(50) Sundays of Music: #4

#4: My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

I discovered My Chemical Romance like all great bands should be discovered - through a mixed cd. I know it sounds like a recurring theme for this countdown, but that's how I discovered a lot of music in high school. And after that sample led me to purchase this album, it became a staple of that time period.

There's two different ways to talk about this album. The music itself and the impact it had.

As far as the music, two words come to mind when I think of this album (and the band itself really): energy and theatrics. It's like they are the punk version of Queen.

"I'm Not Okay" is a classic track and one of my top songs of all time. "Helena" is also one of those theatric style songs, with a theatric style video to add to it.

But the thing about Three Cheers is that the energy and the overall feel of the songs stays throughout the entire album. It never stops, even when it dips, such as in "The Ghost of You" the only time the album comes close to a slow song (and another one of my all time favorites).

What I like about it now is the same thing I liked about it then. It's the fact that I can really get into the songs. And not really in an "I can relate" sort of way, more of a "put on a concert in my car" kind of way. I could put on a show back in the day and I can still do it now. From how Gerard Way quivers his voice, to the way the drums blast your chest and everything in between, this album is a complete show.

But on to the impact. I've read different stories from different places about how My Chemical Romance helped teenagers. I remember a story where their music literally saved a kid. He was considering suicide but listened to their music and for whatever reason re-thought his decision.

Now, that wasn't me. Nor did I paint my fingernails black or dye my hair because of new found music. But I did enjoy the hell out of it. And I am not one of those people who hated high school as I actually enjoyed my time. It was the coming home part that I hated.

My dad and I got along fine, but we were never close. When I was home, I spent a lot of time in my room. Not as a loner or anything, I would come out and mingle, but my room was my little slice of the world so to speak. And albums like these were what was on constant rotation in there.

Here are some of the tracks I can still give a good performance to. (But read on, there's more).

While their first cd (I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love) and their latest (Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys) are both great releases, it was their third album, The Black Parade, that almost got its own spot on this countdown. Though they started getting play on the radio, the theatrics continued while the progression into a solid rock band began. The songs below are still ones that, like those contained in Three Cheers, I can put on a solid performance to. (And note to Sara: I smiled hard at the fact that "Mama" was one of your favorites, as it is one of mine too).

*Please take a minute to check out this epic video. I don't know who made it, but it's wonderful.

Newness

It seems like in life, new things always come along that grab your attention. When The Office invaded my life, I lost interest in Scrubs. When Community came into my life, I lost interest in the The Office and so on and so on.

After a plethora of my friends told me I would enjoy Dexter, I gave it a shot on Friday night. It is Tuesday night and I just finished episode 8. I want to keep going but I need some sleep.

I love this show.

I am also enjoying a new song posted by Taking Back Sunday. Definitely came out of nowhere and made me pretty happy.

And I am pretty pumped that both Kanye West AND My Chemical Romance have new cds coming out next week. I've previewed them both and I feel like I won't be disappointed.

sidenote: A friend asked me what I was doing over Thanksgiving break. As this is my first year in the "real world," I told her I no longer had a break :(

And to end this random post, it's hard to call myself a reader when all I read are autobiographies. But is it bad that I am really interested in Jay Z's book and will probably get it for my South Dakota flight in December?

Mr O's Music News

First off, after a month or so of speculation, it has finally been confirmed. On Monday, I will bee seeing The Kings of Leon headline a show in Birmingham. But wait, there's more. The opener? THE BLACK KEYS! To say I'm excited about this is an understatement. For one, I haven't been to a concert in a while. My last experience (Warped Tour) was kinda just, "eh" with one good band - Pierce the Veil. The last few concerts have been club stuff, which is amazing, but I'm ready for an arena show. To just sit and enjoy the music. And I have recently become a huge fan of the keys, absolutely loving and absorbing their sound. So Monday night should be a special night.

*sidenote: There is a person responsible for my going to said concert. I'm just not sure if they want to be identified. But I would like to publicly say thank you and it means so much.

I know I've talked about Anberlin a lot lately, but I want to get this out of the way. Their new cd is great and I am loving it. I think I finally nailed down why I like them so much. I was having a conversation the other day that revolved around why I don't yell when I get mad. I guess I'm kinda one of those get stern and use dagger words rather than make my voice louder and just be an ass. I think you can tell when I'm mad when I start cussing a little bit more or you can just tell by my tone. Anyway, I think that's why I like Anberlin so much. The majority of their lyrics revolve around heartache and anger, but it's a sung in a way where he isn't yelling or whining. It's just such a unique emotional outlet, one that I can definitely get behind. And that is why they are my third favorite band.

Speaking of favorites, news is starting to leak out about My Chemical Romance's new cd. The 19-year-old in me is starting to get a little excited.

Other news I've heard involves cool shows. Andrew McMahon will perform double duties in November when both his bands, Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin, do a show together for the first time ever. If I lived near LA, there would be nothing stopping me from going. Also, after weeks or rumors, Weezer finally confirmed the "Blinkerton" tour where they will be performing The Blue Album and Pinkerton in their entirety - two nights, one city. I'm not the biggest Weezer fan, but that is pretty cool.

Three big names in music dropped cds Tuesday - Brandon Flowers (from the Killers), Weezer and Linkin Park. "A Thousand Suns" by Linkin Park is the only cd I have listened to so far and I have to say - I'm in between. I want to hate it, but there is something different about it that allows it to stand out. Though it feels more like a soundtrack to a sci-fi movie than an actual studio album. The crazy amount of interludes and chanting tracks kind of take it away, but there are a couple definite Linkin Park tracks on there. Jimmy Eat World and Kanye West still have cds to come out this month and I have to say that I'm definitely looking forward to hearing from Mr. West.

Speaking of new stuff, Kings of Leon have a new cd coming out in October. Has anybody heard the new song "Radioactive"? If so, what do you think? My quick thoughts is that it's a decent song, but it sounds, to me, more like an album track than a lead single.

And finally, to close this out, I really can't wait to tell all of you, my friends, about this coming Sunday's selection in the countdown.