Commit This to Memory is the second studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Mark Hoppus, the album was released on June 7, 2005, in the United States by Epitaph Records. The Minnesota-based rock act formed in 1997, developing their emotionally-charged, pop-punk sound over the interim years. Their debut album, I Am the Movie, saw release on independent label Epitaph in 2003. It was followed with a heavy touring schedule, including stints on the Warped Tour and as the opening
act for multi-platinum group Blink-182. Blink bassist Hoppus took a liking to the quintet, offering to produce their next studio effort.
Recorded over six weeks in late 2004, Commit This to Memory was created largely at Seedy Underbelly Studios, a suburban home converted into a studio in Los Angeles' Valley Village region. The album was partially composed there and in their hometown of Minneapolis, during a period in which frontman Justin Pierre was seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. He aimed for stronger storytelling in his lyricism, inspired by the work of Tom Waits, Ben Folds, and John K. Samson. Hoppus mainly worked with the band on finalizing song arrangements.
Commit This to Memory became the band's breakthrough and remains the band's most successful release. Both the album and main single "Everything Is Alright" were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album peaked at number two on Billboard Independent Albums chart. The singles' music videos achieved rotation on cable channel MTV2 while the band toured alongside Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco. In 2014, The A.V. Club referred to the album as a pop punk classic, "full of hook-laden, keyboard-assisted songs whose bright melodies don't mask the despair and self-loathing lurking beneath them."
Background
Motion City Soundtrack was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Vocalist Justin Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain were friends who had come up playing in several local bands. Influenced by the synth-heavy rock of bands like the Rentals and Superchunk, the duo formed Motion City Soundtrack in 1997. It went through several lineup changes, with the band gaining permanent members Tony Thaxton (drums), Jesse Johnson
(keys) and Matthew Taylor (bass) in 2001. The quintet recorded and self-released their debut album, I Am the Movie, in 2002, selling copies out of the back of their tour van for a year. The band toured heavily in support of the LP, attracting a new fanbase; their 2004 stint on the famed Vans Warped Tour was considered a "must-see" among punk fans. Although Hoppus had never produced anything before, he was excited to be a part of the album and accepted the offer. For Pierre, the album came at the brink of a personal transition in which he began to seek treatment for alcohol abuse. Afterwards, the group rejoined Pierre in L.A. to begin recording demos for a month; the change of scenery brought about a new energy for the quintet.
Recording sessions for Commit This to Memory were booked by Hoppus and scheduled over six weeks at Seedy Underbelly Studios in the L.A. suburb of Valley Village. The studio was actually a rented house that had once belonged to Jeff Porcaro, the drummer for Toto. Living in a suburb, the neighbors had called police to the band and Hoppus several times for being too loud at night time, especially when Hoppus brought a Roland TR-808 drum machine outside to work on a song late at night.
Pierre characterized Hoppus as both "very involved and not involved", with his job as producer mainly giving notes on the sound of the instruments and offering suggestions to improve songs. Hoppus mostly worked with the band on arrangements, believing the songs were too packed and "needed to breathe". He was "meticulous" in his approach, partially due to the fact that it was his first production job. Hoppus was the one who advised the band to merge two previously unrelated songs—a slower, softer song and a pulsating drum track—into one, which became "Time Turned Fragile". With production completed, Hoppus was very excited for the band that he felt was on the cusp of "great things", recalling, "After six weeks of these guys living all together in two rooms of this house with a studio attached they created this amazingly beautiful and honest album. Justin's lyrics are so brutally truthful." Pierre penned "Everything Is Alright" 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. Pierre has also suggested the Carpenters were an unlikely influence, observing "it’s similar how both their music and [Memory] has a darkness lurking underneath it all."