Spit, don't swallow...

Normally I see Buzznet as likened to syphilis: I stay AWAY from it.
But this morning, boredom at work made me wander in (in lurk, of course) to see what the kiddies were saying.

I nearly blew chunks when I came across this:

To see what I'm bitching about, scroll 2/3 of the way down the page, and look for the post by voluptuosity at 7:24 PM on 09/11/2007.

If this is how you feel, Mr. Don't-Get-In-My-WAY, I think you're in the wroooooong business. Then again, perhaps your feelings have changed, given how you've been strutting your stuff around this summer.

What happened to the paranoid, lonely misfit of a boy who wanted to tell the world that it's okay to not fit in? I liked him a lot better than the arrogant, self-righteous primadonna that showed up for the PR tour. Or maybe it's my own stupidity for believing in your message in the first place.

At the risk of alienating some musician friends, I have to say that in all 19 years I've been seeing bands, Gerard Way is the most talented musician I've ever heard. I've listened to all three CD's rabidly, and drained my iPod battery countless times from My Chem overload. I wasn't able to see the band when they played in my city (sometimes having a life really sucks!), but I looked forward to catching them on tour later in the year at a city south of the border.

Like half the continent, I tuned in to the live MySpace stream on August 22. I expected to see the band I loved. And I did see that band, except for the frontman. The man I respected was nowhere to be seen that day. Or for most of Projekt Revolution, as it turned out.

To see THAT much talent being wasted on cheap displays of "wanna get with this?" is fucking physically painful.
If I wanted to see a rockstar playing with his cock, pitching a hissy-fit to his guitarist and singing off-key, I know a number of people who'd gladly perform it all in a private show.

Mr. Way can fuck or marry whoever he wants -- I don't care about the whole Lyn-Z fiasco. If he wants to jack off until he goes blind or hold 'lengthy' conversations with his dick, he has every right do so. However, nobody should have to pay an admittance fee to see it.

News flash, Mr. Way: Remember the 1980's? The country was full of rock stars who all did the same things you're doing. Where are any of them now? Do you really want to be remembered like Vince "I-Ate-All-The-Burritos" Neil or Axl "I'm-Gonna-Cry-If-You-Take-My-Picture" Rose?

Just thinking about it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Enough with babblin' about your amazing girlfriend & playing with your dick.
Next thing you know, you'll be into groupies. Yeesh.

"I am not afraid..."

Okay, that's a blatant lie.
I am afraid.

I'm afraid that the current shitstorm is going to cause irreparable damage to the young ones, who believe in him so fucking much.
I'm afraid that some of the kids who threaten to kill themselves over Mr. Way's marriage will follow through with it.
I'm afraid that the five guys formerly known as my favorite band are being led to the Gallows of Attractive Disaster.
I'm afraid that the dream will come to an end, and the amazing talent demonstrated by these five men will be scattered to the winds to drift away into eternity.

I hope my viewpoint is skewed. I'm afraid that it isn't.

"I am not afraid to keep on living"
Famous Last Words, indeed.
Now prove it.

Stop the bus, I wanna get off...

For anyone who has Google'd "My Chemical Romance" these last few days, it seems that a simple search has devolved into a complete clusterfuck. Since the rumors broke about Gerard Way's marriage to Lyn-Z (Mindless Self-Indulgence) after this past weekend, the blogs/boards/forums have been chewing up bandwidth like a lawnmower at a DustBuster convention. The fandom appears to be divided into two general groups: those who see Mr. Way as out of control, and those who vow to believe in him no matter what he says or does. Add the recent blog wars to the mix, and chances are excellent that you'll walk away from the keyboard with one hell of a headache.

I am of the opinion that he is out of control. I've seen similar behaviors and mannerisms before, with other 'rock stars'. Needless to say, the ending is never pretty. But enough has been said (on both sides of the debate) concerning his love life, his bandmate's response (or lack thereof) to said love life, and his success or failure at avoiding addictive substances.

The question I keep coming back to ponder is, why Mr. Way?
What is it about him that makes so many people act & speak-post the way they do?
Yes, he's talented. Yes, he has a pretty face and rather attractive... attributes. But none of this explains the vast array of text sweeping the good ol' WWW these last few days.

I must admit, I'm a fairly recent convert to the My Chem machine. I've been away from the whole music scene for a few years, trying to focus on life after lyrics, drums and guitars. Until I heard "The Black Parade", I was rather successful at it. I missed "Bullets" and "Three Cheers" - yes, they're now part of my CD collection, but they've never saved my life.

I do not know Mr. Way personally, and I have no intention of becoming his judge, jury or executioner. However, I do hope everything turns out well for him -- my fear is that he may not be around to see it.

Disquiet expressed, too chicken-eyed to continue.
So long, and goodnight.