honeythispodcast

[honeythispodcast]

mwah ❤️‍🔥

uh hey gang. it’s goth dyke Trixie and Katya here to bring you a VERY overdue episode about illness and disability in Part 2 of our Angels in America episode DROPPING TOMORROW AM ON SPOTIFY APPLE PODCASTS ETC!

We’ve got a lot of reading this week, from revisiting Angels in America to Susan Sontag to Eli Clare. We’re exploring metaphors of illness and cure and how they work in Angels in America and in the Black Parade.

Topics include: Susan Sontag’s triumphant return to the pod, sexy tuberculosis, being Gun. haters, absolutely pummeling Cancer, unholyverse mention, transgender body horror in Mama, Stomachaches, a brief Kombucha interlude, problems with madness and prophecy, “The worst thing about being sick in America is that you’re booted out of the parade”, cure and living with illness, and free top surgery at Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

#my chemical romance #mcr #gerard way #frank iero #mikey way #ray toro #honey this podcast #gerardtweets #Spotify

[honeythispodcast]

uh hey gang. it’s goth dyke Trixie and Katya here to bring you a VERY overdue episode about illness and disability in Part 2 of our Angels in America episode DROPPING TOMORROW AM ON SPOTIFY APPLE PODCASTS ETC!

We’ve got a lot of reading this week, from revisiting Angels in America to Susan Sontag to Eli Clare. We’re exploring metaphors of illness and cure and how they work in Angels in America and in the Black Parade.

Topics include: Susan Sontag’s triumphant return to the pod, sexy tuberculosis, being Gun. haters, absolutely pummeling Cancer, unholyverse mention, transgender body horror in Mama, Stomachaches, a brief Kombucha interlude, problems with madness and prophecy, “The worst thing about being sick in America is that you’re booted out of the parade”, cure and living with illness, and free top surgery at Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

[honeythispodcast]

uh hey gang. it’s goth dyke Trixie and Katya here to bring you a VERY overdue episode about illness and disability in Part 2 of our Angels in America episode DROPPING TOMORROW AM ON SPOTIFY APPLE PODCASTS ETC!

We’ve got a lot of reading this week, from revisiting Angels in America to Susan Sontag to Eli Clare. We’re exploring metaphors of illness and cure and how they work in Angels in America and in the Black Parade.

Topics include: Susan Sontag’s triumphant return to the pod, sexy tuberculosis, being Gun. haters, absolutely pummeling Cancer, unholyverse mention, transgender body horror in Mama, Stomachaches, a brief Kombucha interlude, problems with madness and prophecy, “The worst thing about being sick in America is that you’re booted out of the parade”, cure and living with illness, and free top surgery at Las Vegas Festival Grounds.

#my chemical romance #mcr #gerard way #frank iero #mikey way #ray toro #honey this podcast #gerardtweets

[honeythispodcast]

hey maren and ej! i love your pod, and i was wondering what your thoughts are on 'everybody hates the eagles'! imo it's not talked about nearly enough – alongside foundations, it's one of the few recent showcases of mcr's songwriting, lyrics and music, so it's a really interesting study into the band's identity in 2022/23, i.e what their sound is like, what lyrical themes they are exploring, what's important and relevant to them post-reunion. there are some really interesting ideas covered in the lyrics, like folklore, gender fluidity and queerness, martyrdom, catholicism, americana etc etc. (and the song has been relevant to other podcast eps you've already done, like the gender episode and the 'her kinda boy and also her girl' line, and the episode about joan of arc and martyrdom, which reminded me of the lyric 'i'm gonna set myself on fire. nevermind, i want you to set me on fire') there's this twitter thread that went into some of the ideas covered in the last leg of the tour that i think could lead to a rlly interesting discussion! https://twitter.com/vacantaIIeyways/status/1672449008009367552?s=20

Hell yeah you pulled so many good things out of Eagles! We talk more about it at 38:00 in the new episode!

(link in the ask to the twitter thread)

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

You guys talking about Anthony Bourdain on the latest pod episode reminds of the time he said that he HATED mcr lmao.

DEVASTATING NEWS oh god I just looked it up and it's in the Parts Unknown episode in Tokyo and he's talking to a very cool thrash metal band in Japan and they offer up MCR as the worst band in the world. ough.

#i'd put in a screenshot but we live in a horrible society where hbo won't allow me to do that #asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

I've just discovered y'all and have been going through your episodes in reverse order. I just got to the episode about horror, vampires, and zombies where you also touched on werewolves and omegaverse, but didn't get much further because this particular monster doesn't really appear in MCR's work, and the thought came to my mind that "yeah, because it's about toxic masculinity and male aggression, which doesn't seem like it'd be an interesting topic for them". I actually had a whole little essay sketched out ages ago I'll probably write sometime, but the Cliff Notes version is that much of werewolf media seems to focus on a typically heteronormative male who is bitten by the werewolf and is gifted strength and physical power but cursed with uncontrollable, animalistic aggression. Some papers talk about this as a puberty metaphor, but I like to think of it as more about toxic masculinity and machismo culture--cultural influences that often do give men power over others, but at a cost to them and the people around them. The Wolfman, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, and both the Teen Wolf movie and tv show play with these themes. The Wolfman cannot control his aggression, baby Michael Landon's preexisting aggression is exacerbated to a homicidal degree, and Scott's achieves success and popularity at school but cannot always control his actions. In a similar vein, a lot of omegaverse fiction (whether queer or not) mimics traditional values and ideas of masculinity and femininity. The "alpha" is typically attractive, physically strong, and sexually virile (also rich??? he's rich a lot??) and the "omega" is usually depicted as smaller, weaker, and thereby feminine, regardless of gender. They may be mouthy, but are usually swayed by the alpha's masculinity and sexual prowess or their own uncontrollable "biological", sexual urges. It's the very masculinity of the alpha that makes them incapable of saying "no". And, when pregnancy becomes a storyline, even the most reluctant of characters eventually fall into domestic bliss of homemaker and childrearer, happy to serve the hypermasculine alpha. As a band whose members typically do not align themselves with traditional masculinity, I can see why maybe werewolves didn't really resonate as much as other monsters. I'm sure there are other, mayve queerer reads on werewolf fiction, but when I consume works from this genre, I swear the toxic masculinity metaphors are all I can see. Anyway, that's my two cents on werewolves. Sorry this is so damn long. Love your work, friends.

This is a great short essay, and we loved reading it on the pod! We respond to it at 1:11:12. Thanks for making us talk about omegaverse again!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

hi! i just listened to your affect theory episode and it reminded me so much of this beautiful review i read of my mcr show, and i wanted to share it! it so totally understood my experience of the show, as one of the 'fervently-devoted fans' up front, and it was really touching to have that understood from the perspective of an 'outsider'. this is the link to the full article in rolling stone australia, by conor lochrie (https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/my-chemical-romance-auckland-concert-review-45753/) but here is the section that i loved: '[For] all of their rock opera magnificence and exquisite conceptual brilliance, what, I think, really makes My Chemical Romance a generational band is the sense of intrinsic and invaluable community. At Tāmaki Makaurau’s Outerfields on Saturday night, that was there for all to see: a mass of worshippers arrived passionately but patiently, mostly gathered, unsurprisingly, in black garments, waiting to offer adoration to four people who meant the world to them.

And “waiting” was what they’d really had to do, with Saturday’s concert taking place after several years of COVID-induced delays. Many fans went so far as to camp outside the venue 24 hours before the concert in order to secure the best view. It’s a narrative that again lends itself to some semblance of “spirituality”, for many of the people I spoke to had approached the Outerfields site from the breadth and depth of Aotearoa. One girl, who later disappeared into the huddled masses near the front of the stage, described arriving on a flight from Christchurch that very morning alongside several dozen other MCR acolytes, all already wearing their concert clothing despite the youthfulness of the day. 

Huge screens beside the stage urged the crowd to treat everyone beside them with kindness, but it was a superfluous message, because this was thousands of people united by a shared purpose. Again, one is loath to use the word “spiritual”, but on Saturday night, as soon as Gerard Way took to the stage, he occupied the role of leader, healer, idol, whatever form each person in the crowd needed him to take.

He performed both within and outwith himself, silent at intervals, a shrieking mess during songs, a wholly unblushing artist committed to everything he was doing. On such a massive stage, in front of such an expectant crowd, Way’s way didn’t feel ingratiating; instead, this was a man seized by his music, overwhelmed by his mission. ...

I stood in the middle of the crowd as it all unfolded, behind what I thought were the truly fervently-devoted fans (a lesson from my late Catholic grandmother: always sit in the back at church if you know the people in front need it more than you) and ahead of those probably there for just a good time. Where I stood, looking at people of all ages on the verge of tears, singing lyrics like their life depended on it, I felt pangs of regret, visions of teenage years that could have been so much different if pretension and cultural constriction hadn’t forcibly collided. 

But mostly – I promise – I felt happier for those around me who had waited so long for this moment, and who would never forget this Saturday night. Because, really, it could be an inordinate amount of time until My Chemical Romance perform in Aotearoa again, even if the band themselves will still exist in the minds of those at Outerfields for a while longer: “How wrong we were to think / That immortality meant never dying”.'

I (EJ) remember reading this article when it came out. It kicked my ass then and it kicks my ass now. Absolutely gorgeous incredible music journalism that really honors the fanbase.

We talk more about this at 1:04:06 in the new episode!

#asks #honey this podcast #mcr #my chemical romance

[honeythispodcast]

Something I am surpised you didn't mention in your millions ep (mainly bc I think about it all the time, not because others do lmao) is the random almost destroya parallel???? "You believe in love / I believe in fate" vs " you don't believe in God / I don't believe in luck / they don't believe in us". The just like.....idk rhythmic parallels and the general sentence structure and how that thought process changes in regards to feeling like a band/being in a band makes me feel insane. Like I guess that doesn't fit the more one on one vibe I get from millions but idk it just makes me feral.

Hi! Sorry it took us so long to get to this one, it is literally from May. We answer this at 1:00:48 on the new episode!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

I'm only halfway through your latest episode so forgive me if you've already mentioned this, but I think with feminine characters and the power they hold in mcr, mother war is such a perfect example. The concept of literal war, something perceived as so inherently masculine, being represented by a woman in a *ballgown*, drives me insane in the best way.

Also on the note of mother war, there's something to be said about mcr putting women who are in positions where they're expected to be pretty and pristine in gas masks. Taking away the surface level and forcing you to look at the person underneath? Forcing you to question who these woman are as human beings instead of Things To Look At? God knows if this was the intent, but I'm here for the ride nonetheless

You know we LOVE to talk about the gas masks! Thanks for your ask, we answer it at 58:40 in the new episode.

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

hey i was thinking about your latest ep specifically what you guys were saying about the im not okay mv and how it subverts normative sexuality. there’s a post around here somewhere by geoffrard on sexual repression in hardcore, particular of women and queer people, so i was thinking about im not okay in the sense that it’s not desexed in the way other emo invocations of these types of mainstream genres or just in general are, rather it subverts it by giving sexual agency to marginalised or desexualised figures (or i guess those who generally arent given sexual agency in whatever way) like, as you said, queer people and (older) women. in this way i appreciate that they stay away from some of these “subversions” that keep the women featured as a passive figure to be villainised or objectified through a romantic pursuit or break up (which is ofc very in keeping with what gerard has said on stage about bands taking advantage of women)

Thank you for this ask!! We talk about it at 56:42 in the new episode!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

Hi Maren and EJ! Loved your recent episode exploring the MCR music video discog through the lens of ‘The Feminine Figure’ and their role in film. I got thinking about the I’m Not Okay video and how it heavily references the 1984 film ‘Revenge of the Nerds’. Along with ‘Heathers’ (A queer classic), the film is probably the biggest cinematic influence on the video. Ray’s line ‘and you don’t know karate’ is lifted from a scene in ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ where a jock asks one of the nerds (a character of Asian descent) “Do you know karate? No? Good.” before fitting his head with a used jockstrap.

The I’m Not Okay video subverts the sexist tropes utilised in the 80’s film, in that it refuses to use women as a means for male social upward-mobility or treat them as prizes to be won by our geeky little band. In the film, popular and pretty women are made to suffer at the hand of the Nerds, because their suffering elevates their abusers to that elusive status of ‘A Real Man’. For example, the lead female character, Betty, is sexually exploited by our hero character and later falls in love with him, thereby allowing the nerd character to cuck (emasculate) the jocks. She exists as the vehicle for the titular revenge, and she is also (of course) a cheerleader.

MCR choose to redirect their revenge toward traditional masculinity itself. To mock it instead of aspire to it, and this subversion starts before the very first ‘Have you ever felt?’ appears onscreen. When Gerard utters ‘Maybe I don’t wanna make it, I just wanna-‘ the departure begins. An alternative path to belonging is offered. Through the lens of the ‘revenge against the bullies’ trope we can read Gerard’s line as: “I don’t want to walk the line that this narrative sets up for me. I don’t want to be like them, I want to make it my own way.” Metatextually signifying: “We, as a band, will do things our own way”.

It can’t be overstated how important this video was in setting MCR apart from both their peers and their previous work. The social values of the band are made clear as day, marking a departure from the more typical emo-core lyrical trappings that we see on Bullets and a maturation in Gerard’s songwriting. We see and hear violence on Three Cheers, but its target is not the cheating girlfriend (Honey, This Mirror) or the pretty co-worker that won’t give you the time of day (Cubicles). Instead, we see Gerard turn his anger inward (Helena) and violence itself transformed into something alluringly psycho-sexual (I Never Told You).

In summary: See Gerard Way 2002 “This song’s about killing the head cheerleader just to get a hardon” vs Gerard Way 2022 I am the head cheerleader with a hardon.

Looking forward to the Angels in America episode. Love your work! X

this is SUCH A GREAT ASK THANK YOU!!! This was so fun to read and discuss on the pod. Check out our response at 38:00 in the new episode!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

Frerard episode when? (sorry.)

(Those two had Something going on for sure. Maybe not lovers but not "just friends".)

Our Frerard episode was our Millions episode! We answer your ask and rehash the great triple r debate in our new episode at 26:40!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

maybe I’m stupid but hearing abt the hesitant alien mixing on the questions ep made me think about how having the vocals buried under all the other tracks reminds me a lot of riot grrrl music tends to have the vocals kind of pushed back, coupled w gerard’s love of riot grrrl and the mention of bands like Sleater-Kinney in the hesitant alien zine. much to think about or maybe I’m just bullshitting lmao would love to hear your thoughts

Oh you know we love to talk about mixing! We answer your ask at 24:17 in the new episode!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

uhhhh objects as religious items and symbols etc……frank reverb sale……people buying things just because he had or wore them…. third class relics?? is this anything???

Oh yeah you are definitely on to something... We answer your ask in the new episode of the pod at 18:28!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

inquiring minds want to know; have you two watched velvet goldmine?

HELL YEAH WE HAVE!! We talk about it on the new episode, check it out at 13:20!

#asks #mcr #my chemical romance #honey this podcast

[honeythispodcast]

ik it doesn't rlly tie into mcr but i absolutely need your thoughts on the new barbie movie. the way it tackles gender, gender performativity, incel culture/toxic masculinity and girlhood is so interesting and leaves so much to talk about. being afab myself it hit so hard (despite not identifying as a girl or woman).

Thank you for this ask! We love talking about the barbie movie and we spend the first 15 minutes of the newest episode doing so. We discuss your ask at 2:24 of the new episode!

#asks #honey this podcast #my chemical romance #mcr

[honeythispodcast]

I love the pod! I really enjoyed the gender studies 101 ep, I learned a lot. Thanks!!!

so glad you learned a lot & thanks so much for listening!!

#asks