How My Chemical Romance Became Immortal

[@dude_thats_rowin]

Ah well golly gee polyphonic, that was a great video! I sure wish you did have a hundred other essays of that type, preferably in a portable medium that I could take with me and consume at my own leisure like a book

[@Polyphonic]

Have I got some good news for you!

[@platinumvg3796]

​@@Polyphonic no way? You have a hundred other essays of this type, in a portable medium that I can consume at my own leisure like a book?

[@kevinshupenia276]

I only wish messaging creators was still a thing like KZbin 15 Years ago. I would love so much to talk at length with you about music. Best wishes. Hopefully you hear this so I'm not shouting into the void. Oh crap, I meant this to be a reply to the video, not you rowandunning. Oh well haha. I'll post it again.

[@Polyphonic]

@@platinumvg3796 Believe it or not, I do in fact have a hundred essays of this type and they are in a portable medium that you can consume at your own leisure like a book: www.amazon.com/Century-Song-Songs-Shaped-American/dp/B0CLTPTXZL/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GmfMOtSbXGWZg9SVsfLt4w.mdFf7ZOxmRWExprIn8biaM4Pj4BmcAyDtR1V0nBlcS8&qid=1710179613&sr=1-1

[@celticwolff5429]

OP You misspelled preferably. According to the video it is spelled "prefeably."

[@lothlin]

This album is never, ever going to leave my permanent rotation.

[@TexasIsACountry]

This song came out weeks after my father died of cancer. I was ten years old, this song would break me and build me up for so many years. It’s still an anthem, thanks MCR.

[@dougbongqueque]

Look into the when we were young festival, I got to see it live 2 weeks ago and I think they’re playing again next year, idk the album tho

[@gplum790]

Watching this the day after Bob Bryar's passing... RIP Brother.

[@TowerJunkie]

GenX mom here. My kids (born ‘99 & ‘02) discovered MCR around 2012, right before their (temporary) break in 2013.. the band left such a mark on me that to this day, they remain my all-time favourite band. That “G” is iconic indeed! Gerard’s solo album helped me through some dark times. After your viewers read YOUR book, if they’re interested in a history of MCR, a really great book is called “Not the Life it Seems” by Tom Bryant (a reporter from Kerrsng) it’s a great thorough read. I’d love to see you tackle Danger Days. There’s so much imagery there. Fantastic essay

[@colonelweird]

Last night I randomly started the first issue of a new comic called Paranoid Gardens - it was great. Incredible art, surreal story, quite gripping. I thought I recognized the writer's name - Gerard Way, but I couldn't quite place him. And suddenly today, while watching this video, I realize he's also a musician! Amazing!

[@tape-6]

oh shit, another paranoid gardnes fan! I've been following gerards comics since 2016ish after becoming a huge fan of their music and ive been loving paranoid gardens. I havent gotten to read the latest issue bc my comic shop is kind of out of my way to get to but the first 2 issues were super interesting

[@liran8799]

Dude also wrote Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol for DC and Peni Parker for Marvel who appeared in Into The Spider-Verse He also wrote a comic in the world of Danger Days, the band's 4th album He's so cool

[@rochat]

This is an underrated album in the way that many people dismissed it for being just another emo album and never gave it a chance. For me, this makes the list for greatest rock albums of all time.

[@typhlosion7872]

Always my favorite album. Rest easy, Bob Bryar, your drumming was yet another irreplacable component in making the perfection that was The Black Parade.

[@Magooch86]

Wow I was literally thinking yesterday how Emo was kind of the last popular rock subgenre to hit the charts but also the first to really take off online.

[@FFmaxxx]

Numetal bands like linkin park were also charting at the time

[@Magooch86]

@@FFmaxxx Numetal came before post-hardcore "emo" pop, so my point stands.

[@lynnbowers4722]

I'm an older gen-xer and this is my favorite rock song. It has all the feels and couldn't be more perfect.

[@FriendofWigner]

Mid-genX here; when I first heard them (Helena), I thought they looked and sounded like Queen and The Misfits had a baby. I put their music on heavy rotation for a good year or so.

[@TowerJunkie]

@@lynnbowers4722 & @FriendofWigner ✊🏻 yay GenX!

[@anotherstockcivic]

It's insane how significant music is in each individual's life, how it can be their anchor in the worst of times

[@AlienToppedPancakes]

My memory might have been influence by the teenage anxiety of existing! But I could swear I saw the official MCR channel released a special tribute video with the song "The Light Behind Your Eyes" when the news of their indefinite break came out. Pleading with fans "-when I'm here no longer, you must to be stronger" knowing that a lot of already struggling fans would take it really hard. And you know, the well documented history of harm after other brands breakup. MCR has always cares about their influence on listeners and the depiction of strong emotions in their lyrics, but never glorified death. Literally shouting at the audience in the middle of the show "-if you're struggling with something then you need to fucking talk to someone about it!"

[@RoseCentaur1916]

I discovered MCR when I was in college. Though, I had heard "Helena" while I was in school and hadn't really connected with it yet. The summer between my Sophmore and Junior years of college though, it hit me hard and I've been and MCR fan ever since. "I'm Not Okay (I promise)" and "Helena" have helped me through tough times. I had a shitty boss for the former and the latter helped me when my Father passed away in 2015. I will always love MCR. 💜

[@NeedleHair]

That halting delivery of the book advert reminds me of Super Eyepatch Wolf. Also, a great orator. Fantastic video! Thank you for your work!

[@ArloMathis]

It really does!

[@kode-man23]

Right!!!?? I was literally about to comment that but then stopped myself. 😂 It has to be intentional though. That was waaaay too spot on to be a coincidence

[@NeedleHair]

@@kode-man23 Man, a colab between them would be exceptional

[@DukesMusic84]

I don't know a single person our age who doesn't love screaming along to all those bands and have NOSTALGIA for this period. I have absolutely none, but I respect all of it. The fact they're all still alive and touring today is a miracle.

[@DukesMusic84]

I only say that because the lyrics are about how depressed and angry they were. Seeing an arena full of fans screaming along to your lyrics should be enough to talk anybody off the ledge.

[@sackitoome]

The song from 0:15 - 1:20 is called Life Moves Pretty Fast... - Bad Mister You're welcome 🙏

[@Guusagi]

yesss one of my fave channels making a vid about MCR?!🤩 They became my favorite band ever just 2 years ago, I was sleeping on em this whole time but so glad I found them❤

[@pratikposhe4440]

Wake up babe, new Polyphonic video dropped!!!!

[@bluepatat]

AND ITS ABOUT MCR!!

[@jaredslootweg6777]

RIP Bob Bryar, you helped me get through the darkest times of my life!

[@justinganz1173]

First time I heard this song was 2012 for the LA Kings playoff intro videos and they eventually ended up winning the Stanley Cup, this song has been not just a great song but all Kings fans know this because of that playoff run. Was also used for three games in the playoffs in 2013 and the first overtime in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals

[@snowyalice]

I was a young teen when Black Parade came out. The CD was on heavy rotation in my discman at the time. It’s funny that as a teacher of teens now I still see them connecting with MCR. Truly timeless.

[@anicemyth]

the first wave of emo actually came in the mid 80s, not 90s. like grunge and pop punk, none of the bands credited with creating/pioneering the genre would call themselves emo, but for the sake of discussing it, rites of spring were the first 'emo' band. they started in 1983 and only ever put out one record. the term came into more common use around 1985. the 90s were a slow period for emo - not that it wasn't still being made by bands like jawbreaker, for example, it was just drowned out by its louder cousins grunge and pop punk. i'm citing this info from the book nothing feels good by andy greenwald. another interesting note about this song is that it was about the fictional character the patient (as well as the drum major and the black parade itself as a character) as much as it was about the band themselves. they had gone to the haunted paramour mansion to record, and it had a big impact on all the guys' mental health, which was already not in a great place. mikey way, gerard's younger brother and the bassist of mcr, had it particularly rough. suffice it to say, he felt like he "was either going to leave the band or leave the world altogether." so in some ways, this song is gerard telling his little brother 'it's okay if you have to leave, don't worry about us, we'll carry on.' this is further reflected in the album's closing track famous last words. (mikey ultimately stayed in the band, and thankfully all of the guys are doing more or less okay now. last we heard from bob bryar, the drummer on this particular mcr album, he wasn't doing so hot but was seeking help for it). in terms of influence, another album that directly influenced the black parade was green day's american idiot. both albums were actually produced by rob cavallo (and it's rob playing that iconic piano intro on wttbp)! i really like that you touched on emo's connections to the lgbt community. a lot of younger/newer fans of emo don't really seem to realize that when that term first came about, it was completely pejorative. 'emotional hardcore' was, like you said, made distinct from other hardcore bands because the guys (and at this point, it was specifically young men targeted by the term) in those bands were writing about 'girly' stuff like mental problems, their love lives, and their friends. emo as a shortening of that basically became a way to get away with calling somebody 'gay,' 'sissy,' 'f-g,' etc.. the connection has been there from the very beginning! since the 80s, the emo subculture has been a space associated with and attractive to queer people. (queer people are also more likely than non-queer people to experience depression and anxiety, so the subculture speaks to us in a multitude of ways). super sorry for the essay. i know this essay was just about the song and not emo history as a whole. but emo is my hyperfixation of over a decade ^_^

[@Atengco]

I remember when this song first came out in my sophomore year of high school back in 2006, i was blown away how powerful this song is and you can hear it like everywhere it became some sort of an anthem after that everyone is like went full Emo in my school (i did too for a short period 😁) and another great thing about the black parade is that it gets even more better as time goes by. i think we can call it a classic now

[@flaash69]

One can only pray we get another album from them

[@aprofondir]

I wish people talked about the album more than the song, because the album is so amazing that the title track isn't even in the top 5 best songs from it!

[@bmoney2011]

One of the best rock albums recorded.

[@devi3ant]

A great album that can be put on repeat

[@Josh-im1lh]

My copy is coming tomorrow. Super excited

[@ShearDouchbaggery]

I bought your book from B&N, now I need you to make a book like "Heavy Metal & You"

[@thebandthesummitts]

My god it took me three weeks two find this. I drink these videos up like water. Keep them coming!

[@quietdemon8138]

This song gives me so many good memories not only do I love both the track itself and the overall album but it was also the song that me and my buddies played at our graduation ceremony (I was the drummer) and after we’d finished we had a 10 minute standing ovation it was awesome and a day I’ll never forget

[@JLebel4130]

I've always said that The Black Parade was way more ambitious than anything that their contemporaries were doing. Glad to see you cover this record!

[@Mix1mum]

Masterful plug. I love it. I'm buying the book just cuz of that.

[@cristiancharlothemolinabel4723]

Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de compartir contenido de calidad. Me encantan tus videos. Que viva la música!!!!

[@michaellorenz7177]

Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Operation: Mindcrime... Just a few of my favorite concept records. Welcome to the Black Parade is deserving to be mentioned in the same breath as these classics.

[@Austin-oq6gm]

My favourite part is that for every album, we got a different band. My personal favourite was three cheers, but you can’t deny how huge the black parade became and still is.

[@ratbones620]

I found MCR during middle school and haven’t stopped listening to them since. Their music means so much to me and has had a really big impact on my life. Also I cannot wait to read your book!

[@LoyaFrostwind]

This Gen X gal still appreciates Linkin Park, MCR and Green Day.

[@syndicaterx]

Watching this now after hearing of Bob Bryant’s passing. I was part of the Emo subculture and I unironically consider to be still am, sans the “not a phase” excuse. Black Parade is indeed our generation’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

[@aborch7]

idk how but I ~still~ get literal goosebumps every time I hear the beginning of Black Parade 🫠

[@SergioEduP]

absolutely same, heard it so many times but those notes still hit so hard

[@GremlinBones]

Three Cheers was also a rock opera.

[@JohnWick-ro8zv]

I would love polyphonic to do a video on three cheers like he did with the black parade

[@PaulMcpickle]

It would be cool to do both albums because three cheers for sweet revenge was a album connected to their first album

[@Ballad-pr9ds]

Oooooo it's at Barnes and Noble! Heck yes!

[@jprivera406]

Babe wake up, polyphonic just uploaded a new banger of a video

[@byronic-heroine]

This album came out not long after I returned to college after having to miss a year for a pretty intense chemo regimen. Needless to say, it means a lot to me.

[@mezmerism107]

That 1 key alone maybe can jumpstart a nostalgic moments in many adult's memory nowadays.

[@tomcp]

I became a fan of MCR because of Welcome to the Black Parade. I hadn’t really heard too many of their other songs since then. I saw glimpses of the Helena video from a commercial on KZbin recently and got curious. Now this has become one of my favorite songs and I learned about the backstory of his grandmother while reading up about it online. Afterwards, I also realized Gerard Way wrote The Umbrella Academy and I latched on to the show in Netflix. I am simply wowed by his talent.

[@PrettyboyAshtun]

i love the raw emotion of mcr i’ve been listening to that first album a lot recently

[@pointzer0204]

as a teen who grew up listening to mcr, and whos life basically got saved by them, this video means a lot. i feel like mcr impacted so many peoples life in a positve way and seeing other persons agree with me in the comments is just comforting

[@giuli_h114]

Im an elder gen z and grew up with MCR, and everytime theres a EMO party, i feel welcome to the black parade is the EMO HYMN.^^ great video.^^

[@afrosamurai64]

great vid. recently jus got into mcr (ik i been missin out) n dis video gave da perfect amount of information without spoiling anything 2 much while remaining visually appealing good job.

[@codycoyote7046]

When you take the Beatles, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, queen and re package it for teens in 2007

[@yeetyeetonthestreet-colinm1186]

that’s what makes them so good

[@codycoyote7046]

@@yeetyeetonthestreet-colinm1186 thanks I had no idea.

[@yeetyeetonthestreet-colinm1186]

@@codycoyote7046 Geez man, i was just agreeing with you :(

[@codycoyote7046]

@@yeetyeetonthestreet-colinm1186 oh sorry haha I thought what I said was obvious, and you basically reiterated my point, which made me think you didn’t get what I meant.

[@whatismynameidk9654]

One of the best albums of all time

[@JohnWick-ro8zv]

The black parade is one of the greatest rock albums to come out in the 2000s and my favourite album of all time

[@tymime]

I remember when emo and garage punk like The White Stripes and The Strokes went mainstream, and how relieved I was that rock music was popular again after so much Britney Spears and NSYNC type pop music. I was always more into 1960s and 1970s music, thanks to my parents. I was always disappointed that it didn't last very long. Feels like the mid-2000s was the last gasp of mainstream rock music.

[@yongyilee3664]

My first-born daughter died 8 hours after her birth. This song became one of a very select few that became an outlet for expressing my grief, anchored with a hope for something better. I remember playing this on guitar and singing it at the top of my lungs in the garden of the children's hospice where our baby girl's body was kept in a cold room (to give us time to mourn her passing before we cremated her). Though Eva is dead and gone, believe me, her memory (and our love for her) will carry on ❤ 4:40

[@soullessthree4341]

Welcome to the Black Parade is the kind of song where if there is a room full of people who hear the start of the middle section they will all be jumping and singing their hearts out for the rest of the song, I would say the song has left a massive imprint on the emo music industry as a whole even almost 20 years later

[@LillyP-xs5qe]

To be fair, Aviv geffen did emo from the start (early 90s) Also it's ok to like his music, he is a very nice person despite having an alcoholic dad (Yonatan gefen, who was a huge composer already), mostly cause his mum was super supportive, and Aviv Geffen been a vocal opponent of the attack on Gaza, been very public in calling for peace, co habitation and full equality in the middle east. Like as this song is famous in most of the world, "cloudy now" (came out in july 93) in the original Hebrew version is popular in 90's kids in Israel, especially the "we're a f***ed up generation! It's cloudy now"

[@luzemiliajara9036]

I love your videos and this one is obviously not the exception! I was wondering if you could do a video about my chemical romance’s album “danger days: the true lives of the fabulous killjoys”, i feel is often underappreciated

[@lukepurser3432]

I honestly love hearing you've read into the bands influences. Because their influences differ from their peers in the emo genre. I think this makes them stand out. I'd honestly love to hear you talk more about the band, but this song and album may be their biggest influence on society. Outside of revenge, which had some, just not as much. But that would make a great video regardless.

[@lukepurser3432]

What it could be is about ironically with the black parade being their biggest chart and financial success, revenge has always been regarded as the fan favorite. Similar to how smashing pumpkins siamese dream was the fan favorite over Mellon collie. Another big influence on the band. So much so, thats exactly how Gerard Way saw it. Years before the songs were even written.

[@sarahwatts7152]

I love this song! When I first heard it, I was convinced it was by Queen

[@nevar23]

Such a great song. Never fails to affect me. And how cool is it that the same director did the MCR video and Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit?

[@somliengtiraphan3243]

One of the only songs where I know what it is after just the first note

[@CoyotesOwn]

Of note: Way is creator of Umbrella Academy (comics). I still waiting for volume 4 Gerald.

[@DragongodZenos]

I pretty much passed emo by, only really dipping my toe into it with Billy talent (I don't know if they count but it's the closest to emo I ever got) going straight into prog rock, prog metal, and most of all Nu metal like disturbed, system of a down, Korn, tool, dream theater and symphony X when I was a teen in the early 2000s. I have never been all that interested into emo stuff apart from the few Uber popular panic at the disco songs, mostly being forced to listen to it when friends put it on in the song rotation

[@PollyW326]

I always get excited to see a new video from you... watch them all! I say this as a Gen Xer... Black Parade is an amazing album.

[@DHGamerMR]

Fellow Gen Xer here, and I agree completely. It was impossible to not hear influences of rock masterpieces like Night at the Opera or Ziggy Stardust throughout The Black Parade, and hearing all of that instantly drew me in. It's the only MCR album I've ever bought.

[@2001eloc]

I had goosebumps the whole video, thank you for this (rock hand emoji)

[@vega306]

I remember when I wanted something edgier than MCR and through KZbin music videos discovered Screamo because the the rock radio stations wouldn’t air it.

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

This needs to be longer!

[@Nkanyiso_K]

Iconic album

[@TECSHINOOBI]

RIP BOB BRYAR, WITHOUT UR AMAZING DRUM SKILLS MCR WOULD BE _________________

[@alildashoffire758]

I wasnt sure what I was coming into This was facinating and I think I love MCR a little more

[@calebthemusicjunkie]

I fucking love mcr

[@mike.c.2113]

I LOVE MCR 🗣️

[@EthanRom]

Also gotta be one of the best rock music videos ever made. Easily top 100. They just don't make them like this anymore. The painted background and practical sets were just something else

[@thrillhouse4151]

My only memory of the band was all the emo kids at school flaunting their t-shirts and writing their name in whiteout on their black Jansports.

[@itsthemaggieshow]

Polyphonic makes another mcr video, I click.

[@joshelderkin9592]

Idk i feel that that opening g note also has the ability to divide a room even if for a fraction of a second 😂

[@tylercriss6650]

God I love your videos so much

[@snappy-star-disco]

My favourite youtuber making a video about my favourite band? Let's goooooooo🔥🔥🗣

[@allisonbergh4429]

I just realised how much I want to hear you talk about Avenged Sevenfold’s “A Little Piece Of Heaven” 😅 It’s my favourite song about [redacted] 😂

[@ce7406]

idk if its in this video so im shouting it out myself

[@xp7575]

MCR: the last nail in emo's coffin, RIP emo, miss you

[@DonaldBermudez-k6u]

Thank you for this video about me and my generation lol wooooo. I graduated HS in 2007 two months before first Iphone debuted

[@kevinshupenia276]

@polyphonic Thanks for capturing my true feelings at a moment in time. You are great. Your echoes video is transcendent. And you predicted correctly and called out correctly, my chemical romance was inspired by pink floyd and they are my two favorite bands. If you ever read this, please know... truly .. I appreciate you..

[@kevinshupenia276]

Oh yay! :D I'm going through a really rough patch and I am so happy to see you got my message of gratitude and admiration!

[@ac-uk6hs]

Do you know when your psychologist will tell you you're cured of your depression? When she's paid off her beach house in Malibu

[@thefeeblesheep]

I saw the music video on MTV and the rest was history

[@sebastianaars8615]

What is the song playing at? 0:40

[@Jakeyisdead]

I'm commenting so I can find out too

[@sackitoome]

Bump

[@gostunkowncodboy]

I wanna know

[@dariendude17]

@@gostunkowncodboy Someone please answer!!

[@sackitoome]

Found it. Life Moves Pretty Fast... - Bad Mister

[@gaurish13]

This "Century of Song: 101 Songs that Shaped American Music" is not available on Audible India

[@neon_darkness]

What's the song in the beginning? 0:26

[@sackitoome]

Life Moves Pretty Fast... - Bad Mister

[@neon_darkness]

@@sackitoome Thank you!

[@marvinmapagdalita727]

Master Piece!!!

[@doctornewell4771]

new black parade video? Let's fucking gooooooooo

[@timhiker5512]

Boomer that recently fell hard for Welcome to the Black Parade.

[@Beautyaddixion]

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is modeled after this fo sho.

[@RanninRavensight]

If only this were like, in something like, I dunno, a book maybe?

[@TheMaria0398]

I was 8 when i saw that music vid on my brothers tv on MTV and thought about Gerard Way "What a beautiful guy".

[@realmusicmedia95]

Oh damn.. 🙌🙌

[@donjai9366]

Hey Polyphonic can u do a video on George Michael?

[@ce7406]

shout out to jim adkins' podcast episode with gerard way! u ppl should watch it

[@RGCAR-q7d]

Pain Remains trilogy by Lorna Shore tho

[@maxscameraguy]

And I have Bob's Black Parade outfit