"Everything Is Alright" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Motion City Soundtrack | ||||
from the album Commit This to Memory | ||||
Released | 2005 | |||
Format | CD | |||
Recorded | October–November 2004 Seedy Underbelly Studios (Valley Village, California) |
|||
Genre | Emo, pop punk, indie rock | |||
Length | 3:27 | |||
Label | Epitaph | |||
Writer(s) | Joshua Cain, Jesse Johnson, Matthew Taylor, Tony Thaxton, Justin Pierre | |||
Producer(s) | Mark Hoppus | |||
Motion City Soundtrack singles chronology | ||||
|
"Everything Is Alright" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released in 2005 as the lead single from the group's second studio album, Commit This to Memory (2005). The song concerns neurotic, obsessive problems and social anxiety, and was written by frontman Justin Pierre. The song also contains backing vocals from Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump.
The song is generally considered the band's signature song, and has been played at live performances since its inception. A music video for the single was released in 2006.
Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Pierre penned the song as a summary of his OCD (Obsessive–compulsive disorder) tendencies. He intended to utilize his social anxiety and fears in the song's form, which he has since employed in numerous other compositions. "I don’t think the [phrase] "tongue-in-cheek" is correct, but it’s something where the verses are one thing and then the chorus is another, but it's sort of like giving yourself a pep talk," said Pierre. The song's lyrics include hating such mundane things as "theme parks, flying, strangers, [and] waiting in line," things that Pierre genuinely disliked at the time of the song's writing. Incorporating his deepest feelings into the song was inspired by advice given by a screenwriting professor during his tenure at the Minneapolis Community Technical College in the mid-1990s. He instructed the students, who were "trying to make Pulp Fiction II or Goodfellas II," to simply write what they know; Pierre took the advice literally and began writing autobiographical screenplays that feature protagonists with asthma, unable to talk to women.