Fall Out Boy ‘Uma Thurman’
review by Chris van Staalduinen
Okay, look, we all have a guilty pleasure – most of us just won’t admit it. Fall Out Boy and, in particular new Fall Out Boy happens to be mine. I’m not a Pop guy, it’s just not my thing, but I am a fan, probably the oldest fan they have; I certainly am every time I go to one of their concerts. I just can’t help myself, though. It’s still guitar laden, bass driven rock (for the most part) and it’s catchy as hell. That’s all I’m really looking for, so it works for me.
The new album and the latest track are both more pop than anything I would normally listen to, but that’s what makes it a guilty pleasure. I love their lyrical twists and turns, and comedic jabs, and have from the beginning. They have left their punk roots to grow and gain new fans, which is the artistic thing to do. Like most artists, they don’t really care what their fans want – only the fans want the same album over and over – the bands get bored and want to grow. The real fans stick around through the growth and learn to love it, as long as the essence remains true.
The essence of “Uma Thurman” is its humour. Most people hear the title and the intro riff and assume it’s the riff from “Pulp Fiction”. A quick search of “youtube” will find an interview telling you different. It’s just typical Fall Out Boy toying with you, keeping themselves laughing, whether we’re in on the joke or not. That’s probably the essence of the video for “Uma Thurman” – just having fun and living the rock star dream.
There’s not much more substance to the video than that and there really doesn’t need to be. By this point you’re either in (me) or you’re out (most people my age, all of my friends). I didn’t even like this song the first few times I heard it, but like most of their stuff, it grew on me. The video didn’t take near as long – first view and they had me reliving all my teenage dreams and thinking about getting the old band back together. Not even for the music, really. Just so I can live like Pete and the boys – not their specific lives, but the thought of having enough money to do whatever and whenever I wanted, just for fun.
I still have actual achievable dreams, but they’re not quite as fun as the impossible, unbelievable ones that rock stardom can bring. Fall Out Boy has those dreams on full display in this video, leaving you first wondering if the premise is real or not and then not even caring. It doesn’t matter in the end – the fun is real and isn’t that what being a rock star is all about? I’ll let you know after I get the band back together…
~Chris van Staalduinen
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Video for Uma Thurman