Gerard in Rock Sound

[ofyourdeath.livejournal.com]

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
Interview: Andrew Kelham

Have you thought about how My Chemical Romance will reintroduce themselves to music fans in 2010? Do you ever wonder if your band is still needed in music?
Says Gerard Way (vocals):
"It's funny because the musical landscape is ever changing, but I think there's always a place for us and I think we're absolutely needed, especially now. I don't say that with any arrogance, I just really believe in my band and I believe that our band does what it does better than anybody else. There's no one that can do this like us. I feel a gap when we are gone and I hope people do too, if they don't then we're not doing our job properly. I think we're absolutely needed, but I'm glad we're coming back in 2010 because, as much as people need us, I think they needed a break from us too. I hope we got the balance of that right."

What have you tried to achieve with your forthcoming fourth album? How is it different from you past work?
"With this record we tried to ignore all the cosmetic nonsense and focus on becoming a truly great rock band. We felt that the world needed a really straight and pure rock band, you're hard pressed to find a lot of those these days. It was less about the theatricality and more about how we become the greatest young American rock band musically."

How are you adapting to fatherhood?
"It's great, it's amazing. Obviously we just wanted a healthy baby, but I was excited to have a girl as there are things I can see myself helping a girl with that I could never do with a guy, things like picking out clothes and stealing eyeliner, all that sort of stuff!"

Mod note: As happy and excited as we are that people are starting to discuss and converse in the comments, we'd like to remind everyone to play nicely.

Comments

[tempore.livejournal.com]

no, there's not, you're correct. But again, the problem with interpretations of comments (and this is something he's talked about in other interviews lately) is that people are pushing their own agenda on him and his music.

I have no problem taking him at his word; but the second people start putting spins on it -- oh, he's not being feminist, he's pushing his own agenda -- well, so are they. It's interpretation, it's semantics, and given that the statement is in itself inherently contradictory -- he's a boy, ergo, sharing traditional roles with a girl, not a boy, makes the assumption that he's pushing a gender-based role is problematic. And now I'm tripping over my words trying to explain.

My goal is to point out that not everyone sees his statement in the same way and that the interpretation put forth does damage as well because it makes me wonder what's wrong with being a traditional girl?

[spuzz.livejournal.com]

My goal is to point out that not everyone sees his statement in the same way and that the interpretation put forth does damage as well because it makes me wonder what's wrong with being a traditional girl?

What does "traditional girl" mean to you?

[tempore.livejournal.com]

Probably not what it means to a lot of other people, and probably nothing I can convey in a comment box. It maybe starts with sharing eyeliner with my daddy, though. :)

[strobelighted.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but if your definition does not agree with the majority of other people's, then it is not traditional.

[tempore.livejournal.com]

That's what I get for trying to make a lighthearted joke after conceding that I was being defensive.

[spuzz.livejournal.com]

I guess my issue with your comment is the use of "traditional". This makes the implication that it's something that is given to us, taught to us from birth and that it's a set of likes and dislikes, attitudes etc. that would make us that specific girl. That, to me, is not something to strive after. There's nothing wrong with liking what you like, disliking what you like etc etc, do what you will. But as a society we do expect girls to act a certain way and think a certain way and I dislike any statements that seem to be playing into that. Further using "traditional" versus "non-traditional" may set up (and has historically) a hierarchy of sorts wherein people may view someone who is following "tradition" as a girl who is more "girl" than another.

I, personally, can't view these things without the larger context. Just like I can't view Gerard's statement without the context of his history, our society and my views on the subject.

Edited to fix spelling.