#crylocks thesis

[annotatingandexplicating]

My thesis never got published (thanks anxiety). So I decided to put it here in the chaos void of things I write. The paper, called “Flip the Page or Press Play to Follow Along: Exploring the Literary Aspects and Impacts of Multimedia Concept Albums” explores 60 years of multimedia concept album through a literary lens to decipher and analyze the impact these forms of music have on both musical studies and literature. These types of albums expand beyond the limits of the traditional album and concept album to invoke literature and literary studies to force listeners to decipher the story as the speaker tells it, using the music, words, and imagery associated with the album to identify symbols, motifs, and thematic commentary.

So, here it is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K8oBc0kcDTnwJ3_txw1Dur6BcKbE6VKQ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106939244725928748348&rtpof=true&sd=true

Now, since it’s 60 pages long, here’s a table of contents to navigate it:

Introduction: Page 1

Frank Sinatra, In the Wee Small Hours and Ocean’s Eleven: Page 6

The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and Yellow Submarine: Page 13

Prince, Purple Rain album and film: Page 23

My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: California: Page 27

Beyonce, Lemonade album and film: Page 33

I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Razzmatazz (physical) album and accompanying music videos: Page 39

Conclusion: Page 50

Works Cited: Page 53

#english major #english honours #thesis work #crylocks thesis #frank sinatra #the beatles #prince #my chemical romance #beyonce #idkhow #in the wee small hours #sgt peppers lonely hearts club band #purple rain #danger days #lemonade #Razzmatazz #This took me over a year to do #Over a year of researching and writing

[crylockchaos]

If this gets 30 notes I'll send MCR my thesis chapter on their work.

#crylocks rambling #my chemical romance #crylocks thesis #gerard way #frank iero #mikey way #ray toro #danger days #I'm going to be hit with a broom by one of them. #mcr #True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #killjoys

[raynerwilde-kjrp]

Character Info

Name: Rowan William Palmer

Alias: Rayner Wilde

Affiliation: Better Living Industries

Age: 23

Gender: male

Pronouns: He/him

Looks: 5′7″ tall, curly dark brown hair, brown eyes, often seen wearing dark clothes and goggles, sinewy frame, often slouches.

Language: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, Modern English, Spanish

Interests: Reading, writing, chemistry, badminton

Backstory: Coming from a family of wealth and entrepreneurship, Rowan achieved his double-major BA wit First-Class honours in English and Chemistry, with a Master's in English literature. His English thesis, focusing on the close connection of sound and literary form, was well received by the city’s university. Now in his first year of his PhD for Romanticist and Gothic literature, Rowan continues to excel in academia in literary studies.

                  Update: Palmer has abandoned academia for the zones, see file RWP-3473 for reward for his capture and re-education negotiated by family in [ERROR]

Note: Watch for signs of burnout and fatigue as his advisor has noted these changes in previous semesters.

Mod:

Name's K but I mainly go by Crylock! She/her or they/them I'm not picky :) Please note that I am over 20. My writing tends to focus on speculative fiction and posthumanist fiction since that's what I focused on in my graduate years, but I am open to writing any genre or format other than smut.

Book and history nerd extraordinare. I also do @cybershadow @phant0mspades

You can literally message me anytime about just about anything.

Rules:

- I’m not comfortable doing smut. Do not ask.

- If you want to make a plot or send an ask that involves my characters, ask or let me know first. Do not rewrite my arcs or characters or copy my arcs or characters. I will block you if you do.  

- I can write starters either as a post or as an ask. Just let me know if you want me to and if you have a preference.

- I can’t believe I have to write this one. Don’t talk behind my back or backstab me or any of that. I’m here to have fun and improve my writing, not deal with drama and bullshit. That’s an automatic block if I catch you.  

- Be patient, please. I have severe anxiety and suffer from health issues that are currently being monitored with a heavy dose of medication. If I ask/say/clarify something that seems redundant, please work with me because I’m probably having an off day.

Please Note: Rowan is tired and worn-down. He faces extreme familial pressure to seek a high education and has really been forced into doing things and going higher as an academic. Does he want to? He hasn’t figured that out. He will get irritable at times and sometimes will ramble about literary theory and oddly specific topics that he studies (sound as literature, posthumanism, and Romanticism). This blog will highlight the positives and negatives of academia, and how it is both a pathway to further learning but also exploitive of new ideas and young graduate students. Everything here is inspired by my own experiences in grad school, and it should be considered only one experience among many. Do not take this blog as discouragement from pursuing academia if that is what you want to do; Rowan’s experiences, along with mine, are not the truth for everyone.

[crylockchaos]

If I bring my iDKHOW when talking about Manfred, will my supervisor stop randomly calling on me?

As in, if I just jump right into “so there’s a silent drummer-” 

#Crylocks rambling #crylocks thesis #crylock versus grad school

[annotatingandexplicating]

Whatever happens, the thesis stays.

#crylocks thesis #idkhow #Ryan Seaman

[crylockchaos]

Party Poison’s Revenge: The “Eye for an Eye” method in the MCR song

Bad news from the zones, tumbleweeds It looks like Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid Had a clap with an Exterminator That went all Costa Rica, and, uh Got themselves ghosted, dusted out on Route Guano (Way et al. “Traffic Report”)

The unfortunate end of Kobra Kid and Jet-Star, two of the Fabulous Four and protagonists of the concept album, brings a clear shift in voice. With the antecedent action, this voice continues to be Party Poison, but not to the same uplifting and hopeful tone we have heard in previous tracks. Rather, this “traffic report,” brings news that two of the Fabulous Four are dead prior to the “SING” music video, leaving Party Poison and Fun Ghoul alone in the zones, and grieving the loss. The following track called “Party Poison” holds underlying sinister actions by the protagonist as they seek revenge for the loss of their partners. The song reveals the vulnerable side of the leader of the Killjoys, a side who seeks revenge on Better Living Industries, twisting their character away from how the Girl remembers them. “Party Poison,” when places alongside the traffic report and the following “Save Yourself and I’ll Hold Them Back” reveals the internal turmoil Party Poison faces in the aftermath of the loss of Jet-Star and Kobra Kid. While the track serves as the character’s soliloquy, it reflects the negative impacts of leading a rebellion, one that they wish to keep hidden from the Girl and Fun Ghoul to maintain morale. With two of their group dead, one of which the fanbase views as Party Poison’s sibling, we as the audience hear a new side of the infamous leader, one who uses their pent-up rage against the city in a violent and isolating manner, one hard to contain and ultimately, one that remains out of sight from those the character cares for.

This rage is quickly revealed by the borderline Presto tempo, hinting that our protagonist is acting off emotions rather than their knowledge of the city and processing their grief. Following the smoother and consistent tempo in the previous traffic report from Doctor Death Defying, the jarring and sudden transition into this tempo jolts the audience into a fit of passion, encouraging us to follow our speaker’s emotions. This, along with the song using A♭ Major, indicates that Party Poison seeks to use their emotions as revenge. Since this key is known in musicology as “[k]ey of the grave,” it reveals pieces of Party Poison’s mindset even before the begin singing (Steblin). They are full of rage and seeking to kill the group responsible for Jet-Star and Kobra Kid’s death: Better Living Industries (commonly referred to as BL/ind in the music videos and the graphic novel), fueling more of their rebellious actions. This use of music theory alongside the Japanese in the track’s opening, immediately tell the audience that the speaker’s actions further contrast what the city and corporation views as acceptable and productive. Since BL/ind views emotions as irrational and hinderances of productivity, the rage and hatred within Party Poison only grows and pushes them to act violently through revenge. With “explosives in a suitcase” and “many dangers on the road we travel,” the song’s opening reveals that our protagonist no longer cares if they live to see the end of BL/ind, they want revenge and to cause damage to the city’s morale (Way et al. “Party Poison”). They seek revenge to fulfill their violent urge and also use BL/ind’s killjoy stereotype against the city, leading exterminators and draculoids into a trap designed with the illusion of recklessness in mind. 

After establishing the tone and protagonist’s mood in the song’s introduction, we finally hear Party Poison speak. Their first words speak directly to BL/ind and other killjoys who are waiting for their next move in the rebellion. Rather than stay quiet and out of the spotlight, Party Poison thrives in it and orders both city and killjoys to watch them by saying “[e]verybody pay attention to me” (Way et al. “Party Poison”). While they are grieving the loss of their teammates, they want the world, audience included, to watch their revenge, placing themself in the spotlight as they act violently to reclaim morale. They want to be loud and they want to hold the “loud and violent” killjoys stereotype to a new and vengeful level by embracing it to lead the city on. Despite their rage and emotions fueling their actions, Party Poison is using it strategically as a façade, making the city believe that they are acting foolishly. This call for attention allows them to maintain their reputation as the leader of the Killjoys and upkeep the morale in the Zones. But they hint at their deception by calling themself a cheetah in the first verse, signaling to the audience that they plan to use their rage in strategic revenge that maintains their status as a threat. Since cheetahs use their agility and stealth to their advantage, Party Poison’s comparison in the song reveals just how big a threat they are to the city once angered and motivated to act. Instead of hiding away and acting silently through their grief, they call themself the “[s]treetwalking cheetah” to reveal how our speaker uses the spotlight and their skillset to their advantage, dragging the city directly into a bloodbath (Way et al. “Party Poison”). Despite this line alluding to Iggy Pop, the reference includes violent imagery of napalm, further establishing Party Poison’s intention to use the spotlight to make the city look rash in their rage.

While gaining their revenge, Party Poison experiences a change in views regarding the fight against the City and BL/ind. This song, viewing the killing spree as a dance party between the killjoys and city, shifts their mindset into self-sacrifice and mortality. These themes are not new to the My Chemical Romance discography, as we have seen contemplation of mortality and sacrifice in albums such as The Black Parade (2006). Unlike the previous album however, Party Poison’s choice to shift their mentality reveals a shift in their character and the setting. With two of their group members dead, the leader of the Killjoys must contemplate what might occur should they die as well, hinting at the shift into The Girl’s narration in the graphic novel. Party Poison knows that they will die before seeing the end of the rebellion, so they choose to view their limited time in an optimistic light, such as their revenge as a form of dance. The chorus and original title of the “Party Poison,” which was originally “Death Before Disco” bring our attention to this shift in perspective by placing death and dancing alongside each other. While it almost mimics the Red Death from Poe, the death within the dance is brought on by a person motivated by grief and the drive for revenge. The chorus highlights this juxtaposition of death and dancing, noting using the upbeat tempo and instrumental to hide the contemplation within the words:

This ain't a party Get off the dance floor You want the get-down Here comes the gang war You're doin' all right I got the answer 'Cause all the good times They give you cancer

If the city was unwilling to get in a fight and be fooled by Party Poison, then they should have stayed away from their gang. The death of Jet-Star and Kobra Kid initiated Party Poison’s revenge and largest actions as a single person, fueling morale within the movement despite knowing that the consequences are coming for them. Their enjoyment and ideals surrounding life through optimism hides their grief and drive to avenge their fallen teammates, shifting the album’s tone into contemplation of whether or not Party Poison has done enough in their lifetime for the rebellion. This drive for revenge further pushes them into the infamous leader of the killjoys that is referenced in the graphic novel, but also initiates their demise between the two texts, placing further emphasis on The Girl to continue what they began.

Links for reference:

https://genius.com/My-chemical-romance-party-poison-lyrics

https://wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html#:~:text=This%20key%20includes%20declarations%20of,cheerfulness%20and%20trust%20in%20God.

#Crylocks rambling #This was actually done as a pre-first draft for my thesis but never made the cut #I wish I had remembered this section because now I really like it #Very twisty but I can see why it didn't make the first cut #Then again it was probably better than what I ACTUALLY submitted #Party Poison the song #my chemical romance #danger days #crylocks thesis

[crylockchaos]

Why is My Chemical Romance always relatable to the content I'm learning each semester?

Romanticism? Foundations of Decay drops.

Bildungsroman? Danger Days comic

Presentitism? Tonight's show and a Frank Sinatra cover.

#crylocks rambling #crylock your student is showing #my chemical romance #mcr #crylocks thesis

[crylockchaos]

Just re-read old sections of my research that didn’t make even the first draft. In it was an...interesting take on “Party Poison,” the song. 

Tempted to share it...

#Crylocks rambling #crylock your student is showing #crylocks thesis

[crylockchaos]

Writings and Explications I have done

I figured I would make a general post about this since my writings are starting to add up.

A close-reading blurb of “What Love?”

Open a New Perspective (Original short story in speculative fiction and posthuman theory)

Crowds that Gave Him Heartache to Sing: Percy Shelley’s Poetry and Sound Studies

From Stage to Screen, It’s Not the Same: Musical Score in Film Adaptations of Shakespeare

Party Poison’s Revenge: An explication of  the song “Party Poison” by My Chemical Romance

A detailed reading of iDKHOW’s Razzmatazz from beginning to end

My honours thesis from my Undergrad, analyzing the hidden literary nature of Multimedia Concept Albums over 60 years.

We Should Take a Differant Look at “Leave Me Alone”

I Don’t Know How But We’re Being Mocked: Cultural Studies and Theory in Modern Music

#Crylocks rambling #crylock your student is showing #Crylock's writing chaos again #my chemical romance #idkhow #honours thesis

[crylockchaos]

Ignoring the fact that I’m going to have to give a 15 minute essay out loud at a symposium with my supervisor and the Dean around on Razzmatazz...

Probably looking as stunned as --

#Crylocks rambling #crylocks thesis #crylock your student is showing

[crylockchaos]

Y’all. I had an idkhow idea...who wants to hear it?

#Crylocks rambling #crylocks thesis #idkhow #dallon weekes #Ryan Seaman

[crylockchaos]

Finding scholarly sources on My Chemical Romance is harder than I expected, and I was expecting nothing.

This has been an update on Crylock’s thesis.

#Crylocks rambling #crylock your student is showing #my chemical romance #crylocks thesis

[crylockchaos]

We are 1 panel in and I already feel stupid and embarrassed.

#crylocks thesis #the symposium day

[crylockchaos]

Y’all, my supervisor liked the idkhow section of my thesis!

I’m crying I’m so happy

#Crylocks rambling #idkhow #crylock your student is showing #crylocks thesis #Razzmatazz #dallon weekes #Ryan Seaman

[crylockchaos]

Happy birthday to Ryan Seaman!

I even got to spend today talking about him as a Byronic Hero :)

#Crylocks rambling #crylocks thesis #Ryan Seaman #idkhow #ft byronic ryan

[crylockchaos]

Crylock thesis update:

Everyone is going to hate me. I finished close-reading True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys at work...here it is. Close-reading is going through panel by panel and analyzing symbols, themes, word choice, etc.

Next up to be close-read is Electric Century.

#crylocks rambling #crylocks thesis #danger days #mcr #my chemical romance #english major things #close reading #literary analysis