American Beauty/American Psycho: One Year On

When I was about thirteen, I became aware of bands like Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy, but I never really bothered to listen to their music. To this day, I am not entirely sure why, because it turns out that 22 year old me really enjoys it, and Fall Out Boy is now my favourite band.

But growing up in the 2000s – particularly the middle chunk of them – was interesting when it came to the medium anyway. The teen pop era of the 90s was dissipating in favour of more sullen, almost lyrically epistemological fare that seemed the most content when it was most angry. 2004 brought about one of the most memorable changes in the industry for me, with the release of Green Day’s American Idiot – an album sporting singles that experienced considerable airplay for several years and managed to create a certain image of the modern rock musician.

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