I Don't Care (Fall Out Boy song)
Encyclopedia
"I Don't Care" is a song by American rock
band Fall Out Boy
and the lead single
from their fifth studio album Folie à Deux in 2008. It was first available for listening on the band's website and mozes.com on September 3, 2008. The song was released to iTunes
on September 8, 2008. It is its album's best known song, being certified platinum
by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), denoting shipments of one million units. In the United States, the song reached No. 21 the Billboard Hot 100
, 19 places lower than the No. 2 lead single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
", of the band's previous 2007 album Infinity on High
. It received radio play at Modern Rock and Pop stations, charting at No. 21 on Billboard
's Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 22 on the defunct-Pop 100
chart.
The song has been described as a very political track by Patrick Stump
, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, but not political in the traditional sense; more about the politics of a relationship. Stump has said that this song is about the superficiality
and selfishness that is associated with pop culture. The song was ranked No. 68 on Rolling Stone
Wentz referred to "I Don't Care
" as a "narcissist's anthem", further commenting that "To me, it's like a YouTube
anthem for the YouTube generation, just about how our attention span is about seven seconds...[it asks,] 'Why can't we get people to pay attention for two minutes and 35 seconds?'"
on September 25, 2008. It was then uploaded to YouTube
the next day by Fall Out Boy on their official YouTube channel. The video was directed by Alan Ferguson
.
Guns N' Roses
alum Gilby Clarke
opens the video by greeting the band members as they enter the green room
of a French-language talk show. They sit down, then Clarke turns to a companion and blurts out, "What the hell happened to rock and roll
? Eyeliner? Energy drinks? And no guitar solos? I've taken shits with bigger rock stars than them!" As the video progresses, the band members are then shown in various scenes causing trouble on the streets of Los Angeles
-- harassing street performers, shoplifting disguised as nuns, pelting people with water balloons, urinating in the street—interspersed with clips of the band performing. During this footage, a graphic of a cat eating spaghetti appears abruptly, alluding to an incident on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
, where producers used the same graphic to censor out obscene gestures by a guest.
Near the end of the video, the band members are exposed as imposters, as all of them remove their masks to reveal their true identities: Andy Hurley
turns out to be Mark Hoppus
, Patrick Stump
is Pharrell, Joe Trohman
is Gabe Saporta
, and Pete Wentz is Spencer Pratt
. Meanwhile, a hustling woman celebrity shown earlier in the video pulls off her mask and shows herself to be Pete in a dress. Viewers are returned to the green room, where Clarke, still mocking the band, tears off his mask and reveals himself as possibly Sarah Palin. "Palin" gives her trademark wink to the audience as the video ends.
When asked about his view on the video, Wentz replied:
in the edited iTunes
music video, that was not approved by the band: "The version of the video that we worked on night after night is not the version that aired, yet somehow a cut full of glorious camera-phone shots did ... It doesn't make any sense to us. ... Imagine seeing this edit only after you buy the video off of iTunes and realizing that no one even had the balls to call you and tell you they were changing the video and cutting parts." Later in his blog post, Wentz explained that "this will probably end up deleted by me or someone else", and by the next morning, the post was later replaced with an image of Popeye
and Bluto
, with the word "censored
" taped across their mouths. The iTunes version of the entire album released the original version as a Bonus Video.
), all music composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump
(of Fall Out Boy
).
UK Two-Track CD Single
deluxe edition of Folie à Deux. The second was released on the Japanese bonus track edition of Folie à Deux. The third was released on Tommie Sunshine's profile and was noted by the official Fall Out Boy website.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
and the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from their fifth studio album Folie à Deux in 2008. It was first available for listening on the band's website and mozes.com on September 3, 2008. The song was released to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on September 8, 2008. It is its album's best known song, being certified platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), denoting shipments of one million units. In the United States, the song reached No. 21 the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, 19 places lower than the No. 2 lead single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
"This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the lead single from their commercially successful fourth studio album Infinity on High . The song was first played on September 30, 2006 at a Philadelphia radio station, 102.1, and leaked onto the internet...
", of the band's previous 2007 album Infinity on High
Infinity on High
Infinity on High is the fourth studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on February 5, 2007 by Island Records as the follow-up to the band's commercially successful 2005 album From Under the Cork Tree. Pre-production began in the group's hometown of Chicago, where writing and...
. It received radio play at Modern Rock and Pop stations, charting at No. 21 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot Modern Rock Tracks and No. 22 on the defunct-Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
chart.
The song has been described as a very political track by Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, but not political in the traditional sense; more about the politics of a relationship. Stump has said that this song is about the superficiality
Superficiality
'The principle of superficiality versus depth' has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato: 'the dialectic of truth and appearance,' as the surface image of the latter 'competes with what Plato designates for us beyond appearance as being the Idea'.21stC urban parlance speaks of...
and selfishness that is associated with pop culture. The song was ranked No. 68 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Music
"Like the chorus says, 'I don't care what you think as long as it's about me.' It's that pop culture thing again, where people don't care about anything but the superficial, and I think there's something so tragic about that. I also thought there was something so ironically anthemic about the chorus, where it's not something you want to sing along to, because it's vacuous and empty. So I wanted something really anthemic underneath it, like something you'd hear at sports games or whatever, because I wanted people to hear it and be confronted with how empty that is. I didn't want anything to be superficial on this record unless the point was to point out superficiality." -- Patrick Stump on song message.
Wentz referred to "I Don't Care
I Don't Care
"I Don't Care" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin from his tenth album, Life. It was released as a single on September 13, 2005....
" as a "narcissist's anthem", further commenting that "To me, it's like a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
anthem for the YouTube generation, just about how our attention span is about seven seconds...[it asks,] 'Why can't we get people to pay attention for two minutes and 35 seconds?'"
Music video
The music video was released exclusively on iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on September 25, 2008. It was then uploaded to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
the next day by Fall Out Boy on their official YouTube channel. The video was directed by Alan Ferguson
Alan Ferguson
The Hon. Alan Baird Ferguson , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since May 1992, representing South Australia. On 14 August 2007 Senator Ferguson became the 22nd President of the Australian Senate, succeeding Senator Paul Calvert of Tasmania...
.
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
alum Gilby Clarke
Gilby Clarke
Gilbert "Gilby" Clarke is an American guitarist and record producer best known for a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour...
opens the video by greeting the band members as they enter the green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
of a French-language talk show. They sit down, then Clarke turns to a companion and blurts out, "What the hell happened to rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
? Eyeliner? Energy drinks? And no guitar solos? I've taken shits with bigger rock stars than them!" As the video progresses, the band members are then shown in various scenes causing trouble on the streets of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-- harassing street performers, shoplifting disguised as nuns, pelting people with water balloons, urinating in the street—interspersed with clips of the band performing. During this footage, a graphic of a cat eating spaghetti appears abruptly, alluding to an incident on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet is an American syndicated morning talk show. Produced by Fox, the show first aired on January 22, 2007 to a number of markets originally through Fox and MyNetworkTV, most in the Fox Television Stations Group...
, where producers used the same graphic to censor out obscene gestures by a guest.
Near the end of the video, the band members are exposed as imposters, as all of them remove their masks to reveal their true identities: Andy Hurley
Andy Hurley
Andrew John Hurley is an American musician and drummer. He is best known as a member of the Chicago-based rock band Fall Out Boy. Prior to Fall Out Boy, Hurley played in several different bands. He is currently the drummer in the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy guitarist...
turns out to be Mark Hoppus
Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, record producer, and television host. He is the bass guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists of the pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the bass guitarist and lead vocalist of the alternative rock band +44. He is a co-founder of both bands...
, Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
is Pharrell, Joe Trohman
Joe Trohman
Joseph Mark Trohman is an American musician. He is best known as the guitarist of the Chicago-based pop punk band Fall Out Boy, as well as the lead and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things.-Early life:...
is Gabe Saporta
Gabe Saporta
Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown....
, and Pete Wentz is Spencer Pratt
Spencer Pratt
Spencer William Pratt is a former American television personality known for his role on MTV's The Hills, along with his wife Heidi Montag. He is the older brother of Stephanie Pratt, who also appears on The Hills....
. Meanwhile, a hustling woman celebrity shown earlier in the video pulls off her mask and shows herself to be Pete in a dress. Viewers are returned to the green room, where Clarke, still mocking the band, tears off his mask and reveals himself as possibly Sarah Palin. "Palin" gives her trademark wink to the audience as the video ends.
When asked about his view on the video, Wentz replied:
It's a series of vignettes, and in the end, the joke is: Everyone in the world who is famous is just a WWE character. And some of you are Hulk HoganHulk HoganTerrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, and some of you are The Undertaker, and it's awesome. It's just as great to come out to the boos. This one is about portraying the band, too, because there's been videos where it's been about individual characters, and this one is really a band-based video. Everyone has really equal face time, and there's a communist aspect to the video in the imagery, but we're also trying to [make] something that's equal.
Criticism
Bassist Pete Wentz posted a blog expressing dissatisfaction about the product placementProduct placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
in the edited iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
music video, that was not approved by the band: "The version of the video that we worked on night after night is not the version that aired, yet somehow a cut full of glorious camera-phone shots did ... It doesn't make any sense to us. ... Imagine seeing this edit only after you buy the video off of iTunes and realizing that no one even had the balls to call you and tell you they were changing the video and cutting parts." Later in his blog post, Wentz explained that "this will probably end up deleted by me or someone else", and by the next morning, the post was later replaced with an image of Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
and Bluto
Bluto
Bluto is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip . Bluto made his first appearance September 12 of that year...
, with the word "censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
" taped across their mouths. The iTunes version of the entire album released the original version as a Bonus Video.
Track listing
All lyrics written by bassist Pete Wentz (of Fall Out BoyFall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
), all music composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
(of Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
).
UK Two-Track CD Single
- "I Don't Care" (Album version) - 3:38
- "I Don't Care" (Cobra Starship Suave Suarez Remix) - 3:11
Weekly charts
| Chart (2008–2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
20 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
35 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 17 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
6 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
33 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
21 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... |
10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 21 |
Certifications
In popular culture
- "I Don't Care" won an award at the MTV Australia AwardsMTV Australia Awards 2009The Vodafone MTV Australia Awards 2009 is the fifth annual MTV Awards show from MTV Australia. The Awards were held on 27 March 2009 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney.-Background information:...
in 2009 for "Best Rock Video."
- The song was nominated for MTV's "Best Rock Video" award in 2009. Pete Wentz commented "It's really exciting because I think this is our fifth year in a row being nominated, and we really care about our videos, so to have them be appreciated is pretty rad," Wentz said. "It's always exciting for us, especially in a category like this, because there's a pretty good chance we will not win this award."
- On October 1, 2008, the song was added to UK BBC Radio 1's A-List.
- A Suave Suarez Remix of the song was released on iTunes on November 4, 2008. It is included on iTunes' deluxe edition of the album, Folie à Deux and also on the two-track UK CD single for "I Don't Care".
- The song was released as a single on November 4, 2008 for Rock BandRock BandRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
.
- This song was used in season 6, episode 19 of the television show One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
.
- The song is included on Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s "100 Singles Of The Year 2008" at position #68.
- The song has been certified platinumRIAA certificationIn the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of AmericaRecording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), for shipments of 1 million units.
- The song is played during the end credits of the 2008 film Sex DriveSex Drive (film)Sex Drive is a 2008 sex comedy film about a high school graduate who goes on a cross-country road trip to hook up with a girl he met online. It is based on the novel All the Way, by Andy Behrens. The film was directed by Sean Anders, and stars Josh Zuckerman, Clark Duke, Amanda Crew, and Katrina...
. Fall Out Boy also make a cameo appearance in the movie.
- The song is included in the previews of the 2009 movie Fired UpFired Up (film)Fired Up! is a 2009 teen comedy film produced and directed by Will Gluck and written by Freedom Jones. The main plot revolves around two popular high school football players who create their lie to attend cheerleading camp for the summer and get close to its female cheerleaders.-Plot:Nick Brady...
.
Official remixes
To date only three remixes of the song are considered as official remixes. Those remixes are the "Suave Suarez Remix", "Machine Shop Remix" and the "Tommie Sunshine & Mightyfools Remix". The first is included on a 2-track CD single released in the United Kingdom, the first is also included on the iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
deluxe edition of Folie à Deux. The second was released on the Japanese bonus track edition of Folie à Deux. The third was released on Tommie Sunshine's profile and was noted by the official Fall Out Boy website.
- Suave Suarez Remix - 3:11
- Machine Shop Remix - 3:02
- Tommie Sunshine & Mightyfools Remix - 5:16