Monday, February 23, 2009

My Chemical Romance Go '80s For 'Watchmen,' Say No To 'New Moon' Whaaaat?


'A lot of people would say that a vampire movie would fit, but I would disagree,' Gerard Way says of 'Twilight' sequel.


By now, everyone is probably aware that My Chemical Romance are fairly gigantic comic book fans.

But if the Eisner Award-winning series penned by frontman Gerard Way or the Halloween-themed Batman strip his brother Mikey wrote weren't proof enough of this, check out Gerard's train of thought for MCR's punked-up take on Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row," which closes out Zack Snyder's upcoming "Watchmen" film:

"We were on the Projekt Revolution [Tour], and I got a call on my phone. Somebody had put Zack through to me, and he was immediately excited. And so we started talking [about the song], and he said, 'Well, what are you thinking?' because originally he said 'Let's just have a 10-minute version that goes through the whole credits.' And I was originally cool with it," Way told MTV News. "But since the story [of 'Watchmen'] takes place in an alternate early '80s, I wanted to make the song a product of that era. And there's a lot of gangs in 'Watchmen,' there's a couple bands [mentioned], like Pale Horse, and you never know what those bands sound like, but I'm assuming it sounds like early '80s punk or late-'70s punk. ... And he said, 'That sounds perfect.' "

And that dedication to "Watchmen" didn't end with MCR's version of the song. When it came time to shoot the "Desolation Row" video, Way and the guys took it one step further, decking themselves out like a skuzzy punk act from the "Watchmen" '80s — complete with deathly pallors and black eyes.

"I just wanted to look pale. Not gothy pale, but, like, sick. I thought a punk band from the early '80s should probably look sick, they should look kind of ill," he laughed. "And the black eye, I figured bands back then got into a lot more fights than they do these days. All those bands like to fight; we don't like to fight."

So, after knocking it out of the park with "Desolation Row," are My Chem looking at a second career (after, you know, being in a rock band) scoring films? Given their former, rather vampirish past, they seem naturals for "Twilight" sequel "New Moon."

"I don't think so," Way said. "We're very choosy. ... There were a few films that we didn't do the song for because it didn't fit. I guess a lot of people would say that a vampire movie would fit, but I would disagree with that these days. Even since Black Parade, I would kind of disagree with that. I don't know if we'd be interested in that."

We've got the biggest exclusives from tomorrow's blockbusters today. Check out MTV's "Spoilers" on Saturday, February 21, at 8 p.m., for a first look at "Watchmen."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

My Chemical Romance On Being A 'Comic Book Band'

'These days, everyone's kind of admitting to being a comic nerd,' frontman Gerard Way says.


Last week, when MTV News sat down to talk with My Chemical Romance, we figured we'd get a bit of information about their Dylan cover in the upcoming "Watchmen" film and perhaps a few slivers of their still-being-written new album, and we'd call it a day. Turns out, we couldn't have been more wrong.

My Chem had so much to say that we were able to break the interview down into three pieces. In part one, the guys talked about putting The Black Parade to bed and getting back to basics on their new album. In part two, they got in-depth about their love of "Watchmen" and their decision to cover Bob Dylan. Now, in part three, they're talking about both.


Which is interesting, because whether they're aware of it or not, My Chemical Romance are now seen by many as not just as a rock band, but as a comic book rock band (having two comic-producing brothers in the band and a song in the biggest comic book film of all time tends to have that effect). So, will they be addressing that perception on their new album? Probably not.

"I'm glad you asked about that because these days, everyone's kind of admitting to being a comic nerd or something. Like 'nerdy' is kind of becoming 'cool' for some weird reason, so people will come out of the woodwork to admit that kind of thing," frontman Gerard Way said. "But a lot of people like comics, you know. But I don't think anybody sees us as, like, 'Oh that's a comic book band' ... even if we write or draw them. I never really worried too much about that."

But without comics, where will Way find his lyrical inspiration? He's already said he wants to drop the whole "conceptual" thing for MCR's next album, so where is he finding material these days? From his everyday life — which, if you've been following his updates on My Chem's official site, may not seem that interesting. But to hear Way explain it, being a husband and a father-to-be (Way's wife, Mindless Self Indulgence bassist Lyn-Z, is expecting their first child early this summer) makes him positively bursting with inspiration.

"I think any life experience [is inspiration]. And now that we've had seven or eight months off, and we've had a chance to do some living, I think any kind of experience ... like going to be a dad, for example," he explained, "that's going to be in my head. And I think there's no way that stuff won't affect what you're doing. I think if it doesn't, it's kind of lame."

So are fans prepared for a more, mature My Chemical Romance? Well, don't worry, because whatever Way's going to be singing about, the music is still going to be young, snotty and punky. And — somewhat strangely, given this is MCR we're talking about — fun.

"We want it to be a snapshot, we want it to be visceral. And it's not angry at all, which is fun too," Way said. "It just has this youthful energy to it, and the experience has this youthful energy to it too. And I want to capture that, and be done. You know, 'Let's play.' "

My Chemical Romance Album Won't Be A 'Kitchen Sink' Affair


'I think it's going to get by on its musicianship and its own merits in the songs,' frontman Gerard Way says of less dramatic album.


There was a time, long before the multiplatinum records and the pancake makeup, before the Eisner Award-winning comics or the Dylan cover in the "Watchmen" film, when My Chemical Romance were just another band from New Jersey. They would like very much to get back to that time.

So that's goal number one with their new album — the follow-up to the massively successful, massively ambitious Welcome to the Black Parade— which they're currently writing in Los Angeles. They hope to get back to their roots — to make manic, fast-and-furious, spur-of-the-moment punk. And, above all, to keep it simple.

"When we had just finished Black Parade, I think doing that record made us feel like we could do everything. And so I think the way to top a record that already kind of does everything is to not do everything," MCR frontman Gerard Way smiled. "I don't think this is gonna be a 'kitchen sink' record. I think it's going to get by on its musicianship and its own merits in the songs.

"And every record ... I like to think they're snapshots of what your band is at that moment, and this is really going to be that. I think there's going to be lack of concept, I think it's simply a snapshot, I think it's going to be direct and very honest," he continued. "It's not going to be hiding behind a veil of fiction or uniforms and makeup anymore. ... From the stuff we've been playing so far, just feels very pure. That's the best way to describe it. People who were really big fans of our first record, they'll find things they're really going to love about the new material — and not because we sound like that first record at all, it's because there's a purity to it. There's less happening."

It's a tactic they first learned while recording their version of Dylan's "Desolation Row" for Zack Snyder's upcoming "Watchmen" film: Stop thinking and just get busy rocking.

"From working on 'Desolation Row' ... I think it was very natural. We just kind of did stuff and the song was there. There was no over-thinking," Way explained. "[But, having said that] we're not going to make a retro record at all. It will sound like a modern rock record, but I think we would like to try to redefine that, what that actually means. By saying it sounds like a modern rock record, it'll sound new — I don't think it'll sound like what's on the radio right now."

And to that point, though it may sound like MCR are trying hard to strip away the rather, uh, grandiose leanings of The Black Parade, they've still got the swagger of a band that's moved units and toured the globe. They've been surveying the musical landscape that's appeared in their absence, and they're not very pleased by what they see. Take, for example, the (working) title of one of their new songs: "New Hair, Same Sh--."

"It's about having new hair, but it's the same sh--. That's the concept," Way laughed. "I think the new album is going to be a response to the two years of touring on Parade. A reaction to what's happening right now — everything that we're not a part of — and a response to it."