Pete Wentz talks TØP, Lil Yachty and challenging “what rock music can be"

January 25, 2018

[Photo by: Lil Yachty/Facebook, Lorde/Facebook]

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz has been vocal about the state—and future—of rock in the past, and he's penned a new note on the state of rock.

“It’s an interesting time,” he writes.

In the column, shared on Variety, Wentz cites some of the biggest acts in the rock realm today, including Portugal. The Man, Imagine Dragons, Twenty One Pilots and, yes, Lil Yachty. “Today, you can’t necessarily think, 'Rock music has to be this and it can’t be that,'” Wentz writes. “We’re challenging the notion of what rock music can be.”

As he explains, a lot of this simply comes down to the way we listen to music. Playlists might hop from “a Beatles song into Twenty One Pilots into Lil Yachty,” and as Wentz explains, rock music has to stand out. And that's what artists like Lorde and TØP are doing.

“These days, when I drop off my 9-year-old son at school, I’ll see little kids into Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert or a song like Lil Pump’s 'Gucci Gang,'” Wentz writes. “Those guys are making the punk DIY version of hip-hop.

“Rock music might not come the way people expect it, but it feels very much alive.”

Read his guest column in full here.

The band released their new album, M A N I A, last week, and when talking about their new album for issue 347, Patrick Stump says this album is going to be different than anything they’ve done before.

“This [record] is the most off-script we’ve gone,” Stump tells AP for the very first story on their new album. “I want to try to invent something, because life’s too short.”

Plus, the band recently announced their “Mania” tour, bringing Machine Gun Kelly along for the ride, with a bunch of other favorites for select dates: Gym Class Heroes, Every Time I Die, Against The Current, State Champs, L.I.F.T. and nothing, nowhere. (Plus Rise Against for their special hometown show at Wrigley Field.)

Check out the dates for the upcoming tour below!

Dates:
8/29 – Uniondale, NY @ NYCB Live, Home of The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
8/31 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
9/1 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
9/2 – Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
9/4 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
9/5 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
9/6 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Van Andel Arena
9/8 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field
9/9 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
9/11 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
9/12 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
9/14 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
9/16 – Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
9/21 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
9/22 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Center
9/23 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
9/25 – El Paso, TX @ UTEP Don Haskins Center
9/26 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Arena
9/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
9/29 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
9/30 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center
10/2 – Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
10/3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
10/5 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10/6 – Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
10/7 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse
10/9 – North Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
10/10 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center