Fall Out Boy's Election Faux Pas

Pete Wentz's band delaying release of forthcoming LP, Folie a Deux, from Election Day on Nov. 4 to Dec. 16

By Josh Grossberg Oct 14, 2008 4:41 PMTags
Joe Trohman, Andrew Hurley, Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Fall Out BoyAP Photo/Matt Sayles

Pete Wentz's baby is dropping later than expected.

Not that baby.

The emo dude's band, Fall Out Boy, has decided to postpone the release of its forthcoming LP, Folie a Deux, from Nov. 4 to Dec. 16 to avoid competing with Election Day—as opposed to the fruit of Ashlee Simpson-Wentz's womb. The couple's first child is also due in November.

"Six months ago we thought it would be a fun idea to release our album on Election Day, but this is not the election to be cute," the Chicago-based rockers say in a statement. "We felt as though rather than making a commentary we were only riding the wave of the election. This seemed less and less like what we intended to do and more of a gimmick."

Fall Out Boy also didn't want to appear partisan, especially since the band hails from the home state of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

"While it may be obvious where we stand," the statement continues, "we never intended to be the band that shoved our ideas down people's throats. We only hope people look at the bigger picture and investigate the issues further on their own."

Noting the crowded holiday slate, the quartet admits Dec. 16 was "not the date we had originally planned nor the optimal date according to some demographic marketing analysis," but insisted on getting the album out to fans by year's end.

"We're already bummed enough that [Guns N' Roses' long-awaited] Chinese Democracy is gonna beat us to release."

To make up for it, Fall Out Boy says there will be "a surprise or two" on the record, one of which could be a long-rumored collaboration with Elvis Costello. The band will also play a select series of club shows in November, most likely in parts of the country they haven't visited in a while.