Pokemon and Metroid Highlighted in New Fall Out Boy Song
Fall Out Boy has recently released a new cover of Billy Joel’s iconic song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” as part of their latest single. This cover mentions the popular franchises Pokemon and Metroid by name, highlighting their significant influence on pop culture over the past 34 years. The song aims to reference current events that have shaped the world we live in today, and the inclusion of these Nintendo franchises showcases their cultural impact alongside other icons like Stranger Things and SpongeBob SquarePants.
However, the references in this new release are not limited to video games and TV shows. Fall Out Boy’s cover of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” specifically focuses on significant news events that occurred between 1949 and 1989, and they have updated the lyrics to include more recent events. Within the 34-year timeframe covered by the song, Pokemon and Metroid were deemed important enough to be mentioned alongside other cultural touchstones.
The inclusion of Pokemon in the song is easily understandable. The franchise has enjoyed immense popularity across nine generations of games, multiple anime seasons, movies, and the groundbreaking augmented reality mobile game, Pokemon GO. Fall Out Boy recognizes the grip that Pokemon has had on popular culture, as evidenced by the music video for “We Didn’t Start the Fire” featuring cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game. This nostalgic nod harkens back to the time when the TCG first captivated schools and fans alike.
On the other hand, the mention of Metroid is intriguing and may leave some gamers wondering why. While Samus Aran may not have achieved the same level of mainstream recognition as Pikachu, the original Metroid game played a pivotal role in inspiring the entire Metroidvania genre, named after itself and Castlevania. What’s even more fascinating is that the first Metroid game was released in 1986, perfectly aligning with the time period covered in the original version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
Although it may feel surreal to hear gaming franchises like Pokemon and Metroid mentioned alongside real-world events such as the capture of the Golden State Killer and the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series, Fall Out Boy’s intention was to incorporate various media franchises that have left an indelible mark on history. The song also pays homage to other significant works like James Cameron’s Avatar, the Harry Potter series, and Twilight. Fall Out Boy aimed to encompass a wide range of world-changing events, both positive and negative, in their rendition of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
As part of a new single, Fall Out Boy has released a new cover of a classic song that mentions Pokemon and Metroid by name. The two franchises are specifically brought up to highlight their influence on pop culture in the last 34 years. The song in question is meant to reference current events that have helped shape the world as it is today, and it seems that these two prominent Nintendo franchises were important enough to make the cut alongside other important cultural icons such as Stranger Things and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Though, not all the things mentioned in the new release are video games and TV shows. The song Fall Out Boy covered in question is “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” an iconic song by Billy Joel that went out of its way to reference prominent news that happened between the years of 1949 and 1989. The band thought about the lyrics of the original and decided to update it to describe more recent events, picking up specifically where Billy Joel left off. In the 34 years that the new song covers, Pokemon and Metroid were important enough to be included.
It doesn’t take much to understand why Pokemon made the cut. The franchise has kept growing in popularity to span nine generations of games, several seasons of anime, movies, and an AR mobile game that also took the world by storm. Fall Out Boy seems to understand just what kind of grip the franchise has had, as the music video for the new “We Didn’t Start the Fire” specifically shows cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game when it’s mentioned, almost reminiscent of when the TCG famously took over schools back when it first came out.
However, Metroid being mentioned is rather interesting, and some gamers may not understand why. While it’s true that Samus Aran hasn’t made as big of an impact on broader pop culture as Pikachu has, the NES game has gone on to help inspire the entire Metroidvania genre of video games, named after itself and Castlevania. Even more interesting, the original Metroid came out in 1986, which is in the time span covered in the original version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
While the fact that Metroid and Pokemon are part of a new version of such a historical song is neat, it may feel a bit surreal to hear the two gaming franchises mentioned alongside the capture of the Golden State Killer, the Chicago Cubs winning the 2016 World Series, and other prominent real-world events while listening. At the very least, they certainly aren’t the only media franchises included. Others such as James Cameron’s Avatar, Harry Potterand Twilight are mentioned as well. Fall Out Boy did its best to mention as many world-changing events as it could, both good and bad.
