[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theacademuis2007_5160.jpg]]

->''So take a chance and make it big''\\
''Cause it's the last you'll ever get''\\
''If we don't take it''\\
''When will we make it?''

The Academy Is... is a band from Chicago under the Decaydance label, owned by [[Music/FallOutBoy Pete Wentz]]. They were originally called "The Academy" but the Is... was added later in 2004 to avoid legal problems. The band came together in 2003 and went on to release three albums, "Almost Here," "Santi," and "Fast Times at Barrington High." Members included William Beckett (lead vocals), Mike Carden (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Adam T. Siska (bass, backing vocals), Andy 'The Butcher' Mrotek (drums) and Michael Guy Chislett (lead guitar, backing vocals, piano). On May 24th, 2011, an official announcement was made about the departure of band members Andy Mrotek and Michael Chislett. Although the band had made plans for a 4th studio album and an announcement was made by Beckett that they had begun recording, they eventually disbanded. On October 8th, 2011, mere months after they had lost two members, the band announced that they had decided to go their separate ways.

They were often grouped as part of the "Fueled By Five" (five bands from their label, Creator/FueledByRamen), which also includes Music/FallOutBoy, Music/PanicAtTheDisco, Music/GymClassHeroes, and Music/CobraStarship.

!!Disography:
* ''The Academy (EP)'' (2004)
* ''Almost Here'' (2005)
* ''From the Carpet (EP)'' (2006)
* ''Santi'' (2007)
* ''Fast Times at Barrington High'' (2008)
* ''Lost in Pacific Time'' (EP) (2009)

----
!! Tropes
* AWildRapperAppears: Tyga, in the remix of "Automatic Eyes".
* AbusiveParents: Implied in "Every Burden Has a Version".
* AlbumTitleDrop: "Almost Here" from the album of the same name.
** Also, "New York (Saint in the City)" on ''Lost In Pacific Time''
--> Lost in pacific time with the sound of a dial tone
--> Let the memories count the miles and never be forgotten
** "Coppertone" contains the first part of the title of its album, ''Fast Times at Barrington High''.
** Mike whispers "Santi" at the end of "Chop, Chop".
%%* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: The music video for "We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands".]]
%%* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: "I'm Yours Tonight".
* AsleepInClass: The subject of "The Test" is apparently "asleep through all our classes".
* BSide: "Ghost", from the physical release of the single "We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands".
* BackToFront: The video for "Everything We Had" is played in reverse, except for William's lip-syncing, which remains in sync with the song.
%%* BreakupSong: "Sputter".
* CelebrityIsOverrated: "LAX to O'Hare" seems to be about this.
* CloudCuckooLander: The Butcher can be this sometimes...okay, maybe a lot more than sometimes.
-->"Michael, I got your chicken caboodles! I got your chicken caboodles...Michael?"
-->"It's freakin' scooter time!"
* CoverVersion: Of "Mayonnaise" by Music/TheSmashingPumpkins. They also covered "Working Class Hero" by Music/JohnLennon.
* DaysOfTheWeekSong: Wait for it... "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin His Girl Friday]]".
-->"Call on a Monday\\
Come on a Tuesday\\
They'll never know\\
Won't you pop off the cork for Wednesday\\
Stay with me Thursday\\
But you'll always be his girl\\
[[TitleDrop His girl Friday, his girl Friday, his girl Friday]]"
* DownerEnding: "In the Rearview", the final song they ever released, is pretty bitter and depressing.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: William Beckett, mostly when he still had long hair.
* EvilTwin: The video for "We've Got a Big Mess On Our Hands." William's twin runs around causing chaos and even takes his place on stage for a concert. [[spoiler: Although in the end, it turns out it was all in William's head.]]
* FreakyFridayFlip: An episode of TAI TV involves Bill and Sisky swapping bodies right before a show. HilarityEnsues.
* FriendsWithBenefits: This seems to be the narrator's relationship with the subject of "His Girl Friday".
* GenreShift: For ''Welcome to the New Administration'', a Decaydance mixtape made to promote [[Music/FallOutBoy Folie a Duex]], the band did a remix of "Automatic Eyes". Featuring [[AWildRapperAppears Tyga]].
** They've also done more than one remix of, for whatever reason, "Black Mamba".
* GraduateFromTheStory: The last two songs in ''Fast Times at Barrington High'' ("Paper Chase" and "One More Weekend") both deal with graduation.
* HighSchoolRocks: The entirety of ''Fast Times at Barrington High''.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: A minor example appears in "Bulls in Brooklyn":
-->"Don't say you think you know when you know you don't"
* LimitedLyricsSong: "The Fever".
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: William.
* LostInTranslation: One TAI TV episode finds Chislett frustrated because nobody can understand him through his Australian accent. The misinterpretations range from "chicken caboodles" to "William, your hips don't lie!"
* LoveHurts: "Everything We Had"
-->''Take the pain out of love''
-->''And then love won't exist''
* LoveNostalgiaSong: "Everything We Had" and "After the Last Midtown Show".
* LoveTriangle: "His Girl Friday" at first looks like it's about being in the losing corner of a love triangle, until you realize it's actually about a guy encouraging a girl to cheat on her boyfriend with him.
* MrFanservice: William Beckett, so much. Those hipbones. Also The Butcher, who pretty much never wears a shirt.
* NewSoundAlbum: Most fans consider ''Santi'' to be one. So is ''Fast Times at Barrington High''.
* NonAppearingTitle: "Beware! Cougar!", "Black Mamba", "Skeptics and True Believers", "After the Last Midtown Show", "Memento Mori", "Ghost", "The Phrase That Pays", "Sodium"...
* OneLastFieldTrip: "One More Weekend".
* TheOneThatGotAway: "Everything We Had".
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "Beware! Cougar!"
* PrecisionFStrike: "Black Mamba".
-->"I'm sick and tired of waiting, sick of this fucking apartment!"
* RealPersonFic: Tons of it, mostly about William and Gabe Saporta.
* RecycledLyrics: "Beware! Cougar!" and "After the Last Midtwon Show" both make mention of someone lying on their back. Probably because they're different perspectives of the same situation; the first is about a young guy dating an older woman, and the second is about an older guy dating a younger girl.
** For less obvious reasons, both "Paper Chase" and "Tokyo Bay" make mention of broken homes and battle scars.
* SelfTitledAlbum: Their debut was a self-titled EP.
* SequelSong: "Beware! Cougar!" acts as a continuation to "After the Last Midtown Show", showing the other side of the same situation.
* SerenadeYourLover: "I'm Yours Tonight", possibly "After the Last Midtown Show".
* ShoutOut: "[[Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh Fast Times at Barrington High]]"
** "Beware! Cougar!" contains a shout out to The Format, with this line:
-->''Don't write a word, 'cause I won't reply''
** The title of "After the Last Midtown Show" is a reference to the band that Gabe Saporta led before Music/CobraStarship.
** The song "His Girl Friday" is a shout out to [[Film/HisGirlFriday the film of the same name.]]
** "Down and Out" is absolutely filled with shout-outs in this stanza:
-->''[[Music/SimonAndGarfunkel Bookends]], [[Music/{{Weezer}} Blue]] and [[Music/JimmyEatWorld Clarity]], to [[Music/PinkFloyd The Wall]] and [[Music/JeffBuckley Grace]]''\\
''[[Music/PinkFloyd Darkside, Wish]] and a toast to the [[Music/ElliottSmith late Figure 8]]''
* SongOfSongTitles: "Down and Out", as illustrated above.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: "About A Girl"
-->''I'm not in love''
-->''This is not your song''
-->''I'm not gonna waste these words''
-->''About a girl''
* TakeThatCritics: Some in ''Almost Home'' as a response to criticism of their first EP.
--> ''Oh, Mr. Magazine''\\
''I never wrote one single thing for you''\\
''Or your so-called music scene''\\
''You both mean [[PrecisionFStrike shit]] to me.''
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "Crowded Room".
* ThoseTwoGuys: Sisky and The Butcher, somewhat.
* TitleOnlyChorus: "Everything We Had".
* YouAreNotAlone: "Days Like Masquerades", which was played live at an anti-suicide benefit.