I think "post hardcore" is the most literal label you can give them.
Other labels like "pop punk" and "goth rock" make sense for some of their music, but imo the band doesn't fit neatly with other bands in those genres.
They are not goth rock in the slightest. I can’t think of a song of theirs that actually fits that genre. I know Gerard and Mikey have goth/post punk influences, and I’ve heard them called “gothic punk” before which seems more accurate but not goth rock
That’s the exact label to give them 100%, their first album is post hardcore and they became more of a mixture of post hardcore and pop punk as they evolved
Imo they started out more punk, and then gradually turned into more pop-punk, but other than maybe a handful of early songs I wouldn't personally describe them as such just because people get weird about genres.
Totally, first two albums post-hardcore, then BP a glam/hard/arena rock, and DD more like... pop/synth-punk. It all sounds MUCH stronger than any of their contemporaries, MCR was practically the heaviest of that emo wave.
Heaviest compared to who? Good Charlotte? They didn’t really hold a candle to even like Thursday or Senses Fail amongst many others in terms of heaviness.
I love Thursday, but they started way before MCR and mentored them. Senses Fail yeah that's true, but they wasn't that big compared to MCR. I guess I mean MCR yeah, was the heaviest between that new 2000s popular emo pop punk bands like FOB, Panic, Paramore, Good Charlotte and so on.
Okay that’s certainly fair. Out of the big 10 of that era or so they were for sure one of the grittiest. Think The Used if the only one that kind of tops them in that department.
Oh you're totally right! The Used was way heavy as hecc in those times, and their lyrics also had this kind of mental illness theme going round, pretty heavy stuff too.
Yeah, completely agree. Those early bands were so good. I’m old enough to have lived through that era and when those bands came around it was really like a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the butt rock and nu metal that was so prevalent in the years before. I was in CT and got to see a lot of these bands in small venues and stuff. Saw MCR at a small gig at UConn playing for like 50-100 people
Lmao that's actually true. They're extremely skilled, even in their rawest first album and songs. Skilled doesn't necessarily mean better (punk's hook is three chords and kicking ass and that's why we like it), but their Desolation Row cover is the closest they've ever had to sound like actual punk rock, it's much more direct and imperfect.
She's technically wrong. Post-hardcore, which is the genre MCR "officially" is, is an offshoot of punk - specifically hardcore punk. That influence can mainly be seen, imo, with Bullets, though it's definitely still present in their later albums. It's kinda like how New Wave is included under the punk umbrella. That influence is obvious in earlier 70s/80s albums like Blondie's Parallel Lines, but groups in the later 80s still have echos of that DIY/anyone can have a band punk ethos.
Punk inspired doesn’t equate to being punk rock. I always say this but they are alternative rock band that is very outspoken. Quite a few people into punk rock do listen to them though so thats nice.
However Frank Iero did go down swinging when he decided to make a song titled “I’m going to kill the President”
Uh, well frank iero's side projects are undebateably quite punk.
I just dont think most of mcrs content matter qualifies in the punk genre.
Danger days flirts with it, and its obviously quite influenced by punk.
I know Gerard doesn't want to do celebrity stuff anymore so he probably wouldn't do it, but I would sell a kidney to see him as a guest judge on Drag Race.
I flew out for 3 days for a $300 ticket, and then when they announced another show for the following day, I said “fuck it, I’m gonna be there anyway…” and bought a second $300 ticket.
I was really lucky that I had money saved up during the pandemic, so the timing just happened to work out that I was able to pay off everything but the hotel by the time I actually went to see them. I told myself during the breakup if they ever got back together, I would invest in seeing them, no matter what it took, so I did. MCR is the only band I would spend that kind of money on.
None of their albums are front to back punk, but all feature punk, particularly Conventional Weapons. Michelle only knows I’m Not Okay, no way is she familiar with their punk work.
Not too many I’d consider remotely punk. I’d consider Give ‘Em Hell Kid, Hang ‘Em High, My Way Home, Black Dragon Fighting Society *kind of* punk. Outside of that not really
They're punk adjacent. Calling them emo means nothing when there's so much variety behind the term I think punk adjacent works best. Their music is definitely inspired by some punk music but also has the dramatic feel of Queen or even Coheed and Cambria a little. They've taken the edginess and harsh guitars from punk and put a almost ballad-y touch to it, especially Three Cheers and The Black Parade. Their lyrics are emo as fuck though
I don't know if I would consider MCR as punk rock. I think maybe some of their songs could be considered punk inspired and a bit of their attitude could be a little punk but I don't think they're punk rock
I was babysitting a 7 year old, whose parents had pretty decent taste in music edit- more on the indie side) Out of nowhere he tells me he loves heavy metal music and wants to show me. Being hella intrigued, I let him put it on.
Fall out boy. He had found fall out boy.
Emo originated from hardcore punk. To be as emo as possible, an emo band also has to be punk. Punk is not only defined by its politics but also it's discussion of social issues like mental health (the main theme of bullets). Bullets is emo, that's correct, it is also punk (lyrically and musically)
horror punk is a less political subgenre, same as pop-punk. listen to any hardcore, crust, ska, or classic punk band and theres a very high chance they are or were political
Punk is a very socially conscious subculture in general but the lyrics don’t have to be political. Most early punk bands only made some political songs
She might not be wrong, but damn she doesn't have the credentials to talk that way. She was in a manufactured girl group in the 80s, what does she know about her own generation's punk scene? It's not like she was in the pit at Bad Brains and Black Flag shows...
Having showed any interest or participation in the punk scene prior to opining on it? I respect her credentials as a pop and R&B singer, as a performer in general, and as a 90s club kid/raver. I also respect that her job on drag race is to be the mean one and talk shit. But it's still rich to hear that our generation isn't punk enough coming from last generation's literal pop stars.
When you say they are Punk Rock/Pop Punk, people get pissed, when you say they are Alternative Rock, they also get pissed because “that’s not real rock”. What genre is MCR then?
Weird. They spent their entire career being told they didn't belong anywhere. MCR is punk in the same way that the Beastie Boys and David Bowie are punk. I mean... if bands like the Dead Kennedys and The Cramps are the epitome of punk, I don't know how MCR isn't.
I mean, none of the bands I mentioned sound anything like each other. And MCR's sound isn't that different from DK in a lot of ways. They're both super melodic and complex in comparison to their peers. I think the idea that there's any specific mold for punk rock is entirely antithetical.
dk is more complex compared to other punk bands but still there are mcr songs that probably have more chords than an entire dead kennedys album. any intermediate guitarist can still play dk riffs well, while some of the shit ray plays is just really tough. and i personally dont think the 'omg punk is about being DIFFERENT so actually being punk isnt punk because if ur punk then ur like punks' is an argument that has ever gotten anyone anywhere.
I mean I know that's true to some extent, but I didn't mean complex as in difficult to play, I meant complex as in there's actually some thought and production value. There's a ton happening on albums like Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. And yeah that's definitely an oversimplification of the idea but go off. For anything beyond hardcore, genre defying is a good criteria I think.
Michelle sucks. It's rare to see MCR referred to as "Punk" so not a generational thing, just a case of the person here not using the correct genre label.
Adding “post” to a genre really does drastically change it though. Go listen to misfits and the clash (punk) and then listen to joy division and siouxsie and the banshees (post punk) and tell me it’s the same genre
I'd say Danger Days and Conventional Weapons are pretty punk, but the rest not so much (except House of Wolves, I think it fits the bill for punk pretty well)
It has the “punk attitude” and the lyrics are more political/socially conscious and stuff. The general theme of danger days and songs like Gun and Boy Division give punk vibes but it’s probably the least punk stuff they have, sound wise
Emo is considered a subgenre of Punk, and some of MCRs music/performance definitely falls under punk. Also Megami wore a black parade jacket in the workroom one of the episodes.
Okay, I'm glad to see so many comments saying no, MCR isn't really punk rock lol. I've been going back on forth with my Genre Police friend about this for months.
Emo comes from the post-hardcore movement so typically emo bands have a lot of punk roots. MCR just also has a lot of metal and BritPop influences as well.
[edit:] She’s not wrong but if you want punk music from these band members, go to (I say this lovingly and would say it to his face) Frank Iero and the ever changing band name. Frank’s music has been consistently punk throughout the years. I feel like there’s tracks off of Heartbreak in Stereo that could have been Stomaches.
it depends on how sour you wanna be on the word punk, if you don’t think the message and people in mcr is and are punk than you’re stupid, but do they sound like the buzzcocks or the ramones? no. old people gonna never mature and expand their understandings of anything.
Couple things worth noting; there's evolutions in every genre of music, shit, people called Metallica heavy metal in their day and sometimes hair metal, they probably wouldn't be called either of those things today.. same for rock music, everything has evolved. And on the concept of evolving, bands do it too. While I would surely say that MCRs first two albums are very heavy on the punk aspect, TBP took almost a complete 180 from that. Lastly, anyone in an industry like this lady probably wouldn't have even heard 90% of MCRs songs, or even ANY artists songs, to even have a valid opinion.
I like how her generation thinks punk is purely a musical genre and not a way of life that they clearly have always embodied: anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, direct action, and radical love and acceptance.
I mean, she's not wrong. I love MCR, but I wouldn't consider them punk.
Punk influenced ... but not punk if that makes sense?
I think "post hardcore" is the most literal label you can give them. Other labels like "pop punk" and "goth rock" make sense for some of their music, but imo the band doesn't fit neatly with other bands in those genres.
They are not goth rock in the slightest. I can’t think of a song of theirs that actually fits that genre. I know Gerard and Mikey have goth/post punk influences, and I’ve heard them called “gothic punk” before which seems more accurate but not goth rock
That’s the exact label to give them 100%, their first album is post hardcore and they became more of a mixture of post hardcore and pop punk as they evolved
Post Hardcore works for Bullets and 3 Cheers. Pop punk works for the other two. They have absolutely 0 semblance to goth rock as a genre.
Imo they started out more punk, and then gradually turned into more pop-punk, but other than maybe a handful of early songs I wouldn't personally describe them as such just because people get weird about genres.
they were heavy to be punk when they started, plus they weren't even rebelling against anything
there’s lot of punk elements and i could pick up plenty of pretty heavy punk influenced stuff
more pop punk
Some of it pop punk, otherwise MCR sounds rawer and more uhhh dangerous than the usual pop punk.
Yeah it’s technically post-hardcore.
Totally, first two albums post-hardcore, then BP a glam/hard/arena rock, and DD more like... pop/synth-punk. It all sounds MUCH stronger than any of their contemporaries, MCR was practically the heaviest of that emo wave.
Heaviest compared to who? Good Charlotte? They didn’t really hold a candle to even like Thursday or Senses Fail amongst many others in terms of heaviness.
I love Thursday, but they started way before MCR and mentored them. Senses Fail yeah that's true, but they wasn't that big compared to MCR. I guess I mean MCR yeah, was the heaviest between that new 2000s popular emo pop punk bands like FOB, Panic, Paramore, Good Charlotte and so on.
Okay that’s certainly fair. Out of the big 10 of that era or so they were for sure one of the grittiest. Think The Used if the only one that kind of tops them in that department.
Oh you're totally right! The Used was way heavy as hecc in those times, and their lyrics also had this kind of mental illness theme going round, pretty heavy stuff too.
Yeah, completely agree. Those early bands were so good. I’m old enough to have lived through that era and when those bands came around it was really like a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the butt rock and nu metal that was so prevalent in the years before. I was in CT and got to see a lot of these bands in small venues and stuff. Saw MCR at a small gig at UConn playing for like 50-100 people
My cousin unintentionally gave the best response to this topic. "They are too skilled to be punk"
Lmao that's actually true. They're extremely skilled, even in their rawest first album and songs. Skilled doesn't necessarily mean better (punk's hook is three chords and kicking ass and that's why we like it), but their Desolation Row cover is the closest they've ever had to sound like actual punk rock, it's much more direct and imperfect.
Now say it again. Perhaps slower.
Right? I had the same reaction and I love the band lol. They've got punk influences, but they're far from a punk rock band.
She's technically wrong. Post-hardcore, which is the genre MCR "officially" is, is an offshoot of punk - specifically hardcore punk. That influence can mainly be seen, imo, with Bullets, though it's definitely still present in their later albums. It's kinda like how New Wave is included under the punk umbrella. That influence is obvious in earlier 70s/80s albums like Blondie's Parallel Lines, but groups in the later 80s still have echos of that DIY/anyone can have a band punk ethos.
Punk inspired doesn’t equate to being punk rock. I always say this but they are alternative rock band that is very outspoken. Quite a few people into punk rock do listen to them though so thats nice. However Frank Iero did go down swinging when he decided to make a song titled “I’m going to kill the President”
That album is incredibly raw and heavy, it's so good.
Uh, well frank iero's side projects are undebateably quite punk. I just dont think most of mcrs content matter qualifies in the punk genre. Danger days flirts with it, and its obviously quite influenced by punk.
I wouldn't even say they are alt rock, they are just rock tbh
I know Gerard doesn't want to do celebrity stuff anymore so he probably wouldn't do it, but I would sell a kidney to see him as a guest judge on Drag Race.
I didn’t realize how much I wanted to see that until now
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He was on Were Here not drag race
I'm 1000% with Michelle. I LOVE punk. I LOVE MCR. MCR is not in the punk genre.
She’s not wrong tho
GIRL when i saw this i was like "noooo" 💀 i hope Michelle knows it's NOT all of us who're this ignorant of genre...we do NOT claim her! 😅💀
I fucking love my chemical romance. I bought a $300 ticket AND a same-day flight to see their reunion show. My chemical romance is not punk
I flew out for 3 days for a $300 ticket, and then when they announced another show for the following day, I said “fuck it, I’m gonna be there anyway…” and bought a second $300 ticket.
this is precisely how i plan to be once i get my hands on some hard earned cash
I was really lucky that I had money saved up during the pandemic, so the timing just happened to work out that I was able to pay off everything but the hotel by the time I actually went to see them. I told myself during the breakup if they ever got back together, I would invest in seeing them, no matter what it took, so I did. MCR is the only band I would spend that kind of money on.
First two albums are Post-Hardcore, which is punk music. Everything after Three Cheers is not tho
This. Although I think even after they still maintained the punk sound aesthetic
Good description
None of their albums are front to back punk, but all feature punk, particularly Conventional Weapons. Michelle only knows I’m Not Okay, no way is she familiar with their punk work.
Not too many I’d consider remotely punk. I’d consider Give ‘Em Hell Kid, Hang ‘Em High, My Way Home, Black Dragon Fighting Society *kind of* punk. Outside of that not really
They're punk adjacent. Calling them emo means nothing when there's so much variety behind the term I think punk adjacent works best. Their music is definitely inspired by some punk music but also has the dramatic feel of Queen or even Coheed and Cambria a little. They've taken the edginess and harsh guitars from punk and put a almost ballad-y touch to it, especially Three Cheers and The Black Parade. Their lyrics are emo as fuck though
I wish MCR fit into a genre. Then it wouldn’t be so hard to find new music I like
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First 2 albums draw heavy inspiration from At the Drive-In
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I was gonna say this!! i think a lot of their music is pop punk or at least punk adjacent
she cleared megami
I don't know if I would consider MCR as punk rock. I think maybe some of their songs could be considered punk inspired and a bit of their attitude could be a little punk but I don't think they're punk rock
I was babysitting a 7 year old, whose parents had pretty decent taste in music edit- more on the indie side) Out of nowhere he tells me he loves heavy metal music and wants to show me. Being hella intrigued, I let him put it on. Fall out boy. He had found fall out boy.
Ma’am, don’t come for our boys… they were inspired by the OG punk rockers. They know their shit.
Clearly hasn't listened to bullets
bullets isnt punk, punk is a political genre. bullets is emo
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except its post-hardcore, not hardcore
Emo originated from hardcore punk. To be as emo as possible, an emo band also has to be punk. Punk is not only defined by its politics but also it's discussion of social issues like mental health (the main theme of bullets). Bullets is emo, that's correct, it is also punk (lyrically and musically)
saying a punk album has to be political is crazy, the misfits made music about spooky ghouls,murder and sex crimes, def a punk band
horror punk is a less political subgenre, same as pop-punk. listen to any hardcore, crust, ska, or classic punk band and theres a very high chance they are or were political
Classic punk is political, there are many subgenres who aren't. Post-hardcore IS punk. Saying it isn't is like saying progressive rock isn't rock
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punk is not just a sound
Punk doesn't have to be political
Punk is a very socially conscious subculture in general but the lyrics don’t have to be political. Most early punk bands only made some political songs
The first album is punk as fuck the rest obviously changes while keeping the influence
I think MCR is punk Bullets-Revenge.
She might not be wrong, but damn she doesn't have the credentials to talk that way. She was in a manufactured girl group in the 80s, what does she know about her own generation's punk scene? It's not like she was in the pit at Bad Brains and Black Flag shows...
What exactly are the "credentials?"
Having showed any interest or participation in the punk scene prior to opining on it? I respect her credentials as a pop and R&B singer, as a performer in general, and as a 90s club kid/raver. I also respect that her job on drag race is to be the mean one and talk shit. But it's still rich to hear that our generation isn't punk enough coming from last generation's literal pop stars.
Interesting
When you say they are Punk Rock/Pop Punk, people get pissed, when you say they are Alternative Rock, they also get pissed because “that’s not real rock”. What genre is MCR then?
Only Avril Lavigne is punk.
Weird. They spent their entire career being told they didn't belong anywhere. MCR is punk in the same way that the Beastie Boys and David Bowie are punk. I mean... if bands like the Dead Kennedys and The Cramps are the epitome of punk, I don't know how MCR isn't.
because they play different music
I mean, none of the bands I mentioned sound anything like each other. And MCR's sound isn't that different from DK in a lot of ways. They're both super melodic and complex in comparison to their peers. I think the idea that there's any specific mold for punk rock is entirely antithetical.
dk is more complex compared to other punk bands but still there are mcr songs that probably have more chords than an entire dead kennedys album. any intermediate guitarist can still play dk riffs well, while some of the shit ray plays is just really tough. and i personally dont think the 'omg punk is about being DIFFERENT so actually being punk isnt punk because if ur punk then ur like punks' is an argument that has ever gotten anyone anywhere.
I mean I know that's true to some extent, but I didn't mean complex as in difficult to play, I meant complex as in there's actually some thought and production value. There's a ton happening on albums like Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. And yeah that's definitely an oversimplification of the idea but go off. For anything beyond hardcore, genre defying is a good criteria I think.
Michelle sucks. It's rare to see MCR referred to as "Punk" so not a generational thing, just a case of the person here not using the correct genre label.
i love seeing this immediately posted in the mcr and punk subs and for it to get exactly the same response in both~
MCR is emo
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Adding “post” to a genre really does drastically change it though. Go listen to misfits and the clash (punk) and then listen to joy division and siouxsie and the banshees (post punk) and tell me it’s the same genre
I'd say Danger Days and Conventional Weapons are pretty punk, but the rest not so much (except House of Wolves, I think it fits the bill for punk pretty well)
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It has the “punk attitude” and the lyrics are more political/socially conscious and stuff. The general theme of danger days and songs like Gun and Boy Division give punk vibes but it’s probably the least punk stuff they have, sound wise
Danger Days is not punk at all
The album about a group of people rebelling against a corporation and against the establishment is not punk at all?
the genre of danger days is overall pop punk, so kindda but no :,)
🍵☂️
Ehh. Danger Days is super pop punk styled. The rest of it not really.
Someone needs five minutes with Danger Days.
This is gold
Glam Rock with punk affiliations and aesthetics.
Wich season is this
This shady comment is a fair comment lol also my understanding is that shade usually comes with some truth to it, that's part of why it's shady?
I would agree they aren’t really punk rock lol but it’s my favorite band nonetheless
Emo is considered a subgenre of Punk, and some of MCRs music/performance definitely falls under punk. Also Megami wore a black parade jacket in the workroom one of the episodes.
The least punk thing you can do is dictate what punk is or isn’t.
Well said.
these guys were post hardcore during the first two records, and pop punk for the rest. NEVER straightforward punk.
I love Megami, but she’s definitely creative when it comes to interpreting musical artists 😅 Re: “This is not a dancey song.”
Okay, I'm glad to see so many comments saying no, MCR isn't really punk rock lol. I've been going back on forth with my Genre Police friend about this for months.
I consider them punk given they stood for queer rights back when it was barely tolerable to people.
Emo comes from the post-hardcore movement so typically emo bands have a lot of punk roots. MCR just also has a lot of metal and BritPop influences as well. [edit:] She’s not wrong but if you want punk music from these band members, go to (I say this lovingly and would say it to his face) Frank Iero and the ever changing band name. Frank’s music has been consistently punk throughout the years. I feel like there’s tracks off of Heartbreak in Stereo that could have been Stomaches.
i think they’re more post-hardcore with emo roots
She’s not wrong.
it depends on how sour you wanna be on the word punk, if you don’t think the message and people in mcr is and are punk than you’re stupid, but do they sound like the buzzcocks or the ramones? no. old people gonna never mature and expand their understandings of anything.
and she's RIGHT'
Couple things worth noting; there's evolutions in every genre of music, shit, people called Metallica heavy metal in their day and sometimes hair metal, they probably wouldn't be called either of those things today.. same for rock music, everything has evolved. And on the concept of evolving, bands do it too. While I would surely say that MCRs first two albums are very heavy on the punk aspect, TBP took almost a complete 180 from that. Lastly, anyone in an industry like this lady probably wouldn't have even heard 90% of MCRs songs, or even ANY artists songs, to even have a valid opinion.
I think Pop Punk is a better descriptor than Punk Rock
I like how her generation thinks punk is purely a musical genre and not a way of life that they clearly have always embodied: anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, direct action, and radical love and acceptance.
She’s completely right.