Fall Out Boy are only four albums into their career, but they exist in a climate so temperamental they already feel weary and primed for self-parody. In the video for their new single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", the band use characters from all their past videos, plus a few rock clichés (trashing hotel rooms, visiting the Playboy mansion, recording with a hip-hop producer) for a satire that's unusually self-aware for an emo band-- even one as good-humored and self-effacing as this.

But how’s the single? As self-referential as the video, but without the sense of humor. Incorporating an ill-advised drum machine for its Rob Thomas/Santana-meets-Timberlake verses and pre-chorus, the lyrics reach for more than they can grasp: "I am an arms dealer/ Fitting you with weapons in the form of words" explains the song title, not the metaphor. The stomp of the pre-chorus, and the full-bore, blown-out pop/punk chorus both go a long way towards redeeming that, but there's a telling line at the end of the second chorus-- "Bandwagon's full. Please, catch another"-- implying Fall Out Boy may have become their own guilty pleasure.