On “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race”, Wentz uses wartime-inspired metaphors to discuss the band’s newfound popularity.

The song is reportedly about Wentz’s frustration with the ever growing “emo scene”. As he told Rolling Stone, "There may be other songs on the record that would be bigger radio hits, but this one had the right message.”

Wentz’s inspiration for the “arms-dealer” metaphor came from the movie Lord of War. The song has also been interpreted to be about artists making music just for the money and fame, an “arms race”, instead of music for the fun of it."

The band considered other songs on the album to be more “radio-friendly”, especially considering the hit producer Babyface’s contribution to two of them, but chose to release “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arm’s Race” first because it “had the right message”.

The song topped the now-defunct Billboard Pop Songs chart, peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, and finished up 2007 at #32 overall. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA. On top of this massive domestic success, it was an international hit, topping the New Zealand singles chart and reaching #2 in the UK, that gave the band newfound exposure to several different countries.