Watch Pete Wentz show all of the reasons you should "Check Your Phone"
Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz is dropping a new song today called “Check Your Phone” with a project named Cheap Cuts.
Along with the release of the new song, Wentz is also giving a new interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music to talk about reaching out to friends and family right now and more.
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For a few days now, Pete Wentz has been teasing “Check Your Phone” with a series of vague posts.
Check Your Phone feat. @petewentz 15.4.20 pic.twitter.com/IouWqaoUyF
— Cheap Cuts (@CheapCuts) April 11, 2020
Inviting yourself to a pre-party for the apocalypse on april 15th like… https://t.co/MZtv0N5oia@cheapcuts #checkyourphone
Don’t forget to RSVP: https://t.co/T0OP7Cgbxi pic.twitter.com/gvWdIYWPsK
— pw (@petewentz) April 11, 2020
Now, we’re finally getting to hear the new song along with a fun music video. The track features some laid back instrumentals with Wentz giving a rambling, spoken word vocal delivery.
The track was produced by award-winning British songwriter Jonny Harris as well as Jack Leonard.
Cheap Cuts offered up a statement on the track which you can read below.
“The more we developed the song, translated it into different languages and then collaborated with Pete, we realised the whole world had got itself in a big anxious hurry without realising. It’s as if we all heard Baz Luhrmann’s Sunscreen at the end of the 90s, and decided to ignore every bit of advice in that song. To me, that’s what check your phone is about.”
Pete Wentz also offered up his thoughts on the track and his lyrical inspiration.
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“It’s funny to have everything in the world in a device at the tip of my fingers and feel like it is swallowing me whole sometimes. Without a doubt, my phone has made touring, staying in touch and finding out random actors who voiced GI Joe characters from the 80s cartoon easier. But my addiction to it is complicated – the last thing I look to at night is its hazy blur, and it is the first text message that jolts me awake in the morning.
“To me this song is about the anxiety it gives me, but at the same time, the way I feel a bit lighter when I watch a video on it of raccoons walking around like people or whatever. It is messy and filled with complex, opposing perspectives that seem to contradict each other – just like us”
You can check it out in the player below.
Beyond the new track, we’re getting an update from Wentz on how he’s doing during the pandemic.
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In his chat with Zane Lowe, they’re discussing everything from reaching out to people, supporting front-line workers, the power of music, mental health and more.
During the interview, the musician is offering up a message highlighting the struggles of essential workers at this time.
“What I’ve been trying to do is really connect with people and reach out. And then I think that, for me, when I get too much in the Twitter feed, I just start feeling anxiety and it just feels like humans are not really, or me as a human isn’t really good at dealing with this, no end in sight or something that’s so unpredictable, you know what I mean? It’s just, that’s what weighs so much. And you want to know what, the other thing that I did want to say was that I’ve talked to some friends that are doctors and reached out to them. In me talking about it being like Groundhog’s Day, it’s not Groundhog’s Day for people who are on the front line, people who are working at the grocery stores, people who are delivering food. And so I try to think about them, talk about them, donate. I think it’s important because there are people out there that are putting their life on the line every single day and that, to me, is the exact opposite of Groundhog’s Day.”
While speaking on music bringing back old memories, Pete Wentz talks about how revisiting older albums are helping his anxiety.
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“I think that for me in times where I’m feeling either anxiety or just not sure about things, I go back to things that are like warm blankets, things that I haven’t listened to in a long time. And the ones that hold up at least sonically, I really appreciate love, because they take you back to… They transport you to another time in your life where things are different. I saw a great meme today where it was like, what I would give to wake up in 2012 and the craziest thing on the internet was Kanye wearing a leather kilt,” he says.
You can watch a video of their chat below.
What do you think of Pete Wentz’ new track? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
