A newly released remake of a song from the ‘80s has successfully sent me down a rabbit hole of deep thought. The last 28 years I have spent on this planet, I realized, have been quite traumatic.
Released on June 28, the Fall Out Boy remake of Billy Joel’s, “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” has gone viral with over one million views on YouTube. Within the first three days of its release, the song quickly became a trending topic for TikTok creators.
The original song by Billy Joel was released in September of 1989. It covered newsworthy topics spanning nearly 40 years starting in 1948, referencing Joseph Stalin, Marilyn Monroe, the H-bomb, Einstein and many more influential people.
With their remake of Joel’s hit song, Fall Out Boy continued the tradition of naming historical events, influential people and cultural changes spanning 1989 to 2023.
Although both versions of the song do not provide context for the events, it’s rather just the spoken word of the event with lyrics that are provocative and demand a response from listeners. What I enjoy the most about this song is that every listener can have a different response; whether it be positive or negative is what makes the original and remake truly unique.
Remaking once popular songs by changing them and adding the newer generation’s flavor and creativity should be encouraged within the music industry. It is both fun and interesting to compare and contrast the original versus the remake. This is one way we can see how much we have changed as humans, or remained the same.
Fall Out Boy kept as close as possible to the original song by using the same rhythm and chorus from Joel’s version. What feels different about this remake, or sequel, is that nearly every millennial and gen-z person has witnessed the events listed through the internet.
The most significant difference between now and when Joel released his song in 1989 is how much technology has advanced. The internet has made the world feel like a smaller place. Now we see things happening in real-time and in different parts of the world.
The remake highlighted the war in Afghanistan, mass school shootings, nuclear disasters, GMO’s and – interestingly – SSRIs. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed to treat depression, generalized anxiety disorder and several more conditions. The increased exposure of traumatic events can take a toll on mental health.
I believe the events Fall Out Boy chose for their remake were appropriate; they were major and impacted culture and the way we live today.
Alluding to the negative effects of climate change and the lackadaisical approach to caring for the planet, Fall Out Boy also sang about the extinction of the white rhino, a giant garbage patch in the ocean and the melting of the ice caps.
While some of history’s biggest moments are listed in the remake, COVID-19 was not mentioned in the song. I found this interesting because the pandemic affected people of all ages all around the world. The pandemic should have had a spot within Fall Out Boy’s remake; it killed millions.
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As a millennial, I am very familiar with the events that Fall Out Boy chose to put in their remake. I believe what makes this song so poignant is that we, both millennial and gen-z, feel like the events that traumatized us while growing up have finally been acknowledged in an in-your-face kind of way.
Both generations have faced tremendous obstacles, leaving us constantly feeling like the world is on the brink of disaster. The remake of Joel’s song is a reminder to all generations that no particular generation is at fault for the cards of history they were dealt. Joel and Fall Out Boy help us to remember that the world was always burning since it’s been turning and we didn’t start the fire.
Sydney Walker is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com
Sydney Walker is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached on Twitter @squidneywrites.
