Posted September 27, 200717 yr Chemical war on emo Posted by Adam Richter September 25, 2007 My least-favorite form of pop music, aside from speed-thrash-ear-bleeding metal, is emo. Apparently, I'm not alone. My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way is quoted on the music Web site nme.com as calling the genre a series of bad words. Emo, for the unititiated, is music that I described in a previous column thusly: "You know what it sounds like: fast, punk-like guitars accompanying a whiny singer who pronounces "me" to rhyme with "today." Songs almost exclusively deal with relationships, or bad relationships, or why the lead singer shouldn't be in a relationship (could it be his enunciation?). It's navel-gazing solipsism set to a generic hard-rock sound, as if to say, I can rock but I still have feelings. Hold me! It's a sham, it's phony posturing and it's about time music fans forced these mediocre bands to stop the charade. Heartbreak and failed relationships in pop music is nothing new." I don't know whether or not Way can sever the ties between MCR and emo, but I like that he's trying in such a forceful and unapologetic way. I definitely don't think he's doing it in some ironic, post-modern fashion, but rather a sincere attempt to convince the world that MCR doesn't play inherently dull and self-obsessed music. What do you think, music fans? Can My Chemical Romance disown the emo tag, or will it forever be stuck with it, like the emo Peter Parker to his black Spidey suit? Does it make them a better or worse band? http://blog.pennlive.com/adamrichter/2007/09/medium_gerard-way-mcr.jpg Gerard Way http://blog.pennlive.com/adamrichter/2007/...war_on_emo.html
