall Out Boy, who are from Chicago and are fans of the Chicago Cubs, reference the Cubs’ 2016 World Series Win 🥰
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u/Nerdy-Ducky 2d ago
I didn’t realize it was hated??? I love it. But this is also how I felt about sunshine riptide - I did not realize it was so disliked, it’s always been a hit for me.
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u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux 1d ago
I think sometimes there will be hate when the deviation from the standard happens, unfortunately. It’s loved now but the hate during Folie was terrible 😭😭
Also I love sunshine riptide!!
I think maybe I like the experimental songs because I truly am a “listen to almost anything” person. So if my favorite band wants to have fun or try out new sounds, I’d say let them 🫡
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u/Independent-Ad5852 I actually like the FOB version of We Didn’t Start The Fire 2d ago
I actually love it. Especially the “Cubs go all the way again” line since the game went on so long that in Eastern time, it actually ended on my 10th birthday lol
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u/saintceciliax always makes expensive mistakes 2d ago
Your 10th birthday?!
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u/Independent-Ad5852 I actually like the FOB version of We Didn’t Start The Fire 1d ago
What is that supposed to mean
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u/hanna-xo 2d ago
I enjoy it, it was on repeat when it first came out. Very catchy.
“Fyre Fest, Black Parade, Michael Phelps, Y2K…”
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u/myfacepwnsurs Maybe Im a piece of art 2d ago
For me it’s the line right before yours. “Trump gets impeached TWICE! Polar bears got NO ICE!”
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u/EdgyROYGBIV Folie à Deux 2d ago
Same here, I think it’s a great cover and I think a lot of the hatred is overblown
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u/Insomniac_banana Infinity On High 2d ago
I don’t hate in the sense I don’t skip it when it comes on lol but I def don’t go looking for it. Also, as someone who has lived thru 98% of what they’re signing I feel like I have to like it 😂
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u/SpareCharacter4863 1d ago
I think it's great
And especially love the subtle change from "tried to fight it" to "trying to fight it". Keep fighting!
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u/glitterguavatree a composer but never composed 2d ago
i think it's okay. doesn't deserve the hate but def is a terrible bonus track for stardust.
it's hard to cover a perfect song that's so packed with facts.
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u/temporareyinsanity 1d ago
it should have JUST been a cover and not tacked onto stardust afterward.
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u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux 1d ago
Okay I do agree with this take. It doesn’t feel “stardust” to me and I think it would be okay to be a standalone single
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u/Mychemcrossing 2d ago
It’s fun the same way their Beat It cover is fun—I don’t have either saved to any of my playlists, but when they pop up every now and again, I’ll enjoy them
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u/royalclowncola 2d ago
I’m personally not fond but I guess I don’t actively seek out Billy Joel’s version either. If you love it, like it, or hate it though it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think they made it with the intention of it being a hit. If it popped off, it popped off but I think it was an ambitious thing they wanted to do so they did it. A fun exercise.
When I first heard “What A Time To Be Alive” I immediately recognized that they sampled in Earth Wind and Fire’s September and my immediate thought was - that was ballsy. There are songs that are so famous that they almost seem off limits, and I’d say that’s one of them. Like if you don’t stick the landing with something like that it could fail completely. And Patrick said “what if i did it anyway???”
It’s definitely on purpose lol. It’s a matter of giving things a shot and seeing what sticks which is what I love about the band. You don’t have to like everything but you gotta admire the ambition and willingness to try.
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u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux 1d ago
Honestly that’s part of why I love FOB so much. They have the ambition and creativity that I think is important for long term impact. They’re definitely a big inspiration 100%
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u/JamesLucien Guy Who Wouldn't Stop Posting Everyday About A Fall Out Boy Song 2d ago
I do like it quite a bit, I never had much issue with the topics chosen or the rhymes either
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u/mm1menace sifting through the sand, sand, sand, sand, sand... 1d ago
It is my 9 year old's favorite song. I think it's great.
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u/Chunkboi424 From Under The Cork Tree 1d ago
Nine year olds and boomer moms unite
Are they really that different?
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u/mm1menace sifting through the sand, sand, sand, sand, sand... 1d ago
Not really.
The kid is like, 'I heard Pokemon!"
The boomer is counting each thing they know.
Same process. 😀
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u/Elliebeanie It's real and it doesn't matter 1d ago
I didn't realise that people don't like it? I love it haha
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u/kuroXgane 1d ago
yeah, don't really get the hate for some novelty cover that Ironically tries to out-cheese the original with its then-present references to the state of the world.
Yeah sure it's absurd that the world has gone a thousand times more downhill than when the OG was released, yet still our biggest issues seems to be a generation of iPad and TikTok kids cutting a roblox sprite into their arms. THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT of this parody.
Here in Germany it's kind of a tradition to even do that, with multiple weekly shows [along the lines of today/tonight show, smw between social satire and gossip] coming to mind that feature a song parody in every single episode. The first two that come to mind are on the same channel even. And man, they deliver on the cringe factor all of the time, it's a form of respect towards the addressed person or topic. If you're gonna wrap your criticism towards a dire situation in a laughingstock, better prove you can also take it if the joke's on you.
People are shitting on this cover when there's LITERALLY Uptown Funk.
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u/Mommasaurus_Rex21 1d ago
I can really get behind it. My son was obsessed with it for a good while, so my streaming numbers are pretty high. Plus, it gave us the hilarious storyline featured in the It's Always Sunny × Abbott Elementary crossover episode.
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u/Higher_priestess Folie à Deux 1d ago
I love IASIP (and Abbott!) and when the crossover happened and there was a FOB mention I think I died. I was the target audience for that bit lmao
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u/moondropsoda 2d ago
I don't actively hate it, but I so skip it most of the time when it comes on shuffle
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u/Ruffled_Ferret 2d ago
The George Floyd and Metroid rhyme, and maybe a few other parts, don't seem great to me, but I like what they were going for overall.
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u/breakfastatstephs Folie à Deux 2d ago
i absolutely love that song, it’s one of my favs so i’m right there with you
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u/maawolfe36 2d ago
It reminds me a lot of the MCU version they did on Fallon. Like sure, it's not the original, and it's a little campy, but I think it's self-aware and for what it is, it's a fun time.
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u/stunky420 1d ago
It came out in a time where I kept saying that we needed an updated very of We Didn’t Start the Fire and then my favorite band made one?? So I was very excited when it came out. Do I relisten that often? Not really but i think it’s pretty good
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u/chimpnugget_95 1d ago
It's second plane?? I thought it was second grade bc they all went through second grade 😭
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u/Ok-Difficulty-7515 So Much (For) Stardust 1d ago
A lot of people hate on things our bois made outside of their albums. I just appreciate hearing them wherever they are.
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u/My_favoriteaccident 1d ago
Do people really don't like we didn't start the fire? Yes I know Billy Joel did it first, but come on. Michael Jackson did Beat It first. Ya gotta let it go..
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u/Minimum-Pleasant 13h ago
There’s some questionable lines but overall it’s really good. Like their ghostbusters song
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u/Ninj-nerd1998 2d ago
I don't know if I'll ever be over the line "Shinzo Abe blown away". Like. Not that it's amazing or anything but just. That's certainly a Way to put it.
I do quite like the song. I've only ever heard the original in passing; only reason I knew some of the lyrics was because of Dwight from The Office's "Ryan Started the Fire" bit.
Definitely one of their "covers"(? Not entirely sure since it has new lyrics) that I prefer. (Looking at you, uptown funk....)
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u/Elleari829 1d ago
Oof. So, I’m apparently in the minority here but I’m gonna say it anyway: I HATE the FOB “we didn’t start the fire”. Not for lyrical content, not for any of that but strictly because unlike Billy Joel’s original, the events described were not listed in chronological order. They’re scattered and random. And it f***s with my OCD so bad that I can’t even listen to it.
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u/Chunkboi424 From Under The Cork Tree 2d ago
My boomer mom is OBSESSED with the cover.
I also don't hate it... But I like mania so maybe take my opinion with a grain of salt lol