Creative Research Assignment 

The album cover I chose is Fall Out Boy’s fifth album, Save Rock and Roll, which was released in 2013 after the band’s four-year hiatus. The photo, which is called ‘Punk and Monk’, was taken in Myanmar by a travel photographer named Roger Stonehouse. He mostly takes photos of his travels and this is his most famous image. There is not much public information about him. It is a picture of two boys holding hands. One is dressed like a traditional Buddhist monk while the other one is dressed in jeans and he is smoking a cigarette. The first one represents tradition while the other one represents modernity.

 

What is interesting about this particular album cover is that it was not created for this album. The photo was used as inspiration for the album. While they were brainstorming ideas for the album, the band members came across this photo and they thought that it represented what they were trying to achieve with their music. They stated that the cover represents “the idea of old and new clashing. Tradition and change coming together” and that “these kids represent the youth, change and irreverence that we hope our record is listened to with” (Fall Out Boy, NME) which are the main ideas behind the album.

 

The album art connects with the music in a lot of ways. For example, the album features collaborations with older rock musicians such as Elton John and Courtney Love. By working on the music together, they are combining a traditional style with a newer one, bringing together the old and the new. In a certain way, it is like they are trying to introduce the younger audience to rock music which also relates to the title of the album.

 

One of the songs that connects with the cover is the first track which is called ‘The Phoenix’. The first track is usually one of the most important ones because it introduces the album. This song makes a connection to the themes of youth and mixing old and new ideas together.

 

The chorus of the song goes: (https://youtu.be/5JqY-6q-RNA)

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Hey young blood, doesn't it feel like our time is running out?

I'm gonna change you like a remix

Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Wearing our vintage misery

No, I think it looked a little better on me I'm gonna change you like a remix

Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

 

The first line is addressing a young person, which relates to the idea that the music is meant to convey youthfulness. Then, there is a comparison to a remix, which is taking an existing song and adding a new twist to it. It is about taking old concepts, adding your own touch and the combination of those two things creating something new and unique.

 

I was initially intrigued by the photo on the cover because it had nothing to do with the band itself and because of the contrast created by the different demeanors of the two boys. However, after reading the band’s statement about the cover, listening to the album and analyzing the photo, I believe that it was a clever choice. Even though it is not something you would typically see on an album cover, it still manages to convey the message of the music. A lot of the song lyrics are about rebelliousness, youth and clinging to the past. It is a mix of the band’s old sound and their new sound.

 

I definitely connect with the concept behind this album. I like the duality they are trying to convey because I love the idea that two opposing or contradictory ideas can coexist together. I also like to combine old and new ideas to create something unique since it is something that can bring up nostalgia while introducing new elements at the same time, just like the album.

 

To conclude, Fall Out Boy’s Save Rock and Roll is an album that embraces its contradictory ideas. It reminds its audience that tradition and change are not bad things and that they can peacefully live side by side.

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Sources:

Cooper, Leonie. NME, Fall Out Boy unveil ‘Save Rock and Roll’ album artwork featuring a ‘punk and monk’, 18th March 2013, https://www.nme.com/news/music/fall-out-boy-49-1261096 500px Blog, 10

 

Extraordinary Travel Photos by Roger Stonehouse, 2015, https://iso.500px.com/10-extraordinary-travel-photos-by-roger-stonehouse/