The Take Over, the Breaks Over

""The Take Over, the Breaks Over"" (rendered with quotation marks as part of its title on the album track listing) is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the fourth single from their third studio album Infinity on High (2007). The song impacted radio on August 7, 2007.^[1] The music composition was inspired by vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump's love of David Bowie, specifically the song "Rebel Rebel"; the lyrics were penned by bassist Pete Wentz. The song's title is a reference to Jay-Z's 2001 song "Takeover". The single found its greatest success in Australia, peaking at No. 17 on the singles chart there and finishing at No. 90 on the year-end chart. It was also released as a 7-inch vinyl in several countries, including the UK.^[2]

""The Take Over, The Breaks Over""
Single by Fall Out Boy
from the album Infinity on High
B-side	"Thriller" (live) "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (live)
Released	May 20, 2007 (2007-05-20)
Genre	Rock
Length	3:33
Label	Island Mercury
Songwriter(s)	Pete Wentz Patrick Stump Joe Trohman Andy Hurley
Producer(s)	Neal Avron
Fall Out Boy singles chronology
"Thnks fr th Mmrs" (2007) ""The Take Over, The Breaks Over"" (2007) "I'm Like a Lawyer (Me & You)" (2007)
Music video
""The Take Over, the Breaks Over"" on YouTube

The song's music video won a Canadian MuchMusic Video Award for People's Choice: Favorite International Video, beating Flo Rida, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Timbaland.^[3] It was also nominated for Best International Video – Group at the ceremony but lost to Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out".^[4]

Music

For the music, vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump undertook his usual role as the band's primary composer.

"I remember reading an interview with David Bowie where he said, "One day I decided to write a song that sounded like the Rolling Stones"─you know, where the riff is the entire song? And that's how he wrote "Rebel Rebel." I wanted to do the same with "The Take Over.” Classic Rock? Yeah, sure, I guess it is." --Patrick Stump, on the song's style.^[5]

Chart performance

In Australia, the song peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming the third consecutive top-20 single from Infinity on High in that region. It finished at No. 90 on the year-end singles charts in Australia.^[6] Despite spending six weeks in the UK Top 75, ""The Take Over, the Breaks Over"" became the band's first single to fail to chart in the UK Top 40 since all the singles from Fall Out Boy's 2003 Take This to Your Grave album failed; it peaked at No. 48 in the UK Singles Chart on July 8, 2007.^[7] It dropped down to No. 56 the following week before rising again to No. 48 during its third week. The song reached No. 30 in New Zealand.

Music video

Technical information

Alan Ferguson directed the music video for the song, having worked with the band previously. Sheira Rees-Davies and Luke Joerger handled production duties.^[4] Post production and VFX work was done by Jeff Spangler. The music video is shot in grayscale and was filmed in one day.

Plot

The video begins with Hemingway (Pete's dog), who is lying with Pete on his couch. The camera zooms into his mind (which, as it is doing so, is set to some of Fall Out Boy's earlier songs such as "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy", "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "Dance, Dance", to where Alex Wolff (from The Naked Brothers Band) is posing as Pete with Hemingway, as if being a younger Wentz.

Then the band is performing the song. As they sing the chorus, strange things begin to happen such as Patrick growing a steak body and a cat head, along with breakdancing mailmen and cat ladies appearing (including dancer Olivia Cipolla). Through the guitar solo, an angry mob appears and blames the band for changing (a reference to the band's changing genre from a more punk rock sound to a more pop rock/pop-punk sound as stated on many blogs and fan sites on the web) and they start throwing objects at the band and harassing them.

Hemingway then comes in and tells the mob "Give the boys a break. Everybody changes. I mean, look at me, I used to be tiny." The fans then agree and the band continues to play as the fans, the breakdancing mailmen and cat ladies all dance along. Suddenly, the dance ends when Pete falls over, knocking Hemingway out of his dream and causing him to jump off the couch and end the video.

Track listings

All lyrics were written by Pete Wentz. All music was composed by Fall Out Boy.

European and Australian CD single^[8][9]

1. ""The Take Over, the Breaks Over""
2. "Thriller" (live from AOL Music Sessions)

European 7-inch single^[10]

1. ""The Take Over, the Breaks Over"" (album version)
2. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (live from AOL Music Sessions)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 17 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 30 Scotland (OCC)[13] 18 UK Singles (OCC)[7] 48

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Australia (ARIA)[6] 90

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Ireland	May 20, 2007	—	Mercury	[citation needed]
United Kingdom	July 2, 2007	CD		[15]
United States	August 6, 2007	Modern rock radio	Island	[16]
Australia	September 24, 2007	CD	Mercury	[17]

References

1. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. July 31, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
2. Take Over the Breaks Over [UK 7" Allmusic. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
3. Much Music Video Awards Winners 2008: Peoples Choice: Favourite International Video Archived December 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine MuchMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
4. Much Music Video Awards Winners 2008: Best International Video - Group Archived December 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine MuchMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
5. Bosso, Joe (September 12, 2007). "Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump: The Gibson Interview". Gibson Lifestyle. Gibson Guitar Company. Archived from the original on July 11, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
6. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2007". ARIA. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
8. "The Take Over, the Breaks Over" (European CD single liner notes). Fall Out Boy. Mercury Records, Decaydance. 2007. 1739377.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. "The Take Over, the Breaks Over" (Australian CD single liner notes). Fall Out Boy. Mercury Records. 2007. 1747563.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. "The Take Over, the Breaks Over" (European 7-inch single vinyl disc). Fall Out Boy. Mercury Records, Decaydance. 2007. 1739380.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. "Fall Out Boy – The Take Over, The Breaks Over". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
12. "Fall Out Boy – The Take Over, The Breaks Over". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
14. "British single certifications – Fall Out Boy – The Take Over, The Breaks Over". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
15. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 30, 2007. p. 21.
16. "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". FMQB. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
17. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 24th September 2007" (PDF). ARIA. September 24, 2007. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2021.