Oz ,'Same Time, Same Place'
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
Okay, bandom peoples:
I'm listening to The Black Parade (the album, not just the song), and I have to wonder -- it's so melodramatic and bombastic, surely they're taking the piss to some degree, yes? I mean, you can't be *that* melodramatic and take yourself seriously. (Well, you *can,* but it leads to mockery, and I don't really detect any mockery aimed at MCR for the melodrama of that album.)
So -- taking the piss, even a little? Yes/no?
I ... don't think they are, actually. Gerard is pretty serious about Saving Your Life. But Jilli could tell you better.
So -- taking the piss, even a little? Yes/no?
It's important to remember that TBP is intended as a concept album. I've always thought that a little bit of the melodrama, at least musically, was intentional. It's about the journey of a guy who is dead, who gets picked up by a parade to go to the afterlife. You've recruited Liza Minelli as a background singer. I mean, come on.
Still, Gerard is pretty serious about his message, so I don't think that you can write all of it off as a joke.
I think the MCR people are genuinely that bombastic and melodramatic, but fairly well-adjusted. I mean I think they are serious to the same amount of serious that Queen was...
I ... don't think they are, actually.
Really? Even Baz Luhrmann couldn't pull off that level of bombast in Moulin Rouge without a wink and a nod, creatively speaking.
Hmmm. It's hard to take that level of melodrama and bombast seriously, even if they do.
Somewhat relatedly, Nick Cave has said he's surprised more people don't find his lyrics funny, because he intends them to be....
You've recruited Liza Minelli as a background singer. I mean, come on.
This is what I'm saying.
Still, Gerard is pretty serious about his message, so I don't think that you can write all of it off as a joke.
Oh, please don't misunderstand me -- I don't think it's a joke; I just think that the degree of melodrama *must* be accompanied by a wink and a nod, like, "Yes, we know we're being melodramatic and over-the-top, but isn't it fun?"
Here's a contrast -- Andrew Goddamn Lloyd Weber is all melodramatic and bombastic, and quite obviously takes it All So Seriously. And that makes him mock-worthy. (Apologies to his fans, but give me a break.)
Yeah, I think Gerard is definitely the type to have some fun with melodrama. Two words: band. uniforms.
I think they are having fun with the melodrama-- but I think they sort of feel that too-- so it is both the genuineness and the knowing that it is over the top that makes it not mockworthy. In my opinion.
Two words: band. uniforms.
I'm saying!
Don't get me wrong; I'm digging the album, but it just struck me that no one can be THAT melodramatic and over the top and yet take themselves totally seriously.
It's the ability to pull off that melodrama and bombast while acknowledging that they're deliberately being over the top that makes it enjoyable.
Kind of like -- stay with me here -- Amy Winehouse. No one can do a 60s girl-group sound with the lyrics on Back to Black without taking the piss to some degree. And that's cool. If she took it 100% deadly seriously, it would be lame.