What Sacramento event is mentioned in Fall Out Boy’s ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ cover?

A notorious California serial killer, a 49ers quarterback and civil unrest in Los Angeles were among the many cultural references mentioned in Fall Out Boy’s new cover of Billy Joel’s hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” which has tallied more than 6 million plays on Spotify since its June 28 release.

Fall Out Boy’s cover came out one day before the three-year anniversary of Joseph James DeAngelo admitting to being the Golden State Killer. DeAngelo, 77, also known as the East Area Rapist, pleaded guilty June 29, 2020, to 13 murder counts and 13 rape-related counts from the 1970s and 1980s, in a ballroom-turned-courtroom on the Sacramento State campus.

The song, which has gone viral on platforms including Instagram and TikTok, referenced historical events, scandals and big-named celebrities who have entered the spotlight since Joel’s original released version in 1989.

“Michael Jordan, 23, YouTube killed MTV / SpongeBob, Golden State Killer got caught,” wrote Fall Out Boy’s bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz in the modern twist on the original.

Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was also mentioned in the second verse of the song, though only with a single word. Kaepernick gained fame for kneeling during the national anthem before the start of football games in protest of police brutality. The football star first garnered media attention for his silent protest in August 2016, when he continued to sit during the national anthem.

“Elon Musk, Kaepernick, Texas failed electric grid,” the lyrics continued.

The Los Angeles riots in 1992, which were a result of civil unrest in protest of the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of police brutality, were another California event spotlighted within the second line of the new song. Rodney King, also mentioned in the song, was seen beaten by police in 1991 in a video filmed by a janitor, George Holliday. The protest in 1992 sparked after the four officers involved in the beating of King were acquitted at trial.

“Captain Planet, Arab Spring / L.A. riots, Rodney King,” the cover song begins.