#friendsorenemies.com

[notetoselfzine]

friendsorenemies.com

this is an essay i recently submitted on my masters degree, about the now defunct website; (bonus at the the bottom - the full text of the edit I added to wikipedia (after the bibliography))

Upon choosing this module, I had not made a single edit on Wikipedia, always finding the complete information I needed, and never being in a position where I knew more about something than the page did. That changed recently when I had discovered an early social media site on the Internet Archive and struggled incredibly to find any information about it, so I knew it had to be me who made this public knowledge.

My lack of edits stem from there not being many factors surrounding the early 2000’s alternative music scene that are up for debate. Music in the 2000’s was greatly documented, and with blogging platform websites such as LiveJournal, where fans could make communities, we can see events unfold in real time while looking at archived journals. Interestingly, this uncontroversial area of interest is mirrored greatly in my own editing experience.

I settled upon my edits to include information about blogging platform Friends or Enemies on Pete Wentz’s Wikipedia after stumbling upon the website while viewing archived band websites, all of whom were signed to Decaydance Records (Wentz’s Label). Following links to this website, I was amazed by the vastness of communication from musicians to fans, yet shocked I had never heard about it before, considering the Decaydance label is still active. I went through Wentz’s Wikipedia history and only found one mention of the site, in June 2008, which stated that Wentz posted on his official blog that he is expecting his first child. I remain unsure as to why such a notable occurrence has no digital footprint, or remnants of its heyday mentioned retrospectively in increasingly popular 2000s ‘emo’ nostalgia journalism pieces. 

Beginning in week one’s reading, the Rosenzweig article had an amazing quote which summed up my thoughts on how academics view Wikipedia, and ultimately set the tone for the rest of the reading. I was very open to understanding how and why people do not like Wikipedia, to hopefully be proved wrong, but I never happened upon a consensus that was positive from the academics we were reading. McHenry, an editor for the Encyclopaedia Britannica used a ‘public restroom’ analogy while speaking of the site, expressing whether it be dirty or clean, you do not know who was there before you. This is untrue, and I fear this quote shows McHenrys incompetence with understanding the website. The nature of the page has always allowed users to view previous versions, as Halstead states: a Wikipedia page is not fixed or permanent like a chapter of a book. In places, I could not help but feel a negative attitude from the authors, seemingly threatened by a free to use website that is practically as reliable as a book.

Coming from a Digital Humanities background, I felt like I had opposing views to the Historians in our class, I supposed we used the internet in very different ways. The archive blog I run solely uses the internet to find sources, the communities I am interested in did in some ways exist offline, but online was the hub where they met and posted content. I couldn’t help but feel like some of my peers, and the academics whom we were reading, were engaging in a Technological Determinism point of view when discussing Wikipedia. This school of thought believes that a digital product is made, and then as a society, we deal with the consequences. This notion lacks nuance, as it does not recognise the intention behind an idea. Perhaps a Social Determinism of Technology understanding is more precise when thinking about this website: the users of the internet in the web2.0 era wanted a quick and handy place to obtain factual information, so Wikipedia was created. Although it did take a while for Wikipedia to become the site as we know it, with it being one of the most visited websites from the early days of its articles being published, there was a clear need for a website like this, shown by its popularity alone.

I spent several hours locating sources for my edits, wherein all but two were links from archived websites via the Internet Archive. Searching on the current internet served little use as I could not find any information, except for their old social media accounts. Friends or Enemies officially went offline in 2013, which is a relatively short time ago, but in internet time, that is long enough for it to be completely forgotten and any traces of the page be washed away by new websites and new communities. I drafted and redrafted versions attempting to make my tone of writing emulate that of the article. I was genuinely concerned that my own personal tone coming through in my writing would be a good enough reason for a moderator to remove my edits. Admittedly, I wanted my edits to be accepted as I enjoy the thought of strangers finding out about this website, hopefully inspiring them to look at my sources and experience it firsthand. Remaining neutral was simple, what I was writing about is objective: a fan site, there was no way I could take a stance which would make my entry not follow the NPOV rule. One struggle was being able to concisely explain the inception to decline in as clear a way as possible, not to make points too convoluted by getting excited and including information that was not purely vital to the idea. 

I have previously mentioned the website’s popularity, which I believe in a way, is down to its NPOV, or Neutral Point of View, stance it takes on the information it displays. I had not heard of this rule until I began learning how to edit. A discussion in class was had about remaining neutral, and a point was made that remaining neutral is a viewpoint within itself. I found myself disagreeing: to remove personal politics and biases so an objective, impartial telling of events can happen, can allow people to decide for themselves which way they are going to understand the event. In week two we were asked to choose what we think is a good article, which showcases the Neutral Point of View. I chose the Stonewall Riots. The page details the night, the social climate in North America leading up to the riots, and the impact of them worldwide – at no point does the page insinuate the riots needed to happen, nor was it a good thing they happened. The unprejudiced account of events allows the reader to take from it what they want, again furthering my point about the website’s popularity, anybody holding any point of view can ingest the core information, and with the website being run by a charity, there are no political affiliations. 

Much of the reading had strong thoughts on the NPOV rule, suggesting that it goes against how historians are classically trained, to include primary sources and to create a point of view regarding an event. The most interesting consequence of the NPOV rule is the behind the scenes chaos it often causes. ‘Edit Wars’ I believe to be a commonly known term amongst internet users who are familiar with Wikipedia. Luckily Wikipedia has introduced a mechanism which now prevents this, known as the Three Revert Rule which stops people undoing a page more than three times in 24 hours. Nowadays, many of the NPOV wars take place on the Talk pages, often called the Discussion pages. In class I was excited to hear that two of my peers were engaging in strong discourses surrounding their edits, as it seems they had chosen controversial topics. Aforementioned, the page I chose to edit was that of Pete Wentz, bassist of American rock band Fall Out Boy, seemingly not as controversial as some pages chosen by my classmates. I posted on the talk page, made my edits, and that was the end of my experience. I had one apostrophe corrected, and a bot changed the formatting of one of my source links. After much contemplating why my edits were not picked apart, I realised that unlike history that was written in books and passed generation to generation, I could physically see the web page, the history I was talking about, I had solid dates and references. Nothing I posted could be up for debate, as it was genuinely factual with proof, unlike my contemporaries who were in passionate discussions about location and wording. My topic was incredibly interesting to me but did not unnerve the moderators of the page. Reflecting further on our class discussion, it seems my peers had a more ‘classic’ Wikipedia editing experience than myself, at least a version of events which seems to be mentioned in academic writing. Indeed it may be that there are larger amounts of small details to be concerned with on historical pages, yet I wish that I had encountered some issues as I would be intrigued to find out why my edits would not be approved by the wider community. 

Relating to regular editors, studies have shown the demographic is 90% male, and 75% of contributors have some kind of degree. Understandably, arguments have been made regarding that the 90% of male editors are those who uphold the Neutral Point of View, but how neutral can it be if it is coming from a middle-class, educated, white male perspective? To very much contradict myself from an earlier paragraph in this essay, I do stand by this argument that Wikipedia is dominated by the male higher education demographic, whilst still arguing that the NPOV is crucial. I believe a neutral point of view is slightly better than no neutrality whatsoever, unfortunately even if it is coming from a 90% male point of view. A great piece was written by University College London Royal History Society about the editors and amount of pages about women on Wikipedia – leading to conclusions of how the demographic of editors mirrors the gender formation of articles. The work being done by the Royal History Society is aiming to change this, and encourage more women editors to become regular contributors. In hindsight, after seeing how seriously some people take the gender divide of editors, I can not help but feel a twinge of guilt over not putting this information on Wikipedia earlier, almost like my own preconceptions of the website stopped me, notably my lack of digital skill and suspecting overprotective moderators who would shun a fledgeling editor.

A fascinating Digital Culture concept which can tie into the gender of editors is that of Cyberutopia. In the early days of the counterculture net in the 1990s where it was mostly text based browsing, users were unaware of other users’ race, gender, sexuality. This allowed users to flourish, and be their truest self online. Some users hiding behind obscure display names, and not revealing their true identity mimics this, allowing people to edit and be judged solely on their edits, not background or education. However, this also allows some users to engage in Identity Tourism, by hiding behind a display name, they could introduce themselves on a talk board as a female undergraduate student, but are actually a high-school educated male. Famously, Wikipedia hired notable user Essjay who claimed to be a doctorate of History, but turned out to not be as studious as he claimed and was ultimately pushed from his role at the company, in a very early instance of somebody being caught (academic) catfishing.

Allowing anybody to edit is one of the main criticisms of the page, by academics and sceptics alike. Despite having to provide sources, and pages being regulated by chosen moderators, people have a distaste for this mode of online publishing and collaboration work. As previously mentioned, academics struggle with Wikipedia as it goes against their training, but this free to use website that has versions in 329 languages drastically opens up information to be consumed by the masses. Unlike Academic Journals that are hidden behind paywalls, and unlike books that can quickly become out of date when a new discovery in the field happens, Wikipedia can be updated in seconds making it incredibly appealing as a website to check when searching for something online. On the contrary, in some ways that Wikipedia is inaccessible is through the language of the website, as much like the rest of the internet, English is the dominating language, or with the site being partially or entirely blocked in some countries due to distrust of the content on the website. While the site is often praised for its accessibility, it does seem to be that it is by western scholars, for whom the website was built with them in mind. 

One of my main takeaways from this five week module is my glowing optimism about the platform. I found it easy to edit once being taught how, and will absolutely be adding regular edits whenever I come across something noteworthy during my archive research. Through all the reading I have undertaken for this module, I have come to understand why academics are not too fond of the website, notably the NPOV blocking them from adding new narratives to the general consensus of knowledge. Yet Wikipedia truly imposes no threat to academics. Peer reviewed journals are still regarded highly and hidden behind paywalls, the average member of the public is not privy to groundbreaking research, but Wikipedia is the next best thing in the dissemination of knowledge. I sincerely hope the webpage has some longevity, as it truly does serve a great purpose in ordinary people’s lives. This module has helped me to demystify the logistics of the online encyclopaedia, and ultimately made me appreciate it even more than I originally did. 

Bibliography

Halstead, D G, ‘Accuracy and quality in historical representation: Wikipedia, textbooks and the Investiture Controversy’, Digital Medievalist 9 (2013). 

Harrison, S, ‘Why China Blocked Wikipedia in All Languages’, Slate (May 2019), https://slate.com/technology/2019/05/wikipedia-china-block-censorship-tiananmen-square.html [accessed 1 November 2022].

Jensen, R,  ‘Military History on the Electronic Frontier: Wikipedia Fights the War of 1812’, Journal of Military History, 76 (2012), pp. 1169 – 1177.

Leonard, V,  ‘How Can Historians Achieve Inclusivity In Digital Archives?’, Royal History Society, (December 2019), https://blog.royalhistsoc.org/2019/12/16/how-can-historians-achieve-inclusivity-in-digital-archives/, [accessed 31 October 2022].

‘Most Popular Websites in the World 1996/2021’, Statistics & Data 2021, https://statisticsanddata.org/data/most-popular-websites-in-the-world-1996-2021/ [accessed 1 November 2022].  

‘Pete Wentz – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia’, The Internet Archive (June 2008), https://web.archive.org/web/20080624235142/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Wentz, [accessed 1 November 2022].

Phillips, M. G, ‘Wikipedia and History: a worthwhile partnership in the digital era?’, Rethinking History, 20.4 (2016), pp. 523 – 543. 

Reed, T V, ‘How Do We Make Sense of Digitizing Cultures? Some Ways of Thinking Through The Culture-Technology Matrix’, ‘Digitised Lives: Culture Power and Social Change in the Internet Era’, (Second Edition, New York, 2019) pp. 1 – 30, 32 – 34

Rosenzweig, R, ‘Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past’, Journal of American History, 93.1 (2006), 117 – 146. 

Steggle, M,  ‘Prospero and Plagiarism: Early Modern Studies and the Rise of Wikipedia’, Digital Studies/le Champ Numerique 2.1 (2010).

‘Wikipedia:Edit warring: The three revert rule’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Edit_warring [accessed 1 November 2022].

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my wikipedia edits [sic] to include hyperlinks and references;

Friends or Enemies was a blogging platform created by Wentz to showcase "VIP" content of the bands signed to DCD2. The site first appeared online in the latter half of 2005 stating "coming this fall".[52] On January 16, 2006 the page published its first post, welcoming people to its BETA version; earlier that day Wentz appeared on MTV's TRL wearing a friendsorenemies.com branded t-shirt, to promote the website.[53] The platform allowed its users to customise their own page, comment and reply, and post entries on their profile. In support of Friends or Enemies, William Beckett of The Academy Is... posted on their website that it is "the hatester's MySpace",[54] and Cobra Starship shared a preview of their music video, Church of Hot Addiction on the website, a week before it was to be aired on MTV2.[55] By February 2007, Equalstudio, the designer and host of the website, stated there were over 100,000 members on Friends or Enemies.[56] The website became a hub for posting tour announcements and updates, and had increased its VIP journals to include bands that were not signed to DCD2, such as Armour For Sleep and Innerpartysystem[57][58]

In 2009, Twitter[59] and Facebook[60] accounts were created, which posted the same content as the website, that was still being regularly updated with blogs and competitions. Also in 2009, Friends or Enemies began posting on their YouTube channel which published skits, live performances and interviews.[61] Through 2011 and 2012, the social media pages began to post links to new music videos, while the website continued with blog updates from bands. Despite 2012 being the year for the website that had amassed the most blog posts, in January 2013, Wentz posted an edited photograph of Britney Spears with a shaved head, which served as his last post.[62] By May 2013, the homepage stated the "Network [is] offline"[63] and has remained down since.

[meat-wentz]

FOB LORE POST Pt. 1

okay so tumblr ate the original ask i was responding to and now refuses to save/post all the edits i’ve made, so this post has to come out in two parts. i’d rate it surface level-knee deep lore (maybe some waist deep, maybe some neck deep idk we'll see)! i'll be focusing on pre-hiatus just cause post-hiatus is generally easier to find (but there will also be post-hiatus because i can't help myself). also curated to my tastes these are things that *i* always think about, so big disclaimer this is not everything. this part basically covers the fob extended universe (terms/people to know, blog links, and important texts here and there), links to unrealeased tracks/rares/covers, and a rundown on the origin story.

so here's some basic things to know:

FBR- Fueled by Ramen. baby's first record label. also host to a bunch of other notable acts from the scene.

FOBR- easy to mix up. literally just falloutboyrock.com, their website. hosted journal entries, updates, the webstore, and more.

Decaydance- record label owned by Patrick and Pete under FBR, founded in 2005 when Pete wanted to sign P!ATD and realized he didn't have label to do so. AWESOME ORAL HISTORY FEATURING PETE, TRAVIE, GABE, AND SPENCER. intro to Decaydance (included in article). relaunched as DCD2 in 2014.

FOE- friendsorenemies.com, let's do a quote about this one: "If you’re one of those types that have uttered the words, “I’m their biggest fan” in reference to post-punk popsters Fall Out Boy, then you’re in luck because there is a site where like-minded people can hang out. Honda Civic Tours has joined forces with Friendsorenemies.com, to create a user-generated worldwide fan community for the Chicago-based band. The site includes dozens of up-close and oh-so-personal videos of the band, along with exclusive, unscripted content that gives an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the Fall Out Boy’s latest tour… because pop stars shouldn’t have any privacy or down time." they have a youtube with SO MANY videos here (check out their playlists, they have a bunch of fob specific ones.

OCK- Overcast Kids, fob's official fan club, usually got exclusive content, merch, pre-orders, and more. you'll see some blog posts where pete makes references to overcast kids referring to the fans.

Fuck City- essentially Andy Hurley frat house/collective/brand. he has Fuck City tatted on his knuckles. there's primers out there i'd search for "Matt Mixon primer" and you'll probably find some livejournal links.

Clandestine Industries- Pete's clothing brand. there's a whole dvd about his collab with nordstrom and in it he states he wanted to aim for "unisex," if i ever found a rip of this i'll link it here. meanwhile here's a video about their landmark store. video that was on the site. 2010 fashion show.

Pete’s blog entries (best viewed in browser). there's also this masterpost (hint, if some links don't work in this, especially for fobomatic, try amending the url to "fobomatic-blog," and it should pop up). and this tumblr: @disloyalorderofpete

Joe’s blog entries

Patrick’s blog entries

important text: “We Liked You Better Fat: Confessions of a Pariah” written by Patrick post-Soul Punk, and kicked off talks of coming off hiatus between Pete and Patrick.

important text: “Fall Out Boy Forever” by Hanif Abdurraqib

important text: “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side” by Pete (his first book), you can read here, just scroll to the bottom to start: @clandestineindustriespresen-blog

important text: to you (unfinished, off the top of my head) arguably one of the most important Pete blog entries (to the fans and to ME at least)

you'll see some names around, so here's a few touring friends and crew you'll want to make note of: Charlie (security), Dirty (personal court jester and whipping boy, he seems to like it, i want to do a study on him, he has Pete's initials branded in his ass- Pete did it himself with a hanger), HeyChris (i'll probably give him is own section), Nick Scimeca (i've never really clear on him, i think he acted as web designer/bestie, but i know for sure he lived in the dirty ass tttyg apartment), Hemingway (Pete's dog), Matt Mixon (Andy's bestie/fuck city roommate). primary ones to know are bolded.

HeyChris: okay Chris is important because he was in Arma Angelus and was fob's first supporter, caught the name HeyChris through grenade jumper (which they wrote for him!). he tours with them for awhile, i *think* doing crew duties, running the merch stand, being one helluva hypeman. QUITE A DYNAMIC with pete. part of the World's Most Hated Crew which were crew members primarily shared between mcr and fob, who had bad reputations for 1) their proximity to the bands 2) being scene kings/queens 3) gossip and drama. 2006, he and Pete have a massive falling out over their blogs. since then they've made up, still talk every once in awhile. he runs the catcade in chicago and emerges out of the woodwork to stir shit up every now and then. here's his livejournal. and another one. he also has a tumblr. so go hunting if you want. most of his updates are through instagram, he loves to troll.

list of movie references in songs

because it's referenced so much i have to include the drunk history, but be warned it's Brendon, and a whole lot of him.

here’s some of my personal fave unreleased/covers/features:

hand of god (some very uhm breathy whiny patrick vocals in this that i can’t believe are legal)

austin we have a problem (also horny vocals and for what)

star 67

we don’t take hits we write them (listen the amount of blood i would spill to get a clear recording of this song)

save your generation (jawbreaker cover)

basket case (green day cover live)

under pressure (queen and david bowie cover, patrick does both vocal parts and and it’s so cunt)

what’s this? (nightmare revisited: nightmare before christmas cover album and US SPOTIFY REFUSES TO COUGH UP THE ONE FOB TRACK, however i still recommend korn’s version of kidnap the sandy claws and rise against’s version of making christmas)

lullabye (hidden track on folie a deux written pete’s son)

catch me if you can

mr. brightside (killers cover which they did live a few times, which is extremely funny because pete and brandon flowers were feuding after brandon said fob and emo were ‘dangerous’ and ‘poisoning the minds of the youth’ and that he wanted to ‘beat all those emo bands to death’)

i write sins not tragedies

tiffany blews bridge ft. patrick vocals

patrick covering i can make you a man from rocky horror

patrick feature on one day i’ll stay home by misery signals

patrick features on cupid’s chokehold and clothes off! by gym class heroes (these may be obvious to some but i’m including just in case and also because they slap)

patrick feature on one of THOSE nights by the cab, brendon jumpscare warning, but patrick’s vocals literally made me fucking insane here, also the amount that pete is featured in this video is so funny to me

fob feature on the hand crushed by a mallet remix by 100 gecs (the way i fucking lost my mind when this dropped)

these are on spotify but often get looked over/missed/are hard to find:

roxanne (police cover): spotify, youtube

start today (gorilla biscuits cover): spotify, youtube

snitches and talkers get stitches and walkers: spotify, youtube

the music or the misery: spotify, youtube

my heart is the worst kind of weapon: spotify, youtube

my heart will always be the b-side to my tongue

pax am days

lake effect kid

yule shoot your eye out: spotify, youtube

i wanna dance with somebody (whitney houston cover): spotify, youtube

the world's not waiting (for five tired boys in a broken down van)- literally my personal favorite off of EOWYG it makes me insane: spotify, youtube

some fun extras:

there’s also this fun little behind the scenes video for cobra starship where patrick is singing city at war

this uncomfortable video of patrick and pete singing womanizer with ellen degenres

this video of fob at the inaugural dinner for obama where they have light up instruments and patrick starts off i don’t care with a little snippet of womanizer (very cunt) which also has a part 2 where pete climbs a tree and they meet the president ajbdjdksndnd.

fall out boy on teen titans go: part 1, part 2, song

deep blue love (patrick wrote this for a movie! and it makes me need to lay down) "behind the scenes" here

patrick song in star vs. the forces of evil

patrick theme for spidey and his amazing friends

patrick musical episode of dead end paranormal park (most of the patrick demos are uploaded as well)

patrick features on robot chicken, also here's the uncensored version of blue rabbits fucking

you can also look up their rare/unreleased songs and get a whole lot more than provided here, and also patrick has done so many covers it’s wild there’s a playlist on youtube that’s 130 videos long and includes bangers such as this is how we do it, let’s dance, in the air tonight, kiss my sass, fob covers of we are the champions, don’t stop believin’ and more.

NOW. as far as origin stories go. let’s start with pete who was a notable figure in the chicago hardcore scene, having been in bands on bands on bands, and very notably RACETRAITOR. pete, joe, patrick (i still haven’t found the source for patrick but it’s on wikipedia so i’ll include him) and andy have all at varying points played in racetraitor, and andy still plays with racetraitor when they get together. joe and pete become friends, joe driving him around because his license is suspended, and right around that time pete starts ARMA ANGELUS and when heychris can’t make it on tour, pete convinces joe’s parents to let him fill in on bass and they all go out on the road. when they come back, arma’s kinda its last leg and this is when pete and joe start talks for a pop-punk project. joe will play guitar, pete will play bass, now they just need a drummer and a singer.

so very important lore here, joe’s hanging out in borders when he’s interrupted by none other than one patrick stump who starts a lecture on music to which joe starts lecturing back, THIS IS HOW THEY MEET. i’ll let joe tell it (click for full view):

this continues into another important bit of lore, which is that joe dragged pete to patrick’s house so he could audition and patrick answered the door wearing a sweater, shorts, and socks. this is important, it comes up time and time again, patrick answered the door in an sweater, shorts and socks. it’s important. to both me and pete. he proceeds to show them all his talents, but when he sings, that’s when it clicks and everyone in the room says you’ve got a massive set of pipes there, you’re our singer. now, patrick didn’t care about singing, in other bands he had primarily focused on drums. but he wanted to be in a band that would let him write music and he also had admired pete from afar on the scene and so he agreed to sing.

they finally pull andy when they start recording seriously and their drummer can’t make it so they ask andy to fill in. andy at this point is a notable drummer in the scene, like he plays in so many bands and is referred to as “the metal drummer.” pete and andy have known each other for a long while and they've had their eye on him since the beginning, it's just that he's in various other bands and going to school so he hasn't had the time. but they ask him to fill in and everything just falls into place. i’ll let patrick tell it:

and they've been the same lineup for two decades now (outside of fill-ins every now and again for emergencies etc). as legend goes, they had switched out names quite a few times, fall out boy being one of them, referencing the character from the simpsons. one night they came out, said "we are [insert long drawn out complicated name here]" and a fan yelled "fuck that! you're fall out boy!" and they have been ever since.

[offonmyown]

any other 2009 emos remember FriendsorEnemies.com?? THEE social media site for decaydance and dcd-adjacent bands? we need to bring it back. rip foe, you would have loved the emo renaissance </3

[jimmycartersufo]

this is going to be a random vent related to fall out boy because I'm losing my mind from. being so exhausted and I've been struggling but also celebrating aging. I just saw a post about how Patrick is turning 40 next month and I'm like, how? not because that's bad but where did the time go. I've been a fan of fall out boy for 19 years. a whole ass adult amount of years, a majority of my life. I've only seen them the seven times as of last Wednesday because of money and travel and life. my first show was when I was thirteen and I won a contest on friendsorenemies.com and I yelled I love you Joe! from the crowd and Joe said I love you Joe? back. I saw growing up live and the crowd was too much for me right before Saturday. I've seen them with best friends I don't talk to anymore and people I knew from the falloutboyrock message boards and with my sister and now with my husband (I'm married????). the last time I saw them I got to meet them too and my now husband & I just got back together after a year plus break up during which I played miss missing you and cried in his car and last week when we saw them that was the magic 8 ball even though I hoped and prayed for heavens gate (our wedding song) and that's OK because it just emphasizes how important this band has been to me. it makes me cry so much. they are so integral to the story of my life. so many lives. there were friends from middle and high school at the show. Turning 30 I feel the most close to me I've ever felt. I feel so close to authentic and real and alive me. I got to finally see folie songs live and folie has been such a vital album for me and for growing up and it only makes sense because Pete & Andy were on the cusp of 30 were they not? and Patrick and Joe were nearing the mid twenties. somehow I got through middle and high school and college and I have a degree now and a real™ job that has something to do with my degree and I live not only with my partner but we got married last year (on valentines day can you imagine explaining to teenage me that Andy and I share a wedding anniversary??????????) and how for fun I analyze fall out boy songs because I took the research track for art history and what's really funny is every single time I've seen fall out boy I had the same bedroom. including the most recent time because I moved back in with my parents but the fall out boy posters are gone but don't worry I have a whole ass shelf dedicated to them because growing up also means being your true child self like Rea you got to finally see Chicago is so two years ago. no Chicago trip or secret show. also you're fucking autistic and you have ocd and there's this thing called Para social relationships and you are absolutely struggling with all three.

anyway aging is weird. living is weird. life is weird. and what's soooo wild is that this is such a thin slice of the pie. there's so many terrible fucking things but also so many good things and so many mundane things. wow I'm glad I lived to see my twenties. I have so much life to keep living.

[williamismyhomeboy]

from friendsorenemies.com

[infintyonhigh]

Lies Fall Out Boy told me:

Were bringing back friendsorenemies.com

Were gonna do sooo much with the maniacorp thing

Are from chicago 

Would teach us how to make boys next door out of assholes

Found the cure to growing older

[stepfordgoth]

That post I made a week or two ago, about "emo truly is dead, friendsorenemies.com isn't even active on twitter anymore" or whatever, except it's "my childhood concept of punk is dead" and "blanktv hasn't posted to their YouTube page in 13 years" 😔

[preachelectric]

“checking things off that to do list” the only things left on the list are

- relaunch friendsorenemies.com

- send out trophies to fans

[fromwentzicame]

fall out boy asks: do your favorite album and your least favorite

thanks for the ask anon! :) it’s hard for me to pick my favourite but i’ll go with cork tree ! my least favourite is ab/ap FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE

our lawyer made us change the name of this song so we wouldn’t get sued: worst fob rumour you’ve heard?

that jeanae white was 15

of all the gin joints in the world: drink of choice?

fuzzy navel

dance, dance: which member of fall out boy has the best style?

pete hahahah 

sugar, we’re goin down: would you rather have antlers or deer legs?

antlers, i think. it doesn’t hurt to cut them, right?

nobody puts baby in the corner: favourite 80s film?

hard. i want to say pretty in pink or the breakfast club

i’ve got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth (summer song): favourite season?

autumn

seven minutes in heaven (atavan halen): do you like panic! at the disco?

i like up to and including vices & virtues, but not much after

sophomore slump or comeback of the year: do you like the academy is…?

yes!

champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends: how did you meet your best friend?

it was fifth grade and i thought she stole my pencil and i was mad but as it turns out we really just had the same pencil, 

i slept with someone in fall out boy and all i got was this stupid song written about me: have you read gray? do you like pete’s writing style?

no i have not, but i do intend to read it

a little less sixteen candles, a little more “touch me”: favourite fall out boy mv?

dance, dance probably

get busy living or get busy dying (do your part to save the scene and stop going to shows): how many concerts have you been to in the past year?

two

xo: crush?

. no comment

snitchers and talkers get stitches and walkers: long song titles or short?

long babey

the music or the misery: favourite fall out boy bonus track?

my heart is the worst kind of weapon 

my heart is the worst kind of weapon: when was the last time you said something you regretted?

i’m not sure, really AMERICAN BEAUTY/AMERICAN PSYCHO   

irresistible: which music video was your favourite?

from this album? irresistible 

american beauty/american psycho: do you enjoy wearing makeup?

yes!

centuries: which century would you most like to live in?

racism, sexism, and homophobia aside, i really like the victorian era, so probably 19th century

the kids aren’t alright: if you could send a message to yourself five years ago, what would it say?

whats up dude. my chemical romance gets back together!!! also everything is pretty chill so hang in there

uma thurman: singing or dancing?

singing

jet pack blues: which was your favourite fall out boy era?

i like pre-hiatus a lot in general. i feel there was more stuff like clandestine industries, friendsorenemies.com, pete keeping journals, and more behind the scenes stuff

novocaine: cause of your last time in hospital?

i dont think i’ve been in the hospital since i was 3 and it was for surgery

fourth of july: which holidays do you celebrate?

christmas, halloween, thanksgiving, jourth of fuly (simply because fireworks are sick as fuck)

favourite record: do you collect vinyls or cds?

not particularly but i do have a few cds. i think i have every fall out boy cd

immortals: have you ever doubted being a fan of fall out boy?

no, shit is pretty cash

twin skeleton’s (hotel in nyc): describe your exact opposite.

someone who is like, really peppy and extroverted. someone who doesn’t care much for other people 

once again thanks for the ask anon :)

[savedlatin]

FRIENDSORENEMIES.COM

[actuallyanimetrash]

that moment when you find out friendsorenemies is no longer a thing i am so confused right now

[jimmycartersufo]

this is going to be a random vent related to fall out boy because I'm losing my mind from. being so exhausted and I've been struggling but also celebrating aging. I just saw a post about how Patrick is turning 40 next month and I'm like, how? not because that's bad but where did the time go. I've been a fan of fall out boy for 19 years. a whole ass adult amount of years, a majority of my life. I've only seen them the seven times as of last Wednesday because of money and travel and life. my first show was when I was thirteen and I won a contest on friendsorenemies.com and I yelled I love you Joe! from the crowd and Joe said I love you Joe? back. I saw growing up live and the crowd was too much for me right before Saturday. I've seen them with best friends I don't talk to anymore and people I knew from the falloutboyrock message boards and with my sister and now with my husband (I'm married????). the last time I saw them I got to meet them too and my now husband & I just got back together after a year plus break up during which I played miss missing you and cried in his car and last week when we saw them that was the magic 8 ball even though I hoped and prayed for heavens gate (our wedding song) and that's OK because it just emphasizes how important this band has been to me. it makes me cry so much. they are so integral to the story of my life. so many lives. there were friends from middle and high school at the show. Turning 30 I feel the most close to me I've ever felt. I feel so close to authentic and real and alive me. I got to finally see folie songs live and folie has been such a vital album for me and for growing up and it only makes sense because Pete & Andy were on the cusp of 30 were they not? and Patrick and Joe were nearing the mid twenties. somehow I got through middle and high school and college and I have a degree now and a real™ job that has something to do with my degree and I live not only with my partner but we got married last year (on valentines day can you imagine explaining to teenage me that Andy and I share a wedding anniversary??????????) and how for fun I analyze fall out boy songs because I took the research track for art history and what's really funny is every single time I've seen fall out boy I had the same bedroom. including the most recent time because I moved back in with my parents but the fall out boy posters are gone but don't worry I have a whole ass shelf dedicated to them because growing up also means being your true child self like Rea you got to finally see Chicago is so two years ago. no Chicago trip or secret show. also you're fucking autistic and you have ocd and there's this thing called Para social relationships and you are absolutely struggling with all three.

anyway aging is weird. living is weird. life is weird. and what's soooo wild is that this is such a thin slice of the pie. there's so many terrible fucking things but also so many good things and so many mundane things. wow I'm glad I lived to see my twenties. I have so much life to keep living.

[williamismyhomeboy]

01/28/06 | LONDON CALLING...

FINALLY, a moment to spare with the internet!!! It's been a while, and for that, I apologize. United Kingdom. Wow. American crowds definately have their work cut out for them after the warm welcome we had on the UK tour... Incredible. Thank you London. Thank you Leeds. Thank you Bristol, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxfordshire, Southhampton. Thank you Glascow. And thank you Birmingham, as I am in the dressing room at The Carling Academy in Birmingham, listening to you scream, waiting for the show to begin. Thank you, save the far reaching possibility that you actually hate us, and are going throw hand grenades and tennis balls wrapped in barbed wire instead of thornless roses and dirty victoria's secret lingerie. Either way, it will be exciting, and will most likely drive to me to the point of near arousal... (joke?) the tour has been intense thus far, and tonight we close off the UK portion of the world tour. My girlfriend is studying in London for the next 5 months, and I am thankful that i got to see her while i was out here... But tonight, there will be a rediculously dancy after party at the Carling Academy, hosted by yours truly, TAI, and THE BEST DRESSED MEN TO COME OUT OF LAS VEGAS. I'll give you a hint... They're name DOESN'T rhyme with " Chillers". In the morning, we will fly back home to the U S of A. There, I will reach out to you once more... there is a hilarious video of us that I stumbled across on friendsorenemies.com . go check it out. it's the Hatester's MySpace. hint///THIS VALENTINE'S DAY. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR.///hint - - William

[stepfordgoth]

Emo is truly dead. Friendsorenemies.com isn't even a website anymore 😥

[clandestineindustries]

Our pals over at friendsorenemies.com are giving away a *signed*, sample T from The Never Ending Summer collection! Make sure you enter, here.

[fypatd-blog-blog]

FRIENDSORENEMIES.COM INTERVIEW

The boys recently sat down with some pals at FriendsorEnemies.com and answered some user-submitted questions. Check out the interview HERE!