#221 - My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
#221 – February 2010
COVER STORY
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
My Chemical Romance didn’t want their supporters to be without them, and the haters to forget them. So they made the best record of their career. Let the kisses and the hisses commence!
SPECIALS
SOMETHING SMELLS FUNNY: AP’S COMEDIAN SPECIAL
Everyone’s a comedian. Well, not everyone, but the really funny (and talented) ones are. Allow us to funny this sh*t up with our personal comedic faves. If these guys and gals don’t make you laugh, then you don’t have a sense of humor.
IDOL WORSHIP
At the start of the day, we asked RYAN ROSS of PANIC! AT THE DISCO what he could do for his idol, THIRD EYE BLIND chairman STEPHAN JENKINS.
AP’S HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
From apparel to accessories, gadgets to electrical whatzits, AP’s Holiday Gift Guide offers up the hottest gear to keep you warm this winter. We’re putting heating pads out of business, yo!
THE ORAL HISTORY OF NAKED RAYGUN
Forget New York and L.A. for a minute: Naked Raygun might’ve been the finest punk-rock outfit to come out of the Midwest, let alone Chicago. To commemorate their reunion at this year’s Riot Fest, Casey Lynch talked to the band and their associates to trace their accomplishments-as well as the water that won’t go under the bridge.
FEATURES
(+44)
Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker gave AP a sneak peek at their hotly anticipated new record, and we’re pleased to report it’s not Blink-183-or U1.5, for that matter.
SPARTA
On their third album, Sparta find themselves with a renewed sense of energy and purpose. And all they had to do was break up…
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
Neither “zombie” fans, nor record-company meddling will stop these metalcore maniacs from their appointed shredding. Pass the cape, let’s go ape!
LUCERO
Having endured the emotional rodeos of watching their record labels collapse, these working-class dudes decided to be in control of the destiny of their art.
CUTE IS WHAT WE AIM FOR
CIWWAF-the band with the ugliest abbreviation in recent memory- merely want you to want them. And you know that can’t be bad….
DEFTONES
Sacramento’s finest rockers had put in nearly two decades of service, but all the beef they were keeping between themselves was keeping them cold.
SECTIONS
INCOMING: LOVE LETTERS, HATE MAIL & SOUND ADVICE
OPINION
Far From Finished frontman Steve Neary finds acceptance through punk music in Op-Ed; and everyone from Guttermouth to Pepper (and you, of course) tell us what bands should do with bigoted fans in the AP Poll.
NEW RELEASES/IN THE STUDIO
We preview albums from Incubus, Envy On The Coast and more; In The Studio spies on Straylight Run, The Locust and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
WIRETAPPING
Our AP:DIY section is an exclusive guide for budding musicians, complete with even more exclusive pointers from rockers who’ve been around the block. This month, we get up close and personal with members of Muse, Emily Haines, Silverstein, Thursday, Gym Class Heroes, Men, Women & Children and the Living End, as well as the techs, personal trainers and other experts who keep ’em in shape, musically and otherwise. Elsewhere, we give the monthly Lowdown on Shiny Toy Guns, Kevin Devine, Thunderbirds Are Now! and others; Chalkboard Confessional talks inspiration with Alexisonfire frontman Dallas Green; Vagrant Records gets the Label Profile treatment; and Fuse VJ Steven gets thankful in his AP-exclusive Untitled Rock Column.
SCREENING
Catalina Sandino Moreno refuses to salutes the flag of Fast Food Nation; and Now Showing checks out what’s new in theaters and DVD players this month.
REVIEWS
The AP Record Store has stocked our shelves full for the impending holiday rush with new albums from Killswitch Engage, Samiam, Melvins, the Killers, the Walkmen, Squarepusher, Brazil, Righteous Jams, River City High, TV On The Radio, Cale Parks and more; we’ve also scheduled some killer In-Studio Sessions with Bad Astronaut, It Dies Today, Beck, Owen and the Prize Fighter Inferno. Bob Seger and the Pogues get respectively cauterized and canonized in our classic-rock and classic-punk columns; plus, scope out Collector’s Corner and Listening Station for the best of old and new.
10 ESSENTIAL MUSICAL ABOUT-FACES (MADE VERY QUIETLY)
Sure, rocking out is fun, but every once in a while, it’s nice to tone things down a bit-if for nothing else than to stop that incessant ringing in your ears. Here, you’ll find some of the more surprising acts of the underground who’ve abolished the mosh in favor of something more soothing.
