The next time I saw a My Chemical Romance video, I again thought it was weird. It was "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" and I thought it was weird because Gerard kept making crazy eyes. But I loved it anyway because it was about vampires and ever since I was like five and saw Buffy, the Vampire Slayer for the first time, I wanted to be a vampire - but not like those vampires, I wanted to be a vampire rockstar. (I was too young to know that I basically wanted to be Lestat.)
The THIRD time I saw a My Chemical Romance video, it was "Helena" and it made me realize - well, hell, ALL of their videos are weird as all hell! Now that I'd come to this conclusion, I was able to look past the videos and into the songs.
I saw the beautiful lyrics, the passion and the pain. I went back and listened to I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, and I understood what he was saying finally. "Skylines and Turnstiles" made me hurt a little because I learned what inspired Gerard to write the song. I couldn't get enough of the story behind "Demolition Lovers". I heard the story that went along with it about the man having to kill 1000 evil men to be with his lover after death, and realized how it tied into a line from "Drowning Lessons" ("1000 bodies piled up") and was inspired by the creativity and the emotion. "Headfirst for Halos" inspired me then, and it continued to inspire me at some of the darkest times of my life with it's encouragement to "think happy thoughts" and realize that there's more than just the bad. I loved everything about that album. My next purchase was Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. It was different, much different than the debut, but I liked it even more. By then I'd gone back and actually listened to "Helena," and I thought about how hard it must have been to write about someone you loved so much. I respected that they put themselves into the music. It kept them people rather than unreachable icons. So much of this album was REAL LIFE - "Give 'Em Hell, Kid" about teen pregnancy, "The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You" about addiction and suicide; lyrics echoing love and pain and friendship and loss. "I Never Told You What I Do For a Living" seems to continue the epic from the first album, and I loved it because the music told a story. There was SO MUCH on this album that just spoke to me, and I still can't get enough.
You know, I see people all the time who claim to be "real" My Chemical Romance fans because they've known them longer or something, downing people who discovered them later on, and I don't get it. If you're really a fan, why would you begrudge anyone else the opportunity to be reached by their music? Then you see fans saying they "sold out" with their third album. Sold out? No. They grew up. They're still growing up. Time does that, and I've come to respect it. Did you have the same outlook six years ago as you do today? No? Didn't think so.
A lot has happened since the beginning of my My Chemical Romance love affair; they've released The Black Parade - everything told a story, and everything seemed perfectly relatable - and they're soon releasing another album. I've fallen in love with Ray's hair, Mikey's glasses, and Gerard's "crazy eyes," and the fact that Frank is super awesome AND not so much taller than I am. Matt's gone, and now Bob's not there, and I've been shocked with every other fan. I've seen band members marry, heard baby news, and I've loved every minute. I'm anxiously waiting to see what reaches my heart next. I've learned a lot from My Chemical Romance, and one thing I'll never forget is what I learned from "Our Lady of Sorrows":
"Stand up fucking tall, don't let them see your back
And take my fucking hand and never be afraid again"
And take my fucking hand and never be afraid again"
Those lines still touch me, because among the many things I've learned from music in general, and My Chemical Romance in particular, the biggest is that some people will always be there for you, and that all the people who try to shoot you down because of it aren't important. But you know what else? The music's always going to be there for you. It's constant, and it's life. You can always learn, and it can always help you grow and change and stay strong and move on.
So thanks, My Chem. Thanks for making videos that were "weird as all hell" because I wouldn't have it any other way. Your music shaped me as a person in a lot of ways, saved me from making some stupid mistakes, and made me stop taking things for granted.
What about you, readers? Am I the only one who's been affected? What's your story? What's your favorite song? What's your favorite anything? Share :)
Love always,
Mari
marissa.billiet@hotmail.com
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