“Welcome to The Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance (2006)

10th anniversary of The Black Parade

By writing this post, I celebrate in advance the 10th anniversary of the release of My Chemical Romance’s third album The Black Parade. The band will be releasing a reissue to mark the occasion. Titled The Black Parade/Living With Ghosts, the compilation album includes 11 demos and live tracks and will hit record stores on September 23, just one month before the 10th year anniversary of the album’s release October 23, 2006).

The Black Parade happens to be the band’s most recognizable record and it was hailed as one of the best albums of 2006 by Rolling Stone, Spin, Wizard, IGN, and Entertainment Weekly. Indeed, it is one of the most important records of 2006 and of the first decade of the 21st century.

It's hard to believe 10 years have passed since the release of My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade. It's hard to believe rock music has become almost non-existent. It's unbelievable that thugs and whores have taken over music.

2006: A most memorable year

The Black Parade is one of the albums that impacted music in 2006, a year that definitely belonged to My Chemical Romance. If memory serves right, it was one of the best years for emo and alternative rock.

I was a college student then when The Black Parade was released. The lead single “Welcome to the Black Parade” was soon played by the urban city station that used to give equal playing time to rock, pop, and hip-hop. In the station’s weekly top 30, the song reached #2. "Welcome to the Black Parade" was my defining track of 2006. Next year, it would be "Famous Last Words", another track off The Black Parade.

2006 was the year when I was overdosed with infatuation. It was a year of unrequited love, a year lost to an obsession. On the domestic side, family and money problems mounted at home and the family almost broke apart. Yes, 2006 was a year of worry and anxiety, a time of pain, a period of depression and devastation.

But it was not a year ‘wasted’. It was a year well spent and well lived in the other departs of my school life, my young adult life.

Memory of a former classmate

Imagine how one song helped me remember two persons from my past: A former object of my infatuation and a former classmate.

While writing this post, I began to remember one classmate, who helped me get through the hard times of the half of 2006. He offered no financial help but companionship, advice, and other forms of non-financial support. He gave me reading materials that only collected dust at his home. He gave me lemonsito (Philippine lime) so I can make juice to cure my coughs. Back then, I was a mobile phone-less lad, so he let me use his without charging me.

Too bad my classmate left before Christmas. He had to return to his girlfriend (his future wife) so he can start building his family with her. One time she sent him a picture of hers, and he showed it to me. She’s a pretty woman of Filipino-Chinese stock. I don’t know why my classmate fell for a woman who’s a bit older than him. But God bless him and his family wherever they are now.

To my classmate, thank you very much!

10 years later

In 2007, Kanye West and 50 Cent competed against each other in the battle of the best-selling hip-hop album. In 2008, the global recession occurred. In 2009, the King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away and Wonder Girls sparked the Korean Wave with their hit “Nobody”. In 2010, Kobe Bryant won his second NBA Championship without former teammate Shaquille O’Neal.

In 2011, Lady Gaga released her controversial single “Judas”. In 2012, the London Olympics took place and Barack Obama won a second term as U.S. president. In 2013, the Backstreet Boys returned as a five-piece band and typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) wreaked havoc in the Philippines.



In 2014, Germany won the World Cup, defeating Argentina in the process. In 2015, idol Rena Matsui of SKE48 and Nogizaka46 graduated and AlDub became an Internet sensation and social media darling. In 2016, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie called it quits after 11 years, thus ending ‘Brangelina’.

As of this writing, the video for “Welcome to the Black Parade” on the band’s official YouTube clocked 57,054,244 views after being uploaded in September 28, 2006. In contrast, Kanye West got 59,015,375 views for Bound 2, one of the worst music videos I have ever seen.