Inside Gerard Way's Crusade to Change American Music
"The main objective was to change the landscape of music a bit. To re-boot Britpop in America"
BY JAMES MONTGOMERY | August 20, 2014

When he was fronting My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way was the driving force behind high-minded (and color-coordinated) concept albums like The Black Parade and Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. But in the four years since the group's last proper record, Way lost his band, his patience with the industry and his desire to do rock & roll on a grand scale.

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Exclusive: Mikey Way Moves On From My Chemical Romance With Electric Century
The former MCR bassist says it was time to move forward with a new band, Electric Century.
By James Montgomery

Mikey Way began planning Electric Century long before My Chemical Romance hit it big, he just didn't have the means to pull it off ... mostly because he was 12.

"I was in my seventh-grade science class, and I wrote 'Electric Century' on a notebook, and I was like 'I want to do this band,'" he told MTV News. "And right then I began filing away the kind of music I wanted it to be: Britpop, the party influence of bands like the Happy Mondays, New Order, Public Image Ltd. It was always something I wanted to do."

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My Chemical Romance's 'Kids From Yesterday': Death Of Danger
Fan-made video for 'The Kids From Yesterday' looks back at the band's rise to fame.
By James Montgomery

Really, My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys deserved better. A big, bold re-invention of their sound and swagger, it was, by the band's own admission, a "missile" aimed at destroying the staid state of rock and roll, and perhaps because of that fact, it failed to catch on here in the states.

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Fox News pundit singled out the song, performed on 'Glee' in February, during his broadcast Thursday.
by James Montgomery

Having apparently run out of things to terrify your parents (and your aunt in Arizona) with, conservative radio host/Fox News pundit Glenn Beck is now turning his attention to My Chemical Romance and their song "Sing," which he describes as "propaganda."

During Thursday's broadcast of his self-titled daily Fox News show, Beck — who in the past has vilified everyone from Barack Obama to "reform rabbis" — launched into an attack that was, at first, about the content of the TV show "Glee" (which he admitted he watched in "stunned horror and admiring awe"), but then quickly segued into a dissection of "Sing's" lyrics, which Beck read aloud with fervent terror.

"Pay attention to the lyrics," he cautioned. "This is propaganda ... it's an anthem saying 'Join us.' How can you and I possibly win against that?"

Beck was bringing up "Sing's" lyrics (which he attributed to "Chemical Romance") because, as he warned his viewers, our children "are not tethered to anything" and parents "have to be über vigilant" about the shows they watch, since "our whole culture right now is set up for you and the values you grew up on to lose."

"You don't have to live by the standards that society has set," he said. "You know what is right."

"Sing" was performed on an episode of "Glee" back in February, and My Chemical Romance has since reissued the song to raise money for the Red Cross' ongoing disaster relief efforts in Japan, in part because, as they told MTV News last week, they noticed their fans had begun using the lyrics to send messages of hope to the nation.

"We talked about something that we could do, and at first we were thinking about writing a new song to raise money for charity," MCR guitarist Ray Toro said. "And on Twitter, something we had seen was #SINGitforjapan, and it was kids starting this Twitter feed, writing messages of hope. And that really inspired us, and we just set to work, and after a couple weeks, we were able to pull this thing together."

A spokesperson for the band did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on Beck's statements, but in a tweet Thursday, Toro wrote simply, "Mission accomplished," and included a link to Beck's segment on the song. Guitarist Frank Iero was less polite, tweeting, "Yay! F--- that dude's face with Obama's birth certificate."

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When My Chemical Romance first learned of the devastating natural disasters that struck Japan in March, they didn't wonder, "Should we help?" Instead, their first thought was "How can we help?"

"Japan has always held a special place in our hearts, really from the first time we had a show there. ... We just had such an amazing response there, and we're just such fans of the culture," MCR guitarist Ray Toro explained. "And then all of the fans we met out there, they're just so polite and there's just a really great energy over there. And we've been back there many times and have a really strong connection.

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Album-release concert will stream live on MTV.com starting at 10 p.m. ET tonight!
by James Montgomery

HOLLYWOOD — My Chemical Romance went to the brink and back to make their new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. So, as you can probably imagine, on Monday (November 22) — the day Killjoys hit stores — they were in the mood to celebrate.

And how did they go about doing that? By buying their album, of course.

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Band went through a lot of changes while making the just-released album.
By James Montgomery

My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is, on the surface, yet another concept album from a band that seemingly makes nothing but concept albums. It's a daring, DayGlo-addled story about a band of outlaws — that would be, of course, the titular Killjoys — battling an oppressive corporation in a postapocalyptic future world (or something like that).

But if you dig a little deeper, past the costumes and car chases and down to the nuts and bolts of how it came to be, you quickly learn that Danger Days is a lot more than just a work of fiction. Its creation was, in all honesty, much stranger than anything frontman Gerard Way ever could have written.

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Clip premieres at 12:01 a.m. on MTV.com.
By James Montgomery

My Chemical Romance's brand-new "Sing" video doesn't premiere until 12:01 a.m. ET on MTV.com, but you can get a sneak peek at some behind-the-scenes action right now.

Last month, MTV News was on set with the guys of MCR as they took over downtown Los Angeles in the very early morning hours to film "Sing," the second clip from their upcoming Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys album. It picks up right where the first video — the white-hot "Na Na Na" — ends, following the band's Killjoy characters as they invade Battery City (and the headquarters of the evil Better Living Industries) in an attempt to rescue a mysterious little girl from the clutches of the nefarious Korse.

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Michael Pedicone, formerly of Arizona's the Bled, joined MCR for their London tour kickoff.
By James Montgomery

Earlier this year, My Chemical Romance parted ways with drummer Bob Bryar, who had played with the band since 2004 (he replaced their first drummer, Matt Pelissier). Since then, they've finished recording — and subsequently re-recording — an entire album, undergone a rather drastic DayGlo makeover, and created an impressive postapocalyptic future world to inhabit.

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An EP from the mysterious band is included in deluxe edition of Danger Days.
By James Montgomery

As if My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys weren't already anticipated enough, the band recently upped the ante by unveiling a deluxe "California 2019" edition of the album, one that includes a glorious array of ephemera — a Killjoys ray-gun (with matching mask), a 48-page art book, some "Bad Luck" beads — and one mysterious EP, credited to someone (or something) called "The Mad Gear and Missile Kid."

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Frontman Gerard Way, who co-directed the clip, cites Andy Warhol and 'Blade Runner' as influences.
By James Montgomery

On Thursday — after spending basically every waking minute since the premiere of My Chemical Romance's "Na Na Na" video watching (and re-watching) the thing — MTV News compiled a comprehensive pop-culture cheat sheet to go along with the clip, listing all its references, from "The A-Team" to "The Warriors" and everything in between.

As luck would have it, we sat down with the guys in MCR on Thursday to talk about the video and their excellent Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys album. And, chuffed by our cheat sheet, we decided to ask My Chem's Gerard Way to list the things that inspired him to make "Na Na Na" (he co-directed).

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We combed the hyperkinetic clip and turned up references from 'Easy Rider,' postmodern comic books, vintage Nintendo and more.
by James Montgomery

Early Thursday morning (October 14) — like, 12:01 a.m. early — My Chemical Romance's much-anticipated video for "Na Na Na" premiered on MTV.com. And we've basically spent every hour since re-watching it, combing through each frame and marveling at its breakneck pacing, sneering swagger and, well, hyperkinetic, hypercolor stylings.

Yes, "Na Na Na" is certainly a remarkable thing, an eye-catching, palpitation-inducing thrill ride (sort of like the album it's promoting) that's also incredibly clever, slightly goofy, and downright sly. See, much like other great videos of recent memory — like, say, Lady Gaga's "Telephone" — it's also chock-full of blink-and-you'll-miss-them nods to pop culture; too-clever odes to film, TV, toys and all manner of electronic ephemera from the past 50 years.

So, much like we did with "Telephone," we've put "Na Na Na" through the wringer, and compiled a pop-culture cheat sheet that's alphabetized and cross-referenced for your convenience. Believe us, this took way longer than you could imagine ... but strangely, it was worth it. (Oh, and despite our best efforts, we're sure there's something we missed. Which is why we need your help: Let us know what you spot in the comments below.)

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Clip premieres Thursday at 12:01 a.m. on MTV.com.
By James Montgomery

My Chemical Romance's much-anticipated video for "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" doesn't premiere until Thursday — first on MTV.com and then at 11 p.m. ET on MTV, following a new episode of "Jersey Shore." And since we know that waiting is the worst, we've got a little something to tide you over until that big debut: four exclusive on-set photos, which show MCR in all their full-blown, Killjoy glory.

That means we get to see My Chem bassist Mikey Way posing with (or, perhaps, preparing to duel) the chrome-domed leader of the Vampire movement, a shot of the Killjoys and their thoroughly badass Trans Am (complete with the "Na Na Na" lyrics scrawled on its side) fueling up at a "Dead Pegasus" station in the middle of the desert, a photo of the band of outlaws cruising down the highway and a shot of them all huddled around a transistor while a bonfire burns in the background.

You can check out the photos for yourself by heading over to our Buzzworthy blog right now.

The video for "Na Na Na," co-directed by Roboshobo and MCR frontman Gerard Way, will premiere at 12:01 a.m. ET on MTV.com on Thursday and then will air at 11 p.m. on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits and MTV Tr3s. The song is the first single from My Chem's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (due November 22).

And, judging by these photos, you can expect big things from the "Na Na Na" video on Thursday.

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MCR's latest is a uniquely American rock album, albeit one set in the dystopian future, in Bigger Than the Sound.
By James Montgomery

"Let me tell you 'bout the sad man/ Shut up and let me see your jazz hands."

Gerard Way sings that on "Na Na Na," the first single from My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, and I mention it now because it's a pretty apt summation of the entire album, a throttling 50-odd minutes of big guitars, even bigger choruses and shiny, 23rd-century synthesizers that's long on jazz hands, fist pumps and all other manner of jubilant gesticulations, yet short on morose emotions ... or, really, any emotions that couldn't adequately be expressed without Dio-worthy devil horns or lighters thrust aloft.

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Gerard Way says Danger Days' first single 'was the momentum we needed to dig deep and record another album.'
By James Montgomery

On November 22, My Chemical Romance will return with their supercharged new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, and if they seem rather invigorated this time out — what with frontman Gerard Way's radioactive-red dye job and their newfound affinity for Trans Ams and DayGlo leather jackets — well, they owe it all to one song: the hyperkinetic first single, "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)."

Because, as Way told BBC Radio's Zane Lowe earlier this week, up until the moment they wrote the song, MCR were floundering, putting the finishing touches on an album (produced by Brendan O'Brien) that they weren't happy with, and dealing with the departure of drummer Bob Bryar.

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Sure, it doesn't even have a release date yet, but Bigger Than the Sound is already enamored with MCR's latest.
By James Montgomery

It is probably too early to say this, but based on little more than a really awesome trailer and a really long title, I'm going to declare that My Chemical Romance's Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is the perfect rock-and-roll album.

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Black Parade producer Rob Cavallo has re-teamed with MCR for upcoming LP.

It's been nearly three years in the making, and during that time, it's been called a "no-concept" record, a down-and-dirty punk album, a "love letter to rock and roll" and, most recently, a fast-and-loose celebration of the Jersey Shore and "that era when heavy metal was yet to become hair rock."

But now we actually know what to call My Chemical Romance's fourth album: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

That's according to MCR's label, Reprise Records, which confirmed the title to MTV News on Friday afternoon (September 17), putting to end a day of solid speculation that started when U.K. retailer HMV accidentally listed the album title and a tentative release date on its website (a posting that has since been corrected).

Reprise would not confirm whether Danger Days will be hitting stores November 22 — or the 23rd here in the U.S. — as the HMV site states, nor would Reprise confirm the title of the first single from the album. Several sites have reported that it will be called "Bulletproof Heart" and would head to radio September 28.

In recent days, MCR seem to have begun ramping up the promotion for, well, something, posting artwork supposedly intended to be the album cover — and a mysterious "Transmissions" page — on their website.

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys is the follow-up to My Chem's ultra-ambitious 2006 effort The Black Parade and will re-team the band with producer Rob Cavallo (who helmed the sessions for Parade too), according to Reprise. Initially, My Chem were working with producer Brendan O'Brien on the new album, but it's not clear whether any of those earlier songs will end up on Danger Days, and Reprise did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on that matter.

-James Montgomery

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We dive in to Rock Week with a look at MCR's long-awaited Black Parade follow-up.

By James Montgomery, Jan 19 2010 1:29 PM EST

We're kicking off Rock Week at MTV News with a look at My Chemical Romance's yet-untitled new effort, which sees them ditching the preening and pancake makeup in favor of some seriously strutting riffs and more than a few nods to heavy metal's studded past.

Here's what we know about the album, the follow-up to MCR's ambitious 2006 rock opera The Black Parade: It will most certainly not be The Black Parade II.

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'I have this secret desire to do a children's show,' frontman Gerard Way reveals.
By James Montgomery

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'It's definitely more aggressive, but to me it feels like a celebration of rock and roll,' Gerard Way says.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Brian Jacks

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