Let me just start off by saying I don’t hate My Chemical Romance. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t own any of their music, and I think they’re pretty laughably ridiculous, but I don’t HATE them. They play their instruments and write their own stuff and at least they try to write big demanding songs. Sure their efforts to fly in the rock god stratosphere fail when they feel the harsh snap of a cold chain, tethered to a steel ball, super-glued to earthbound mediocrity, but, hey, they’re not Fall Out Boy or Good Charlotte.
But frontman Gerard Way is making it REALLY hard for me to maintain my generous non-hatred stance. For one, he felt the need to let reporters know that sometimes on the road he battles depression with literature:
‘I usually bring a copy of Catcher In The Rye around with me on the road and if I get depressed. I have moments in my life where I feel kind of strained and it’s a really good book for that because it kind of clears your head.’
Wow. That’s awkward. I went through an embarrassing period in High School where I slicked my hair back, tried not to talk to anyone, and carried Notes From Underground around with me. In my defense: I was 17, it lasted one week, and, perhaps most importantly, it was Dostoevsky. But a grown man walking around with junior high school fodder? Ouch.
It’s the kind of thing an over-dramatic thirteen year old girl would do. Oh, and speaking of that, Way recently told reporters some exciting stuff about recording at the Paramour Mansion:
‘A lot of crazy stuff happened…. [We] were in the kitchen making coffee and this door slammed in front of us. It was this door to the basement that nobody ever went into and we just ran like girls.’
Yeah. That’s kid of a deal-breaker. I can’t help you, Gerard. At this point, I think Brandon Flowers could probably take you in a slap fight.
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January 22nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
1) I agree with chuckles about the books…
2) nearly every artist that has stayed in the paramour has said things like Gerard did. though I do laugh every time I see that quote. xD
I also agree with what jeni said.
December 29th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
look im not bias or anything but i love MCR and i think its good that Gerard can be open about himself no matter what unlike some guys who keep every thing to themselves and dont say a word about how they feel even to thier girlfriends/wives its lame!
and although ive never read the catcher in the rye i have a feeling its one of thoese books some people relate to more than others.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:03 am
Notes From The Underground is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. Dostoevsky and other self-loathing writes of the like are all I need on a rainy day… or when I get a day off from work and masturbation has gotten boring.
November 7th, 2007 at 8:01 am
I agree with chuckles. I am way to old for the genre, but re-read “the outsiders” when I get down. A good book is like an old friend.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Why are you all ragging on Catcher in the Rye? Okay, so it’s about teen angst and Gerard is a teensy bit too old to really identify with it, but so what if he takes it on the road with him? I re-read books from when I was younger because they’re comforting. And I include Catcher in the Rye in that list.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:28 am
great book, and I love MCR.
October 15th, 2007 at 1:00 am
Psychopaths ,according to T.V. , identify with Holden Caulfield because of the disassociation he feels from society and a hole lot of other shit.
So I am guessing his agent or publicist thought the EMO brats would love to think they are dancing around to the ramblings of a serial killer. or he actually is a serial Killer. which is more likely? I mean who ever thought that book cheered them up or cleared their head? nobody thats who!
October 14th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Mark David Chapman (who murdered John Lennon) was obsessed with it and wanted to model his life after Holden Caulfield’s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_David_Chapman
Did I miss the part in the book when the protagonist murders a rockstar for no apparent reason?
October 14th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Yeah, I had the same experience (read it at 21!). It’s a book written entirely to speak to a particular age group, and if you’re too late, you just find yourself thinking “yeah, I’m aware of all of this, thanks.” Although the scene when the pimp beats him up in the hotel room really got me.
Didn’t several assassins have this on their person when captured, or is that just Mel Gibson’s Conspiracy Theory talking through me?
October 14th, 2007 at 4:17 am
I read Catcher in the Rye too late… I think I was about 18 or 19. Nobody made me read it in Jr. High or High School and, sorry to say it, but I didn’t really read books for pleasure until I was trying to impress college chicks around then.
I thought Holden Caulfield was a real douchebag. Guess I missed the boat.
October 14th, 2007 at 12:57 am
What are you talking about?
It’s because of guys like Gerard Way, that make guys like me, look remotely appealing to the opposite sex.
Gladstone, you gotta keep it in perspective.
October 13th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I liked the Brothers Karamazov better.
October 13th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I liked Catcher in the Rye too. In 9th grade. It is a book that’s a classic for dealing with adolescent issues. So y’know. You grow up. You’re no longer an adolescent. You move on. Or I guess you join a prissy rock band and remain in a perpetual state of adolescence and still carry around a book for multiple readings that you and I fully appreciated while we were still getting pubes.
October 13th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
jeez…why does everyone hate catcher in the rye so much? everywhere i go, people opine that only pathetic emo kids (or adults, in this case) like it. isn’t it supposed to be a classic?
also, no thirteen-year-old girl would carry around catcher in the rye. trust me.
points of interest:
1) no, i do not like my chemical romance. this comment is directed more towards the book and it’s bad reputation.
2) no, i do not carry around catcher in the rye myself. i just read it once for tenth grade english and liked it well enough.
3) i’m pretty sure i had a third point.
October 13th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
The Killers with Madame Bovary
October 13th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Still, fun exercise. I’d put Modest Mouse with Hot Water Music and Pedro the Lion with Confessions of St. Augustine. Anyone else?
October 13th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Good point, homsar.
Actually, the original idea for this post was to link whiny rockers to specific works of literature. But then I found the run like a girl quote, put the two together, and took the easy way out. Because I’m lazy. And not that bright. On the other hand, if the wind slams a door in my house, I usually don’t wet my pants.
October 13th, 2007 at 7:58 am
No matter how famous a man is, he should never admit to running like a girl.
Hell, NO man should say things like that…
Geezuz but that platinum-blonde albino weirds me out…
October 13th, 2007 at 12:10 am
No wonder they’re so damn emo! They’re reading the most depressing book in history, except maybe for Night.
But that’s for another blog post, I s’pose.