Music Review: Fall Out Boy "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs"

Fall Out Boy

Thnks Fr The Mmrs

Album: Infinity On High

Year: 2007

          Patrick Stump is struggling to save a troubled relationship in the fraught “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs.”

      Vigorous strings open the single, setting a speculative tone.  Stump is determined to get his girlfriend open up to him. To him, she’s a kind person. He’s hoping to get her to admit to how she feels. However, if she doesn’t, he’s going to enjoy their time together. (“I'm gonna make you bend and break (It sent you to me without wings)/Say a prayer, but let the good times roll/ In case God doesn't show(let the good times roll, let the good times roll.”)

         He wants to be able to say what she needs. Nonetheless, she’s taking every word the wrong way. She’s blowing off his attempts and he’s not having it. The insults aren’t going to work. (“And I want these words to make things right/But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life/"Who does he think he is?"/If that's the worst you got/Better put your fingers back to the keys.”)

       In the chorus, he’s going to try again. He thinks the relationship is worth salvaging, even though it’s been difficult. She’s cheated on him and cynical towards relationships. Their exchanges are similar to dialogue in the 1997 play/2004 film “Closer.” (“One night and one more time/Thanks for the memories/Even though they weren't so great/"He tastes like you only sweeter."/One night, yeah, and one more time/Thanks for the memories/Thanks for the memories/"See, he tastes like you only sweeter."/Oh.”)

         In the second verse, he’s been thinking of leaving. However, he starts to wonder what he would do without her. He has no idea what his future holds and it scares him. But when he thinks of their first date and the first time they made love, he begins to feel optimistic again. It’s a fight but it will eventually get better. (“Been looking forward to the future/But my eyesight is going bad/And this crystal ball/It's always cloudy/Except for when you look into the past/One night stand/One night stand off”)

            The chorus is sung again.

       A breath is taken during the bridge as mandolin plays. In the bridge, people have told him that he’s isn’t any different from her. He’s cheated on her with wannabe famous socialites. For him, it’s an escape from the misery of the relationship. However, he still wants to sleep with her. He only has to say the right phrase. (“They say I only think in the form of crunching numbers/In hotel rooms/Collecting page six lovers/Get me out of my mind/Get you out of those clothes/I'm a liner away/From getting you into the mood/Whoa.”)

         The chorus is sung again twice to end the single.

   The strings accentuate the tension right from the start. They invite listeners to overhear a private fight in a voyeurtistic way while happily serving popcorn and snarky comments.

         Stump is able to express a variey of emotions in a short spurts.  He spits his words out, fast and clipped with a pissed off drum accompiant in the verses. He ruminates in the bridge and then eases into lustful and wanting. The vocals and music are woven together, its threads are invisible and seamless.

 “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” understands its literary reference. It’s succesful in creating its own take on the characters and being able stand on its own from at the same time.