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MCR Join Stars Hitting Back At Emo Scapegoating

added 27 May 2008 at 17.33

Following support from Elbow, Kate Nash and The Pigeon Detectives, My Chemical Romance have issued a statement concerning the media scapegoating of emo ahead of this Saturday's (May 31) protest march against The Daily Mail.

Following the suicide of 13-year-old emo fan Hannah Bond, coroner Roger Sykes said: "A girl of 13 years of age has taken her own life for no reason that anyone could find to be justifiable...[Hannah] had become an aficionado of the emo fad...The emo overtones concerning death and associating it with glamour, I find very disturbing."

A recent article by the Daily Mail pretty much labelled the genre as a threat to society going so far as to say that emo is a "sinister teenage cult that romanticises death."

The furore surrounding the Mail's article and what are perceived to be the misguided words from the coroner have led emo band My Chemical Romance to issue a statement on the subject. Writing on their website, the band said:

"We have recently learned of the suicide and tragic loss of Hannah Bond. We'd like to send our condolences to her family during this time of mourning. Our hearts and thoughts are with them.

"My Chemical Romance are and always have been vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide. As a band, we have always made it one of our missions through our actions to provide comfort, support, and solace to our fans.

"The message and theme of our album 'The Black Parade' is hope and courage. Our lyrics are about finding the strength to keep living through pain and hard times. The last song on our album states: 'I am not afraid to keep on living' – a sentiment that embodies the band's position on hardships we all face as human beings.

"If you or anyone that you know have feelings of depression or suicide, we urge you to find your way and your voice to deal with these feelings positively."

Received mainstream wisdom would therefore have it that once again music is responsible for society's ills and the death of a young girl.

Not so according to a number of artists who have spoken to Xfm about the topic. Elbow's Guy Garvey is adamant that music is a force for good: "I think music helps a lot more people get round their problems and through their problems than it ever causes them.

"I think it's an escapist thing. [Music's] about recognising and enjoying things and if anything, sad music when you're sad let's you know that someone else has felt that way.

"Music often gets the finger pointed at it and I think it's wrong what happened to [Hannah Bond] but it's ridiculous to blame music for it."

Kate Nash believes that teen suicide is not as straightforward as is portrayed. She said: "[Suicide] is not just one factor, it's a lot of things. You can't blame suicide on one thing. I would not blame suicide on one factor ever because it's someone's life; it's really complicated."

The Pigeon Detectives' guitarist Ryan Wilson opined: "I think music's an easy thing to blame, in my opinion. It's really unfortunate and everybody's sympathies go out to the friends and family of [Hannah Bond].

"I think that if you look into it and read the lyrics you'll see that it's not really like that and misinterpreted. I just feel that sometimes they point the finger a little too easily and that people if they're down should see professional [help]."

What do you think? Is music to blame or are the tabloids pointing the finger a little too easily? Will you be joining the march from Hyde Park this Saturday (May 31)? Have your say now.

Tagged as My Chemical Romance, Elbow, Kate Nash, Misc

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