There's A Story Behind Every Record: Take This to Your Grave

Take This to Your Grave has come out on vinyl. Limited edition vinyl. As far as I know there has been presses of this baby before, but they were always difficult to find. My brohter and I have serched high and low for this sucker for about a year and our only luck was on Ebay. One copy and the starting bid was like a hundred bucks. As badly as we wanted it, there was a certain antaginst by the wretched name of 'Lack of Cash'. I'm sure the bids went even higher and there was no way we could compete let alone find the first ten thousand pennies to even place a bid. Needless to say it slipped through our hands. That is until last Saturday night.

My brother, who is currently residing at home along side me, disappeared for a few hours. Around seven he called me as soon as he stepped in the house. I met him in the kitchen where he held a Hot Topic bag, knowing very well he had just bought some vinyl. First he pullled out a copy of Dookie by Green Day. Which I thought was cool, but I casually shragged it off. (In case if you don't know..Green Day is releasing every album on vinyl. So far I wanna say Nimord, Insomica, and Dookie are out, but those are the only three I have come across so there maybe more out already..not sure about that..) My respons to this reviling was "I have one of the orginal cassette tapes of Dookie and Kurplunk." Yeah, impressive huh? Cassette tapes. Whoo! haha! "Wait! I have another one.." he told me. Not going to lie I thought he finally bought Thriller. No, he pulled out Take This to Your Grave. Welll...I about shit myself. He told me the story of how he was looking through the vinyls, like we always do when we go to the mall, and how he happened to scan to the 'F's and see it. Apparentally the guy who was working there that night was a big fan of vinyl and punk music. They had a converstation that I didn't really care to hear about at the time. Though I did pickup from his babbling that there was one more copy there.

I traveled to the city the next day in hopes the guy didn't snatch it up. I walked in, went straight to the back of the store looked down and there it was...in all its glory. A heaven glow of blue surrounded it. I swear! I picked it up completely over joyed that it was there in my hands and only tweleve bucks. I brought it up to the counter and the guy looked at it, then at me and smiled. "Man, I was going to buy that last night! I knew I should have. You beat me too it." I gave a little chuckle and he continued, "Some guy was in here last night and bought a copy." I told him it was my brother. He looked up at me and smiled again. The converstion went on for a few more minutes with the chick that chased me out just staring at me intenstally....it was creepy...and I walked out of the store happier then a bee, but slightly gluity knowing he was going to buy it. Now he may never see a copy agian.

But it was a steal! Couldn't pass it up.

Now on to the actually point behind this...the album itself. Where were you when you first heard FOB? What was the first song you heard? Do you hate 'em...or love 'em? haha!

I was like five or six years ago when I started hearing people throw the words "Fall Out Boy" around. Keep in mind I was young and ignorant to what image was. I come across the album in a Wal-Mart of all places. I took one look at it and threw it back on the shelf, angery that stupid boy bands were dressing like my own! rrrr..haha! And guess what? My brohter come home later that night with the cd. "You'll really like them." he said handing me the blue jewl case. I popped it in my cd player and it never left the grasps of the spinner for a good six months. It was listened to every day. My brother was wrong I didn't "like them"...oh no! I loved them. Fall Out Boy was my quintessential band of my high school days.

This album I know frontwards and backwards. I know every breath and slurr of Patrick.The intertwining guitars between Trohman and Stupm. The belly screams and simple bass lines of Wentz. The beats and pedal kicks of Hurley. Every song on this album is amazing in one way or another. I wouldn't say that I'm obbesive about it, but more.....it really didn't leave my cd player for six months and it really was played every day...more than once. I'm not joking about that.

Take This to Your Grave is one album in my collection that I think everyone no matter who you are should set down and listen to. Honestly, it could change the way you look at certain things like music or FOB themselves. For me, well it broke me out of the screamo phase I was in and realed me back to my roots that I was apperentally missing full heartedly. It also taught me to not to judge a book by its cover....or more a band by its jewl case.

Enough cheese for you? Yeah, me too.

There hasn't been an artist or band that I haven't been able to relate to more then these guys. It wasn't til most recentally I may have made my mind up that FOB just may be my favorite band....but others come into play and they are put back to second best. I can't thank them enough for TTTYG and From Under. I don't think I can ven come up with the words.

P.S. Take This to Your Grave is the album you wanna leave on your shelf and never listen to it until you break up with someone..then you pull it out and listen to it and think to yourself..."Yeah! That's what I would tell that bitch!" But you never do....you just sit there...in your dark corner listening to it on repeat..

hahahahaha!