Let others sort through the hype and the facts, and analyze the critical acclaim and mega record and ticket sales, suggests Pete Wentz. When it comes down to it, says the lyricist/bassist and sometimes perceived naughty boy of the high-flying Fall Out Boy, he and his bandmates are merely ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. "At the end of the day, we're just boys from the Midwest gone wrong," says Wentz, laughing.

      He appreciates that it just may be part of the appeal. "It's something people can attach themselves to through us. We're not the prettiest bunch of people around and we're not even the greatest live band, but there's something about it that touches people," he acknowledges. "We have twice the heart of a lot of other bands. We put our head down and don't come up for air."

      He looks to another field, and another star, for inspiration. "We have a little bit of the "Michael Jordan thing—being cut from the team and told you'll not be good at basketball," he explains. "Early on we were told we would have to learn to be better players and 'Don't yell or run around.' Had we listened to those people, I don't know what band we would have become."

      The lesson, he says, that may be taken from that by new bands: be who you are. "If our band is this big, anyone who picks up a guitar can do it. We are the most ordinary people on the planet," Wentz insists.

      Fans might disagree, since "ordinary" doesn't describe a musical aggregation that rises to multi-Platinum success with its debut album, From Under the Cork Tree, winning accolades along the way, then follows up with another chart-topping CD in the current Infinity on High, the title of which was inspired by another heavyweight who saw more than his share of starry, starry nights, Vincent van Gogh. "Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high," van Gogh wrote to his brother in 1888, "then life seems almost enchanted after all."

      "Enchanted" might be a good way to describe Fall Out Boy's journey so far if it did not risk de-emphasizing the hard work it took to reach these lofty heights. Not that Wentz or the other boys in the band—Patrick Stump - vocals and guitar, Joe Trohman -guitar, Andy Hurley - drums—are complaining. "As a 10-year-old boy your only dream is to be Axl Rose on the cover of Rolling Stone, then you get there. It's such a strange place to be," he says.

      The reality of making it to music's big time is also different from what he thought it would be, Wentz says. The music industry is different from the inside looking out, he adds, but there are certain clichés that definitely hold up. "The A&R douche bag really exists," he says, laughing. "Everyone sees those parodies in those movies, but they actually do exist. It's kind of funny. It's just a different animal it was from 10 years ago or whenever."

      Technology has moved so fast and the industry has not been able to keep up, he says. It is at a point where the industry is playing such a game of catch up that it is better to move on to something new, he believes.

      "People have to understand that live music is not dead. If anything, there is a resurgence in it where we need to focus a lot of our attention," Wentz says. "Record labels need to stop treating consumers as the enemy. Our audience was built on downloaders in dorm rooms. It's not right for us now to say people shouldn't do that. The reason people are downloading is that there is a bunch of crap on records, sometimes only two singles."

      That certainly was not the plan for Infinity on High, which is receiving multiple-star reviews in a variety of publications. "We wanted to create a record that was different enough and off the beaten path enough, but at the same time was not to purposely alienate our fans," he says.

      It is a record that he feels represents growth. "Absolutely, but it is also a natural progression in a direction we are headed on. It's not some huge jump or some huge transition."

      He is aware that Patrick Stump has said, "The more you try to please everybody, the less you end up pleasing anybody." Wentz believes there is a happy medium in that philosophy, one that allows an artist to still have a career while being true to themselves.

      It is the age-old argument, Wentz suggests, of at what point art becomes a product and vice versa. "The greatest of the greats are able to do both," he says. "That's what you are always striving for. There is not a musician who wouldn't say the Beatles weren't inspirational and great players and songwriters. At the same time, look at how many Number One hits they had."

      The members of Fall Out Boy grew up on Green Day and other bands, he says. "We were like a pop-punk band and came into our own at some point. This new record took away the borders, kind of. In the past it may have said, 'Anything outside these borders is not believable for us.' With this record, rather than regurgitate what we've done, we said, 'We will move the borders out a little bit.'"

      Travel has brought more artistic perspective, he says. "When you see other cities, you understand more about why certain bands did what they did. You see Manchester and you understand the Smiths better."

      Wentz likes to think of a record as a snapshot of a moment in time. "It's how you were in that moment. You have to be happy with that moment and move on to the next one, living and breathing as a band, and stop trying to reinvent the wheel or go after perceived perfection."

      At the forefront of Fall Out Boy, he says, is Stump's voice. "There is just not another like his voice. Patrick could sing the phone book and you'd still want to listen. This record made a lane for his voice and let him go a little bit. The first thing people associate our band with is Patrick's voice. He's just got this stellar voice."

      Wentz believes it is his job to handle the lyrics and treatments for the videos. "The image stuff is definitely mine," he says. "I do all the art work."

      The friendship among the members, as well as their musical approach, is real, he says. "We grew up in the hardcore scene. Now we are onstage. It's who we are. It's part of our music and live shows. We're not trying to imitate anyone. It's just who we are."

      He hopes that Fall Out Boy can create a legacy that lives on after the band. "I don't think in terms of goals or success. If I did, we would still be playing the one-room club in our hometown. That would have been the ultimate goal," he says. "Now I do want to be the biggest band on the planet, and reach and speak to as many people as possible. So far, we are going through adolescence. More than anything we want to make it something that happens on a worldwide level. Every market and culture is different and how they accept you and you interact with them. It's like it will be the world's best adventure story."