Last Young Renegade

Album: Last Young Renegade (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This anthemic banger is the title track of All Time Low's seventh studio album. "It's sort of a symbol for the whole record, frontman Alex Gaskarth told Radio.com regarding the disc's name. "We looked at the record as kind of a story—and I always hesitate to say it's a concept record—I don't think it's a full fleshed out concept—but there is an overarching theme and a lot of threads that connect the songs together through these characters. It was a device for me to be able to comfortably write about some things that I'm not as comfortable talking about openly."

    "The Last Young Renegade became a symbol for those characters—it's all of us. It's me in a lot of ways. It's the guys, our fans," he continued. "What I love is that when you listen to a record you try to relate it to the artist and who's singing it to you but at the end of the day the songs take on their own meanings. I know all my favorite songs… I have my own meanings to what I think the songs are about and how they apply to me. So I think The Last Young Renegade is me, it's the fan, the listener, anyone you want it to be."
  • This was one of the first songs written for Last Young Renegade and it was only as the record evolved that the band found a place for it as the opening track of the disc. "At first, I didn't even know if this would go on the album! It didn't dawn on us until later that there was this story forming and that 'Last Young Renegade' could be such a cool piece of what the record was about," Alex Gaskarth told Alternative Press. "It was one of the earlier songs we wrote and we were living with it for a long time - and it was never clear to us that it should lead the album. But, it became such a clear integral piece that it didn't feel right going anywhere else. We tried it in a few different places, but ultimately it just felt like it set the tone for everywhere else the record goes."

    "Especially for an All Time Low record, we needed to open with a banger, and open with one that had a lot of energy and movement," he added. "From a lyrical standpoint, that one sets up the characters. It became really obvious after a while, like, 'Oh yes, this is track one.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."