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"Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on January 11, 2018, through Island Records and DCD2. It was released as the fifth single from their seventh studio album, Mania. A music video was released with the single.

Composition

Sophie Trenear of The Edge described the song as having a "steadfast pop-punk chorus, while Jake Richardson of Loudwire called the song a "modern emo-pop number". Sarah Beckford of Reflektor noted that "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" is "on the lighter pop-rock side" of Mania.

The song bears a resemblance to The Clash's song "Straight to Hell", as well as British rapper M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes".

Promotion

TV performances

The band performed the song live on Good Morning America on January 22, 2018, along with "Hold Me Tight or Don't", another single from Mania. On April 17, 2018, the band performed the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden in promotion for the Mania Tour.

Music video

The music video, directed by Jason Lester, was released to Fall Out Boy's Vevo channel on the same day the song was released. It portrays a parody of an infomercial, with the members of Fall Out Boy playing the song and auctioning off items from their past, such as the severed hand from the Young Blood Chronicles musical film. A phone number appears several times in the video. When called, the number allows you to fake "buy" the items on the video.

Reception

Despite the mixed reception of Mania, "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" received positive reviews from critics. Anna Gaca of Spin called it the best song on Mania, while feeling it was reminiscent of "The Kids Aren't Alright" from American Beauty/American Psycho. Miles Ricketts of Varsity, in a negative review of Mania, felt that the song was "a comforting reminder" of the band's potential, while praising vocalist Patrick Stump's performance.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Patrick Stump, Joe Trohman, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley

Personnel

Fall Out Boy

• Patrick Stump – vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriting, production
• Pete Wentz – bass guitar, songwriting, production
• Joe Trohman – lead guitar, songwriting, production
• Andy Hurley – drums, percussion, songwriting, production

Production

• Dave Sardy - production
• James Monti - engineer
• David Anderson - assistant engineer
• Geoff Neal - assistant engineer
• Neal Avron - mixing engineer
• Cameron Barton - additional engineering

Charts

References

1. ^ "Fall Out Boy's "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" Is an Anthem For the Modern Loner". Spin. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
2. Trenear, Sophie (January 19, 2018). "Review: Fall Out Boy – 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)'". The Edge. Retrieved August 5, 2021. Always having been an asset to the group, Stump's voice travels through its soulful roots, winding through to a steadfast pop-punk chorus, to a sweeping, triumphant falsetto and all the way back again.
3. Whitt, Cassie; Richardson, Jake (August 19, 2022). "Every Emo Holy Trinity Album Ranked From Worst to Best (My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco)". Loudwire. Retrieved January 26, 2023. Single "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" functions admirably as a modern emo-pop number, but largely, things don't hang together here so well.
4. Beckford, Sarah. "Fall Out Boy explores a new sound and aesthetic on 'MANIA'". Reflektor. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
5. Simpson, Dave (January 19, 2018). "Fall Out Boy: Mania review – songs to appal and appease the hardcore". The Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2023. "I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour," Patrick Stump sings on Wilson (Expensive Mistakes), which blasts the Clash's Straight to Hell kind of shimmer through a processor stuffed with female whoah-whoahs.
6. Ryan, Kyle (January 19, 2018). "Fall Out Boy resets, sort of, on the delayed Mania". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 2, 2023. "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)" has an opening that recalls M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" to a distracting degree, with lyrics that are a little taken with their ostensible cleverness. ("I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color," Stump repeats ad infinitum.)
7. Brown, Georgia (24 January 2018). "Watch Fall Out Boy Perform Live on Good Morning America". Celeb Mix. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Fall Out Boy recently performed two songs from their brand new album, Mania, on Good Morning America. The band took to the stage to play their two latest singles, 'Hold Me Tight or Don't' and 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)'.
8. "Watch Fall Out Boy Perform Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) On The Late Late Show". Kerrang!. April 18, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Fall Out Boy stopped by James Corden's Late Late Show recently to perform M A N I A single Wilson (Expensive Mistakes).
9. Taylor, James (January 11, 2018). "Here's What Happens When You Phone The Number In Fall Out Boy's New Video". Popbuzz. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
10. Leight, Elias (January 11, 2018). "See Fall Out Boy's Goofy Infomercial Music Video for 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)'". Rollingstone. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
11. Gaca, Anna (January 19, 2018). "Review: Fall Out Boy Have The Wrong Ideas About Pissing Off Punk Purists". Spin. Retrieved February 2, 2023. But the album's more experimental moments aren't necessarily its strong suit, as evidenced by the fact that the best song, the anthemic midtempo track "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)," is strongly reminiscent of a highlight from their last album, American Beauty/American Psycho's "The Kids Aren't Alright."
12. Ricketts, Miles (January 27, 2018). "Fall Out Boy M A N I A review: "genuinely annoying"". Varsity. Retrieved February 2, 2023. Deep in there, the real Fall Out Boy and their suppressed ability to produce a genuinely good tune must be straining for freedom. On MANIA it surfaces in the form of 'Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)', a comforting reminder of their potential, with a soaring chorus distinct from the other disappointingly cynical ones, and a performance from Stump thankfully not distorted with a vicious assault of grating vocal modulations.
13. ^ "Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)". Genius. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
14. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

• 2018 singles
• 2018 songs
• Fall Out Boy songs
• Island Records singles
• Songs written by Andy Hurley
• Songs written by Joe Trohman
• Songs written by Patrick Stump
• Songs written by Pete Wentz