Editing Something to Write Home About (section)

==Composition and lyrics==
''Something to Write Home About'' is an [[emo]]<ref name=PNTjumping/> and [[pop-punk]]<ref name="PNTjumping"/><ref name="NME Invent">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/did-the-get-up-kids-really-invent-emo-46455|title=Did The Get Up Kids Really Invent Emo?|work=[[NME]]|date=July 29, 2009|access-date=February 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822100519/http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/did-the-get-up-kids-really-invent-emo-46455|archive-date=August 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> album that takes influence from 1960s [[Pop music|pop]] and 1980s [[New wave music|new wave]].<ref name=PMoriginalreview>{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/getupkids-something.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020615140942/http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/getupkids-something.shtml|title=The Get Up Kids: Something to Write Home About|work=[[PopMatters]]|author=Meehan, Dave|date=May 7, 2002|archive-date=June 15, 2002|access-date=June 24, 2022}}</ref> Ian Cohen of ''[[Stereogum]]'' described the album in the context of the band's contemporaries: "Braid and [[the Promise Ring]] were too quirky, [[Saves The Day]] hadn’t quite shed their hardcore origins, and [[Texas Is The Reason]] and [[Mineral (band)|Mineral]] were too artsy and esoteric". He added that ''Something to Write Home About'' "occup[ied] that perfect nexus between punk, emo, indie rock, and pure power-pop".<ref name="Stereogum20">{{cite web | url=https://www.stereogum.com/2059503/get-up-kids-something-to-write-home-about-turns-20/reviews/the-anniversary/ | title=The Get up Kids' 'Something to Write Home About' Turns 20|work=Stereogum|author=Cohen, Ian|date=September 30, 2019 | access-date=June 24, 2022 | archive-date=March 31, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331080517/https://www.stereogum.com/2059503/get-up-kids-something-to-write-home-about-turns-20/reviews/the-anniversary/ | url-status=live }}</ref> When making the album, the band tried to consciously expand their sound from the harder edge of ''Four Minute Mile''. Pryor cites [[Wilco]]'s ''[[Summerteeth]]'' (1999), [[Jimmy Eat World]]'s ''[[Clarity (Jimmy Eat World album)|Clarity]]'' (1999) and the [[Foo Fighters]]' ''[[The Colour and the Shape]]'' as primary influences in writing new material. While the group had toyed with keyboards on ''Four Minute Mile'', they incorporated more of it with the inclusion of Dewees into the band. According to Pryor, they had been listening to [[Weezer]] a lot and wanted more synthesizer parts, with Dewees being "such a talented piano player, he just sort of upped the ante."<ref name=PNTjumping/> Dewees' keyboard parts recalled the work of [[Duran Duran]], which ''PopMatters'' music critic Dave Meehan said "provide a melodic counterpoint to [...] Suptic's thrashing and give the whole album a party-like-its-1983 feel".<ref name=PMoriginalreview/> The album incorporates quiet-loud dynamics and sing-along choruses. The tracks have been described as "energetic bursts of emotional angst."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-03-18 |title=The 25 greatest emo albums ever |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-25-greatest-emo-albums-ever?next= |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}</ref>

Pryor also began to branch out lyrically, including on “Red Letter Day,” which was written about the bands’ negative experiences with Dirk Hemsmath and Doghouse Records.<ref name="Stereogum20" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/10_essential_songs_about_hating_the_music_industry/P1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140120063545/http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/10_essential_songs_about_hating_the_music_industry/P1|title=10 Essential songs about hating the music industry|work=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]|author=Heisel, Scott|date=January 15, 2014|archive-date=January 20, 2014|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> In writing the album, the band was also more conscious of traditional pop song structure, focusing more on hooks and placing less emphasis on long instrumental sections.<ref name="vwmusic">{{cite web|url=https://vwmusicrocks.com/an-interview-with-matthew-pryor-of-the-get-up-kids/|title=An Interview with Matthew Pryor of The Get Up Kids|publisher=VWMusic|author=Daly, Andrew|date=December 17, 2020|access-date=June 24, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205211128/https://vwmusicrocks.com/an-interview-with-matthew-pryor-of-the-get-up-kids/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ryan Pope made a conscious effort to restrain his drum parts on the album, emulating [[Charlie Watts]] and [[Jim Keltner]], stating that it was more "important to maybe make some sacrifices for the tune instead of pounding away and thinking of yourself as an individual player."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2004/05/ryan-pope/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317225437/http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2004/05/ryan-pope/|title=Ryan Pope: Gettin' Down With The Get Up Kids|work=[[Modern Drummer]]|author=DeRogatis, Jim|date=May 12, 2004|archive-date=March 17, 2012|access-date=February 25, 2019}}</ref> Pryor would later remark that he wished the songs were [[Guitar tunings|tuned]] a [[Semitone|half-step]] or a [[Major second|whole step]] down as he was yelling at the top of his vocal range throughout the album.<ref name=Lawrencepivotal/> The staff of ''[[Kerrang!]]'' called it "a formidable [[Wound|open wound]] of a record."<ref name=":0" />

The album's title, ''Something to Write Home About'', was suggested by Suptic.<ref name=Lawrencepivotal/> The opening fast-paced track "Holiday" starts with a guitar [[pick slide]]; Meehan said "Action and Action" was "another done-me-wrong, finger-pointing tale".<ref name=Condusting/><ref name=PMoriginalreview/> Niko Stratis of ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' referred to "Valentine" as a "perfect snapshot of the way any distance, emotional or physical, feels oceanic in scope".<ref name=Spinlovesongs>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2022/02/best-emo-love-songs/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214153619/https://www.spin.com/2022/02/best-emo-love-songs/|title=The 40 Best Emo Love Songs|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|author=Stratis, Niko|date=February 14, 2022|archive-date=February 14, 2022|access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref> The acoustic "Out of Reach" crescendos into a piano-led [[torch song]].<ref name=AMreview/> The [[power pop]] song "Ten Minutes" is a homage to be stuck in traffic on the way to a lover's residence, and features Suptic on lead vocals.<ref name=PMoriginalreview/><ref name=AMreview/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegetupkids.net/faq.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000613042646/http://www.thegetupkids.net:80/faq.html|title=The 40 Best Emo Love Songs|publisher=The Get Up Kids|archive-date=June 13, 2000|access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> "The Company Dime" features [[Call and response (music)|call-and-response]] vocals during the chorus sections; "My Apology" is a mid-tempo song.<ref name=PMoriginalreview/> "I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel" discusses the aftermath of a one-night stand, while its title is a quote from ''[[Pee-wee's Big Adventure]]'' (1985).<ref name=LawrenceWrite/><ref name=PMoriginalreview/> The [[Country music|country-esque]] "Close to Home" is followed by the album's closing song "I'll Catch You"; the latter opens with a piano part and sees a person talking with someone they admire.<ref name=PMoriginalreview/><ref name=Condusting>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2011/01/dusting-em-off-the-get-up-kids-something-to-write-home-about/|title=Dusting 'Em Off: The Get Up Kids – Something to Write Home About|work=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]]|author=Young, Alex|date=January 29, 2011|access-date=June 24, 2022|archive-date=June 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624170336/https://consequence.net/2011/01/dusting-em-off-the-get-up-kids-something-to-write-home-about/|url-status=live}}</ref>