#listening to mcr is a beautiful experience

[idkwh0y0uare-haha]

why does every mcr song have that one part (if not the whole song) that's just so beautiful it sends you to another dimension?

[earlycuntsets]

translation: "my chemical romance interview. "for us, the live stage is the only place where we can be ourselves."

The songs are like a collection of rock anthems from all over the world, past and present, and it sets the hearts of listeners ablaze.

Who is the emo band that rocked the Summer Sonic stage?

My Chemical Romance, from New Jersey, who just released their major debut album "THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE" in July, came to Japan for the first time at Summer Sonic 04. MCR's music is called "screamo" because of their friendship with their friends, including THE USED, and their style, and it contains the street/garage sensibility unique to the generation that went through American punk in recent years… but if you listen to it with a calm ear, you can see that although the vocals are "screamo style," the songs have a beautiful structure and tearful melodies that are related to British heavy metal, and they also feature beautiful guitar solos. In other words, MCR is a band that plays heavy metal at the street level… That's why they must have been so welcomed right from the start in Japan, a country that has a strong tradition of heavy metal music (probably) - their first performance in Japan was a big success.

45 minutes after the end of the thunderous "Summer Sonic" stage

We caught up with the two excited guitarists!

I've never been to a show like that before! I'll never forget this experience.

--Now Frank Iero (FI): This isn't real.

How was the live show you just finished?

FI: Seriously! I've never done a show like that before. It was a memorable moment in my life. I'll never forget it!

--You seem very excited. What was so amazing about it?

Ray Toro: No, not "What". WTF! I mean, they were so welcoming! I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction at all. It felt like a hometown show. Oh, what can I say… ahhhh… anyway, it feels great!-- (Laughs)

Was the positive reaction because the new york was great? Especially the first single "I'm Not Okay" it's really exciting… It's a great song, and the song structure is well-crafted, building up from the intro, and the solo is uplifting too. Did you feel any magic when you made it?

FI: Well, let me tell you something. This song is something that you can't really call "written".

Really? Is that so?

FI: That's true. The song itself only has four chords, right? Except for the solo, it's all four. So at first, I thought it would be a boring song. But when we got together in the studio and Ray was playing those four chords over and over… Gerald (Way/vocals) started singing. The other members were silent. I closed my eyes and listened carefully. Then I realized it was an incredibly beautiful song. I felt it was worth completing. So I tried to change it up with the chorus. The root remained four.

---The guitar solo in this song creates a harmony with the guitar, creating a grandeur that is reminiscent of Queen. How did this come about?

FI: That solo was all Ray!

RT: Of course we were totally inspired by Queen! We were all saying, "Let's have a big guitar solo. Nobody does that anymore!" So I layered the guitars on it and made it as epic as possible. Also, when we were writing the song originally, we talked about making it as production-heavy as possible in the studio… Another thing I did consciously was to think of all the '80s pop and '70s bands I liked. I thought, "What would they do to make a song that's really epic…?" That's also where the two-second piano in the middle of the song came from. It doesn't really mean anything, but it's a bit like a soundtrack.

In terms of age, he was still very much alive.

FI: To tell you the truth, that second part is from the live album "CHEAP TRICK AT BUDOKAN" (1978) [laughs] I really wanted to include it. To begin with, even though some people have performed it live, I've never heard it performed in a studio album. I tried to include that as well and create the biggest anthem I could think of.

Q: Not just "I'm Not Okay," but all of MCR's songs…The composition is designed to make the listeners excited. They are all uplifting and dramatic. Is this something you do consciously?

FI: I'm totally aware of it.

RT: Yes. You can hear it in the song, but I change parts one after another. For example, We never repeat the same parts twice, and as the song progresses, new elements are added. We want it to feel like it's building from one thing to the next. Every member of the band contributes to that. The drums, the vocals, the melodies…everything helps the song to go higher and higher.

FI: Especially the new album, "It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish" crescendos all the way through. It just gets stronger and stronger. It all comes together in a spectacular finale. The whole band sings together for an anthemic ending. Because I like it! Our styles are completely different, maybe that mismatch is a good thing?

MCR's music tends to be dramatic. Is that due to the influence of the music you've listened to up until now?

RT: I grew up listening to heavy metal, like Ozzy Osbourne. I was obsessed with guitar heroes. I like bands that feature guitar players such as the late Randy Rhoads (g/Ozzy Osbourne) and Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix… In other words, Randy is the one who combined heavy metal with classical music, but his guitar playing I think he is the person who has had the biggest influence on my style. It's a bit old-fashioned, but it has a melody. And it's timeless. Melody.

FI: Richie Havens. My first woodstock. He was the opening act for the concert. He took me to an acoustic I just played it with one guitar, like a solo. There wasn't much, just sitting on the stool. He played very melodic and rhythmic guitar. But it's a completely unique style that can't be imitated. He had tiles… Such a great performer. I've never seen him before! I've seen Richie on stage about 10 times now, and I'm blown away every time. He's one of the reasons I don't stop playing guitar. I also love Greg Ginn (guitar/Black Flag) and Thurston Moore (vocals, guitar/Sonic Youth). In other words, I like dirty and emotional guitar more than intellectual style.

——————Hmm. You two have completely different tastes…

FI: Well, we are completely different types of guitarists, but maybe that mismatch is a good thing.

--You mentioned a lot of artists, but listening to your album I can sense a strong influence from heavy metal. But you also listen to a lot of different music from the '70s and '80s, right?

RT: Well, you can't just listen to one type of music, you know? There's so much good music out there. We can't just pretend not to notice it! All of us in the band try to listen to as much as we can and want to absorb as much as we can from all kinds of music.

FI: What we heard was an influence in some way.

FI: I like to use a Marshall JCM900 connected to a SUNN cabinet, and an Epiphone Zak Wylde model Les Paul as the only guitar. I turn up the bass all the way (laughs). Treble is about mid-range. I add gain here and there. But I like to keep it sounding like a real guitar. Not a "buzzing" sound with too much gain, but more of a solid sound.

RT: Yes! And we both try to only use effects when absolutely necessary, and usually plug them straight into the amp. Oh, but we do use wah pedals. Personally, I'd love to see the wah come back!

--I see. So with Frank on the bass and Ray raising the middle, it feels like you've managed to balance the band sound well?

FI&RT: Exactly!

FI: That's how I make it clear that there are two guitars. It's better to have a difference where you can hear each guitar part and it doesn't sound too cluttered.

――――So, let's talk about your playing, not just the guitar sound.

RT: I've been in the middle of it all. But the best thing to do is come to a show and see for yourself! I think there have been times when people thought it was Frank and it was me, and vice versa. We've influenced each other so we have some similarities.

---So you're influenced by each other's playing?

RT: Yeah. At least I got it from Frank.

I learned to play dirty. Not just clean, but more emotional. Instead of being super technical and perfect, I gave myself a little more leeway and tried to avoid feedback and pick-squeezing.

Frank is especially good at pick slides. He likes to make noise out of the guitar, rather than a pretty sound.

He's really good at bringing that out. Making noise, not just playing, is something I'm still learning.

FI: I'm the opposite, I'm learning to play clean, to keep things under control, but still let out emotion when necessary.

RT: A classic example of what you're talking about is "The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You." Frank has a really great part here. After the second chorus, it gets really quiet.

"THREE CHEERS FOR SWEET REVENGE" Warner Music Japan [CD] WPCR-11883 Sensual vocal melodies and emotional guitars, as heard on the 1st single.Their popularity is on the rise thanks to the explosive emotion of their vocals. This is the band's second album and their major label debut. Ray's strengths are in his guitar playing, which always lifts the listener up. While talking about the existing screamo sound, such as the "screamo" part, a new sense of flavoring with the essence of gothic and metal shines. And it's the same with everyday experiences! Everything that comes out of it naturally comes out in the work, and the more I shut out certain types of music or certain experiences, the less fertilizer I have. The goal is the stage. Keep playing to the limit. From what I saw on stage a while ago, the live equipment was, you both used similar things. How do you differentiate between the sounds?

RT: I'm more into distortion. I play a lot of riffs and generally like to emphasize the mid-range.

My model was the crunch guitar sound of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" (1986).

FI: On the other hand, I only use distortion to a natural degree.

Can you tell me the specific equipment names?

RT: The amps are Marshall "JCM2000" and "1960".

Cabinet. The guitar was bought by my brother for Christmas 10 years ago.

It's a very easy one to make, but the sound is great!

I also use an Epiphone Les Paul.

036 GuitarBreakers Vol.8

He said it was a good example of how the differences between the two of them are well expressed.

Can you name any?

FI: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us

In Prison, I guess?

RT: You're right!

FI: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us

"In Prison" is huge! The first two verses are

It's rhythmic and dirty, and then…

Ray's guitar hero-like, epic solo begins (laughs). And it has a light rhythm. And then there's "To The End" too.

RT: Yes. In some ways, I play more technically than Frank, but "To the End" has a great guitar solo, it's fast, and it's got some rhythmic, dirty parts. But I think you can hear the difference in our playing styles on every song to some extent.

---By the way, on the album, which is left and which is right?

Are you playing the channel?

RT: Well, in the verses, I mostly play on the left.

Ray is on the left. And Frank is on the right in the chorus.

Frank really blossoms in this scene. It's totally different from his previous style.

FI: Mmhmm!

---Finally, could you tell us about your future goals regarding guitar and songwriting?

FI: For now, I'd like to be able to turn the parts I've written for the next album into proper songs.

Also, we have a clear goal as a band.

But I'll keep it a secret until I achieve it (lol).

RT: For me personally, I just want to keep improving.

FI: Me too!

RT: We both love playing guitar.

That's what life is all about, so I want to keep improving both in technique and melody.

FI: For us, it was a live show that lasted less than two hours. I think that the only chance I have is to be myself, to experience a pure and spiritual moment. So my goal is to continue to play all the way to the end. There is a joy that cannot be expressed in words. I don't think you can understand it unless you have experienced it!

My Chemical Playing - A magnificent world created with guitar

The key to My Chemical Romance's songs is the twin guitars. When the two guitars intertwine, sometimes intensely and sometimes elegantly, it gives the listener a great sense of exhilaration.

Ray was crazy about guitar heroes like Randy Rhoads and Joe Satriani, while Frank loves Greg Ginn and Thurston Moore. They come from completely different backgrounds, but as Ray says, "When we get together, we don't know why, but a special atmosphere is born," which is the characteristic of the My Chemical Romance sound. In fact, Alba

If you check out his playing, you can hear many good examples of two-guitar ensemble. One of the best is the backing for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)." As mentioned in the interview, the bass in this song is a repeat of four chords (D → Bm Em → A), but it is amazing how the performance is not at all simple. Due to space limitations, I will not post an example.

"I'm Not Okay" style guitar solo sheet music.

I'm sorry I can't introduce it, but I definitely want you to check out the ensemble in the A-melody. So, I'll introduce the solo below. This performance was inspired by Queen and was meant to be grand. The harmonies are great, but the chord progression is deliberately E/G#, even though E would have been fine in the flow. This is one of the reasons why it feels so grand.

In the harmonies from bars 1 to 8, you want to be aware of the speed at which you raise the pitch of the choking, and the speed and depth of the vibrato.

The first half of bar 12 means "play five notes in two beats."

2004 volume 8 guitar breakers from theydrewblood.blogspot.com

[xxfangirl365xx]

STORY TIME

first time I listened to MCR and got hooked.

I had heard MCR b4 but only "welcome to the black parade" and "Teenagers" but honestly never liked either song much, so I never gave MCR much of a chance believe it or not.

it was 2022 when I listened like...RLY listened for the first time.

I was in the car with my mom and she went into a store and left me in the car for a few mins. I turned on my local "alt" radio station in the car and heard the tail end of a song. it was BEAUTIFUL! My jaw was literally dropped. like not even exaggerating. The only words I heard from the last 45 seconds were "so long and good night"

I ran home and googled in youtube

"so long and goodnight song"

and the Helena MV showed up and I watched it and listened to the song in full.I must have listened to it like 90 times that day. The vid was SOOO beautiful and well done I was shook to my core and the aesthetic totally fit my vibe and I was hooked from then on out.

Then I listened to the ghost of you,I'm not ok, and I don't love you quickly after that. That was all I listened too for a while and didn't get into the lore but I RLY liked them. the vibe was 100%

Later that year in English class while writing I put a playlist on youtube with sad mcr songs (cause it was winter and I was writing a angsty piece lmao) and this rly got me into their other songs and not just the popular ones

shout-out to this youtuber for putting me on, I listened to this combo like 4 times a day for 2 months.

But yeah, then I got into the lore, and other songs, and I bought my first piece of merch.

this shirt which is in rough shape now cause I wore it every time if came out of the dryer lol. There r pics of me in it in my high school yearbook haha.

Anyways, then I got into the lore and the guys and every album and song. And that's my lil story of how I got hooked on MCR and I love them so so much.

I have to say, there r the people who listen to mcr and the people who listen to mcr. Yall r def the second and so am I. I am so grateful to have this amazing band around in my lifetime to experience the amazing music. Gerard and the guys are such creative people, with brains that seem to work like mine, and it's so comforting to know that there are people out there who understand me. People who have the same crazy imaginations as me, the same fantasies and creative motives and theatrical and over the top visions. It's just so wonderful.

anyways thank u for letting me share with u all. I also love u all dearly and I'm so so happy to have a platform to share in these experiences with everyone and make new friends <3

[elviehun]

So she's 22 years old TODAY.

My baby. My love. One of THE greatest influences that formed me as a young person, the one that I've never, ever, ever stopped loving, not even when heartbreak was so all-consuming that I couldn't even think about listening to anything they put out for more than 3 years. I've never stopped loving her. She's my safe place now, the no.1. place my mind escapes to when life gets too much or too little or too mundane or too painful. I still think it's their best album, despite the almost religious reverence I feel about The Black Parade, Bullets is, in my world, the MCR-est of MCR ever to exist. She came at a very performative period of my life, and I'm pretty sure, even after all these years, that at least 30% of my personality is formed thanks to her. Sure, there were Thursday and Thrice and Lifetime and Midtown and Green Day and Oasis and Texas is the Reason before her, and I'd be a liar if I said those bands didn't play a huge role in making me as a teen and a young adult, yet she will always stand out. I couldn't even explain why.

I just... when I listen to Bullets, I always get right back to this place, not even in my own life, but an imagined place in THEIRS, trying to put myself in the shoes of an obscure band from the same scene where I found Thursday, a scene that, over the years since, became so legendary, so canonical, that it almost feels like either historical or mythical. These beautiful, ungodly talents getting together in the weirdest ways of twisty, tangled life decisions, on the trails of tragedy and hopelessness and the inevitable change of our perspective on life and death and safety and togetherness and apartness after said tragedy, to follow a calling coming inevitably from something higher, bigger, wiser than humanity as a whole at that point, to become something nobody, especially not those handful of mercurial boys, could have even imagined. They formed and transformed a decade after the turn of the millennium that needed transformation SO BAD and exactly in the form of a couple of young talents decidedly trying to make a difference for the better because they, as young as they were, saw all what was wrong with the world.

And She was the first stepping stone in that process. I'm so grateful for having been there, even if not exactly from day one but at least from the beginning of '03 when my cousin moved back home from NYC with a cassette case (among a few others) containing Bullets, for me. Because it finished the process of changing everything. And later, when they became big worldwide too, and my heart grew twice its size with pride that those guys, MY GUYS, made it, really made it, in even greater terms than Thursday did, I found this sense of... belonging. I didn't go to concerts, I was too much of a wuss and an agoraphobe even at 19-20, I only got the feeling of community in the world of lagging and unfortunately slow internet forums and the knowledge that what I felt, what these guys, miraculously, felt too, and somehow managed to channel and broadcast, was something thousands and thousands of young people across the globe felt too. It was my first experience in that sense and I will never forget what it all gave me. They made it this big because they are one of a kind, and explosive, and just what the world needed right then. What I needed right then. And, even counting the inevitable fallouts because life became very different in a very short time for me and not long after that, for them, too, what I still seem to kind of need at this point in my life.

Geoff Rickly, as always, was right. They did become the biggest band in the world and looking back now, even if we'll get nothing more than WWWY '24 and what we got in the past 3 years, all the heartbreak is gone and all I feel is gratitude. All I feel is warm fuzzies thinking about their days spent in basements and vans and rest stops and studios and VFW halls and then festivals and arenas, is that I want to go back in time and space and be a fly on the wall, to be with them, be them, be ALL of them at the same time, each time when all the magic happened, at every step of the way, through good times and bad, young, clueless them in the beginning, with a crappy van and a celestial dream, and also current, wise and experienced them having lived everything that happened and couldn't happen, all the beauty and tragedy and growth, but also wanting to relive everything again on the receiving end, knowing nothing about how integral their magic will be throughout my adult life, but also from the perspective of the now, the reunion, the rekindling of my love for them, the new hopes, the new shows, everything, while knowing that, even faking their death for years, it never stopped. I still love each and every one of them so much. The visionary with too much raw and exposed nerve endings for this not-OK world, the unstoppable creative machine and comfort blanket of a guy in one person, the gentle and humble genius that always preferred the background, the thoughtful empath who didn't really believe in himself enough till almost the end. I love them. I love their music, all their songs, all their albums, but when I count my artistic experiences as one counts their blessings, I WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS COUNT BULLETS TWICE.

Happy Birthday, you impossible magnificent thing.

[gerard2parenthesesreal]

my chemical fucking romance dude what the fuck

what the fuck do you mean mcr is over. like. not broken up but fuck the weekend is over????? ive been waiting for so long and nowits over?

which is insane and im sad but i think im maybe also filled with a lot of hope and it was so insane seeing everyone share their experiences with depression and like maybe im not cooked. i think it will be okay maybe. i believe that i think.

life is insane truly, i love everyone i think. this band has given me so many integral life experiences ive met some of my best friends through mcr and like i know its said a lot but they seriously saved my life in such a big way on a lot of occasions and like . FUCK. everyone in mcr was clinically depressed 20 years ago and now theyre doing what they love STILL and theyre seriously happy and? everything will be okay i believe that. ive come so far in the last 4 years since ive been listening and its been huge ups and downs but i am happy and i have people who care about me and i care about them so much even when they get on my nerves. because like. seeing all of them on thst stage in front of so many people and they were all so happy and having watched lotms last week and they were all fucked up and augh. and then all weekend they were playing tbp which is the first ever album i heard by them and fuckkkk!!!!! me listening to this 4 years ago and 3 years ago and 2 years ago and last year and now Now is so insanely different and i think it was worth it to keep on living. and like i wouldnt necessarily say “i am not afraid to keep on living” but i am a lot less afraid than i ever have been. (and im crying again now) and and i would jot say “i am not afraid to walk this world alone” but i would say that i know i will survive even if im alone. everything is temporary and permanence isnt real. im happy im alive. i love you all

my chemical romance forever

life forever

my chem forever

one day i’ll be able to say that i am seriously not afraid to keep on living and that i am not afraid to walk this world alone and even if that day is not today i know that it will come. life is beautiful bees flowers regrowth

i will rise from the foundations of decay

[infectiouspiss]

hi there’s this fun fact about my life i like sharing with ppl and i figure u would like to hear it. okay so at some point in my life as all people do i realised i was transgender. soon after this i started listening to a lot of mcr bc of how trans their music is, it rly resonated with me. after listening to their 4 albums on loop for a few weeks i told my friend at the time (who’s a board certified ferardie veteran) and so we got brainworms together & realized ohhh there’s a concert in a few weeks. We have got to go. i spent that time planning my outfit. it was my first time wearing a skirt in public forever. and wouldn’t u freaking know it. i go to the concert n when lil mx way walks on stage they r dawning the fated Cheerleader Outfit. n just like that the very person that helped cope w being trans as a babytran was wearing a skirt for the first time in public at the same time/place as me. truly magical experience. i started hormones within a month after the concert because of that experience. the world is so beautiful & i love it all

in the most postive way, i am unbearably jealous. i love you so fucking much you were blessed by an angel

[apuff]

Today i will rate the skies in the covers of the stuff i have on spotify

Because i am offline while writing this i am naturally restricted by what it will display for me

1. collide with the sky (ptv)

9/10. lighter towards the horizon, great hue shifting, nice fluffy clouds, i love how saturated and blue it all is. one thing i really like is how the field is green and the treeline is so dark because that's just how it is irl for realsies. i guess the only thing that's subpar iis that i feel like for that type of cloud, it would look much more defined? but i guess that's cause the sky can't be distracting too much from the subject. anyways, really nice work. 

2. Master of puppets (metallica)

2/10. Just getting some mixed messaging here. Like, the idea of it being all spooky and warm colors like that is cool, but it just…it all muddles into itself a little much. The light on the crosses doesn't look quite right and it's really hard to parse which parts of the sky are glowing or reflecting or clouds or the background or mountains. This album is really good though so i'll add a point for that

3. Danger days: the true lives of the fabulous killjoys (mcr)

10/10. What is there to say? I mean, awesome gradient…great mixture of scrappiness and fullness in the clouds…those colors are just beautiful…i love how the sun rays are radiating out from the spider in the middle…gotta rep the rest of this composition cause it slays. Seriously, great sky. 

4. Joke cover of my demolition lovers playlsit (mcr)

4/10. This is very standard and pedestrian but seeing as it's literally just a normal stock photo of a construction worker i can't judge it too harshly 

5. Glow (pkch)

9/10. Pukicho is a great photographer and i really appreciate the artistry of this one. My personal preference is for a more crisp and thick cloud but i really like the vagueness and fogginess of these ones. It gives off the impression of a sunset or a sunrise without putting a literal glowing sun or garish colors in, and i like the perspective of the clouds as they approach the horizon seen through how the bands of dark and light get closer and blend into one shade. Just a very beautiful photograph altogether, great colors. 

6. Spirit phone (lemon demon)

5/10. Wasn't even sure if this counted as a sky or not, and i eventually decided it takes place outside during the night, but i did have to dock points for barely even being what i'm rating. I love the strange abstractness of it, the smeared perspective lines that have no purpose other than to look weird. Honorary mention goes out to the characters in the foreground that, though ghosts, can be understood as weather phenomena due to the song in this album "soft fuzzy man" (about a sentient storm that wants to date the listener); giving them the dubious honor of the weirdest clouds ever.  

7. Embers (beetlebug)

8/10 Another edge case, but i decided the patches were clouds so it counted. As a fellow watercolor artist i'm naturaly drawn to this, but who wouldn't be? It's another one that handles the sunset situation with tact and depth; the white edges aren't just a great painting move- they express light shining onto the edges of clouds. Another very clever composition utilizing the sun. just great. 

8. Until the end (beetlebug) 

6/10. Less stunning than the last one, but it's charming in an understated way. It feels very simple and childlike, but does have touches of maturity from the nuanced colors and defined clouds. I really appreciate the bold choice to make the sun red, it's unexpected but striking. 

9. Ride the lighting (metallica)

3/10. Perhaps this is due to my complete lack of experience with thunderstorms, but i just don't like the black thin scrappy clouds. It feels so noncommittal. I'm guilty about rating it so low because i feel like the album cover, overall, looks great (especially the awesome 80s colors, those get compensation points from me) but every time i zero in on the sky itself, i'm just perplexed. 

10. Purrple cat💜 (purrple cat)

1/10. This is just fine. It's a normal sky. It has normal stars and normal planets and normal nebulae. It's so uninteresting. Doesn't attract the eye. Every item evenly spaced out from the other. I don't understand why that planet is glowing but so dark. it just doesn't make sense. 

11. Hallows eve masquerade (beetlebug)

10/10. This is basically the epitome of what's good about beetlebug covers- like, there's a kidlike charm to how simple it is, but there's a finesse to the colors and concept. This one just has such an expertly handled warm color pallete. Love the subtle glow and the centered composition. 

12. Bee and puppycat- official soundtrack playlist [[star swirling emoji]] (milan records)

10/10. See, THIS is how to do a space sky properly. The glowing things glow and it's not desaturated as all get out. This has a good handle on the subtle pink-and-green nebula glow and it's cohesive with the rest of the palette-- I guess that makes sense, because this show is interested in that retro look where chromatic aberration like that is common. 

13. Fly by night (rush)

5/10. Even though i'm not the hugest fan of it, i respect the choice to keep the background elements a solid color. It plain and cohesive, and making everything blue except for the yellow of the eyes is a good idea. 

14. ???? (??)

7/10. This is like 20 pixels but it looks very nice. Going into this i wasn't expecting so many of these to use the sun or moon as a focal point of the composition but i guess it makes sense. I like the color shifting to the horizon. 

15. Kingdom in blue (kupla)

10/10. AAAAAH!! I love how this is a sunset but much more cool colors than all the rest! You don't see the pink + teal a lot but it looks great. The floating island adds a nice flow to the whole thing and a fantastical edge to the more common lo-fi vibe. 

16. Let's cheers to this (sws)

10/10. You know, this would look great if i could SEE it. I'm too miffed to explain why it's good. 

17. Dracula reading playlist (elizabeth)

8/10. i feel like this matches the vibe of the playlist and the book very well. i'm not a huge fan of fog as a stated before but in this instance it really works to punch out the silhouette of the castle, which is the main point. I also like how it's just straight up red. evil.

18. Teal album (weezer)

0/10 i'm mad that i thought this was a sky but it's just a teal background

[snootlestheangel]

*happy flapping while tearing up* I JUST HAD THE CUTEST FUCKING IDEA

@stuffireadandenjoy some To Love, To Let Go things

First, the actual idea and then it turns into just general thoughts.

Gaz who unironically still listens to My Chemical Romance because, sue him they made good music, okay??

Sometime after she gets used to the boys, Bailey ends up getting babysat by Gaz while Price and Nik enjoy a date night. Gaz has introduced Bailey to his favorite music, and it so happens that MCR kind of dominates that playlist.

She ends up really liking them, and they have little dance parties when he's watching her.

But there's one of their songs she ends up listening to on her own. Famous Last Words simply cause it's an absolute banger but also cause the one line "I am not afraid to keep on living"

Bailey who has spent the better part of the last year of her life terrified and struggling with recovering from some really traumatic things. Bailey who's been through so much and lost everything. Bailey who ends up with a loving family, with a new life that coddles her so she can keep being a kid rather than being forced to grow up way too fast.

Bailey who isn't afraid to keep being a silly kid cause isn't that what she is? Bailey who isn't afraid of the dark anymore. Bailey who isn't afraid to ask for help and to be herself.

She and Gaz just having an absolute blast whenever he's the one "babysitting" her. They put on so many different playlists. There's the one with mostly MCR, there's the early 2000s dance/party music. There's a country playlist put together mostly by Bailey that Gaz secretly enjoys (if only because she knows all the words to every song and gets really into singing along)

Price and Nik coming home to the two of them crashed on the couch, both fast asleep. Price having to take a moment after carrying Bailey to her bed because "when did she get so big?" Price realizing she's finally happy and healthy and he can partially thank his boys.

He can thank his boys because they took their time to help her see and experience good things in life.

Ghost who took the time to sit with her and listen to her special interests. Ghost who took the time to help her research things she's interested in because he remembers a time in his life that any of his interests were stomped under a boot. Ghost who takes the time to teach her important things, like how to defend herself and what to do in certain emergency situations. Ghost who teaches her little things too, like how to sew a button onto a shirt. Ghost who sees a brilliant kid and doesn't want her to be limited. Ghost who sees a broken kid with so much potential and desperately trying to boost her. He's too blinded by the things he saw in Tommy, but it works out. Ghost who wants her safe but knows she's not the same anymore. Ghost who wants her to use what she learns to her advantage.

Soap who took the time to help her confidence. Soap who took the time to find different diets/meal plans she could try to gain some weight back while also keeping her sensory things in mind. Soap who doesn't let her feel guilty for avoiding certain foods because she has a sensory aversion to them. Soap who took the time to remind her of how beautiful her smile is. Soap who took the time to help her care for her hair after months of not being properly cared for. Soap who has thick hair himself and grew up in a family of women that had long, wavy, thick hair. Soap teaching her how to french braid and not letting her be embarrassed for not knowing how. Soap who helped her become confident in her own skin because he remembers a time when he wasn't and how miserable life was then.

Gaz who took the time to show her joy. Gaz who took the time to remind her of the little things. Little things like how a good song can make your day just a bit better. Gaz who helped her weaponize her intelligence (Gaz teaching her how to be sassy basically). Gaz who helped her find peace with the things she lost by helping her see the things she's gained. Gaz being there to remind her that, yes this is cheesy but rainbows look best after a thunderstorm, don't they? Gaz who helped her bring elements of her life before The Incident into her life now. Gaz who is there to help her look back on her family she lost and smile, because while she mourns, they still loved her. She wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for them, and there's beauty in that.

Anyways, now that I've made us both cry, I'm gonna work on typing up actual parts of To Love, To Let Go cause it's actually consuming my soul at this point.

[cryp1ccyn]

Welcome to my Introduction Page, my friend—

My name is Val, but V or Louis work perfectly fine as well. Whichever is alright with me. I use she/he/they pronouns, so I really don’t mind what ones are used.

Don’t mind my manner of speaking, I literally go all over the place. It is the definition of chaotic: From ye old language, Shakespearean to dead brain 3am rants, and of course nonsensical shite. So, I apologize for all that makes little sense.

I am just a fellow who has quite a few hyper-fixations and interests. By few I mean a ton.

Some Fandoms I Like: MCU—Marvel, DC, Merlin, MCR, MLP, FNAF, Invader Zim, Sally Face, Fran Bow, Chilla’s Art, Cry of Fear, Alice: Madness Returns, Creepypasta. Analog Horror. There’s still more.. but I’ll spare myself the hassle of typing more. My hands cannot handle to sheer effort of my writings as of late. I listen to a colorful array of music genres, but I often lean towards alternative, metal, rock and instrumental compositions.

Movie and Films /// Slashers, psychological and tragic thriller/horror movies, artistic or abstract films.

- Silent films, of course: The Man Who Laughs, Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, etc

- Musicals and the art of theatre: Jekyll and Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, Beetlejuice and Hades Town. I would very much like to discover more, but alas my procrastination and inability to just sit still and watch them…

- the 1920’s and Victorian Era - I like learning about the past, especially the fashion I cannot get enough of it. Dude, I cannot express enough how I aspire to dress like Victorian men and women. Crimson peak had me dying—beautiful in the fashion designs and artistic expressions. Thomas Sharpe’s fashion - I want my own wardrobe now. I love alternative and emo stuff too. And grunge? Is that a word, thing?

What Content to Expect

I am a person with many interests — fascinations and can never entirely settle on one idea at one time, so expect me to be a bit all over the place (My ADHD brain, good lord…) Or perhaps not since I'll try to be as coordinated as possible.

Expect a lot of lore dumps and writing rambling’s. I go real in depth with my own writings, research and characters. I have a few ocs that are a part of some fandoms, and with these particular ocs, I do far too much work that isn’t always necessary. I seriously go to great lengths to gather info and research for my characters and the world building itself. Readings for hours, days, you name it.

Research is a thing I do. Do a ton of it for my ocs. It’s a process.

Creepypasta ocs and a bunch of character designing? Lore crap.

Mostly traditional art, but I do experiment with digital as I’m always trying to improve in that manner.

Randomness… drafts, sketch’s, random shite

Also, side note, I’m a rather forgetful person plus my mental health affects my consistency in the art I create, so my posting will be a little infrequent. Apologies.

Ig: _bu11ets

[greenlikethesea]

for the albums ask - three cheers for sweet revenge - mcr?

you got it!

my favorite lyric

so a lot of my love for this album is tied to phrasing/vocal melody and how gerard sings the words that they've written. for this album and this album alone, i think they are inextricably linked and cannot be thought of separately. this is my favorite section of "it's not a fashion statement, it's a deathwish, starting with the quasi-bridge (in this song with a structure that remains from the prior album cycle!). please listen to how it builds, particularly "and then i'll be with you", possibly the most beautiful vocal harmony in mcr's entire discography. gerard at his most raw and honest, but with the life experience of an impending saturn return (less an astrological term here and more a naming of a definitive turning point in every adult's life where they enter the second phase of adulthood):

This hole you put me in wasn't deep enough And I'm climbin' out right now You're running out of places to hide from me

When you go, just know that I will remember you If livin' was the hardest part, we'll then one day be together And in the end, we'll fall apart Just like the leaves changin' colors And then I will be with you I will be there one last time now When you go, just know that I will remember you I've lost my fear of falling I will be with you, I will be with you

i truly believe that this section of the song is the absolute emotional apex of the album. it's the bloodletting. it's the primal scream and the immediate fallout of such a frightening release. the sheer relief of the worst almost being over, when you realize that the person you've been running from is not just them, but yourself.

my favorite song

this changes all the time, but i think my most consistent favorite song on this album is "the jetset life is going to kill you" which remains an anomaly in their discography and probably the weirdest song they've ever written -- and they wrote the theme to a fucking spaghetti western like three songs later on this same album where keith buckley reads a recipe sotto voce while gerard absolutely wilds out in the bridge. jetset life has got everything. it's got intentional, polarizing autotune three years before t-pain made it his brand. it's a song that's absolutely on its face about drug addiction but also about the sunk cost fallacy of a toxic dynamic while simultaneously remaining completely inscrutable. gerard uses that lovely fucking falsetto that he almost never yanks out again because he hates me personally and wants me to suffer. he devours the furniture in this macy's department store with the sheer drama of "HOTEL BELLA MUERTE". he doesn't outqueen himself in vocal delivery until mama the next album cycle. there's a church organ interlude between ghost of you and this song that has been lost in the streaming era. it really is the most song of all time. and it's not even the best song on the album! (that would be helena. why are you booing me, i'm right.)

the song that makes me cry

so since we've already established that gerard hates me personally and wants me to suffer, i think it's good to extend this to the moments that howard benson also contributes to this. he was like "hey you should have a female singer on the bridge of the ghost of you. also you should bring back the chorus one more time." and the boys***, being lovable idiots who didn't really know how to write songs yet, were like "no." and then rinat came in and wailed like a fucking beautiful banshee on the bridge and they slammed into that chorus and like A. instant tears B. instant banger C. instant classic. listen to the megadeth dude, boys! i will weep to this song if in the right mood, lads.

the song that’s a fucking bop

to the end, gerard's one tribute to 60s girl group vocals per album cycle. it's so fucking fun and ray toro shreds like a motherfucker on this. also this is the second explicitly queer song on the record, which makes me really happy, even tho they sort of subvert it with "THE BOY IS A WEIRDO THO~" because this was 2004 and gerard used the word "homosexual" completely seriously in a print interview like a year later. it was a Wild Time everyone. gerard also probably has the most fun on this track than on any other one, because he's not deliberately trying to be provocative or dramatic aside from the goofy lyrical content. some of the most fun phrasing and adlibs. i have a whole essay in me about glass closeting in performance but y'all don't want to read that.

the song i most dislike/least love

i am a no fun buzzkill and i think that "prison" has aged like milk. it's a super dated edgelord jab at a vulnerable population and their first stab at being ~out there~, which they succeed at when they're just being surreal instead of punching down. prison rape was not funny then and it's not funny now and it's a sour note in their discography and in an otherwise note perfect album. this song is almost always a skip for me.

[honeythispodcast]

hi! i just listened to your affect theory episode and it reminded me so much of this beautiful review i read of my mcr show, and i wanted to share it! it so totally understood my experience of the show, as one of the 'fervently-devoted fans' up front, and it was really touching to have that understood from the perspective of an 'outsider'. this is the link to the full article in rolling stone australia, by conor lochrie (https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/my-chemical-romance-auckland-concert-review-45753/) but here is the section that i loved: '[For] all of their rock opera magnificence and exquisite conceptual brilliance, what, I think, really makes My Chemical Romance a generational band is the sense of intrinsic and invaluable community. At Tāmaki Makaurau’s Outerfields on Saturday night, that was there for all to see: a mass of worshippers arrived passionately but patiently, mostly gathered, unsurprisingly, in black garments, waiting to offer adoration to four people who meant the world to them.

And “waiting” was what they’d really had to do, with Saturday’s concert taking place after several years of COVID-induced delays. Many fans went so far as to camp outside the venue 24 hours before the concert in order to secure the best view. It’s a narrative that again lends itself to some semblance of “spirituality”, for many of the people I spoke to had approached the Outerfields site from the breadth and depth of Aotearoa. One girl, who later disappeared into the huddled masses near the front of the stage, described arriving on a flight from Christchurch that very morning alongside several dozen other MCR acolytes, all already wearing their concert clothing despite the youthfulness of the day. 

Huge screens beside the stage urged the crowd to treat everyone beside them with kindness, but it was a superfluous message, because this was thousands of people united by a shared purpose. Again, one is loath to use the word “spiritual”, but on Saturday night, as soon as Gerard Way took to the stage, he occupied the role of leader, healer, idol, whatever form each person in the crowd needed him to take.

He performed both within and outwith himself, silent at intervals, a shrieking mess during songs, a wholly unblushing artist committed to everything he was doing. On such a massive stage, in front of such an expectant crowd, Way’s way didn’t feel ingratiating; instead, this was a man seized by his music, overwhelmed by his mission. ...

I stood in the middle of the crowd as it all unfolded, behind what I thought were the truly fervently-devoted fans (a lesson from my late Catholic grandmother: always sit in the back at church if you know the people in front need it more than you) and ahead of those probably there for just a good time. Where I stood, looking at people of all ages on the verge of tears, singing lyrics like their life depended on it, I felt pangs of regret, visions of teenage years that could have been so much different if pretension and cultural constriction hadn’t forcibly collided. 

But mostly – I promise – I felt happier for those around me who had waited so long for this moment, and who would never forget this Saturday night. Because, really, it could be an inordinate amount of time until My Chemical Romance perform in Aotearoa again, even if the band themselves will still exist in the minds of those at Outerfields for a while longer: “How wrong we were to think / That immortality meant never dying”.'

I (EJ) remember reading this article when it came out. It kicked my ass then and it kicks my ass now. Absolutely gorgeous incredible music journalism that really honors the fanbase.

We talk more about this at 1:04:06 in the new episode!

[vestiges-of-sleep]

.

Because I don’t want to vent to my friends , they definitely deserve better than me complaining.

You ever thought that, your train has passed? Like all this time you’ve been waiting and for what?

I read the new MCR zine and it’s so beautiful , so full of love.

But I realised that everyone seems to have the same experience that I will never relate to

Start listening when 13 - life happens - see them perform again around 22-26

It seems like that’s the only way, the only route.

Honestly I don’t know why I keep making art and those stories anymore, it’s not like people like them or anything.

I am stagnant, waiting for what?

I contemplated selling everything I have so that I could jump off a bridge one day with no debt.

Or buy that one sleeping pills I keep googling about

I am stagnant, nothing is happening

I am not appreciated, I don’t feel appreciated by my own family.

I am hated by half of this fandom that I made art for

I’m still here for what?

Stagnant , with no where else to go but pretend everyday is a new day

When it isn’t , it’s the same

I’m never gonna see my favourite bands, I’m never gonna get out of my parents house, I’m never gonna find another job

While everyone else around me left and move and is actually happy and accepted

[bisexualgerardway]

god i remember being a teenager who cried alone in bed listening to MCR post breakup and watching concert footage because it was so big and beautiful and there was so much solidarity i thought i’d never experience. to get to be in a reunion return rejoicing era with this band is so special

[tomorrowillbeyou]

everyone is posting so beautifully today about foundations and how their year has gone and their memories of seeing mcr qnd i love it but also it does make me a little sad that my memory is so shit ☹️ like yeah i guess i listened to that song for the first time . i guess i was also at an mcr show . they were probably really special experiences but it's like they got blocked from my memory somehow it's so evil because like that might never happen to me again and i just. can barely remember what happened let alone how i felt . also i was in such a beautiful place back then i think with like so many friends and genuine hope for my future and since then its been like a downward spiral into basically complete isolation and emotional numbness and disillusionment which is EVIL because my chemical romance literally came back and i saw them inside my phone why am i doing WORSE!!! idk this year has not been kind to me. well sorry to be negative i love everyone's posts genuinely it is so beautiful to me to hear everyone's stories i am just a bit of a loser👍

[bloodtwin]

puck fun fact of the day: he has a tail LOL. he's had it since he was a preteen. it looks like the one the slayer form has. ( though puck's slayer form is black & red, so the tail is too. we must stay on theme. he is a walking embodiment of the mcr three cheers for sweet revenge album ok listen. )

i know the slayer form is treated as something durge earns rather than something they already have, but i have retconned that in my mind and take a werewolf approach to it instead bc um. i have autistic swag & wolves are my special interest, so they have to be part of everything, even if only vaguely. so he's always had it, it's just dormant until he goes through awesome bhaalspawn puberty and has a scary, painful growth spurt overnight. his twin iago tried to help ease the pain w/ healing magic but accidentally accelerated the process & left him with a permanent tail, along with claws and fangs. i went back and forth on whether he'd have spike-like ridges on his back too, but i decided instead he can just feel spikes underneath his spine At All Times bc that's more unsettling to me & i like that.

skip forward to puck getting tadpoled. kressa bonedaughter finds him and during her experiments she cuts off his tail. i think maybe he tried to choke her with it, but then she cut it off and he later resorted to trying to choke her with his own intestines like her diary entry states. something like that. this was mostly my justification for his lack of tail in my playthru bc i didn't have mods.

so when he wakes up again w/ no memories he just knows he has some kind of scar on his lower back for a while. then in act 2, after he refuses to kill isobel and convinces shadowheart not to kill dame aylin ( bc iirc killing dame aylin is another way to get the slayer form? ), his tail starts growing back and he's like HUH??????? and that is the story of my son's beautiful tail.

[katsudondom]

"Why doesn't anyone believe in loneliness?

Stand up and everyone will see your holiness."

"Born without a friend, and bound to die alone."

-Zero Chance

"Look on the bright side suicide,

Lost eyesight I'm on your side.

Angel left wing; right wing broken wing."

"Lack of iron and/or sleeping."

-Milk It

"Wipe off that makeup, what's in is despair."

"If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, you can find out first hand what it's like to be me."

"So gather 'round, piggies, and kiss this goodbye."

"I'd encourage your smiles, I'll expect you won't cry."

-The End

Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain, Gerard Way... My top songwriters. Most of their greatest songs are poetic. I love that they all have a different style in their writing as well.

Chris Cornell is a mixed bag. There are lyrics (like the one above) that's more straightforward in its theme, but crafted in such a way that it's so beautiful and thought-provoking. But then you listen to a song like Black Hole Sun and The Day I Tried to Live, and the meanings becomes more ambiguous and up to interpretation.

Most of Kurt's lyrics are entirely ambiguous, and open to interpretation. For example, Milk It can be viewed as a song about battling drug addiction, but someone else could argue that it's about battling mental illness, and then someone else could argue that it's about a toxic/abusive ex. I love it; it's brilliant.

I haven't listened to all of MCR's albums yet, but so far Gerard Way seems to be a lot more straightforward with his writing, which isn't a bad thing if you make them as entertaining as he does. Mixing dark humor with self-deprecation makes for some very memorable lyrics, as you've seen above-and you can tell they're based on his personal experiences and his feelings as well, with a bit of storytelling. I dislike whenever people write a sad song just to write one, if that makes sense..Gerard doesn't do that, as far as I know.

Idk why I wrote this. I guess to appreciate some very good artists, but also to vent a bit since I wanted to post these lyrics anyway because of how relatable they are..

Anyway, this is just my interpretation of each artist. A lot of people say that Kurt just wrote whatever and called it a day, but as you start listening to more of Nirvana's songs from different albums, you'll start to notice what songs Kurt didn't care for and what songs he actually put his heart into. But, again, that's just how I see it so... It's almost 3a.m., I need to try and force myself to sleep...