This is going to be a new series where I talk about some of my favorite bands and their most underrated and amazing songs.
Every band that has been around for some time have songs that seem to go ignored by the band or ignored by the fanbase -- whether it's that they have forgotten about them or that the songs were never really given the proper chance to get popular like some other songs on their discographies.
Panic! At The Disco, who originates from Las Vegas, NV, has gone through many changes -- band members, aesthetics, sound or otherwise. Eleven years, five albums, one live CD, many tours, music videos and singles later, there are of course some gems tucked away in their discography that need a little bit of dusting off and light shed onto their greatness. These are five of my personal favorites:
1. "Folkin' Around" -- Pretty. Odd. (2008)
Of the rarely played, and pretty much ignored by the band album, "Pretty. Odd.", is an interesting venture led solely by the band's singer Brendon Urie. In the past, the band's former guitar player, singer and lyricist, Ryan Ross, led the band's writing efforts but Urie put in some work and produced this widely forgotten gem.
"Folkin' Around" features banjo, fiddle and other instrumentation ventures that are solely unique to this album which is off putting to some fans who grew used to Panic!'s previous sound of alt-pop/dance/electronic pop. As there are no other songs like "Folkin' Around", it possesses it's own charm, unique to itself, and the first success in Urie's future writing for the band.
Memorable lyric:/ If love is not enough to put my enemies to sleep / then I'm putting out the lantern / find your own way back home /
2. "Build God, Then We'll Talk" -- A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005)
Though this song is off Panic! At The Disco's most widely acclaimed and successful album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, the entire album is sometimes overshadowed by the singles released off of it -- like "I Write Sins Not Tragedies", "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" and "But It's Better If You Do". "Build God, Then We'll Talk" is one of the most dramatic endings to a dramatic album that I ever could have imagined, yet no one ever talks about it and the band rarely ever plays it live.
Including amazing lyrics written by Ross and paired with Urie's strong, yet still untrained voice, "Build God" can barely be categorized with the rest of the album because of its sheer power and uniqueness. The song also includes Ross' rendition of "My Favorite Things" from the movie "The Sound of Music" -- which powerfully ends the song backed by big band sounds and strings.
Memorable lyrics: /What a wonderful caricature of intimacy/
3. "All The Boys" -- Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (2013)
Featured as a bonus song on the Target and Japanese versions of the album, "All The Boys" was never released to the public via iTunes or Spotify, and never show up on radio apps like Pandora because it was never meant to make it to the mainstream. We were left to wait until the songs were leaked onto Youtube-- where is song has gotten especially played by me. Written entirely by Panic!'s then bassist and current tour member, Dallon Weekes, formerly of The Brobecks, Weekes' shows off his talent for writing in this poppy and otherwise beat driven song.
Like one of the lyrics in the song, this song is a total dream come true for Panic! fans, as it is very reminiscent of our beloved 2005 album "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out". It is truly a shame that this song practically doesn't exist in terms of exposure, band recognition and fanbase knowledge.
Memorable lyrics: / All the secrets that you keep? / Might get spoken while you sleep... /
4. "I Wanna Be Free" -- Vices & Virtues (2011)
Another bonus song from Panic! At The Disco 's extensive song bank, which was featured off of "Vices & Virtues" bonus edition released in Japan and the deluxe edition of the album, "I Wanna Be Free" is one of the earliest songs that really shows off Urie's songwriting abilities and vocal abilities.
The song ends on an extreme high -- Urie belts out the ending lyrics and the song abruptly stops but that is what makes this song so charming. It is something unlike Panic!'s previous songs and it puzzles me on why it didn't make the cut for the album's main song list. "I Wanna Be Free" is one of Panic!'s many bonus songs off of "Vices & Virtues" that never gets the light of day but had the most potential to really boost the band to higher heights.
Memorable lyrics: / I wanna be more than you're thinking of / Everything seems to be estranged when you're alone /
5. "When The Day Met The Night" -- Pretty. Odd. (2008)
Let's just face it -- "Pretty. Odd." is just an ignored album. Ignored by Urie because not only did this album not receive as many rave reviews as their previous and more current albums but also because this album brought about the untimely split of the band and caused a three-year hiatus. "When The Day Met The Night" is arguably the best song lyrically in Panic!'s repertoire and one of the least talked about song off this album for some odd reason.
With themes of fantasy, children's stories, romance and romantic musical themes, "When The Day Met The Night" is Panic! should have centered and designed the album after. In reference to the golden hour just as the sun is going down and the moon is rising, it's a tale about two characters falling in love. The album itself doesn't have much correlation between songs but "When The Day Met The Night" is the album's diamond in the rough.
Memorable lyrics: /In the middle of summer / All was golden in the sky / All was golden when the day met the night / Summer /
