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==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
Motion(keys) Cityand SoundtrackMatthew formedTaylor in 1997(bass) in [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota2001. The bandquintet signedrecorded toand [[Epitaphself-released Records]]their indebut 2003 after recordingalbum, ''[[I Am the Movie]]'', theirin debut2002, independently and selling copies of it out of the back of their tour van for a year.<ref name="theage"/> MotionThe Citynext becameyear, 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 a slewabundance of Epitaph signings, including [[Matchbook Romance]], [[Scatter the Ashes]] and [[From First Toto Last]], amid concerns the Southern California label had strayed too far from its roots, and seemedor "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> By the time theThe band begantoured productionheavily onin theirsupport sophomore record, ''I Amof the Movie''LP, hadattracting solda nearlynew 62,000fanbase; copies.<reftheir name="cleve"/>2004 Thestint groupon hadthe accumulatedfamed significantVans buzz,Warped andTour werewas regarded asconsidered a "must-see" actamong onpunk the [[Warped Tour 2004]]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]]', involvementhad stemsfirst fromheard whenof anthe [[Atticusgroup Clothing]]from an employee playedat himhis ''Iclothing Amcompany, the[[Atticus Movie''Clothing]]. He wasenjoyed sothe takengroup withso itmuch that he raved about the bandthem in ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, invitingand invited them to open for his group, [[Blink-182]]. onThe theirsix 2004musicians Europeanbecame tour.quick On the trekfriends, hefrequently becametalking goodbackstage friendsbefore with the musiciansperformances.<ref name="shooman"/><ref name="Hoppus"/> HeHoppus toldwas them that he had purchaseddeveloping an abundanceinterest ofin recording gearmusic andfrom amplifiersa forproduction thestandpoint, [[Blink-182having (album)|previousrecently Blink-182acquired album]]a andlarge told the bandamount of hisgear interestand inamplifiers. recording music from a production standpoint.<ref name="Hoppus"/> At the final show of the tour, guitarist Joshua 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|title=Motion City Soundtrack Tell Blink-182's Mark Hoppus How Great He Is|author=James Montgomery|date=July 31, 2009|publisher=[[MTV News]]|accessdate=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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