They Swore to Shake It Up. Did We Swear to Listen? | “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage” by Panic! at the Disco

They Swore to Shake It Up. Did We Swear to Listen? | “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage” by Panic! at the Disco

Maggie Heflin, Airstaff Coach

“Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen,” writes Ryan Ross, formerly of Panic! at the Disco. In 2005, a young group of Las Vegas artists hit the music scene with their first album release — A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage” was the band’s first single. This underrated track is often overshadowed by the smash hit “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” off the same album. 

The outrageously long title is a quote from Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Survivor. The band members were big fans of the Fight Club author, referencing Palahniuk’s work throughout the album. The song begins as the band beckons the audience not only to “snap your fingers for me,” but to “tap your toes to the beat,” underscoring the attention young artists want. The band is speaking directly to their audience throughout the entire song, introducing them not only to the sound of Panic! but to their public personas as well.

The band admits that the song is a rather pretentious introduction to the album because they had not accomplished anything yet. Blatantly revealing their need for recognition, Ross continues, “We’re still so young, desperate for attention.” The band members were only months out of high school by the time they were recording the album. They had been flung into the studio after lead guitarist Ryan Ross sent demos to Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

The most resonant lyric, “Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen,” is a cry out to the audience. Panic! really did “shake up” the music scene at this point. With A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’s release, pop-punk became incredibly mainstream. They were pioneers of the early 2000s emo genre, even though they despised the title.

Just like the song alludes to, the press will say what they want to say and twist what they want to twist. Moreover, the band used influences that were rarely seen in the pop-punk scene at the time: The first half of the album has scattered electronic elements with use of synthesizers, while the second half includes baroque influences like organs. It was a creative and unique sound within the genre. 

With Panic! at the Disco finally coming to an end this January, fans are left questioning if the band lived up to the promise they made with their first album. Panic! continued to shake up their sound, venturing into a Beatles-like sound for their sophomore album then progressing all the way to the pop-rock-Queen-cover-band sound of their newest album. Good or bad, the band definitely shook it up. Did you swear to listen?