It’s pretty amazing to think of just how much the music scene has changed in a short 20 years time. During the “emo boom” of the early 00’s, it seemed like every major label was falling over themselves in order to sign the next big thing in music and cash in on the interest in the punk/emo scene. There seemed to be a bigger buzz online in several key music website communities that you could sort of feel, or at least get a basic pulse, of when that next band was poised to make a big splash on the music landscape. As much as has been written about the tumultuous relationship Victory Records had with their bands and their contracts, I figured I’d focus the majority of this retrospective on the beauty of the music that Taking Back Sunday has left us with. Tell All Your Friends was one of those electric records that was destined to be huge, immediate, and make the listener feel like they were a part of something that belonged to them. I remember hearing of Taking Back Sunday for the first time in college when a friend of mine had just “discovered” a new band that he described as a mix between hardcore, punk, and anthemic pop that he thought I’d be into. What I wasn’t expecting was for this band to open up a gateway of possibilities of where my music tastes would gravitate towards for the foreseeable future.
This true feeling of lightning in a bottle that Taking Back Sunday had on Tell All Your Friends was part of a grassroots movement where more and more people began to spread the word of a band that was poised to become one of the biggest bands in the world. Adam Lazzara, Eddie Reyes, John Nolan, Mark O’Connell, and Shaun Cooper would all become household names and take the scene by storm as music fans everywhere really did tell all their friends about this band.
From the fuzzy guitar opening on “You Know How I Do” and the first lyrics of, “So sick, so sick of being tired / And oh so tired of being sick / We’re both such magnificent liars / So crush me baby, I’m all ears,” Taking Back Sunday were off and running on the right foot. Their unique way of trading vocal barbs between Nolan and Lazzara was a nice approach to their vocals, and made for a great, full sound in that department. Other early songs like “Bike Scene” featured some quotable lyrics like, “I’ll leave the lights down low / So she knows I mean business / And maybe we could talk this over / Cause I could be your best bet / Let alone your worst ex / And let alone your worst / I wanna hate you so bad / But I can’t stop this / Anymore than you can,” and TBS were ready to take their music on the road to hear their passionate audience screaming back each line.
Things exploded at the right time with the great, career-spanning single “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut From the Team)” that was the first single to make major traction online. It was easy to see the allure of the emo band that had everything you’d come to expect from the scene that was forming before our very eyes and ears: a dynamic and charismatic lead vocalist, great guitarists that could bring something fresh to the fold, a bassist that could keep up with the frenetic pace of his bandmates, and a drummer who knew exactly how to enhance each song to the fullest. The clever tongue in cheek lyrics in the bridge of, “Hoping for the best just hoping nothing happens / A thousand clever lines unread on clever napkins,” would open up new doors for the young band that just wanted to heard.
Taking Back Sunday were able to showcase their diverseness on songs like “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” and “Great Romances of the Twentieth Century” that demanded your time and attention to each hook. On the latter song, the quasi-ballad explored the rich and endless possibilities of a band who were able to write catchy emo rock and still have the musical chops to back up their lofty goals for world domination. The music video infamously showcased their bad haircuts, that the band can probably look back on with laughter, and yet the music itself has remained timeless and hits the right chords to this very day.
The band was able to explore some deeper themes on “Ghost Man on Third” where they showcased their ability to convey a wide range of emotions through different guitar tones and sweeping backing vocals. The chorus of, “It’s a campaign of distraction / And revisionist history,” spoke to the ability of Taking Back Sunday to capture that magic of their sound with a heartfelt vocal performance from Lazzara.
”Timberwolves at New Jersey” demanded crowd participation with its great guitar bounce and lyrical lines that showcased the band’s connection to their fans as Lazzara sang famously, “I got the mic, and you got the mosh pit.” The band clearly knew their audience and was able to capitalize on their approach to their songwriting with high-energy live performances to continue to build on their potential.
”The Blue Channel” featured a quick piano interlude before exploding into a punk rock song about a bad breakup where the other person hasn’t been honest with their loyalties. Lazzara sang with a forked tongue, “And you’re so guilty it’s disgusting / He’s been sneakin underneath your sheets / And your hands have been in places that they probably shouldn’t go / But don’t worry sweetie, cause I already know” and he gave every scorned lover material to write on their away messages.
The band continued to explore relationships in general on “You’re So Last Summer,” that famously featured rapper Flavor Flav in the music video. Nolan sang passionately in the closing lines, “Maybe I should hate you for this / (If only you knew half as much as you pretend to),” as the song fades away into emo music lore. Things build up to a solid crescendo in “Head Club” as Taking Back Sunday continue to live up to the hype, while Lazzara admits, “I’m sick of writing every song about you.” It makes for a legendary opening statement for a band that would only continue to get better as they worked together. As great as this Tell All Your Friends was and is, I feel like the band would exceed expectations on their sophomore record Where You Want To Be, as they honed in on the best parts of their sound to keep interest sky high in their band. For now, it’s easy to overlook some of the immature lyrics and still thoroughly enjoy one of the most easily recognizable emo records of our generation.