• News

• All

Feb 21, 2022 By Austin Saalman

A decade ago, indie supergroup fun. reappeared to push the boundaries of Obama-era popular culture on its thrilling sophomore release Some Nights: a confessional prog pop opera, equal parts rock ‘n’ roll bombast and twentysomething introspection, which oversaw a smooth synthesis of millennial hipsterdom and mainstream cultural appeal in capturing a generation’s looming sociopolitical anxieties. In this respect, Some Nights belongs entirely to those who came of age in a post-9/11 climate, its sound and language unambiguously crass, histrionic, hypersensitive, and often reluctantly wistful—a tongue spoken most fluently in one’s teens and lower 20s.

In its essence, fun. is a musical chimera—a merging of three smaller indie acts from across the continental U.S. Lead vocalist Nate Ruess had been reeling from the recent breakup of his Peoria, AZ-based group The Format, while multi-instrumentalists Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost were members of New Jersey-based Steel Train and Chicago-based Anathallo, respectively. The trio came together in New York City in 2008—one helluva time and place to have been an up-and-coming indie artist—christening themselves “fun.” and arriving as an unlikely team of underdog pop music saviors on their low-key 2009-released debut Aim and Ignite. The effort garnered critical acclaim and set the stage for larger aspirations, which ultimately culminated in the trio’s epochal magnum opus Some Nights.

Released on February 21, 2012, Some Nights stood unique and alone—its flamboyant ’70s-inspired orchestral pop leanings, youthful theatrics, and experimental songwriting processes interwoven across a sleek, radio-friendly soundscape as at home in southern Indiana as in Brooklyn or Los Angeles. Simultaneously a party album and pensive reflection upon the shortcomings and ultimate failures of a post-Bush America, Some Nights is among those rare releases to remain consistent and fresh a decade on, its clear-eyed discontentment and infectious baroque charm still alluring as Ruess states the album’s political intent on its introduction, bemoaning “the people on the radio,” along with “tea parties and Twitter,” declaring that he’s “never been so bitter.” The low piano introducing the track imparts sufficient tension to conjure Ruess pacing his bedroom, fists clenched, drenched in sweat, before a chorus of Queen-esque harmonies echoes his shouting, “Oh my god!/Have you listened to me lately?/I’ve been fucking crazy.”

Flecked with blood from the raw wound of the hyper-militant ’00s, the album’s livewire title track, which topped Billboard’s U.S. Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and U.S. Adult Top 40 charts, quickly became one of the decade’s most prominent hits. As a frontman, Ruess doesn’t relent here, voicing his concerns against the trio’s undeniable power pop hooks, boldly declaring, in his high-pitched nice-boy-from-school-you’d-take-home-to-meet-your-parents singing voice, “Who the fuck wants to die alone/All dried up in the desert sun?” Likewise, the brassy march of “One Foot” comes armed with plenty of ammunition aimed at the establishment, Ruess resolving, “But I will die for my own sins— thanks a lot/We’ll rise up ourselves—thanks for nothing at all.” Eventually, however, his own uncertainties seep through, as he confesses, “Maybe I should learn to shut my mouth/I am over 25 and I can’t make a name for myself/Some nights I break down and cry.” Unlike that of many artists before, fun.’s music never seemed to fall into the trap of being overpowered by its own “issues”-oriented lyrics, the band having perfected its formula, the tunes remaining strong enough to back such assertions.

Still, there is plenty of room left on Some Nights for romantic angst. Heartache ballad “Carry On” may well invoke within a certain listener a thick haze of nostalgia, while Janelle Monáe collaboration and pop cultural phenomenon “We Are Young,” a hot and heavy anthem for a generation of millennials “in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State,” juxtaposes the group’s feelings of disillusionment and dysfunction with a desire to “set the world on fire.” The track in question officially placed fun. on the map, earning the trio a spot at number one on Billboard’s U.S. Mainstream Top 40 chart, as well as a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Indeed, “We Are Young” is the centerpiece of Some Nights, but the album’s finest entries tend to be less recognized. “Why Am I the One” richly reflects the band’s affiliation with Jack’s Mannequin, while the downtrodden “All Alright” reveals an even more pleading sense of lyrical sorrow, and reflective closing epic “Stars” serves as the album’s own “Bohemian Rhapsody.” On the latter, Ruess delivers such painfully intimate lines as, “Some nights I rule the world/With bar lights and pretty girls/But most nights, I stay straight and think about my mom/Oh god, I miss her so much.” Antonoff and Dost craft a luscious soundscape which blends the cheese of retro lounge music with a contemporary club soundtrack, Ruess eventually saturating his voice in so much autotune that it remains difficult to determine whether he did so ironically. Regardless, “Stars” is one of the albums finest offerings, seeing the trio coming together as a nearly unstoppable melodic force of righteous uncool, Ruess philosophizing, “You’re always holding on to stars/I think they’re better from afar/‘Cause no one is gonna save us”—a perfect resolution. Also of note is bonus track “Out on the Town,” which, bearing some resemblance to the emo pop bliss of “Why Am I the One,” holds its own against the album’s strongest cuts.

A blaze of glory indeed, Some Nights carried fun. to the top, and for some time, its title track, “We Are Young,” and “Carry On” could be heard nearly anywhere—and that was all she wrote. Antonoff, who released his stunning debut album as Bleachers two years later and has continued to record fairly solid music under that moniker, has also enjoyed a successful career as a major songwriter and producer, having worked with the likes of Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift. Ruess released one phenomenal solo record, eventually collaborating with such major artists as Brian Wilson, Eminem, and Young Thug, while Dost has turned to film scoring, carrying further plans to release solo material. With the trio’s individual paths having diverged so drastically, fun. was officially declared on hiatus in 2015, Some Nights remaining the band’s most recent release to date. This is just as well. Perhaps fun. served its purpose at a time when the trio’s forward-thinking indie pop sensibilities were needed most. One must stop to wonder what a ’20s fun. album would even sound like.

Regardless, Some Nights is a millennial classic. A shining example of just what indie music could become. Its flawless melodies and sharp lyrics recall a time that was, for many of us, both frightening and exhilarating. Jack Antonoff, Nate Ruess, and Andrew Dost added a worthy bit of commentary to the national dialogue, and many of their words ring true a decade on. At the end of it all, Some Nights is a work of art, and it remains a pleasure to occasionally find one of its hits blaring over supermarket loudspeakers—a testament to its continued appeal. Some things are made to last, and Some Nights has held up quite well.

www.ournameisfun.com

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.