15 years ago, My Chemical Romance refused to be part of the $700 million success story they were begged to make

Fans of My chemical romance we're not going to believe the film's soundtrack that the band almost stuck to. Punk sensations are certainly no strangers to attaching their names to soundtracks, as their cover of Bob Dylan's “Desolation Row” has hit the official market. Watchers soundtrack, playing the final credits of the adaptation. It may go unnoticed, but their inclusion helped launch the band to new audiences.

My Chemical Romance pairs perfectly with film soundtracks: its rich narrative style is always deeply emotional and includes full characters and stories. The Black Parade is obviously a concept album by the older definition, but it came with a discernible aesthetic and symbolism that made it a cinematic experience in its own right. Of course there would be more demand for them to work with filmmakers: it's simply shocking that this hasn't happened more often.

The band came close to another marriage with Hollywood, when they were asked to produce a song for the soundtrack of Twilight: New Moon. However, the MTV Award winners not only turned down the offer, but later found the offer insulting enough to write an entire song about the ordeal.

How my chemical romance was linked to twilight

MCR was part of Twilight's origin story

The connection between My Chemical Romance and Dusk It's not just about spiritual similarity. When speaking with electronic warfare about your inspirations for writing the franchise, Dusk author Stephanie Meyer cited My Chemical Romance as one of her sources of inspiration. Specifically, listening to MCR's music is what helped Meyer write the character Jacob, Edward's foil and alternate love interest for Bella, who was played by Taylor Lautner in the films. This is what Meyer had to say on the matter:

This band is very in touch with me with the character of Jacob. This really raw, uncontrolled emotion – where it's not about a person who has grown up and grown calloused and learned to control things. This is someone who is feeling this for the first time and just wants to go out and blow things up. The song 'Famous Last Words' is a very romantic version of Jacob saying, 'Okay, I'm putting myself out there and you're probably going to break me, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still going to make the offer.'

Given that the band served as a direct inspiration for the books, it made sense for My Chemical Romance to naturally receive an offer to do music for the film adaptation of the first sequel. However, MCR ultimately declined the offer and instead Muse – another band that was prevalent to Meyer during his writing process – would perform on the soundtrack. Other bands included were Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, The Killers, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Lykke Li, Death Cab for Cutie, Sea Wolf, OK GO and other rock and pop punk brands.

Why my chemical romance turned down Twilight

Vampires just weren't cool anymore

My Chemical Romance reached the height of their fame by adopting dark, gothic aesthetics similar to vampire lore, unfortunately. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Three cheers for sweet revenge – notably his breakout hit, “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” – captured the world's attention, while The Black Parade – sports classics like “Helena”, “Welcome to the Black Parade” and the Saving Private Ryan-inspired “Ghost of You” – established them as a band that's here to stay. However, at the time that Twilight: New Moon was being adapted, My Chemical Romance was adopting a new style.

In 2009, My Chemical Romance was a year away from releasing Days of Peril: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Their fourth album was set for My Chemical Romance to change their tone both sonically and visually. Sonically, MCR would begin to experiment with power pop, electronic music, psychedelic rock and propunk. Meanwhile, its visual style took inspiration from a post-apocalyptic era. It was clear that MCR had abandoned its gothic roots and, as a result, had no interest in gothic vampire films.. This is what Gerard Way said Q Magazine at the moment:

With things like Dusk, the idea of ​​something gothic like vampires was no longer scary, they were sexy or contemplative. For me, vampires are the new Jonas Brothers. So we went the opposite way.

MCR dodged a “burnout” bullet by avoiding twilight

Just ask Hayley Williams

For anyone who thinks My Chemical Romance were foolish to turn down the chance to take part in a project that grossed $700 million, look no further than Hayley Williams' account on the matter. The previous Dusk The film’s soundtrack was bolstered by Paramore’s first single, “Decode.” The Grammy-nominated record sold 2,000,000 units, going double platinum in the process. This proved to be a huge success for the band, especially right after the recent success of “Misery Business”. However, according to Williams for Rolling StoneThe success of “Decode” brought Paramore more problems than joy:

Part of me read the books, I loved them, they were easy to read and fun. It was: holy shit, we have a song in a movie – that was crazy. And then the resentment set in, like, 'oh my God, we're the Dusk band'. It took a long time to get over that part of me that wanted to be like, 'You're a poser.'

Hayley Williams and her band feared that having a blockbuster record in a blockbuster movie would just paint them into a box. They were no longer just a punk band, but “Twilight Band.” It was difficult to be part of a music genre that prides itself on being anti-establishment only to essentially become part of said establishment for one of the biggest film franchises on the planet. MCR would have struggled to ignore the same accusations.

That kind of desire was what inspired the final track of Days of danger“Vampire Money”, a song that parodies bands who jump at the chance to work on lucrative partnerships because they “want to be a movie star”. The phrase itself comes from people approaching MCR wanting to help them get some “vampire money” following the success of their 2002 debut single “Vampires Will Never Hurt You.” Vampires may never harm you, but produce a song to Dusk it certainly would have hurt My chemical romanceas far as the band is concerned.

Source: electronic warfare, Rolling Stone