Back when they had more people than Brendon Urie, Panic! at the Disco took from the strangest of places when writing and composing their music. Efforts such as the cancelled 2007 album Cricket & Clover saw the band hole up in a cabin and scrap guitars and drums in favor of harpsichords and glass percussion.
As they split apart and more songwriters were brought into the studio for a power pop sound, it could be assumed that the days of quirkiness were over. This is noticeable on Panic!'s final album as a band, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, featuring stadium rockers like "This Is Gospel" and "Vegas Lights".
Despite a clean and polished presentation, they still had some weird history concealed in the songwriting. This can be attributed to Dallon Weekes, who co-wrote the entire album and was the final member to join Panic! before it transitioned to a solo project.
Origins of the Panic! at the Disco song date back 17 years
Rewinding to 1996, 1000 West was put together in Salt Lake City by singer Scott Jones, drummer Matt Glass, guitarist Cory Rowley, and none other than Panic!'s future bassist. After a stint as a Beatles cover band, they made a few albums in the 1990s before calling it quits in the early 2000s after cycling through members.
With super raw music and local scene confinement, a band of this obscurity is expected to be all but forgotten. However, some of their demo discs contained the song "School Bell", which had a chorus intriguing enough to Weekes that he took it and redid it as the track "Monday Morning".
The founding members of 1000 West, except for changing out Rowley for Michael Gross, reformed in 2002 as the Brobecks and included the redone song as part of their debut album. It sounds far better here with proper mixing, better vocals, and newer components like keyboards to flesh out the song.
A track being pulled from an old band for a new band's discography is common for Weekes, with multiple of the Brobecks' tunes being repurposed for his project I Dont Know How But They Found Me later down the line. A less common occurrence, though, is for it to transfer between three bands.
Literally timeless lyricism
When deciding to rework "Monday Morning" yet again, Weekes chose to hold onto the verses, only keeping the first line of the chorus. The new lyrics were of "Far Too Young to Die", which may sound familiar as the partial title track of the fourth Panic! at the Disco album.
Despite the identical titles, the Brobecks' demo of the song differs greatly from the final version. Lyrically, only the choruses are shared, with new verses being made. Compositionally, a bright rock atmosphere is traded for synth beeps and powerful autotune-distorted vocals by Urie.
Throughout all of its transformations, the chorus's first line and melodic structure stayed intact. The life of "Far Too Young to Die" ends there, as the song was never performed live throughout the rest of the band's career.
Panic! at the Disco will be reuniting in some capacity for the When We Were Young festival later this year, who are billed to perform the entirety of their debut album. The first day of the event has sold out, but the second day's tickets are available on the festival website.