Think Happy Thoughts: The Send-Pete-Some-Love Meme: azrielen

azrielen

Think Happy Thoughts: The Send-Pete-Some-Love Meme

Sep 12, 2007 15:04

OK, guys. I know we all love to make fun of Pete, or Ashlee, or FOB in general. However, recently things have gotten a little....serious. So let's be serious for a moment.

Pete Wentz is a grown man. He can take care of himself. However, every now and then everyone needs a little help from their friends. Or in this case, fans.

To me, the last few days have been exemplary of the last few years if you follow Pete closely. The extreme high of the VMAs, seeing his band and his friends win awards voted on by the people, and the extreme lows that followed. We've all read the quotes and the blogs. We've all seen him partying. We all have our opinions and our feelings on the matter. But this isn't about that. This is, above all things, about showing a person that there's still some genuine feelings in this all-too-fake world.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Here's my idea:

Let's just send Pete some positive thoughts. No 'OMFG I LOVE YOU I WANT UR BABIEZ!!!1!' No shit-talking. No making fun. Let's just let Pete know that he has, in some small way, touched our lives for the better, even if it's only because the music makes us smile.

If that sounds like a good idea to you, keep reading.

Here's what I say we do:

Let's fill up the Fall Out Boy website Q&A with happy thoughts. Let's just absolutely FLOOD it with some love.

Let's all send some simple, short, positive messages to Pete via the Q&A. We all know he reads them and answers some from time to time. Maybe we can get some genuine messages to him.

It can be as short and sweet as something like:
"Thank you, Pete. I enjoy you guys' music so much. It makes me smile on the subway."

Or it could be an epic tale about how Fall Out Boy helped you through some particularly stressful situation.

Here are some basic instructions on how to leave a question on the FOBR Q&A:

FallOutBoyRock.com

For a little while after you post a question to the Q&A you'll get a "You Already Asked A Question" notice if you try to post another. I'm not sure how long that takes to go away, but after a bit you can send a new one. Send as many little well-wishes as you like! One or a hundred. It's all good. :D

The whole idea is to absolutely FLOOD the Q&A with love. Just love. Simple happy thoughts to maybe help Pete through a rough spot.

What do I mean by rough spot, you ask?

Well obviously Pete's been through a lot of ups and downs. Recently, though, he's been up and down a bit more dramatically.

Rumors fly all the time. He's obviously drinking more often. It's not like he's stumbling around plastered at shows, of course, but it's still not entirely healthy. He's always been on a great deal of medication. And frankly, sometimes things just get a bit out of hand. Pete is but one man with a lot on his shoulders.

Here are a few recent occurrences that have made me want to start this thing:

1)

This morning, Fall out Boy appeared on Live! with Regis and Kelly. After their first performance Regis asked the band how long they had been together. The answer went something like this...
Patrick: 'It's been like 6 years.'
Pete: 'Feels like 60...'

Pete has said a number of times that if Fall out Boy got too big form him to handle, that if it was no longer fun, they'd call it quits. This whole thing is NOT, however, about begging them not to split up. That's their decisions as a band. This is just about making Pete smile a bit (hopefully) after a rough time.

2)

After the VMAs, Pete left this very happy entry on Fall Out Boy's website journal:

wow.
i cant say much more.
i am so proud. its rare when you really realize how blessed you are. thank you very much for voting for GCH when they won the room went nuts. people were screaming and crying it was insane.
we had the best time in our suite. it felt like the old days when we played very small shows. all of our friends were there i havent seen it on tv but i hope it came across that way.
also, there were a bunch of songs we taped that didnt air- including: carpal tunnel, beat it and cobra and panic played a new song! i hope they show it in some of the re-airs.
we are in new york already. sorry if this entry is jumbled i am so tired.
thank you so much for putting us here!
i am so happy to be a part of something like this, that feels so real.
we spoke to eachother today. everytime we win an award or get some kind of recognition we really feel like we should pay our fans back. this time we were thinking of playing some unannounced shows in cafes and really small places- but maybe acoustic this song and play some old covers and that kind of stuff. well see. but we have plans.
also on fuse watch out, we are tring to convince them to let us play some really old songs.

ill try to get some sleep.
just sat in patricks roon and listened to him play new songs. it is insane to be around someone with such talent. i feel completely in awe of him. i dont think youll be disappointed.

we are feeling so great right now.i cant wait to get out on the young wild things tour.

lovelovelovelovelovelove

Then that very same night he turned aroiund and left this one on his blogspot:

folie a deux

sometimes the planets align
sometimes they dont
its like how part of my childhood was stolen when they took planetary status away from pluto
well be there one day
honestly i dont mind you saying fuck you to me-
when you included the "horse you rode in on"
it kind of went to hell
i am sick- like i cant ever get enough sleep or time or words
as this thing grows i become more and more insecure.
cant look anyone in the eyes-
i am paranoid- worried sick that i am not good enough for anyone who looks at me
i know how ridiculous this sounds
trust me
the new video makes me feel the big black sadness
folie a deux is the idea of shared madness- the scientific term for romeo and juliet
i have a feeling that we share that with eachother when you have your headphones on
currently working on: taking it easy-
dont mean to be so heavy just want you to know why i look so gray sometimes lately.

posted by xo at 1:23 PM

Like I said, ups and down. Only recently the ups and downs seem more like mountains versus sudden drops off cliffs.

3)

This and this. These are the entires full of his journals that he wrote while in Uganda just recently. They are full of wonder at how the world is larger than the inside of his head, and also of how he wants that experience to change him for the better.

The entire thing is well worth a read, but here is a quote that I will always particularly remember:

i awoke to a rainstorm that has never been heard in america. the kind that washes the sadness off the backs and out of the eyes of the tired and forgotten. it reminded me of how foreign this truly is. at toast and jam for breakfast again today. just two pieces. cause it was free. tho the westerner in my surely couldve eaten the whole loaf. toast is my favorite of all time. it is simple yet endows you with the feeling of timelessness and spacelessness. you could be eating this anywhere, anytime and it would even taste and feel the same for the most part.

There you have it. That's my idea.

Please, if you think it's a good one, spread the word. Post it in your own journals and where you think interested people might see it. (Here is a smaller version of the banner for linking.)

If you do not want to get an account at the website for whatever reason, or you have trouble with the Q&A interface, feel free to leave your thought here. (Anonymous commenting is on allowed.) I will put them into a Q&A with your name attached (if you leave it with the message).

And most importantly: If you think for whatever reason that this idea is dumb, or that it won't make a different, etc, please keep it to yourself. This entire thing is about positive thoughts and showing appreciation for someone that's helped you out, even if just a little bit.

Thanks for listening to this idea. And thanks for participating if you do.

fall out boy, bandom, pete wentz