3 My Chemical Romance songs that make you remember how good they are

My Chemical Romance - "Thank You for the Venom", 2004

If you like songs inspired by Morrissey only a lot more straightforward rock, this is your tune. The first line of the song - "Sister I'm not much a poet but a criminal" - is a reference to Morrissey's song "Sister, I'm a Poet." In fact, a long-lost UK vinyl of the MCR single of "Thank You for the Venom" has a live cover of "Jack the Ripper" by Morrissey. You know, in case you were wondering if the Smiths and/or Morrisey had any influence on what MCR wanted to be, rest assured Gerard Way musically is a Morrissey fan.

The song from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge even starts off like something that could be on Morrissey's Southpaw Grammar, but then it changes into an undeniable MCR song. The verse-to-bridge-to-chorus is classic My Chem. It's also classic Way in the cadence of the lyrics. Way has a good voice and can sing but one can also imagine him almost spitting the lyrics at the listener in a unique way (sorry for the pun!).

The lyrics in the song also make one realize that the band has also listened to fellow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen. The lines, "You'll never make me leave/I wear this on my sleeve/Give me a reason to believe" read almost as if the Boss wrote them himself.

Still, this is a banger of a song and great for the folks up front at the concert venue. Want to bang your head to MCR, this is one of the songs in which to do it. It's fun, fast, and with a dash of Morrissey and Springsteen.