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==Recording and production==
[[File:Mark Hoppus 2004.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Mark Hoppus]] of [[Blink-182]] performing in 2004.]]
The band first began writing songs at their rehearsal space in their hometown of Minneapolis, which they nicknamed the "Dungeon", due to its ability to "suck the life and energy out of the band."<ref name="theage">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/forward-motion/2005/08/24/1124562925211.html|title=Forward Motion|date=August 26, 2005|newspaper=[[The Age]]|accessdate=April 15, 2014}}</ref> For Pierre, the album came at the brink of a transitionalpersonal period for him,transition in which he began to seek treatment for alcohol abuse.<ref name=pierrepodcast/> He left the band during the writing stages for Los Angeles where he moved in with Epitaph founder [[Brett Gurewitz]] and began attending [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings.<ref name="cb"/> Afterwards, the bandgroup rejoined Pierre in Los AngelesL.A. to begin recording demos for a month; the change of scenery brought about a new energy for the group, according to Pierrequintet.<ref name="theage"/> ''Commit This to Memory'' would be the first album by the band to feature material crafted by each musician in the group, as previous releases had featured songs written in the years prior to each member joining.<ref name="theage"/> In addition, the band had more time and funds to spend time working on the album. "It was also the first time we had a lot more time and money to go in and feel like we were making a real record this time, whereas ''I Am the Movie'' was recorded in little segments here and there and eventually pieced together," said drummer [[Tony Thaxton]].<ref name="wildcat">{{cite news|url=http://wc.arizona.edu/papers/98/208/04_11.html|title=Motion City Soundtrack keeps busy|author= Michael Petitti |date=October 27, 2005|newspaper=[[Arizona Daily Wildcat]]|accessdate=April 15, 2014}}</ref>
Recording sessions for ''Commit This to Memory'', which were booked by Hoppus, wereand scheduled over six weeks at Seedy Underbelly Studios in the L.A. suburb of [[Valley Village, Los Angeles|Valley Village]],. a district of Los Angeles, California,The whichstudio was actually a rented house that had once belonged to [[Jeff Porcaro]], the drummer for [[Toto (band)|Toto]].<ref name="shooman"/><ref name="Hoppus"/><ref name="mtv1"/> The band had, according to Hoppus, "a million ideas and a lot of energy and enthusiasm to make a great record".<ref name="Hoppus">{{cite web |url=http://pickrset.com/musicnews/1441/exclusive+mark+hoppus+pickrset+interview |title=Mark Hoppus Interview |publisher=pickRset |date=September 3, 2008 |accessdate=November 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211114626/http://pickrset.com/musicnews/1441/exclusive%2Bmark%2Bhoppus%2Bpickrset%2Binterview |archivedate=February 11, 2009 }}</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|title=Mark Hoppus Throws House Party For Motion City Soundtrack|author=James Montgomery|date=June 16, 2005|publisher=MTV News|accessdate=November 4, 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name="mtv1"/> According to Pierre, Hoppus was not interested in putting his own stamp on the music, but rather bringing out the best in what he saw in the group.<ref name=pierrepodcast/> Hoppus generally modeled his production after [[Jerry Finn]] (a longtime producer of Blink-182), and therefore it involved much watching and listening. "Mark kept telling us, 'Your name is going to be a lot bigger on the front than mine is on the back'," recalled Justin Pierre, "So he would throw suggestions out there but always say, 'Feel free to turn these down.' And we would!"<ref name="shooman">{{cite book |last=Shooman |first=Joe|title=Blink-182: The Bands, The Breakdown & The Return|publisher=Independent Music Press |date=June 24, 2010 |pages=147 |isbn=978-1-90619-110-8}}</ref>
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".<ref name="Hoppus"/> Hoppus mentioned that label politics had hindered the creativity of Blink's ''[[Take Off Your Pants and Jacket]]'' (2001), and did not want to see the same fate befall the band.<ref name=ca>{{cite news| author=Keith Carman| date =April 27, 2005| title =Motion City Soundtrack Give Mad Props To Blink's Hoppus| work=[[ChartAttack]]}}</ref> 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".<ref name=pierrepodcast/> The frontman of [[Fall Out Boy]], [[Patrick Stump]], contributed guest vocals to "[[Everything Is Alright]]", and Hoppus to "Hangman".<ref name="liner">{{cite AV media notes | title=Commit This to Memory| year=2005| others=[[Motion City Soundtrack]] | type=liner notes | publisher=Epitaph | ___location=US | id=86750-2}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Hoppus"/> The group completed recording in November 2004, and judged final mixes over the interim months.<ref name="cleve"/> Pierre later called ''Commit This to Memory'' his personal favorite album by the band.<ref name="noisey" />
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