Panic! at the Disco are one of the most infamous emo bands of all time, largely due to the machinations of Decaydance kingpin Pete Wentz. However, while the Panic! name survived for nearly two decades, most of their original members did not. Shortly after the release of their sophomore Pretty. Odd., Panic! split in two. Of course, some clarification is necessary, as Panic! has–like a brain-eating amoeba– divided many times. In fact, about one year ago, Brendon Urie (the only member left) somehow managed to “split” the band one last time, ending Panic! at the Disco forever.
But specifically, I am referring to the melodramatic peak of their “tumultuous” history: the events surrounding “songwriter” Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker forming The Young Veins, while vocalist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith continued on as Panic! at the Disco. Subsequently, following a few flimsy stabs at a post-Panic! career, Ryan Ross–the band’s original “mastermind”– dropped off the face of the planet.
Though Brendon Urie has asserted again and again that the split was purely due to creative differences, this is not the full story. Spencer Smith later told James Montgomery that personal issues were at play, a sentiment also echoed by Jon Walker.
Much has been speculated about the nature of this conflict already. Were Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie secret lovers? Did their torrid affair go south during Panic!’s stint in Cape Town, and take the entire band with it? Perhaps. Or perhaps not. Maybe there were other major factors at play–ones that often go unnoticed.
In this 50 page essay, I will provide an in-depth history of everything that occurred before, during, and after Panic! at the Disco’s 2009 split. Then, we’ll ask the million-dollar question: what sent Panic! off the rails? Here, I’ll argue that looking beyond Pretty. Odd.’s rosy sound and analyzing it through a literary lens illuminates core conflicts that factored into emo’s most infamous breakup.
Read the full essay here.
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