I think Kurt Cobain and Nirvana represent this giant wave that came crashing in and turned music on its head again, and there's definitely something to be said for that.
— Pete Wentz
I think you need something to take care of in order to figure out who you are as a person, and in that way, being a dad has levelled me out more than anything. You've just got to be good for that person no matter what's going on in your head that day.
I don't think I understood guitar rock as well as I probably should have. I don't think I understood bands like Led Zeppelin. In their era, everyone had such a regard for them because of them ushering in rock n' roll and this larger-than-life lifestyle. But then they had these songs that would just not stop. I didn't fully get it.
For the most part, I hang out in my back yard with my dog, but there's no paparazzi trying to check that out.
It's strange - there's a public persona of me that does nothing for me: the side of me where it's 'US Weekly,' where 12 cars sit outside my house because of who I married. That side never shuts off. I would like that to shut off sometimes, yes.
I was diagnosed with ADD - see also: raised on sugary cereals and cartoons - and manic depression. So I was prescribed Ritalin for the ADD, and for the manic imbalances I was prescribed mostly benzodiazepines, which I loved, and antidepressants.
I remember my first kisses with a lot of people, and they're rad experiences. And you don't have to really take it to that next level because that's what keeps it exciting.
I feel confidence in myself, but at the same time there's these cracks in the facade and those little things underneath that are unstable.
I'm attracted to creative people and train wrecks, and there's no shortage of that in Los Angeles.
It's bizarre to have both a super-connected and disconnected world. Like, you can use Twitter in the most narcissistic way. Do people really need to know that I'm drinking a latte right now? It's so indulgent.
I like individual scents on a girl, so you always recognize her and you keep her separate from other people in your head. I really love Egyptian musk. I've even gone to the mall and sprayed perfumes and just smelled them. I'm creepy. So creepy.
When I read a review, 90% of the review is about my lifestyle, and the last two sentences are about the record.
The only reason you even start a band is so you can hang out with your friends all the time, but somewhere along the line, it just ends up becoming a job. You were doing it because you were like, 'I never want to have to get a job,' then all of a sudden it becomes the biggest job you could ever imagine.
I'm in the process of convincing my parents to sell me their house so I can just live in my childhood bedroom forever. I figure it might make me age slower.
Boys in bands are more difficult to deal with than one-year-old babies. I've been one of them, and I am one of them, but it is the truth.
I think people who just know me from my band think I don't like pop music. The truth is I love pop music.
There's nothing worse than watching an old wrinkly guy going, 'Hey, baby.' You're like, 'Dude, that's lame.' It's cool to fall in love and grow old with someone.
If anyone saw Fall Out Boy's first 400 shows, we were the worst band of all time.
What would rock and roll be without ambition, craziness, danger, and fun?
I'm not into bands for the sake of being into bands. I've grown past that. There was a time in my life when I was that guy.
I don't have an issue finding guys attractive.
Everyone has learned how to monetize music except the music industry.
As a kid, I always went to therapists; the first time was when my parents were separated on my sixth birthday, then on and off since then.
You're gonna meet tons of different people throughout your life, and it's totally worth it to stick your neck out a little bit if you like someone. Even when you get shot down, it seems really devastating, but it's not in the long run.
I think hair is just, like, the most important thing about you.
I've been an Obama supporter since he announced he was campaigning. I was aware of him as a senator, but I wasn't as engaged as I probably should've been.
When I said that I make out with dudes, there was a slight sense of sexual rebellion in that. And I probably even made it a bigger deal than it was.
Soccer presented no challenge to me. Playing felt like breathing: I always had a magical connection to the ball. But it didn't feel like an adventure. Music was more of a challenge and, in the end, felt more interesting.
I think it's important to look at the world as a bigger place than just the bubble that we live in. It's so easy to get caught up in things of a trivial nature.
The only good thing about times of adversity is that you realize who your real friends and fans are - and the rest go away - which in my mind is an OK thing.
I'm not as well read as I was when I was younger - I just devoured books.
In the past, my brain would never stop. Now I'm a father; the world no longer revolves around me. When I'm with Bronx, he's got my complete attention. He's the only thing that occupies my thoughts.
I think I ended up on 'People's '50 Most Beautiful People' list just because of eyeliner, which is kind of a bummer. But if you do find the right color, it will make your eyes pop.
I'll be honest: I was a super-late bloomer, and I was kind of a prude.
I think that the first part of the art is making the art, but when art really becomes art is when it belongs to somebody else.
There are bands that I got into when I was 15, when I was mad at my dad and just wanted to be different. I don't think I'd give those bands half a chance now. But I hold some kind of nostalgia for them that I won't let go. Bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag.
I'm Michael Jackson-obsessed. All I watch is 'Moonwalker' - it's my favorite movie of all time.
I'm a little bit of a makeout king. I don't discriminate too much.
Ultimately, people do want to buy merch and tickets to support their favorite bands, but they don't want to feel like it's the only thing going on.
Sometimes the person that is best for you is the person right under your nose. I wanted to have a girlfriend in high school, and I know I would have treated a girl well, but instead I was just friends with a lot of girls. They ended up telling me later on, 'We're so perfect together,' but at the time, I wasn't the cool-enough guy.
When I was in high school, my thing was to get as close as humanly possible to a girl and just make her have to kiss me! You do the hug that's too close, where your mouth is close to hers and you kinda feel it out a little bit.
Here's the thing about hair; I think most people think that I have Lego hair, like I can just take it on and off in one piece, and that's not quite the case - although pretty close.
Look: I download music illegally, if I really want it. But I always then buy the record - I support art.
I don't get on stage and give a social diatribe. I am a performer and an entertainer.
I would never come out and say I was gay, because I'm not gay. And there's part of me that kind of wishes I was gay, and I think that that comes from anybody who is constantly wishing they were in the minority, you know, and constantly wants to be kind of fighting everybody off, you know?
Somewhere I just want to find someone that's going to love me forever no matter what; I want someone to show the inside of my head to. That thought keeps me going.
I had aspirations to do different things with my life. I wanted to play soccer. I wanted to be a lawyer. Serendipity.
I love writing, but I have that E. E. Cummings idea that as long as you stay inside the rules of your own world, it doesn't matter what it is.
With marriage and fatherhood, I've finally found two fixed points in my life. They've taught me patience. They've also taught me that I don't need to feel guilty about being happy. My emotional seasons are less extreme.
I wish I had never taken naked pictures of myself on a phone to send to a girl. It's the worst thing ever.
