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(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.<ref name="theage"/> The next year, it was picked up for larger distribution through California-based independent label Epitaph, best known as the home of punk rockers [[the Offspring]] and [[Bad Religion]]. The group were part of an abundance of Epitaph signings, including [[Matchbook Romance]] and [[From First to Last]], amid concerns the label had strayed too far from its roots, or "a little too [[emo]]."<ref name="cleve">{{cite news|title=Cain is Able : Motion City Soundtrack's Joshua Cain is all business|author=Chris Rager|date=December 20, 2004|work=[[Cleveland Free Times]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="cleve"/>
Their rise to prominence continued when the group joined Blink-182 - then one of the largest pop-punk acts worldwide - on a European arena tour. That band's bassist, Mark Hoppus, had first heard of the group from an employee at his clothing company, [[Atticus Clothing]]. He enjoyed the group so much that he raved about them in ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, and invited them to open for Blink. The six musicians became quick friends, frequently talking backstage before performances.<ref name="shooman"/><ref name="Hoppus"/> Hoppus was developing an interest in recording music from a production standpoint, having recently acquired a large amount of gear and amplifiers.<ref name="Hoppus"/> At the final show of the tour, Cain went to Hoppus' dressing room and asked him to produce their next record.<ref name="mtv">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1617362/motion-city-soundtrack-tell-blink-182s-mark-hoppus-how-great.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222091621/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1617362/motion-city-soundtrack-tell-blink-182s-mark-hoppus-how-great.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2014|title=Motion City Soundtrack Tell Blink-182's Mark Hoppus How Great He Is|author=James Montgomery|date=July 31, 2009|publisher=[[MTV News]]|access-date=November 4, 2012}}</ref> Although Hoppus had never produced anything before, he was excited to be a part of the album and accepted the offer.<ref name="Hoppus"/><ref name=rs/>
==Recording and production==
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Pierre has in retrospect labeled half of the album's writing as being completed while inebriated and the other half while getting sober.<ref name="noisey"/> For example, he penned the lyrics to "Attractive Today" and "Time Turned Fragile" while drunk in his apartment, in a "sad and lonely place".<ref name=pierrepodcast/> In this approach, words mostly "just came out", and were not substantially revised. In addition, he was listening to the 2003 album ''[[Reconstruction Site]]'' by [[the Weakerthans]], and found himself inspired by the songwriting of frontman [[John K. Samson]].<ref name=pierrepodcast/> Pierre would often take lyrics from other bands songs for song titles; "Time Turned Fragile" is lifted from a lyric in [[Limbeck]]'s "[[Hi, Everything's Great|Julia]]", while "Together We'll Ring in the New Year" was pulled from the Tom Waits song "[[Franks Wild Years|Please Wake Me Up]]".<ref name=pierrepodcast/> "[[L.G. Fuad]]"—which stands for "Let's Get Fucked Up and Die"—grew out of a night on Motion City Soundtrack's 2003 UK tour with [[The All-American Rejects]], in which the latter band's merchandise manager was severely inebriated.<ref name="altpress05"/> He stood on the merchandise stand and shouted what became the song's refrain. All involved found great humor in the "mantra", which went on to be printed on business cards as a joke.<ref name=altpress05>{{cite journal| date =July 2005| title =Motion City Soundtrack Article| journal = [[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]| issue = 204| pages =129–130 | issn =1065-1667 }}</ref> "Hold Me Down" was inspired by a former roommate of Pierre's. After she had moved out, Pierre found a portion of her math homework in a couch cushion, leading to him imagining a scenario of finding a letter from a departed lover.<ref name=pierrepodcast>{{cite video|people = Lucy, Evan (Interviewer); Pierre, Justin (Interviewee)|date = January 15, 2015|title = Episode 025: Justin Pierre (10-Year Motion City Soundtrack Retrospective)|url = http://ec.libsyn.com/p/4/0/0/4005c806b8ff4410/VV025.mp3?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d06ca8634d4cc5d4645&c_id=8177547|format = mp3|medium = Podcast|publisher = Voice & Verse|access-date = January 15, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150115195117/http://ec.libsyn.com/p/4/0/0/4005c806b8ff4410/VV025.mp3?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d06ca8634d4cc5d4645&c_id=8177547|archive-date = January 15, 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref>
The album has been called definitive of [[pop punk]].<ref name="avclub"/> Joshua Cain dismissed this label, remarking, "I definitely wouldn't consider us a pop-punk band. Our influences are more based on '90s bands like [[Superchunk]] and early [[Weezer]]."<ref name=altpress05.1>{{cite journal| author=Eric Schelkopf| date =January 28, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312204437/http://www.nwherald.com/EntertainmentSection/sound/293671886277726.php|archive-date=March 12, 2005| title =Epitaph bands join for tour stops at NIU, Metro | journal =[[Kane County Chronicle]]|url=http://www.nwherald.com/EntertainmentSection/sound/293671886277726.php}}</ref> Pierre strove for the record to have a sound that resembled the bands [[Braid (band)|Braid]], [[Superchunk]], [[Jawbox]] and the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]].<ref name="mtv1">{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504262/motion-city-soundtrack-throw-noisy-house-party.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222091727/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504262/motion-city-soundtrack-throw-noisy-house-party.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 22, 2014|title=Mark Hoppus Throws House Party For Motion City Soundtrack|author=James Montgomery|date=June 16, 2005|publisher=MTV News|access-date=November 4, 2012}}</ref>
==Reception==
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