Dirty Royal Live @ Amsterdam

Time for another Dirty Royal show guys.  Come down to Amsterdam tomorrow night and say hi.  Music starts at 9 and entrance is free.  Yay.  More details here.

Fake Your Death

On Monday My Chemical Romance released their very last song ever, Fake Your Death.  It came with this album trailer which gave me all sorts of feels:

They will always be my favourite band.

Dirty Royal Live at Cool Runnings

Looking for something to do tomorrow night?  Come check out Dirty Royal and Ard Matthews live at Cool Runnings.  For more details, check out the Facebook event.

Currently...

Reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.  My friend Clare lent it to me and it's the first non-varsity book I am reading in awhile.  The story follows Sam Clay and Joe (Josef) Kavalier and their career in comics before and after the second world war.  So far it's been amusing and heartbreaking and mystical and it's left me with a very strong desire to learn how to pick locks.  I may have mentioned that last fact before.  I've also started reading Salman Rushdie's biography Joseph Anton and the Fables spin-off Fairest.

Listening to: Japandroids - Celebration Rock.  At first, I thought this band sounded very samey but then I listened to them on the way in to work the other day and discovered that I really rather like them!!  My favourite track so far is The House the Heaven Built.  I'm planning a New Music Post before the end of this year so I won't say too much just yet.  Jason also gave me two super awesome bands to check out yesterday - Middle Class Rut and Violent Soho.  New music makes my heart happy.

Doing:  Attempting to walk everyday.  Derby is super awesome exercise, so much so that I have cancelled my gym contract.  There's only one problem though...if I don't skate, I don't get any exercise. To counter that, I decided to walk on the days that I can't skate.  On Monday I went for a half hour walk around my neighbourhood.  It was surprisingly enjoyable and I am already planning my route for this evening.

Thinking about: Too many things.  November was a crazy month for me what with the bout, exams and my Dad leaving for France for real this time.  All the thinking that I put off to concentrate on family, on not falling and on passing has caught up with me.  It makes for a busy head and lots of lying awake at night.  I'm also trying to decide which skates to buy and all the different options are making my head spin!

Watching: Right now, I am obsessed with Gravity Falls.  Its an animated series created by Alex Hirsch who used to write for The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack; one of my all time favourite shows.  Like most animation that I enjoy, Gravity Falls is delightfully quirky.  I think Mabel is my favourite character so far...especially the sweaters!!  Someone buy me a sweater with my name in lights?  Please?

Loving: The fact that I only have 3 days left of work for 2013, our surprise Christmas tree, Quality Streets and the smell of rain.  Most of all, I am loving having free time and being able to put my feet up guilt free.  I'm proud of what I accomplished this year but honestly, I missed being a lump.

This post is inspired by the ones over at Sometimes Sweet.  You can check out the latest one here.

Words.

The creativity of Tumblr blogs never ceases to amaze me.  There are so many interesting and unusual blogs out there like Daily Dishonesty or Googly Eye Books or Ordinary Batman.  Or my all time favourite, Fuck Yeah, Literary Quotes.  Courtesy of Facebook (thanks Geri), I came across another cool idea Lyrics to Live By.  As the name suggests, its a collection of super awesome lyrics that also happen to be pretty good advice.  Here are a few of my favourites:

Pretty cool right?

Currently...

New Favourite Stockings/New Neil Gaiman/Essay Outlining

Reading:  I am about to start The Ocean At The End Of The Lane.  I got it about a week ago and I've put off starting it to catch up on varsity readings and finish my essay.  Talk about a test of my willpower!  I have read/heard so much about the book that I hope I haven't ruined it for myself.  I am also currently reading a lot of South African fiction.  The second half of my course is focused on post-colonial feminism and it's shaping up to be rather interesting.

Watching:  A new season of Deadliest Catch.  I honestly cannot say what draws me to this show.  I don't like fishing, you won't catch me dead on a boat but for some reason this show captivates me.  I love the human interactions, the danger and the way of life these guys lead which, as I type, I realise is exactly what draws me to this show.  So far there is already tension on The Northwestern, engine trouble on the Time Bandit and sneakiness aboard the Seabrooke!

Thinking About:  The concept of Othering and how we use it to make judgements on different people and, in extreme cases, justify our treatment of them.  It's come up in both of my courses this year and I'm starting to see it in action in my day to day life. For example, there is a lot of very justifiable anger at the truck driver that caused last week's accident.  He was irresponsible and shouldn't have been on that freeway at all.  His actions make it easy for us to assume that all truck drivers are irresponsible and treat them accordingly.  What that fails to realise though is that there are a) a lot of really good truck drivers out there, b) there is more to the problem than just irresponsibility and c) every single person who runs a red light or cuts someone off in traffic is as bad as that driver, the only difference is that they haven't caused an accident yet.  I don't know, I hate trucks with such a passion and banning them from using the M13 is a start but there are so many other factors to consider as well...

Listening To:  All of the Biffy Clyro.  I am so excited about the possibility of seeing these guys next year.  I am currently plotting the logistics and that sort of thing but I am sure we can make it work!

Enjoying:  Roller Derby!!  This might be a getting a bit old to hear about but it really is so much fun.  It's great exercise and an awesome way to meet new people.  It's so cool to learn new skills especially when they are things you'd never thought you'd be able to do.  I had zero confidence in my skating ability when I started and now I am skating backwards, in a pack and through obstacles with relative ease!  We have a Fresh Meat Bootcamp coming up at the end of the month and I am more than a little excited.

Loving:  The warmer weather, the opportunity to prove myself, coffee and fresh cinnamon buns, the fact that it's getting light earlier and earlier and that my essay is finally submitted.  Yay!

This post is inspired by the ones over at Sometimes Sweet.  You can check out the latest one here.

Things I Love #50

Happy Sunday!  It's a beautiful warm morning here in Durban which is a sure sign that Summer is coming.  I'm kind of looking forward to this week actually. My essay is due on Tuesday which means it'll finally be off my back and work is shaping up to be quite an interesting week too.  Good interesting I think.  Also, Thursday will be exactly one month to my birthday!  Yay!!

I am going to start with something serious this week.  If you live in Durban, you would've heard about Thursday's horrific truck accident on the M13.  This is an intersection I use daily and I've seen just how badly the trucks drive in this area.  Please check out the Ban Trucks on the M13 Facebook page and sign the petition.  It's time they do something about this.

Take a trip back in time with Old Punk Flyers, my new favourite Tumblr.

Animation Master Hayao Miyazaki Retires from Feature Filmmaking.  Now this is not news I love at all but it's news all the same...sigh...

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Now, to make yourself feel more cheerful, check out these Miyazaki reaction gifs.

If they were real, I would buy every single one of these Monty Python and the Holy Grail Lego sets.

Haruki Murakami is releasing a short story called Samsa where the main character wakes up as Gregor Samsa, the protagonist from Kafka's Metamorphosis.

And, Murakami is currently the favourite to take home this year's Nobel Prize for Literature.  Yay!

I just love this Dancers Among Us photo series by Jordan Matter.  The photos are graceful and in some cases, hilarious.  Look out for the guy in the shower.

How adorable is the BMO knit craft special from We Love Fine?  Must. Have.

Okay, this is a very long and a very academic read BUT it basically says that our yawns are not only contagious to other humans but also our dogs!  Cute!!

Here is a first look review of Salinger, the JD Salinger documentary that I only heard abut yesterday!!  There seems to be a fair amount of negativity around it but I remain undecided.

Angry Birds turned into Angry Brands.  This made me laugh.

Here are some amazing Muppet/Superhero mashups from Comic Book Resources.  My favourite is Animal as Wolverine.

And speaking of mashups, here are the X-Men drawn as Star Wars characters.

Also, how cool is Grumpy Ratchet?

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And finally, the AV Club has an awesome series called Gateway to Geekery that provides entry points to different fandoms.  Here is their articles on the music genres of my youth Emo and Screamo.

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Biffy is Coming (aka RAMfest 2014 Lineup)!!

On Sunday, I promised to forgive RAMFest for passing over Durban if they announced Biffy Clyro and guess what they did???  Or rather don't guess because my post title gave it away...

BIFFY IS COMING NEXT YEAR!  

I honestly couldn't have hoped for a better announcement.  A few months back, the guys did a Q & A where they hinted at an upcoming SA visit and I figured it would either be OppiKoppi or RAMFest that bought them out.  RAMFest's organizers promised announcements at 3 pm on Sunday afternoon so I sat with their Facebook page open, constantly hitting refresh until I saw the news I was hoping for!  Now all that remains is deciding whether we will mission to Johannesburg or Cape Town to see them. So much excitement!!  Lest I forget, the rest of the announcements included Killswitch Engage, Foals and Trivium:

 

Now, although I used to love Killswitch Engage, I am not really too excited about the rest of this lineup.  In comparison to Biffy Clyro, they all seem a bit meh.  Anyway, I will post more details as I find them but in the meantime I can tell you that RAMFest JHB and Cape Town both take place on the 6 - 9th of March 2014.  Follow their Facebook page for more info.

*All pics courtesy of the RAMFest Facebook page.

Currently...

Grumpy hammy, Saturday's sunset, gratuitous selfie

Reading:  Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft which is exactly as thrilling as it sounds.  It's one of my set works this semester and the first book that I am reading on my shiny, new Kindle.  It's not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination but the novelty of the Kindle is definitely helping me get through it.

Listening to:  For the last few days my iPod has been playing the most awesome playlists on shuffle.  Usually I skip constantly, even past tracks I love because I am impatient and hoping to come across something that suits my mood.  Since Thursday though, my iPod has been serving up the best playlists, the kind I don't even have to skip once through.  They are the perfect combination of upbeat and heavy and they are making my drive to work that much easier to deal with.

Thinking:  I've been thinking a lot about friendships these days; how they come about, how they change as you change, how to fix them if they are not quite right and when to let go.  I know that I often let life get in the way which means I am not always the greatest friend but I am also realising that some things have nothing to do with me and there is little I can do to change that.  Not too sure where I am going with this but there you go...  

Enjoying:  Roller Derby!!!  It's amazing exercise, I am meeting new people and I learning that I am capable of more than I expected.  Because of changes to the WFTDA minimum skills requirements, I am redoing the new and improved Fresh Meat program which I am kind of happy about. I am still really new to skating so it's an opportunity to build my confidence more before we get to the competitive side. I am thinking about keeping track of my progress on the blog but I will see how it goes.

Watching:  Happy Endings and Under the Dome.  Happy Endings follows the lives of six friends in Chicago and is our current sitcom of choice.  The characters are awesome and all of them are a little odd.  It makes me wish for a friend group just like that!!  We're only on episode two of Under the Dome and I am not sure what to make of it just yet.  It's escalated quickly and if nothing else, I'll be watching just to see what happens!!  Anyone else watched this yet?  Is it worth pursuing?  

Loving:  Peanut M&M's, the fact that it is getting lighter a bit earlier and darker a bit later, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, phone conversations with my friend Collette, finally reading Sandman (I know!!!!) and my new Led Zeppelin t-shirt.

This post is inspired by the ones over at Sometimes Sweet.  You can check out the latest one here.

Frankenweenie Unleashed

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Last Friday I finally got a chance to watch Frankenweenie and it was every bit as quirky and cool as I was hoping.  For those of you who don't know, Frankenweenie is a stop motion, full lenght remake of a short film Tim Burton made in 1984.  It's the story of Victor and his dog Sparky and the lengths Victor goes to after Sparky dies.  It's sad and charming and bought a tear to my eye more than once.  Needless to say, it's also got tons of Frankenstein references.

One of my favourite parts of the movie (aside from Sparky) was the Karen O song in the credits.  Its called Strange Love and it's just the perfect ending for a movie like this.  A little investigation (aka googling) revealed that it's part of Frankenweenie Unleashed:  Music Inspired by the Motion Picture.  As the name suggests, it features various different artists (Robert Smith, Frank Iero and The Ramones to name a few) and songs inspired by the movie.  It's got a great track listing and it's definitely on my wish list.  In the meantime, I'll just keep playing Strange Love over in my head:

Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?

Currently...

New Dragon Ball Z shirt/Stinker/Shiny New Skates

I have returned!  Granted it's a few days later than I planned but still, I have returned!  I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have my exam out of the way.  I am one of those people that completely inflate situations in my head and I’d worked myself into such a panic on exam day, only to find that I had nothing to worry about in the slightest!  Go figure!!  Anyway, I thought a Currently post would be a nice way to catch up so here we go:

Reading: Right now I am in between three different things.  First of all, I am halfway through Moby Dick which I am finding so, so tough.  I am just way too tired at night right now to make much more progress which is why I am also reading The Buddha of Suburbia.  This was one of the first books I read for last semester’s course and I read it so quickly I hardly got a chance to absorb it.  It’s a funny and easy read which makes it a perfect alternate to Moby Dick.  Lastly, I've been catching up on the happenings of the Marvel universe.  Fun times:)

Listening to: Today I am trying the new Editors album The Weight of Love on for size.  It’s got quite an eighties feel to it but so far I am enjoying it.  I will keep you posted.  I've also been listening to A LOT of The National and I've finally found a favourite song on the new album:

 

Thinking about:  How unpredictable life is - in the best possible and worst possible way.  I'm not really going to expand on that but, as cheesy as it sounds, make sure the people you love know it.  That is all.

Watching:  I am still kind of obsessed with The Walking Dead.  Seriously, I can’t get enough of this show.  I am on to season 2 now and every single episode just leaves me dying for more!   We’ve also started watching Happy Endings which is quite fun.

Looking forward to:  Trying out my new skates!  Yesterday I bought myself a shiny new pair of roller skates.  I am almost done with my six weeks of Fresh Meat training for roller derby and decided it was time to get my own pair.  They are pink and white and remind me of marshmallows (see above)!  I am hoping that having my own skates will help me get more steady on my feet.  It also makes it easier for me to practice.  I still need padding and a helmet though...

Loving: Raisin tumbles, my new Dragon Ball Z t-shirt, not having to study until the end of July, getting into a warm bed at night, fresh bread and playing my favourite songs over and over and over and....

This post is inspired by the ones over at Sometimes Sweet.  You can check out the latest one here.

The Hurry and The Harm....New Music #5

I can't get over how much good new music there is lately.  Here's is whats new on my horizons:

Alkaline Trio - My Shame is True

My Shame is True is Alkaline Trio's eight studio album and was released in April already.  I was very slow to get a copy of it though because, well, life and stuff.  Anyway, Alkaline Trio are one of those bands I just keep going back to.  Even when I think I might have outgrown them.  I was lucky enough to see them in Durban in 2011 and got a signed shirt for my troubles...yay me!  Anyhoo, I'm a big fan of the single from this album I Wanna Be A Warhol but the song I really like is I, Pessimist.  It features Tim McIlrath from Rise Against so it's basically AWESOME. Take a listen:

The National - Trouble Will Find Me

I think that the two things I like the most about The National are the lyrics (they are strange) and Matt Berninger's vocals.  Trouble Will Find Me is not my favourite album but I do think that I need to listen to it a few more times before I make a final pronunciations.  So far the jury is still out on which song is my favourite but in the meantime, here is the single, Demons:

City and Colour - The Hurry and The Harm

Oh Dallas Green, how do you do it??  The Hurry and The Harm (I LOVE this name) is Dallas Green's new album from his solo venture City and Colour.  I suppose that since Alexisonfire is no more, calling City and Colour his solo venture may be a bit misleading because it's his only venture?  I don't know.  Anyway, while City and Colour is wildly different from Alexisonfire, it is still the same amazing voice just with a much more mellow, stripped down kind of sound.  My favourite track on the album is undoubtly The Hurry and The Harm both for the music and the sentiment



Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Words cannot describe how cool the album is!!  ...Like Clockwork is Queens of the Stone Age's sixth studio album and my favourite since Songs for the Deaf.  The imagery surrounding this album is very cool...almost post-apocalyptic and there is a rumour that the animation might be turned into a full-length movie.  My favourite track on the album is If I Had A Tail.  I also like Fairweather Friend which features Elton John who apparently volunteered as an "actual queen."  Fabulous!!  Anyway, the clip below is basically a taster of the whole album and includes the above-mentioned animations:



If you listen to or have listened to any of the albums let me know what you think:)

Dirty Royal @ Amsterdam

Looking for something to do tomorrow night?  Dirty Royal is live at Amsterdam Bar for their third birthday.  Come and say hi:)

Check out the event details here.

Things I Love #36

So, tomorrow I have my last lecture of my first semester back at university!  Crazy right?  June is going to be full of essays and studying and exams so I am going to make the most of what's left of May!  In other news...I have no other news really so here's this weeks list:

Here's a rather old Time interview (2005!!) with Neil Gaiman and Joss Whedon.  What a great combination.

These Angelique Houtkamp necklaces are so, so beautiful!  I just wish they were more within my price range because then I would have this one, this one and this one.

Have you read Angeline Jolie's NY Times op-ed yet?  I totally support her choice and I think it's an incredibly brave move especially in light of what she does and what she represents.

I love this variant cover for Brain Woods' new X-Men series...just perfect!

The Mary Sue got an exclusive look at the covers for Adventure Time Candy Capers #2 and they are super cool!  They also got a sneak preview of Fionna and Cake #5.

And speaking of exclusive looks, Bleeding Cool have an AWESOME preview of the first issue of The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

Dirty Royal played their first show at Live - The Venue last night and it was awesome.  They opened for Dance You're On Fire who were pretty great as well:



So you can take a look at F. Scott Fitzgerald'a ledger online and it's as awesome as it sounds.  From the site:

"F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Ledger is one of the richest primary source documents in existence for any literary author. Fitzgerald began recording information in this business ledger sometime in 1919 or 1920 after leaving the Army and moving to New York to begin his professional life as a writer."

Also, here are 16 things that F. Scott Fitzgerald doesn't want you to worry about.  Taken from a letter to his daughter.

How The Internet Destroyed the Middle Class.  A super interesting interview on Salon.  Lots to think about.

How awesome does a Cake Batter Martini sound?  Definitely need to try one of these!

This floating cloud couch is too cool for words.  It looks like the perfect spot for a nap.

Check out these fan made posters for Star Wars VIII.  I like the first one the most.

On the subject of Star Wars, who wants to make these Jabba the Hutt cookies for me?  I will make you coffee in return and we can have a Star Wars coffee party...or something...

Loving these Post-Punk/New Wave Super Friends by Butcher Billy.  Such a great combination!

Now you can type with cats courtesy of Nekofont.  Man I love the internet!

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Dirty Royal @ LIVE - The Venue Tomorrow Night

Dirty Royal is playing at LIVE - The Venue tomorrow night.  If you are in Durban you should totally come and watch.  Check out the Facebook event for more details and while you're there, give their page a like.  You won't be disappointed.

A Ton of Love

Have you guys heard the new Editors single yet?  It sounds a bit old school but I rather like it:

Jason thinks it sounds like The Cult:

I can definitely hear the similarity but I don't particularly think thats a bad thing.  The new album is called The Weight of Your Love and is available on the 1st of July.  I'm really happy that so many of the bands I love are releasing albums this year - The National this month, City and Colour in June and now the Editors in July.  It's shaping up to be a good Winter musically.  What releases are you looking forward to?

Things I Love #35

So yesterday, I typed up this whole post and then Safari crashed and I lost EVERYTHING.  Seriously.  I tried to redo it and then the internet kept dying so I just gave up and watched Brave and ate toast.  It seemed like the better option frustration wise.  Anyway, here is your day-late list of Things I Love:

First up, Oh So Plush has some new creatures.  I really, really want Fuja...anyone?

I love these Pokemon literary mashups.  Especially The Great Gastly one.

This collection of Instagram photos were taken during the manhunt for the Boston Bombers.  Social media definitely gives us a whole new perspective on new events.

These animated GIFs of earth over time are quite breathtaking.  I'd be lying if I said that the glacier one doesn't make me feel just the tiniest bit insecure!

If you can spare 8 minutes and you need a laugh then check out this awesome Star Wars/Snatch mashup!  Think Darth Vader as Brick Top:

Curious about the new City & Colour album?  You can check out a song preview here.  I rather like it. Also can I just say how much I like the album/song name, The Hurry and the Harm.

I just love this slide show of Europe's Wild Men.  So quirky.

This website has a rundown of all the gadets used in every James Bond movie ever.  Pretty cool.  And while we're on the subject, who do you think the best Bond is?  I'm a Sean Connery fan.

This Cartoon Brew article has some pics from the Princess Mononoke theatre production in London.  Would absolutely LOVE to see this.

The Oatmeal is so good at portraying dogs.  Check out How I See My Dog vs How My Dog Sees Me.

I thought that Rolo's yawns were scary until Kyla Roma shared this link of terrifying bunny yawns.  They are both creepy and cute.  

Here are some random pics from my Saturday - a photo of a rainbow out my mom and dad's flat window and our new orchid:

How great is this chandelier that projects tree shadows onto the wall?  In theory I want one but I know in reality, it'd probably creep me out a little.

I basically want to do all the Galactic DIYs in this list.  Especially the nails and the pants and the shirt and, and, and...

And lastly, tomorrow is my Mom's happy birthday and considering I love her and she is awesome, I thought I'd include her on this list.  Happy (early) birthday my Mother xx

Seen anything you love this week?  Let me know in the comments:)

Young and Beautiful

The Great Gatsby opens in Durban on Friday the 17th of May.  I honestly can't wait.  I have been watching trailers, previews and absorbing as much information as I can about the movie.  It all points towards an awesome retelling of the story and I really hope I'm not disappointed.  The soundtrack is getting a lot of attention at the moment and so far my favourite is this one by Lana Del Rey:

I just can't get it out of my head.  Are any of you guys as excited for this movie?  

Scatter What Remains...New Music #4

It's been a little while since I last shared what I've been listening to.  Between the Rise Against concert and the break-up of MCR, my iPod was kind of monopolized.  Now that I've moved on, here's what I'm listening to at the moment:

Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal

So, if you followed any of my RAMfest posts, you’d know that I have been pretty ambivalent about Bring Me The Horizon.  It wasn’t until I saw them live that I realised they are pretty much everything I am looking for in a heavy band right now.  I kept playing Sleepwalking in my head after the show, even though I didn’t know half the words!  I decided to give Sempiternal a try and I can honestly say that it’s owned my iPod since!  I know they are considered light-weight metal and trend jumpers but neither of those criticisms make me like the album less.  Their songs are catchy, melodic and I like Oli Sykes' scream.   My favourite tracks are Shadow Moses and Sleepwalking.  Also you can’t beat Antivist for straight-up angriness.

Metric – Synthetica

Metric are an indie band from Canada which we found in the FIFA 13 soundtrack.  They are really easy to listen to though and unusual enough not to be boring.  The first track I heard was Speed the Collapse which kind of reminded me of Muse but with female vocals and less drama…so actually not like Muse at all!  Bad comparison Monique!!  Anyway, it’s still my favourite track followed closely by Youth Without Youth.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – Mosquito

This album has had to grow on me and I suspect it might still have some work to do.  Unlike Show Your Bones, I didn’t love on my first listen, or even my third.  Now, as I write this and listen again, I am definitely starting to love it.  Maybe it’s a mood thing?  Anyway, while I decided on my favourite track, I will leave you with Sacrilege which I rather like.

Also on my iPod:

All my old-school emo!  Think Thursday, Thrice, Taking Back Sunday and The Juliana Theory.  I think the break up of so many of my old favourites (including MCR) has made me a bit nostalgic.  Also, listening to BMTH has meant a revival for Every Time I Die, Underoath and Norma Jean.  Nothing like heavy music to improve a bad day. 

What are you guys listening to?

Thank You for the Venom

The first time I heard My Chemical Romance was on a Rock Sound sample CD.  It was track 11 and it was Thank You for the Venom.  It was love at first listen.  Until I got my hands on the full album, I had Thank You for the Venom on repeat.  I knew every word.  My Chemical Romance was everything I was looking for in a band.  They were misfits, they liked the same things I liked, their music spoke to me (that sounds terribly cheesy but I am going to go with it because it’s true) and it was loud, fast and awesome.  Plus their name had a literary reference.

Helena became my end of work anthem because MTV showed the video everyday just before the music store I was working at closed.  Jason and I used to stand and watch that video together and wait for the day to end way back when we were still just friends.   I’m Not Okay became my way to let everyone know that, actually, I wasn’t okay with where my life was going and that something needed to change.  Singing those words was more than just enjoying the song, it was telling the truth.  I played Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge so often that one of my friends even made me a “You Need a New Band” compilation to try and wean me off of them!!

I followed everything they did, through the Black Parade and that weird death cult drama to the way more upbeat Danger Days which made me want to dye my hair bright red again and run around with a laser gun.  I am lame like that.  Did I mention I wore a glittery Revenge bracelet for months just because I saw one on Gerard Way’s wrist in a video clip?  Yeah, that happened.  The point is that they were always there in the background, a soundtrack to my adult life and all the changes it would (and did) bring. 

This weekend, the band issued the following statement on their website:

"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure."

Without much of an explanation, without a reason why, the band I have loved with all my heart since the day I first heard them is gone.  I am sad because there will be no new album to accompany me into my thirties, I am sad because I will never see them live but I am also glad that I found them in the first place and that the music doesn’t go away just because the band aren’t together anymore!  

Anyway, if you are interested this is a pretty good In Memoriam post from MTV.  Needless to say I will be doing some pretty obsessive MCR googling over the next few days to see what other reactions or reasons might surface.  In the meantime, I will leave you with a few of my favourite videos:

Are there any bands that you feel this passionately about?  Let me know in the comments so that I don’t feel like an overdramatic weirdo…