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stars-and-blackholes · 10 months

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SO MUCH FOR STARDUST (THE TRACK) IS ABOUT MANIA [ANALYSIS]

LYRICS

“I'm in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now”: Winter as a reflection of how negative and cold Pete feels (towards himself and the industry) as a result of the reception of MANIA. He’s dreaming of a better time where he can start anew (spring as a symbol for birth/new things) away from all of the negativity MANIA generated from its poor reception. MANIA came out during Winter. So Much (for) Stardust came out during Spring.

“I'm burning myself down”: Shows how Pete felt like he had to start over after MANIA and can explain why SMFS sounds so different from MANIA. He didn’t want to make the same ‘mistakes’ (we love MANIA here this is from his POV). Can also represent his negative self talk as a result of the album flopping because he gets his worth from external validation (will he touched on in later lyrics)

“I feel like something bad has stretched out over and over again// Until I'm creased and I'm about to break down the middle// Split me right down the middle, right, right down the middle, yeah”: Here Pete reflects on the damage that has been done to him. He feels drained after having to call on his negative emotions to make art as many times as he has (over and over referring to the repetitive nature of this) and it's so bad to the point he feels like he’s going to break. He’s tired of having to write about negative stuff and so when he was creating MANIA, he was excited that a lot of the songs weren’t as serious and more fun. He was probably crushed when they weren’t received well because 1) vulnerable because he was trying something new and was already insecure 2) felt like once again he had to be like “old FOB” to be liked which has been a constant struggle of the band 3) was excited to put out an album that wasn’t so negative that wouldn’t drain him as much since he didn’t have to call on so many negative emotions to create the album “Right down the middle'' can also signify how there are two parts of him: one part of him who wants to make authentic art that’s whatever he’s feeling at the time which isn’t as angsty anymore because he’s better now and another part who wants to go with what’s popular (which is his angsty stuff) because he’s dependent on external validation. He feels pulled in two opposing directions. In general these lyrics speak on the toll his art has taken on him and can represent pre versus post hiatus which is another debate within the fanbase often about which is better.

“The stars are the same as ever”: referring to how the industry (despite changing) generally stays the same which is added pressure for FOB to not change their sound. Which I think makes sense because with FOB specifically, there’s been ongoing talk for ages about how people want them to remain the same.

“I don't have the guts to keep it together”: Pete being vulnerable and admitting the negative backlash has affected him more than he lets on. I think a lot of artists try to put on a facade like they don’t care about negative reviews, but at the end of the day it sucks when people don’t like your work. Could also refer to how sometimes he wants to resort to OG Fall Out Boy because he ‘doesn’t have the guts’ to try anything experimental again like MANIA after how it was received

“Stuck in the permafrost”: Pete feeling like he’s not allowed to change. Like he has to maintain this image of a sad emo guy forever because that’s what he was known for and that’s what essentially got him popular.

“Life is just a game, maybe// I'm stuck in a lonely loop, my baby”: Life to him in the music industry at times feels like a game to maintain popularity while also keeping authentic to himself. It feels like he’s in this loop of oscillating between those two options, while also in general feeling lonely because of MANIA’s reception. He feels like the industry that at one time loved him, rejected him during MANIA which leads to him feeling lonely

“We thought we had it all, thought we had it all”: Pete’s confidence that MANIA would be received well because of how well their other albums had been received. He thought they had it all and MANIA doing as poorly as it did shattered that illusion and threw Pete into a spiral. He didn’t want to make another album where that happened and his confidence around being able to succeed is shaken and explains why SMFS (the album) has a lot of moments of anxiety. The repetition of the phrase “thought we had it all” reflects this mental spiral. The general tone of this song sounds desperate/dramatic as well which reflects Pete’s state of feeling caught off guard, panicked, and hurt

“I need the sound of crowds or I can't fall asleep at night”: Pete's reflection on the effects of fame. He feels like he needs that validation to be at ease because he's dependent on external validation as many creatives are. It shows how he was affected by the poor reception of MANIA. Led to sleepless nights and him wanting to do better to win people back over. He needs that external validation even though he’s tried to convince himself he doesn’t

“I can't take my thoughts and I// Can't take my thoughts and I am awake”: Since he didn’t get that praise for MANIA, there are no crowds and therefore can’t fall asleep. Part of the reason he likes the crowds/praise is that it drowns out the voices in his head that say he’s a failure and that his work sucks. His negative thoughts are too overwhelming. In a way this song is almost meta because he’s using his pain that came from the poor reception of MANIA to write about how using his pain over and over in his work has damaged him and put him into a box, perhaps as an effort to break out of that cycle

“Another year of possibilities left unwrapped// Like it's the day right after Christmas past”: Possibilities to start anew after MANIA, in a way a callback to the spring line. It also calls back to FUTCT (line in Our Lawyer that says “the ribbon on my wrist says do not open before christmas”). Significant because FUTCT is often considered the best/peak FOB by a lot of people. A lot of people have said that So Much (for) Stardust sounds “the most like old FOB” so this line could be confirmation by Pete that they did try to return to their old sound for this album (which he knows will be more popular than MANIA). It can also explain the concept of 8 balls and why we’re getting the deepest cuts we have more so than past tours. They know that is what the fans want and will assure the return of crowds/popularity. It’s a way of rewarding the fans that stuck around despite the poor reception of MANIA. These 8 balls are for us. Pete was probably worried that with how negative people thought of the album, they would potentially lose their diehards too. But we stayed. Also wanna add that the backlash of MANIA probably reminds him of the reception of Folie which scared him even more when MANIA was getting shit on. Going through it twice is painful. I think choosing Folie songs for 8 balls shows them as a band reclaiming their history. Playing Folie songs as the crowd screams and cheers loudly is a way for them to reclaim their history where in the past they would get booed for doing Folie and so they didn’t want to play anything from that. The 8 balls show how far they’ve come!!! As people have said So much for tourdust in many ways is their healing tour)

“And I'm pretty positive my pain isn't cool enough, pain isn't cool enough”: Pete feeling like his pain isn't seen as cool enough anymore because he’s written about it so many times (can be a callback to Get Busy aka another reference to the old music with the opening line of “this has been said so many times that i'm not sure if it matters” and also a callback to shipped gold standard with the line “before it all becomes the same old song”). In general, FOB’s music has this recurring idea of Pete rehashing negative emotions to the point of wallowing which makes sense in the genre of emo. It could very well be a critique of the entire genre itself that becomes even more potent when he’s much older. Also can speak on the idea of how in the industry, you have to seem shiny and new so people don’t get bored while also not changing because people hate when artists change (once again tying into the paradox from earlier)

“Like a sledgehammer to a disco ball// Crushing all my low, low, low, low, ache it 'til you make it// Ache it 'til you make it”: Reinventing himself with SMFS. ‘Low low low’ refers to the poor reception of MANIA or the idea of him being a disco ball and the music industry/audience being the sledgehammer that crushed him and broke him. “Ache it till you make it” (a play on the popular phrase) speaks on Pete's experience of how he's used a lot of his misery in song writing and that's how he made it in the industry

“I think I've been going through it// And I've been putting your name to it”: Pete going through it as a result of the poor album reception and blaming the music industry and those who didn’t receive the album well. Pete feels betrayed which once again reflects in the hurt tone of the song

“In another life you were my babe// In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime”: Pete reflecting on what MANIA could’ve been if it had been received better/released at another time (can directly link to MANIA because one of the tracks of MANIA is Sunshine Riptide)

“What would trade the pain for? I'm not sure”: Pete contemplating the price of fame and being unsure if fame is worth sacrificing his authenticity as an artist as well as having to use his vulnerabilities and painful emotions in order to succeed. Would he trade the pain of his emotions to maintain relevance? He’s not sure. Bit of a lose-lose situation

“I used to be a real go-getter// I used to think it'd all get better”: how Pete thought being dependent on external validation as well as doubtful of his capabilities as a lyricist would subside over time but realizing that no matter what, that doubt doesn’t go away. Imposter syndrome made worse by the poor reception of MANIA sent him into a spiral which is reflected in this song. Alludes to how Pete thought he could change throughout his career but he is now pigeonholed and can't express how he wants to. Because he wasn't always famous, he used to be more optimistic before fame became an aggressive cycle and he became more jaded, especially once he experienced the rejection of MANIA.

At the end of the song, there is a crowd saying “So much for stardust// We thought we had it all, thought we had it all” lyrics along with Patrick. This signifies that as a result of SMFS (the album), Pete is predicting that since they returned to something more reminiscent of their older sound, they will have won people back over (which is true… a lot of comments towards SMFS are gleeful about how happy they are that ‘old FOB is back’). The crowd goes until the sound fades, which shows that Pete is able to fall asleep again. The silence and the track ending represents him finally asleep. The thoughts are silenced. The external validation is back. But was it worth it? Was it worth the pain? Overall, this song is reflective and existential about Pete’s experience in Fall Out Boy and his creative process and the toll it's taken. Listening to this song on repeat reflects the loop line of the song and reflects the repetitive issue at the core of Fall Out Boy’s career. Over the course of their career, the issue of Fall Out Boy and their sound has been a prominent one. They’ve had to fight for their right to grow and change as a band. SMFS (the track) shows the aggressive cycle of fame/creation and how oftentimes creatives are chewed up and spit out by the same industry they give their life and livelihood to. They’re frequently caught in dilemmas of wanting to be popular while also wanting to stay true to themselves. Sometimes those two goals align, but other times they don’t and one must choose. This song is Pete’s answer to the question.

#who wants some good fucking food #fall out boy #fob #analysis #song analysis #fob analysis #mania #so much for stardust #this took me two hours #basically I had a rudimentary analysis for this song when I first heard #where I came to the conclusion it was about mania #and tonight I analyzed it from that lens

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crybaby-bkg · 4 months

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I think Deku has a bit of a mean streak, actually. he’s no Bakugou—that’s for sure—but he’s not this innocent, sweet angel baby that the media has painted him out to be. but you only catch it when you least expect it, when you’re pushing his nerves, when the stakes to everything around him are high, when he’s tired of endless sleepless nights and just—snaps.

“Oh?” you go, grin unfurling like some grinch, chin resting on your hands as you leer at him from across his expansive desk. “You’re mean.” your words are teasing, a snarl that curls your mouth up. Deku stutters, eyes going wide, jaw snapping shut in surprise as he tries to think back on how rude he just sounded.

“No, I’m not—I mean, you wouldn’t stop and I just—there’s a lot on my plate right now—and you just—you keep on—I’m not—I’m not mean.” He’s sputtering, hands all over the place, the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose falling even lower with how he jabbers on and on. it’s endearing really, to see how he tries to upkeep his image of being so kind and understanding, even though his nostrils just flared at you. and his eyebrows turned down and he gritted at you, his hands were balled into fists, his words were so nasty, so ugly, so unbecoming for Deku.

you liked it. loved it even—vowed to get him like this every single fucking second that you could.

you pick and poke at him whenever you see him, teasing him and pulling at him. pushing him around even though the hero is so much stronger than you, so much bigger. and he lets you, tries to defend himself but—that’s not what you want. you want the ugliness, the snark, the mean.

he snaps, eventually, when you least expect it. grabs you up in black whip when you go to push him against the wall for the third time in only a minute, his eyes suddenly dark, the aura of the room suddenly charged.

“That’s what I was looking for.” you whisper to him, the grin spreading your face quickly dissipating in only seconds when you become the prey. when you become the one pushed up against the wall with teeth at your neck, a hand in your underwear, bullying your hole with too thick fingers.

“Why do you want me to act like this? Be so mean to you, huh?” he sounds so frustrated with himself, with you, growling and nipping and licking when you don’t answer quick enough. but your breath is caught in your lungs because finally—finally, did you get what you wanted. it just took a little bit of pushing, you suppose.

#omg I wrote this idea down last night and couldn’t even type it up #bc I took some sleep meds and it put me out SO FUCKING QUICK????#usually I don’t lay down until like an hour and a half or two #but it was literally like 40 mins and I was DONE!!!!#but I finally wrote it :D #there’s also been so much talk of him on the dash and i am. very much so liking this #I miss him bc I don’t think about him enough #but I also think he can be. so mean. like NASTY mean when his limits are pushed enough #ohhhh my god I wont him so bad #okay gn I took more meds bc my pelvis has been in so much pain????#just the right side too??? omg AM I DYING GELP #—new treat in the streets! 🍫#deku treats! 🍬

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