My Chemical Romance, you either love them or hate them, right? Sometimes maybe they are a bit too poppy for their own good but also remember, they are...simply good. MCR is sometimes called emo, sometimes a bit glam, and sometimes just straight-up alternative.
For the record, MCR singer Gerard Way has oftentimes rejected that the band should be called emo. This stems from emo just becoming a subgenre when the band started and there being a link to suicide to the emo movement. MCR has almost always been open about the mental health of the members of the band and sought to distance themselves from any connection to suicide.
It should also be noted that the band has links with some communities that have struggled to find openness in their own parts of the world or hometowns. Gerard Way has even been called a "queer icon" though he himself is not queer, for instance. This was done with any kind of irony, and that the band actively tried to create a safe environment for all its fans appears to have been done not for prestige or sell records but to truly make everyone feel it's OK to be who you are.
Giving in to the greatness that is My Chemical Romance
And sure, My Chemical Romance has sold millions of records. They are, after all, a musical artist and this is how they make their living. I am not singing the praises of capitalism so much as pointing out the fact that when you buy tickets and records you are supporting the artist whose ticket and record you are buying. In this case, you would be giving money to MCR.
And that's OK because at the end of the day, My Chemical Romance are a band that makes rock music. They have never been perfect and some albums are better than others, but you could say this about any artist. Still, here are three songs you should listen to so you can finally give in to the fact that they make good music.
My Chemical Romance - "Demolition Lovers", 2002
This song was recorded in May 2002 which was about seven months after the band formed. The song is from the album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love which basically sets the tone for MCR albums to follow. Meaning, most albums have a theme throughout the album while not all of the albums are truly concept albums (Welcome to the Black Parade basically is, however).
"Demolition Lovers" begins a bit oddly. Intentionally, the song starts as if almost by mistake before the singer realizes he is being recorded and turns to his story. And the story of the song is about two people who fall in love, but cannot be together, are chased and then eventually die in a hail of bullets. A happy song? No. But bittersweet with an understanding that the two main characters would have likely made the same decision to be together if the same situation were repeated for infinity.
The song comes in at 6:06 which makes sense once you hear it. There are about three different songs within the one musically. There is enough anger and emotion to keep even the most unfeeling among us glued to the listen, and there is enough volume and bombast to make most fans of hard rock smile.
However, what makes this song great is that it could be played acoustically and still have the same level of happiness and grief. As far as the lyrics, the band would write better ones. Still, at the early stage of the band the words keep the throughline of what MCR is all about: No matter what, we will stick together and that's a good thing.
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.
My Chemical Romance - "Sleep", 2006
A song from The Black Parade has to be on this list, right? It might not be every MCR fan's most beloved album, but it likely their most well-known album among the general public. Besides that, though, it's really freaking good from start to end.
"Sleep" starts with a recording of Gerard Way talking about the night terrors he is having in real life, possibly brought on by the mansion that the band was staying at during the recording of the album. The mansion was supposedly haunted, if you believe in that kind of thing. While Way talks about his night terrors, a piano plays. When he's done talking, the music gets immediately loud as if the music itself is having a vision of terror.
The opening line of the sung part of the song, "Some say, now suffer all the children," could be a reference to the Smith's "Suffer Little Children" while verse two contains the line "Three cheers ofr tyranny" which a clear reference to the My Chem album that preceded The Black Parade. Both lines, as does the whole song, work.
The final refrain of "Just sleep" sung over and over again is both voluminous and beautiful. Few bands have been able to combine these two elements together as consistently well as My Chemical Romance did. The band hasn't recorded a studio album since 2010 and seems unlikely to. That's the sad part as the world could use more My Chemical Romance music.