I wouldn’t apply to join the Black Parade because it doesn’t seem like the Marching band in the SpongeBob Squarepants episode with Sweet Victory! It’s Scuzz Sunday…

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Here’s a track that should really draw viewership to the blog! Whoops, I shouldn’t have said that! Jacob Braybrooke here, as always, with your weekly late 90’s-mid 00’s emo/punk throwback as we’ve quickly approached another Scuzz Sunday! I think it was always an inevitability when I set out with my “Scuzz Sundays” feature that I would be covering a My Chemical Romance track at some point, since the band were undeniably one of the most commercially successful, and still very popular, bands of the very era in which I’ve based the timeline on, and for all of the right reasons, I feel. It may feel like a formality, but it’s also a reminder of the boundaries which they pushed in their peak. The band have also been embarking on a big reunion tour around the world, which was announced last October and it’s currently ongoing, with the band performing in European territories in the past few weeks. A punk ballad which initially reminds me of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Welcome To The Black Parade” is a memorable track which shot right up to the #1 spot in the UK Singles Chart upon it’s release in September 2006, as well as reaching the top of the charts in many different countries around the world. It was released as the big single preceding the release of their third studio album “The Black Parade” in October 2006. It’s since been considered a classic, with the video being named as MTV’s “Music Video of The Century” in 2017 and the song itself being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame’s “Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”, no pressure! Let’s revisit the track below!

They obviously love Queen! I don’t personally think the track’s really as original as it’s made out to be, but it still resonates with large crowds and I can’t deny the influence it had. A musical opera like no other, “Welcome To The Black Parade” is an art-punk ode to the death of front-man Gerard Way’s father, who very sadly passed away in a battle with cancer. Way starts, over a subtle piano melody, “When I was a young boy/My father took me into the city/To see a marching band”, with the father asking him to be “the Savior of the broken” and leaving it with: “Because one day/I’ll leave you/a phantom to lead you in the summer/To join the Black Parade”, before the pace gradually heightens to form a crescendo of powerful drum beats and the signature guitar riff. Later in the track, Way urges himself with the will to put his armour back on following the mourning of his father’s death: “We’ll carry on, We’ll carry on/and though you’re dead and gone, believe me/your memory will carry on”, with the pacing of the track kicking into a frantic movement with super-sized pop/rock hooks and pounding bass riffs. It indulges itself in an over-the-top exercise of grandeur, but it later ends on a more hopeful note, with Way lyrically exploring the simplicity of an “It’ll work out in the end” emotion, as he punches the explosive, theatrical chorus to a slowly dissipating halt with: “Do or die/you’ll never make it/Because the world will never take my heart/Go and try, you’ll never break me/We want it all/We wanna play this part” before the track fades out with Way proclaiming: “We’ll carry on”, leaving a few percussive drum patterns which symbolizes the notion of his father’s memory continuing to drum along with the times. It’s a hard thing to look back at a track like this 14 years after it’s original release since I’m unable to go into it with an open mind as I’m aware of such a massive hit that it was. However, my overall response is that it’s basically a pop tune which has been disguised as some new-found sub-genre that was sweeping the masses over it’s feet. At the time where Mika was topping the charts with “Grace Kelly” and Gnarles Barkley made their stealthy arrival with “Crazy”, this track was ultimately viewed as a counter-cultural emo anthem which takes influence from the operatic style of Queen and the narrative grandeur of Led Zeppelin. It still sounds very loud, brash and sub-cultural, however, it’s also about as mainstream as it gets. I love the heartwarming story of Way paying tribute to his father and it makes me feel nostalgic when I revisit the track, but 14 years on, there’s something very corporate about the track which I’m really struggling to ignore. It was an edgy rock anthem, but it’s now a disposable pop record. I hope that makes sense!

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Thank you for reading this post! We’re all back to the grind at work tomorrow and so I’ll be cheering you up through it with my daily blog posts, starting off with an in-depth look at an old track from an English producer who went off the beaten track with a few odd hits in the 90’s, including a trance tune which doesn’t sound Vegan-Friendly in it’s official title! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/