she's right its never too late. i picked up playing piano in my late 20s and now in my 30's I dont regret it at all. If music calls to you, you better answer!
Go for it, I play bass. But decided to try and learn more party friendly musical instruments. Decided to learn the Uke' but played it via bass for songs 🙃 Rammstein on the uke is great fun lol!
That's very achievable! It seems like magic if you don't play an instrument, but your brain and body will remember scales and musical conventions after maybe one or two years of practice well enough to do this.
a lot of modern music is surrounded around the same chords. Im a basic guitar player but have heard so much music and same patterns in different order that u can play along with the basic chords. I play bass in a System of a down tribute band and most of the songs blend together for me now because they use the same notes in most of their songs. i promise u can do it too :)
The piano notes in the beginning are so iconic, that even today most millenials who grew up during that time will instantly recognise it by just the first three notes.
This was a really fun reaction, because of context. The Black Parade is a concept album about a man with terminal cancer, and this song, late in the album, is the arrival of his death. But as you note, it's a song of triumph and perseverance. Death's parade has arrived and is carrying the Patient away to the afterlife, and it's sad but it's also continuation of the cycle of life.
This song alone is epic already. But listening to the whole album this become a whole different beast. You can feel that the character is afraid of death but never ashmed of it. His death is the peak of the mountain. Crazy how they pulled this subject with such a positive and joyful approach
To be fair, in the story, The Patient is starting to accept his death in Welcome to the Black Parade, and he's remembering his father, happy memories, and trying to be optimistic about dying of cancer. It's at that point where he starts to feel sad about his family losing him, his previous relationships, and his actions in the past. Then he again becomes depressed and feels like he gave up. But at this point in The Black Parade, it's supposed to feel a bit more uplifting.
Depends if she explores more MCR. Because like she said, Welcome to the Black Parade is a positive song, which is the opposite what people imagine when they think the word emo
But if she does listen to more MCR, I hope she listens to Helena. It's a song that I think is equal to Black Parade in that it might be one of their best songs
The borrowing of classical motifs is also a metaphor for the message of the song. Those composers are long dead and gone, but their memory will carry on. Embracing what they left behind to help us continue moving forward.
I'm a Queen fan and was in my 20's when Freddie died and when my daughter started listening to this it brought me into modern music. This is the second best song only behind Bohemian Rhapsody Brian joined them on stage and they played Bohemian Rhapsody followed by the Black Parade ideally showing Brian in his song and then joining them with their song
Yup, precisely... and they always said that Queen were a major influence. I think one can easily see that in how this track has distinct segments (a la Bo Rap - and Macca's Live & Let Die, come to that!). ruclips.net/video/OfaxD9bxCHw/видео.html (The live version with Sir Brian May on lead guitar (Red Special, of course)).
Absolutely - you can hear Queen's influence all over this track. But then I'd never thought also of the echoes of Pachelbel's _Canon_ and Ravel's _Boléro_ in the intro as well. Like all the best rock, it references and respects what came before it while also adding its own new approaches. A lot of people have looked down on My Chemical Romance on as just another emo band, but this song alone shows how dismissive that is. Easily one of the best rock tracks of the 21st century
@@rhonafenwick5643MCR has always been more than just another emo band. Their style has always been so theatrical, the subjects and emotions dealt in the songs are huge and meaningful. Album to album they've been able to switch themes and concepts and reinvent themselves somewhat every single time. Not a lot of bands are able to do all of this at all.
“When I was a young boy, my father to too me into the city to see a marching band. He said ‘Son when you grow up will you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?” Therapist: “That’s a lot of pressure at such an early age.” “Wait, it gets worse.”
Definitely reminiscent of what Queen did with songs like Bohemian Rhapsody and March of the Black Queen (another song you have to listen to by the way). Anyhoo, this is a fantastic song!
The music theorist 12tone noted something interesting in the intro, where the piano keeps rising and falling but ultimately slips lower and lower, almost as if it's stumbling but at the very end it rises one last time, like it's not going to give up. It matches the song's theme of enduring through everything life throws at you and making a lasting impact and a memory never to be forgotten. Welcome to the Black Parade is the capstone on a rock opera exploring the themes of a young adult dying of terminal cancer far too early and raging against the expectations that he can't matter or make a difference. It's not exactly a song of joy, as you said, it's more a song of rebellion, of simmering anger at those who try to beat others down. MCR (and emo rock in general) is targeted towards the misfits, the rejects of society, those that don't feel like they have a place, and screams "we hear you, we feel you, we understand, it sucks, let's do something about it." At the end of the intro, and near the end of the song, he's less singing as he is _screaming,_ he's shouting at the world that nothing is going to stop him and he will carry on, all behind a cacophonous battery of matching snares. He has his own parade, it's not just him, he's not alone. They all will carry on together.
what i love about the transition at 12:38 from the bridge to the... breakdown...? is that they barely change tempo. it FEELS like its slowing down a lot, but in reality, the pulse only drops a few bpm. they stretch out the melodic elements to mimic a heavier ritardando, and go into a half-time feel to really sell the new rhythm, but that underlying pulse barely changes. which, as someone who used to do marching band in college, is a fun trick to add a massive slowdown near the end, without changing the speed the players have to march at. which absolutely fits the whole marching/parade motif the song is going for, musically, even in the more rock-forward section.
My youth band performed this song as our “rock cover” at youth camp. We worked for 3 months on it to nail the guitar harmonies, choir vocals, upbeat verses and chorus, breakdown going into the bridge, key change, and overall dynamics. We had a drummer, bassist, 2 electric guitarists, 2 acoustic guitarists (the other songs we played had acoustic guitar, so for this song they just added to the vocals) 1 lead singer, 2 backing singers, a piano player (who also had a mic) and our bass player was also on MD (music director, basically a mic that goes into the bands and tech teams ears so he can give instructions mid set). It was so hard but so worth it.
"And paint it black" is also a nod to The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." Another deceiving upbeat rock song that muses about grief and invokes a setting of a funeral.
The first song I remember listening to for my own enjoyment. We had a semi-portable record player with speakers you could detach and that album was around. I played it straight into my ears from speakers on each side of my head. Haha. I was probably 7. I still really like it.
Most of the members of My Chemical Romance are classically trained musicians as well, a lot of their songs especially on The Black Parade album incorporate elements from influential classical music pieces.
I love that you reacted to this and found joy in it. :) I was not a big My Chemical Romance fan at the time this came out, but it was very easy to hear conversations in the halls of my suburban high school where people talked about this album. It was huge and really resonated with a lot of teenagers at the time. This album is almost 20 years old now, which I think is enough time for a certain degree of nostalgia and reflection. As someone who mainly listened to older rock and jazz at the time, this struck me as being a bit too melodramatic (I also didn't want to be a part of a trend in a way some teens make a point in not doing). With time, I think I can appreciate the musical, dramatic, and thematic elements of the song, especially in the context of an album about coming to terms with death. It's a genuinely well-crafted rock song. The opening piano notes and the modulation near the end have become absolutely iconic moments in rock music with good reason. They hit hard.
They knew exactly what they were doing in terms of the melodrama. The song "Mother" from this album features Liza Minelli for god's sake! 😄 The story behind the "Black Parade" album actually started with Green Day's release of "American Idiot", which was a concept album. The members of My Chemical Romance were so floored by it that they committed themselves to writing a concept album of their own, and they hired the producer of American Idiot to help them realize it. Huge bands releasing concept albums was a surprising but delightful nod to the 1970s, in the middle of the 2000s.
I'm a sucker for a slow build and this hit me like a truck when it came out. I was too proud of a snobby punk teenager to admit to liking "emo music" - and mostly I didn't - but My Chemical's theatrics and energy always appealed to me.
how do you feel about their first album, Bullets, and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge? I love punk and those two are my favorite material of theirs for the hardcore/punk influences throughout them
I sing this song at my local karaoke bar and I am always surprised by the amount of young people who do not know this song. I am so glad that I can introduce it to them.
Yes, almost like Ode to Joy. And the drums aside from the cascading effect are also carrying almost a military marching beat in that point. I've never listened to My Chemical Romance before that I know of, so thank you for the experience. For a modern group I really enjoyed them.
I don't think it's exactly the same marching snare rhythm as Bolero but it is a good catch; if you've never listened to MCR before and liked this song I would strongly suggest the whole Black Parade album, it's right up there with Ziggy and Dark Side and Revolver to me.
Watching your reaction to songs like this one, takes me back to when I first heard them in my adolescence. This and others have brought tears to my eyes. I appreciate your genuine enthusiasm. It's infectious!
That's curious. Even born in the late 80s and very much in the rock space, I never actually heard this song. I only ever heard about the band. I definitely would have liked this a lot.
@@chaddubois8164 It's really a shame. I can't remember now -- was it their visual aesthetic that turned people off, the fact that teen girls liked them, or...? It just seemed like it was cooler to hate on them than give them a listen. I'm glad so many people actually gave them a real chance once this album came out.
The black parade is actually symbolism for cancer. It’s the feeling of losing someone to it early in life. The song is from the perspective of the poor person dying in the hospital bed. The music video actually has a parade of people who are grey and dead. The person is crowned for the main float. It’s dark symbolism at its finest. The black parade shots are actually bits from Hawaiian legends about ghostly warriors march every night down Kīlauea and if you interrupt them you could join them as your soul is sucked out to join the endless march.
This whole album is iconic in modern music history. MCR was probably the premiere alt/emo band of their time, and this song, Teenagers, and Famous Last Words became anthems for an entire generation lol.
Agreed, it's a fantastic concept album in its own right and slaps cover to cover. A true celebration of death, it starts with "The End." and the fading beat of the heart monitor, then launches into Dead! with one of the sickest licks in Emo music, the joyous damned celebrating their new denizen. It's like all the songs reminiscing about life are depressing and cruel, and all those after death are exuberant, much like someone suffering from a terminal illness being freed from their agony. 10/10 album, Rolling Stones top 500 of all time.
This song is so iconic that if someone plays that single solitary sustained first note on a piano... everyone who grew up listening to Punk Rock/Emo will be able to name that tune and we'll all start singing "When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city..." lol
I love how the reference to Paint It Black informs the way the song is performed-not allowing melencholy to drag the singer down, but spurring them on instead.
@@Chr1sWaterous Muse started long before MCR, and the progressing Virgin Rock shows is from classical music just like most of what inspired Welcome To The Black Parade. Muse is inspired by classical music in huge part, you can hear a lot of Bach - harmonies, simple melody underneath Bachian motives either on top of for bass guitar, etc.
Hello, I recommend you listen to Muse - Exogenesis Symphony Full Muse are one of the most innovative bands of the past 25 years, incorporating classical, progressive, alternative, and other subgenres in their music. In this case Exogenesis Symphony is comprised of 3 parts, and as the name suggests, it is classical/operatic sounding. Each part is unique but at the same time add up to tell a full story, one I think you might really enjoy.
I have been a fan of MCR for over a decade and have quite literally listened to this song hundreds of times, and I get chills EVERY time it goes into that last chorus. This song is timeless and iconic and perfect and any other positive adjective you want to use to describe it.
Loved your reaction as always. Very honest and toughtful 😊 Would love to see you react to more My Chemical Romance (MCR). I would recommend "Mama" from the Black Parade album ❤
This is one of my favorite songs of all time and although I’ve listened to it well over 100 times, your masterful musical breakdown + your interpretation of the lyrics and key moments brought me an entirely new appreciation for the song and a tear to my eye 🥹 you are incredible at what you do thank you!
So excited to see you react to this, and you genuinely enjoying it. I typically am super open to people's music opinions but if someone doesn't at least acknowledge Welcome to the black parade is a well put together song, they've lost all credence on their music tastes with me. BTW Famous last words might be a good next song to cover.
Hearing this song now in light of this week, I am feeling grateful that this video popped up on my feed because it gave me a feeling of solidarity and endurance.
I love the point that you made about how the lyrics could give a completely different impression based on the musical backing, I never considered that before. It sounds so triumphant, but they could have played it a more somber way and the words could have taken on a completely different interpretation. I would love another reaction and would definitely recommend the song Helena by My Chemical Romance.
I just discovered your channel. This is the first of your videos I've seen… And I am hooked. What a refreshing way to react to music on here! Thank you for sharing your musical insight and helping us all appreciate some of our favorite songs a bit differently!
My yt journey started with her slipknot video, and i STG im obsessed. Watching this lady go over my life long list of songs and breaking them down in such a good way is amazing! You can tell she loves her music!
Oh my god. Just looking at you explore every crevice of the music and your facial expressions makes me know you're a true music lover. made me sub immediately. Your harp fills gave me chills too!
There are a few songs that I can cry my heart out to while thinking of missing family members, but this is the most... _triumphant_ of them. Porter Robinson's _Goodbye to a World_ sounds like a recording degrading from constant use, and the first time I heard it (in an Among Us meme of all things), it made me think of my maternal grandma, and how she died rather suddenly, and how my aunt would play a voicemail from her over and over. It sat with me because the voicemail was something so simple; just Grandma-slightly frazzled-asking about what dishes she should make for a family get-together. I'd spent a good three or four years just wallowing angrily because I didn't get to visit Grandma before she passed, but hearing _Goodbye to a World_ opened the floodgates, and even now it's the quickest way to make myself cry if my eyes are feeling itchy and heavy. _Welcome to the Black Parade,_ on the other hand, is the what got me believing in something similar to the Heavenly Choir after I'd gone through a crisis of faith during my mom's funeral. To me, the Black Parade is akin to a psychopomp. If you're unfamiliar with the term, I'm talking of those entities in myth and religion like the Ferryman Kharon, the Grim Reaper, and the Angel of Death. The Black Parade celebrates your life as you join the march, and once you've reached your place of rest you go on to the next great adventure. It's Mardi Gras, Dio de Los Muertos, and a funeral rolled into one, something you join happily, *_triumphantly,_* because however long your life was, every second was worth it. I don't cry nearly as hard nor as often to _Black Parade_ as I do _Goodbye to a World,_ but my heart doesn't ache when I do. I cry to _Parade_ because I remember all the moments I shared with my loved ones as the parade marches on. I cry to _Goodbye_ for all the moments I never got to share with them.
I was totally blown away when I saw the music video (before the song was released). My youngest daughter, now 21, eventually discovered MCR on her own. But 21P is her passion.
Yes! I would love to hear this song and Helena arranged for Choir and Symphony... The Blue Man Group have done an arrangement of this very song on Drumeo...
Like "Tommy" or "The Wall", this is one song from a rock opera, specifically the last song. 12tone did a very thorough musical analysis of this song a few years ago which provides some context for where the song fits into the story: ruclips.net/video/8HeRf5EidjA/видео.html
The album is a masterpiece. It fuses deep dark lyrics with epic playful arrangements. Gerard Way has stated that the album was heavily influenced by Queens A Night At The Opera. In fact, Brian May joined them on stage at the 2011 (I think that was the year) Reading Festival for this song and it was even more epic than you can imagine. The premise for this song is that Death comes for you in the form of your most intense childhood memory and in this case it's a cancer patient's memory of being taken to see a marching band by his father. The video gives a visceral representation of this song. Check out Mama, another gem from this album.
Its funny how Emo music gets this reputation for being sad and melancholic, and yet here we are with one of the quintessential emo bands and what is almost certainlyy their most well-known song, and it's one of the most triumphant and motivating songs ever produced. Yeah, its got some darker themes and symbolisms, but at its heart, it's about resilience in the face of otherwise unrelenting despair.
This time frame/genre of "emo" music is a guilty pleasure, although im not sure i should call it a "guilty" pleasure. its just a pleasure to listen to now! Thats just a carry over from years past and faded stigmas. The whole genre/movement really was just... "Theatrical" i'd call it, maybe not as grand and over the top like this but it oozed something different than the past rock eras like punk/grunge this is distinctly different and damn good/catchy. (while pulling influences still!)
My Chemical Romance has been my favorite band since 2005, when I first heard of them. I am so glad you enjoyed this track, it truly is one of their best. I am also surprised how much I learned about it from you during this video. How I had never noticed the similarities to Ravel's Bolero in 18 years is beyond me.
There are so many reasons why the kids, the nearly 40 kids, love this song…you nailed down just reacting to it. 🙂🙂🙂🙃 I appreciate you. We appreciate you.
I definitely have a soft spot for songs that do a great job at blending orchestral elements into rock music: 1. R.E.M. - "Losing my Religion" 2. The Cranberries- "Linger" 3. Smashing Pumpkins- "Tonight, Tonight"
My nephew called this song ‘needlessly epic’, which I think is not warranted. My son, then in his 20s, introduced me to this song and album. Didn’t get it at first, but now I love it.
For me Black Parade is the perfect mix of Bohemian Rhapsody and Do You Hear the People Sing?. It’s a perfect time capsule to my teenage years and I will forever be grateful to My Chemical Romance
I love your thourough reaction to it. Lyric wise, music wise. This song ment a lot to me and still is something me and my friends sing along when it comes up on the playlist at the top of our lungs
You're awesome. I really appreciate the honest looks at music you can hear at a Spencer's but have honestly reshaped rock music. Thank you thank you thank you
I wasn't a big fan at the time but looking back were they the last young band to break it big with live instruments? I can't think of a more recent rock band that young to make it that big. They were huge.
I am amazed with everything you picked up from the song just by listening to it Though I do sometimes wish you also have a visual, because not all but some music videos help compliment the music itself
Thank you, I'm delighted to learn that the composition of the song actually reflects the themes the lyrics attempt to convey-- the repetition of how when you are dead and gone your memory will carry on, set to music that we may lack context for but subconsciously we all recognize, left behind by people who are deceased. It makes me feel reassured as a listener that the song/singer is telling the truth, and thus, feel soothed in addition to the usual vicarious determination and boisterous energy I got from the song previously. 🖤
Here you came to the MCR. It always brought me a bit of positivity in most of their songs starting from the Black Parade. And I actually don't care if that was emo or something else - they just bring joy by their energetic and often contaigious music and good lyrics. For me there are a lot of good songs from them, maybe most iconic after "Welcome to the Black Parade" is "Famous Last Words" or pure energy of "NaNaNaNa"
I think it's interesting that step up from G to A, which on many stringed instruments, like the guitar, it is an easier, more open, more easily in tune chord to play.
Oh I love this song! I've never been into emo stuff, but this song was all over the place when it was released and there is something about those melodies that I never could resist. I agree that it is joyful, but I find the melodies to be melancholic or maybe nostalgic. And I've, actually, never payed much attention to the lyrics. In this case, this song, they are kinda irrelevant to me.
Interesting comment Jovana, I had a similar reaction when Amy did "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots. I said even though I loved the song, I never paid much attention to the lyrics even though I heard it many times. So I told Amy I found her lyric breakdown interesting since that was the first time I ever paid attention to the lyrics before. While with other songs the lyrics are the first thing that hits me. Although in your case I think it is more that you knew what the lyrics said, but they just didn't resonate with you, and yet you still loved the song.
@LeeKennison Exactly. I knew the lyrics but they were not what pulled me in. It was the melodies. And I've actually never had this song on any playlist and many times passed many years until I hear it, but the thing is that whenever I do hear it, it hits me. I mean, it's not any serious and profound hit, but it evokes some feelings. Again, I simply love the melodies throughout the whole song.
I have been a rabid music fan since I could buy my own music. And I have learned more in the last few weeks from this angel than I had in the 40 years prior.
If you ever hear someone say "you can summon a whole generation with one note" they are referring to the opening note to this song. Its such an iconic sound to so many people my age.
You know, there were a lot of people who hated this song when it first came out because of how overplayed it was on the radio, but I always loved it. Very Queen-esque, but still very steeped in contemporary rock traditions for its time. Like someone modernized the epicness of 70s pomp-rock!
16:03 my dream is to be able to do what Amy did right here. Just be able to pick up my instrument and immediately play along with a song.
Oh yes! Why not? Go for your dream! "Dream On"!
she's right its never too late. i picked up playing piano in my late 20s and now in my 30's I dont regret it at all. If music calls to you, you better answer!
Go for it, I play bass. But decided to try and learn more party friendly musical instruments.
Decided to learn the Uke' but played it via bass for songs 🙃
Rammstein on the uke is great fun lol!
That's very achievable! It seems like magic if you don't play an instrument, but your brain and body will remember scales and musical conventions after maybe one or two years of practice well enough to do this.
a lot of modern music is surrounded around the same chords. Im a basic guitar player but have heard so much music and same patterns in different order that u can play along with the basic chords. I play bass in a System of a down tribute band and most of the songs blend together for me now because they use the same notes in most of their songs. i promise u can do it too :)
That one note, the first note of that song, will set off an entire generation. One of the best songs about death and grief.
When the first note in the piano plays, everyone stands up for the national emo anthem.
@@EyedCrown sorry to correct you, but this is the international emo anthem
@@sabimabi6873 that's what I said
@@EyedCrown you said national, it's international, this masterpiece gives the same feeling to people all over the world
@sabimabi6873 oh yeah sorry you're right
The piano notes in the beginning are so iconic, that even today most millenials who grew up during that time will instantly recognise it by just the first three notes.
Nah, just the G.
Haha, was going to say, very first note!
Like the first ones on Smells Like Teen Spirit for Gen X
@@mdyas1711 For sure just the G, the following two just confirm what we already know. XD
First 3? Lol, almost always first 1! 😂
This was a really fun reaction, because of context. The Black Parade is a concept album about a man with terminal cancer, and this song, late in the album, is the arrival of his death. But as you note, it's a song of triumph and perseverance. Death's parade has arrived and is carrying the Patient away to the afterlife, and it's sad but it's also continuation of the cycle of life.
This song alone is epic already. But listening to the whole album this become a whole different beast.
You can feel that the character is afraid of death but never ashmed of it. His death is the peak of the mountain. Crazy how they pulled this subject with such a positive and joyful approach
It's the 5th of 14 tracks. Still pretty early in the album.
To be fair, in the story, The Patient is starting to accept his death in Welcome to the Black Parade, and he's remembering his father, happy memories, and trying to be optimistic about dying of cancer. It's at that point where he starts to feel sad about his family losing him, his previous relationships, and his actions in the past. Then he again becomes depressed and feels like he gave up. But at this point in The Black Parade, it's supposed to feel a bit more uplifting.
Virgin Rock's emo phase starts now, she will be wearing a black blouse from here on
It's not a phase, god!
Depends if she explores more MCR. Because like she said, Welcome to the Black Parade is a positive song, which is the opposite what people imagine when they think the word emo
But if she does listen to more MCR, I hope she listens to Helena. It's a song that I think is equal to Black Parade in that it might be one of their best songs
I would LOVE to have her show up on camera in black lace and smeared liner. 😅
The borrowing of classical motifs is also a metaphor for the message of the song. Those composers are long dead and gone, but their memory will carry on. Embracing what they left behind to help us continue moving forward.
The most iconic G5 of all time. Anyone my age just needs to hear that one note to k ow what's coming
Truth!
Yep
Absolutely...
💯
@@ecog558 emo apotheosis
I'm a Queen fan and was in my 20's when Freddie died and when my daughter started listening to this it brought me into modern music. This is the second best song only behind Bohemian Rhapsody
Brian joined them on stage and they played Bohemian Rhapsody followed by the Black Parade ideally showing Brian in his song and then joining them with their song
Yup, precisely... and they always said that Queen were a major influence. I think one can easily see that in how this track has distinct segments (a la Bo Rap - and Macca's Live & Let Die, come to that!).
ruclips.net/video/OfaxD9bxCHw/видео.html (The live version with Sir Brian May on lead guitar (Red Special, of course)).
Absolutely - you can hear Queen's influence all over this track. But then I'd never thought also of the echoes of Pachelbel's _Canon_ and Ravel's _Boléro_ in the intro as well. Like all the best rock, it references and respects what came before it while also adding its own new approaches. A lot of people have looked down on My Chemical Romance on as just another emo band, but this song alone shows how dismissive that is. Easily one of the best rock tracks of the 21st century
They actually played we will rock you together, not rapsody
@@rhonafenwick5643MCR has always been more than just another emo band. Their style has always been so theatrical, the subjects and emotions dealt in the songs are huge and meaningful. Album to album they've been able to switch themes and concepts and reinvent themselves somewhat every single time. Not a lot of bands are able to do all of this at all.
They were shooting for "epic" with this one, and they achieved.
I wish I could hear this song again for the first time.
I honestly think everybody does, to feel that initial glass shatter in your heart on that Gmajor...incredible My Chem is a class of their own
“When I was a young boy, my father to too me into the city to see a marching band. He said ‘Son when you grow up will you be the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned?”
Therapist: “That’s a lot of pressure at such an early age.”
“Wait, it gets worse.”
"'Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the unbelievers; the plans that they have made?'"
😆😆
@@5ilver42 Defiance and smile at death and the rictus grin
Probably part of the reason they used as the last song in Lucifer
The opening piano notes of this song are so well known. That for people of a certain age range. Just the first note is enough to recognise the song.
Definitely reminiscent of what Queen did with songs like Bohemian Rhapsody and March of the Black Queen (another song you have to listen to by the way). Anyhoo, this is a fantastic song!
Agreed. Very reminiscent of Queen in general, though I'm not a Queen fan.
The music theorist 12tone noted something interesting in the intro, where the piano keeps rising and falling but ultimately slips lower and lower, almost as if it's stumbling but at the very end it rises one last time, like it's not going to give up. It matches the song's theme of enduring through everything life throws at you and making a lasting impact and a memory never to be forgotten.
Welcome to the Black Parade is the capstone on a rock opera exploring the themes of a young adult dying of terminal cancer far too early and raging against the expectations that he can't matter or make a difference. It's not exactly a song of joy, as you said, it's more a song of rebellion, of simmering anger at those who try to beat others down. MCR (and emo rock in general) is targeted towards the misfits, the rejects of society, those that don't feel like they have a place, and screams "we hear you, we feel you, we understand, it sucks, let's do something about it."
At the end of the intro, and near the end of the song, he's less singing as he is _screaming,_ he's shouting at the world that nothing is going to stop him and he will carry on, all behind a cacophonous battery of matching snares. He has his own parade, it's not just him, he's not alone. They all will carry on together.
tldr it aint that deep bruh
@@Gorb-q4l it really is.. its deeper than your standards
@@MarkOfTzeentch your statement makes little to no sense. "deeper than your standards"
what i love about the transition at 12:38 from the bridge to the... breakdown...? is that they barely change tempo. it FEELS like its slowing down a lot, but in reality, the pulse only drops a few bpm. they stretch out the melodic elements to mimic a heavier ritardando, and go into a half-time feel to really sell the new rhythm, but that underlying pulse barely changes. which, as someone who used to do marching band in college, is a fun trick to add a massive slowdown near the end, without changing the speed the players have to march at. which absolutely fits the whole marching/parade motif the song is going for, musically, even in the more rock-forward section.
My youth band performed this song as our “rock cover” at youth camp. We worked for 3 months on it to nail the guitar harmonies, choir vocals, upbeat verses and chorus, breakdown going into the bridge, key change, and overall dynamics. We had a drummer, bassist, 2 electric guitarists, 2 acoustic guitarists (the other songs we played had acoustic guitar, so for this song they just added to the vocals) 1 lead singer, 2 backing singers, a piano player (who also had a mic) and our bass player was also on MD (music director, basically a mic that goes into the bands and tech teams ears so he can give instructions mid set). It was so hard but so worth it.
What a fun project! Makes me nostalgic for the days I had time for stuff like this. There should be music camp for adults lol
@@jaker4sterThere are.
"And paint it black" is also a nod to The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." Another deceiving upbeat rock song that muses about grief and invokes a setting of a funeral.
The first song I remember listening to for my own enjoyment. We had a semi-portable record player with speakers you could detach and that album was around. I played it straight into my ears from speakers on each side of my head. Haha. I was probably 7. I still really like it.
Most of the members of My Chemical Romance are classically trained musicians as well, a lot of their songs especially on The Black Parade album incorporate elements from influential classical music pieces.
This whole album is a masterpiece. It helped me through so much in life, truly a work of art that is timeless.
I love that you reacted to this and found joy in it. :)
I was not a big My Chemical Romance fan at the time this came out, but it was very easy to hear conversations in the halls of my suburban high school where people talked about this album. It was huge and really resonated with a lot of teenagers at the time.
This album is almost 20 years old now, which I think is enough time for a certain degree of nostalgia and reflection. As someone who mainly listened to older rock and jazz at the time, this struck me as being a bit too melodramatic (I also didn't want to be a part of a trend in a way some teens make a point in not doing).
With time, I think I can appreciate the musical, dramatic, and thematic elements of the song, especially in the context of an album about coming to terms with death. It's a genuinely well-crafted rock song. The opening piano notes and the modulation near the end have become absolutely iconic moments in rock music with good reason. They hit hard.
Yeah I'm not a fan of the genre generally, but there are some real masterpieces out there.
They knew exactly what they were doing in terms of the melodrama. The song "Mother" from this album features Liza Minelli for god's sake! 😄
The story behind the "Black Parade" album actually started with Green Day's release of "American Idiot", which was a concept album. The members of My Chemical Romance were so floored by it that they committed themselves to writing a concept album of their own, and they hired the producer of American Idiot to help them realize it. Huge bands releasing concept albums was a surprising but delightful nod to the 1970s, in the middle of the 2000s.
I'm a sucker for a slow build and this hit me like a truck when it came out. I was too proud of a snobby punk teenager to admit to liking "emo music" - and mostly I didn't - but My Chemical's theatrics and energy always appealed to me.
how do you feel about their first album, Bullets, and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge? I love punk and those two are my favorite material of theirs for the hardcore/punk influences throughout them
I sing this song at my local karaoke bar and I am always surprised by the amount of young people who do not know this song. I am so glad that I can introduce it to them.
@dekjet It did. It's just old now. It had plenty of radio play and was in a lot of commercials.
@@lukes.3679 yeah, pretty much every millennial knows about this song or Helena. Pretty much their iconic songs when you mention MCR.
Yes, almost like Ode to Joy. And the drums aside from the cascading effect are also carrying almost a military marching beat in that point. I've never listened to My Chemical Romance before that I know of, so thank you for the experience. For a modern group I really enjoyed them.
Yes. It may be the drum rhythm from "Bolero", but I assume it's meant to harken back to the marching band he saw as a kid with his father.
I don't think it's exactly the same marching snare rhythm as Bolero but it is a good catch; if you've never listened to MCR before and liked this song I would strongly suggest the whole Black Parade album, it's right up there with Ziggy and Dark Side and Revolver to me.
Watching your reaction to songs like this one, takes me back to when I first heard them in my adolescence. This and others have brought tears to my eyes. I appreciate your genuine enthusiasm. It's infectious!
That's curious. Even born in the late 80s and very much in the rock space, I never actually heard this song. I only ever heard about the band. I definitely would have liked this a lot.
They were HUGE and looking back all the hate they received wasn't fair. They were great.
@@chaddubois8164
It's really a shame. I can't remember now -- was it their visual aesthetic that turned people off, the fact that teen girls liked them, or...? It just seemed like it was cooler to hate on them than give them a listen.
I'm glad so many people actually gave them a real chance once this album came out.
One of the greatest songs about death. I want this to be played at my funeral.
The Emo National Anthem. All of us knew it by heart, had it as our web page song, our phone song, everywhere.
The black parade is actually symbolism for cancer. It’s the feeling of losing someone to it early in life. The song is from the perspective of the poor person dying in the hospital bed. The music video actually has a parade of people who are grey and dead. The person is crowned for the main float. It’s dark symbolism at its finest.
The black parade shots are actually bits from Hawaiian legends about ghostly warriors march every night down Kīlauea and if you interrupt them you could join them as your soul is sucked out to join the endless march.
the whole album tells a story of this
It still fills up my heart with emotion every time I hear this song.. Still so powerful after all these years.
This whole album is iconic in modern music history. MCR was probably the premiere alt/emo band of their time, and this song, Teenagers, and Famous Last Words became anthems for an entire generation lol.
Agreed, it's a fantastic concept album in its own right and slaps cover to cover. A true celebration of death, it starts with "The End." and the fading beat of the heart monitor, then launches into Dead! with one of the sickest licks in Emo music, the joyous damned celebrating their new denizen. It's like all the songs reminiscing about life are depressing and cruel, and all those after death are exuberant, much like someone suffering from a terminal illness being freed from their agony. 10/10 album, Rolling Stones top 500 of all time.
This song is so iconic that if someone plays that single solitary sustained first note on a piano... everyone who grew up listening to Punk Rock/Emo will be able to name that tune and we'll all start singing "When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city..." lol
It is beautiful seeing a musician just "wing it" and learn the music on the fly.
But also get the feelings and theme of the music 😁
I love how the reference to Paint It Black informs the way the song is performed-not allowing melencholy to drag the singer down, but spurring them on instead.
Never noticed that, what a great reference.
I've always thought that in this song, the influence of two things could be strongly felt: Japanese video games and Queen music
Yep, and I've often thought that Muse got its entire inspiration from Queen and MCR.
@@Chr1sWaterous Muse came before MCR..?
@@Chr1sWaterous Muse started long before MCR, and the progressing Virgin Rock shows is from classical music just like most of what inspired Welcome To The Black Parade.
Muse is inspired by classical music in huge part, you can hear a lot of Bach - harmonies, simple melody underneath Bachian motives either on top of for bass guitar, etc.
Muse were certainly inspired by Queen, as Matt Bellamy himself admitted, but MCR came along quite a few years later.
@@Chr1sWaterous
In musical influence terms, it's absolutely saturated in Steinman and Meatloaf.
Bombastic cheese cranked to 11.
One of the greatest albums ever made front to back. An absolute masterpiece of rock opera
Hello,
I recommend you listen to Muse - Exogenesis Symphony Full
Muse are one of the most innovative bands of the past 25 years, incorporating classical, progressive, alternative, and other subgenres in their music.
In this case Exogenesis Symphony is comprised of 3 parts, and as the name suggests, it is classical/operatic sounding. Each part is unique but at the same time add up to tell a full story, one I think you might really enjoy.
Add Citizen Erased, Space Dementia, Butterflies & Hurricanes and The Globalist, too.
Not only is this such a great reaction but now I want to see My Chemical Romance do this song live with this woman playing the Harp.
That would fucking rad
She must be hooked. She immediately started trying to figure out how to play it on the harp
I have been a fan of MCR for over a decade and have quite literally listened to this song hundreds of times, and I get chills EVERY time it goes into that last chorus. This song is timeless and iconic and perfect and any other positive adjective you want to use to describe it.
The composition is very similar to 'Come Sail Away' by Styx. I'd be very surprised if they weren't influenced by this earlier song.
I can't unhear the Eric Cartman version from South Park 😂
I clicked this video so fast! One of my favorite rock songs. Such an incredible arrangement. Loved viewing your listening experience of this one.
Loved your reaction as always. Very honest and toughtful 😊 Would love to see you react to more My Chemical Romance (MCR). I would recommend "Mama" from the Black Parade album ❤
A song I forgot I loved. Thanks for reminding me of it.
this is my super bowl
One of my favourite Brian May guesting moments is with MCR.
If you thought this song was interesting, also listen to "Famous Last Word" by My Chemical Romance! That is my most favortie song of all time!
This is one of my favorite songs of all time and although I’ve listened to it well over 100 times, your masterful musical breakdown + your interpretation of the lyrics and key moments brought me an entirely new appreciation for the song and a tear to my eye 🥹 you are incredible at what you do thank you!
Love this song, love your reaction and analysis. Defiant to the end, we hear the call... To carry on! 🖤
I always upvote when the harp comes out.
You should listen to "Mama" by My Chemical Romance. It is such a roller-coaster of musical expressions
So excited to see you react to this, and you genuinely enjoying it. I typically am super open to people's music opinions but if someone doesn't at least acknowledge Welcome to the black parade is a well put together song, they've lost all credence on their music tastes with me. BTW Famous last words might be a good next song to cover.
someone has actually made a mashup of black parade and canon in D
The music video for this song is absolutely incredible.
16:05 😂 I love that you were gonna jam to the song with your harp
This was phenomenal. A song that I just sort of dismissed all this time. I appreciated their vision and scope, but was too old to get into it.
Hearing this song now in light of this week, I am feeling grateful that this video popped up on my feed because it gave me a feeling of solidarity and endurance.
Amy, I think you'd really appreciate the video with this one. It's a short film.
The Bolero rhythm can be heard in Roy Orbison's "Running Scared" and "It's Over" too.
It's also in Teddy Nugent's "Stranglehold".
I love the point that you made about how the lyrics could give a completely different impression based on the musical backing, I never considered that before. It sounds so triumphant, but they could have played it a more somber way and the words could have taken on a completely different interpretation. I would love another reaction and would definitely recommend the song Helena by My Chemical Romance.
One of the greatest songs of all time!
I just discovered your channel. This is the first of your videos I've seen… And I am hooked. What a refreshing way to react to music on here! Thank you for sharing your musical insight and helping us all appreciate some of our favorite songs a bit differently!
My yt journey started with her slipknot video, and i STG im obsessed. Watching this lady go over my life long list of songs and breaking them down in such a good way is amazing! You can tell she loves her music!
Oh my god. Just looking at you explore every crevice of the music and your facial expressions makes me know you're a true music lover. made me sub immediately. Your harp fills gave me chills too!
There are a few songs that I can cry my heart out to while thinking of missing family members, but this is the most... _triumphant_ of them.
Porter Robinson's _Goodbye to a World_ sounds like a recording degrading from constant use, and the first time I heard it (in an Among Us meme of all things), it made me think of my maternal grandma, and how she died rather suddenly, and how my aunt would play a voicemail from her over and over. It sat with me because the voicemail was something so simple; just Grandma-slightly frazzled-asking about what dishes she should make for a family get-together.
I'd spent a good three or four years just wallowing angrily because I didn't get to visit Grandma before she passed, but hearing _Goodbye to a World_ opened the floodgates, and even now it's the quickest way to make myself cry if my eyes are feeling itchy and heavy.
_Welcome to the Black Parade,_ on the other hand, is the what got me believing in something similar to the Heavenly Choir after I'd gone through a crisis of faith during my mom's funeral. To me, the Black Parade is akin to a psychopomp. If you're unfamiliar with the term, I'm talking of those entities in myth and religion like the Ferryman Kharon, the Grim Reaper, and the Angel of Death. The Black Parade celebrates your life as you join the march, and once you've reached your place of rest you go on to the next great adventure. It's Mardi Gras, Dio de Los Muertos, and a funeral rolled into one, something you join happily, *_triumphantly,_* because however long your life was, every second was worth it.
I don't cry nearly as hard nor as often to _Black Parade_ as I do _Goodbye to a World,_ but my heart doesn't ache when I do. I cry to _Parade_ because I remember all the moments I shared with my loved ones as the parade marches on. I cry to _Goodbye_ for all the moments I never got to share with them.
Been waiting for this for a while 😊
I used to listen to this band so much in the 2004-2010 era
I’m in my 60s and still play this album regularly. It’s epic.
I saw them live about 17 years ago and I’d go again tomorrow if I could.
I was totally blown away when I saw the music video (before the song was released). My youngest daughter, now 21, eventually discovered MCR on her own. But 21P is her passion.
Thank you, the song I've been waiting for all the time. It means so much to so many people.
I love seeing people from every musical background reacting to music like MCR or NIN.
The perspective makes my audiophile heart full.
Yes! I would love to hear this song and Helena arranged for Choir and Symphony... The Blue Man Group have done an arrangement of this very song on Drumeo...
saw them in 2006! this song is incredible, especially live
Like "Tommy" or "The Wall", this is one song from a rock opera, specifically the last song. 12tone did a very thorough musical analysis of this song a few years ago which provides some context for where the song fits into the story: ruclips.net/video/8HeRf5EidjA/видео.html
The album is a masterpiece. It fuses deep dark lyrics with epic playful arrangements. Gerard Way has stated that the album was heavily influenced by Queens A Night At The Opera. In fact, Brian May joined them on stage at the 2011 (I think that was the year) Reading Festival for this song and it was even more epic than you can imagine.
The premise for this song is that Death comes for you in the form of your most intense childhood memory and in this case it's a cancer patient's memory of being taken to see a marching band by his father. The video gives a visceral representation of this song.
Check out Mama, another gem from this album.
Cancer brings a tear to my eye every single time. The whole thing is brilliant.
@@shhhhhh62 I actually can't listen to that song anymore since a good friend of mine passed away earlier this year from bowel cancer.
@@nortski78sorry for your loss.
I find it really raw but cathartic.
Its funny how Emo music gets this reputation for being sad and melancholic, and yet here we are with one of the quintessential emo bands and what is almost certainlyy their most well-known song, and it's one of the most triumphant and motivating songs ever produced. Yeah, its got some darker themes and symbolisms, but at its heart, it's about resilience in the face of otherwise unrelenting despair.
Thank you, Amy, for helping me see the baroque and bolero rhythm in this song. I now respect it so much more!
This time frame/genre of "emo" music is a guilty pleasure, although im not sure i should call it a "guilty" pleasure. its just a pleasure to listen to now! Thats just a carry over from years past and faded stigmas. The whole genre/movement really was just... "Theatrical" i'd call it, maybe not as grand and over the top like this but it oozed something different than the past rock eras like punk/grunge this is distinctly different and damn good/catchy. (while pulling influences still!)
My Chemical Romance has been my favorite band since 2005, when I first heard of them. I am so glad you enjoyed this track, it truly is one of their best.
I am also surprised how much I learned about it from you during this video. How I had never noticed the similarities to Ravel's Bolero in 18 years is beyond me.
There are so many reasons why the kids, the nearly 40 kids, love this song…you nailed down just reacting to it. 🙂🙂🙂🙃
I appreciate you. We appreciate you.
I definitely have a soft spot for songs that do a great job at blending orchestral elements into rock music:
1. R.E.M. - "Losing my Religion"
2. The Cranberries- "Linger"
3. Smashing Pumpkins- "Tonight, Tonight"
The video for this song won many awards and was one of the best music videos ever, IMHO. Please watch it and get a better sense of the song. Classic.
Great analysis and reaction to one of my favourite songs since the Millennium.
My nephew called this song ‘needlessly epic’, which I think is not warranted. My son, then in his 20s, introduced me to this song and album. Didn’t get it at first, but now I love it.
For me Black Parade is the perfect mix of Bohemian Rhapsody and Do You Hear the People Sing?. It’s a perfect time capsule to my teenage years and I will forever be grateful to My Chemical Romance
Watching you play and harmonize with your harp is magical I would like to see you play and sing Welcome to The Black Parade.
I love your thourough reaction to it. Lyric wise, music wise. This song ment a lot to me and still is something me and my friends sing along when it comes up on the playlist at the top of our lungs
You're awesome. I really appreciate the honest looks at music you can hear at a Spencer's but have honestly reshaped rock music. Thank you thank you thank you
I wasn't a big fan at the time but looking back were they the last young band to break it big with live instruments? I can't think of a more recent rock band that young to make it that big. They were huge.
I am amazed with everything you picked up from the song just by listening to it
Though I do sometimes wish you also have a visual, because not all but some music videos help compliment the music itself
Thank you, I'm delighted to learn that the composition of the song actually reflects the themes the lyrics attempt to convey-- the repetition of how when you are dead and gone your memory will carry on, set to music that we may lack context for but subconsciously we all recognize, left behind by people who are deceased. It makes me feel reassured as a listener that the song/singer is telling the truth, and thus, feel soothed in addition to the usual vicarious determination and boisterous energy I got from the song previously. 🖤
"lets just...celebrate"
I think 'carry on' is what you were looking for❤
Love your breakdowns
Here you came to the MCR.
It always brought me a bit of positivity in most of their songs starting from the Black Parade.
And I actually don't care if that was emo or something else - they just bring joy by their energetic and often contaigious music and good lyrics.
For me there are a lot of good songs from them, maybe most iconic after "Welcome to the Black Parade" is "Famous Last Words" or pure energy of "NaNaNaNa"
I think it's interesting that step up from G to A, which on many stringed instruments, like the guitar, it is an easier, more open, more easily in tune chord to play.
Oh I love this song! I've never been into emo stuff, but this song was all over the place when it was released and there is something about those melodies that I never could resist. I agree that it is joyful, but I find the melodies to be melancholic or maybe nostalgic. And I've, actually, never payed much attention to the lyrics. In this case, this song, they are kinda irrelevant to me.
Interesting comment Jovana, I had a similar reaction when Amy did "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots. I said even though I loved the song, I never paid much attention to the lyrics even though I heard it many times. So I told Amy I found her lyric breakdown interesting since that was the first time I ever paid attention to the lyrics before. While with other songs the lyrics are the first thing that hits me. Although in your case I think it is more that you knew what the lyrics said, but they just didn't resonate with you, and yet you still loved the song.
@LeeKennison Exactly. I knew the lyrics but they were not what pulled me in. It was the melodies. And I've actually never had this song on any playlist and many times passed many years until I hear it, but the thing is that whenever I do hear it, it hits me. I mean, it's not any serious and profound hit, but it evokes some feelings. Again, I simply love the melodies throughout the whole song.
Lot of people here seem to forget that is is track 5. On an album with 14 total tracks. This is *not* the last somg on the album.
I have been a rabid music fan since I could buy my own music. And I have learned more in the last few weeks from this angel than I had in the 40 years prior.
Absolutely loved this one
I didn't know Taco Bell even HAD a cannon.
you have the best reactions, and great suggestions by the comments
If you ever hear someone say "you can summon a whole generation with one note" they are referring to the opening note to this song. Its such an iconic sound to so many people my age.
You know, there were a lot of people who hated this song when it first came out because of how overplayed it was on the radio, but I always loved it. Very Queen-esque, but still very steeped in contemporary rock traditions for its time. Like someone modernized the epicness of 70s pomp-rock!