Save yourself, I'll hold them back.

From now on the site of My Living Romance will be on undefined hiatus. As you've most likely noticed, I no longer have the time and resources to keep updating the site as often as I'd like. The forum keeps living its own life and the stories won't go anywhere, but unless there are any groundbreaking news or changes in the MCR camp the site will, for now, stop updating.

With these thoughts in mind, I'd also like to ask if there's anyone out there who would be interested in becoming our updater / admin / blogger? If so, please contact admin@mylivingromance.net and we can discuss further details. There are no requirements else than that you love the band.

IMCRD

THE BEST OF RECENT INTERVIEWS vol. 1

Gerard, in your lyrics you talk a lot about rescuing people, rescuing yourself, rescuing the whole world what do you need being rescued from or to be protecting the world from?

I think there was definitely a moment in my life when I felt I needed to be rescued and I think anytime when I was a kid I just disappeared into comic books and where there was always somebody rescuing someone else and I thought somebody was going to rescue me too, and everytime I was talking about it in a song it was just this really kind of angry cry of help because I never thought I was going to rescue anybody else.

Then I stopped needing to be rescued.

And that was a really cool thing and I think that's maybe why I write about the things I write about today.

Like rescuing people? Like Save yourself, I'll hold them back...

Yeah. That's one of my favorite song titles that I've written and I wrote it right after the Black Parade, or when the touring had ended. I wasn't saying like "I'm not going to help you out" I was saying "You've got this" you know, "I'll just go fall in the sewer but just you know, go ahead, just get our of here, shit's going to get ugly." It was more like that.

I would like to know personally because I'm emotionally attached to a lot of your songs and they got me through a lot of hard times in my life: how do you feel when fans come up to you and say you saved their lives? Because I'm kind of one of those people.

It's one of those things where I could never express the gravity of that statement. We never thought we would reach as many people as we've possibly reached or that we'd mean as much to so many people or even a one person. All we did was that we wrote some songs that meant something to us and put them out there in the world.

It chokes you up how universal music is and how much that can change everybody's lives and that's really great, but the way I feel when you guys say that or when some of you say it: I feel like you're not giving yourself enough credit. I think that the people who love this band are so strong and they're such amazing people, and we were there as a soundtrack or maybe provided you some comfort but you're the ones that have actually saved your lives. The applaus and all that, they're all for you, you guys are the best.

From the Grammy Museum interview, February 2011

"Never Stop Running."

The last time I went to a My Chemical Romance show I was still a kid. Lost but eager to set my life right, I dreamt about a lot of things but never thought to push to achieve those things. Though I had just finished school I was still young, yet still at the point where I should've decided what to study next. I was 16 and unfortunately, due to the current education system, I should've known what to do for the rest of my life and I didn't which made me feel lost. And feeling lost made me feel confused because nothing felt worse then growing up.

MCR inspired me a lot those days and pushed me forward with my artistic endeavor; I wouldn't be as creative as I am today without them. I started to write a lot of stories based on their songs, or at least inspired by their music. Later on I also started to paint their songs into life; (a method that I still use a lot) painting music. I painted nonstop until I completed my work, then I put the finished painting aside and started a new one. Or put the brushes and paint down altogether and started to type; wrote to the wee-hours until my fingers bled. Just to write, to learn, and to create.

Tonight kind of felt like a follow up from their side even though they personally most likely have no idea about the effect they've had specifically on me and my identity as a person and an artist. After the previous show I was filled with passion, exuberance and drive to keep going long enough to try to pursue my dreams and make something out of my life. I kept chasing the things I wanted for a while, ran to catch them but never fully reached them because, well, I guess I got tired of running. It got to the point where I was starting to give up and around last year I felt lost again.

Ironically this band never seems to cast anyone aside. Even if I tend not to listen to their music for a while they sneak up on me if I'm feeling bad and make everything better. When I started feeling lost again it didn't take long until I was reading an announcement about MCR returning to the safe soil of Finland. Needless to say I was excited, I knew this was exactly what I needed and I now had something to look forward to.

Back in 2007 the band's tour reached Finland in the summertime. I was determined to be in the front row with my friends so I made the effort to be there. The show was on Tuesday and we got on the spot on Saturday. We slept the nights outside and chatted the days with other fans. We even survived a major rain that destroyed most of the camp but made the fans pull together even stronger. Overall everything sums up as three nights, four days, one band, six thousand fans and for me; first row in the fucking middle.

I remember other fans being pulled out of the first row because of the pressure but I don't recall feeling any pain myself. I even remember someone laughing and saying how amusing it is that "the girl that's standing in the middle on the first row is only smiling." In the first row, sweaty, without any water, being squeezed by everyone just felt like the only place I could ever get along all by myself. The concert gave me so much faith in myself, in not needing other people to get through life and to be what I want to be. I realized that my life is my mission and depends on nobody else but me.

Tonight I had no intention of staying the night in the snow storm outside or even getting into the first row. I showed up as the doors opened, stood in line to the merchandise desks for a while, got my stuff and headed to the hall, picked a good spot on the floor and laid down just to take it all in. Once MCR took the stage everything made sense again. How could I've forgotten this? I remembered how much they've inspired me and how much I still get off their music. I mean, I could write a book out of each of their album. Shit, why won't I? I felt a new hit of willpower and determination rushing into my body making me feel alive again, like I could achieve anything I put my mind into. And I can.

It was like walking through fog for a while and suddenly seeing everything crystal clear. It was like seeing everything blurry for a while and then buying glasses. "Never stop running" Gerard stated out before Bulletproof Heart and suddenly I understood the song in a nanosecond. Gravity don't mean too much to me. Without gravity you don't have weight on your shoulders. Without weight on your shoulders you can move forward. Without gravity, you can run faster. So I dropped all the weight from my shoulders to the arena and decided to start running again.

I never thought that I could return to achieving the same state of happiness that I achieved four years ago but lost just a while ago. I've come a long way from 2007 and flew too low for a while. Still, just like that, I can see my whole life clear again. MCR show... my beautiful crystal castle. I will chase my dreams. I will run faster.

Gravity don't mean too much to me,

Joanna

Comment this entry.

27 DAYS LEFT.

I'm seeing My Chemical Romance live on March 20th. The last time I saw them was in 2007, I was so filled with happiness and confidence that it kept me going for a long time. Now I can't wait to see them again and to be filled with all that joy again.

I wish I could promise you an interview with the guys but I can't. Some of you may remember how close I was getting to interview the band in 2007 and then the interview was cancelled on the last minute. The Danger Days album really exploded so this time I haven't really been able to even get a hold of anyone at their management. Doing interviews is a tricky business and you need to understand that the decisions aren't usually even made by the band but their management. I have 27 days left and I'll do everything in my power to arrange the interview. If it won't happen at least I'll be reporting about the show!

In other news:

• The winners of the Romance awards are now picked out and will be announced soon. Thank yous go out to everyone who's participated!
• I'm looking for new writers on the site! Your job description includes writing opinionated articles, writing statements towards articles written by others, networking with other sites and scooping MCR related news and interviews.
• We've been thinking about putting together a forum meet up at Skype! If you want to state your opinion and take part to the planning head over to our forum! There's also a poll on the sidebar of this site!

"Armenian police target teenage rock cult"

When police officers arrived at 13-year-old Masha's home, searched her room and inspected her computer, it was not because they suspected her of any crime.

Her offence was simply to be a devoted follower of the angst-ridden punk-rock subculture known as 'emo', in an ex-Soviet state where pressures to conform remain strong. 

"It was offensive and frightening at the same time," said Masha, a schoolgirl in the Armenian capital, clearly upset by the experience.

Police in Yerevan have been conducting a campaign against the capital's small but controversial emo community since the recent suicides of two teenagers who were rumoured to have been emo fans.

They claim that the subculture represents a threat to young people's welfare.

Officers have visited schools, searched pupils whose distinctive clothing marks them out as possible 'emos', and mounted surveillance on public places where young people gather.

Several fans have been detained for questioning, despite the lack of any specific legislation against the musical genre or its followers.

In a recent newspaper interview, Armenia's Chief of Police, Alik Sarkisian, claimed that emo could "damage our gene pool". "We should fight against such phenomena because they are morally harmful to our people," he said.

Emo -- an abbreviation of 'emotional' -- is a more melodic and melancholy form of punk rock. It has origins in the United States but has become a well-established global subculture in recent years.

Masha and her friend Ani, also 13, say they started dressing in the unconventional emo style in an attempt to stand out from what they call "the grey masses".

But they now feel that they have to disguise themselves in ordinary clothes for fear of detention or harassment by other youths. "They point and laugh at us. Or even worse, they sometimes beat up our boys," Ani said.

Sensationalist media reports in Europe have suggested that the gloomy lyrics of some emo songs can influence teenagers to harm themselves or attempt suicide, although fans have consistently rejected the accusation.

Young fans like Masha and Ani have been worried by the anti-emo campaign, but they insist that they will not be pressured into abandoning the subculture that they love.

"It is impossible to ban youth movements using repressive methods," Ani said defiantly. "We will not stop listening to our music and dressing how we like. This is my choice."

Source and full article

RYBY'S SIDE OF THE STORY

The world can be really messed up sometimes, and I sometimes begin to wonder how anyone can see beauty in such chaos. But then I look at My Chemical Romance, and I see beauty. I see this pain, this desire to reach out and just take all the hate, intolerance, everything bad from the world. I see artists, amazing, talented, unique artists who actually have something to say.

Their music touches you in a place you never even new exsisted, they connect with you on a level that you never imagined. You listen to your music and - unlike many bands - you aren't confronted with the artificiality and mudanity of normal bands, but with this excitement, creativity, and unbelievably blinding energy! They constantly evolve and grow, and us along with them.

MCR started with a mission: to reach out to the outcasts, to take their hand and never let them be afraid. To cleanse the souls of millions and rid them of hate, and they succeeded.

-Ruby