Welcome to the Black Parade

[edit] Music video

The Black Parade as shown in the music video.

The video for the single was directed by Samuel Bayer, known for his work with Nirvana and Green Day.^[3] The music video was released on September 26, 2006 in the UK and Canada, and was released on September 27, 2006 in the U.S. It got heavy play on MTV. It features a dying man (played by Lukas Haas) dressed in a hospital gown, and being taken by death in the form of a Black Parade. On the main float stands the band playing "Welcome to the Black Parade".

The cover art for the single is a scene from the video, with the man in the bottom center being the Patient. He is flanked by two women named "Fear" and "Regret" in Gerard Way Revenge-era makeup. The setting of the music video goes from a hospital to a surreal cityscape, with ash-covered wreckage and destroyed buildings. The video features 4 of the main characters. "The Patient", "Fear", "Regret", and "Mother War". "Fear" and "Regret" are the two women that stand beside "The Patient" on the cover for the single. "Mother War" is the woman in the Victorian-era gown and gas mask. Liza Minnelli plays the character of "Mother War" in the second verse of the song "Mama".

[edit] Parody

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008)

On the January 6, 2007 episode of MADtv, the song was parodied as "The Black Tirade", centering on Michael Richards's dying career after spouting racial slurs at the Laugh Factory, as well as how Internet video sites like YouTube are becoming more popular than television. Michael McDonald played Michael Richards and the video parody featured African-American people smashing Seinfeld DVDs and the (fake) band members of My Chemical Romance (Gerard Way played by MADtv cast member Frank Caeti) looking at the infamous picture of Britney Spears exiting a limo sans underwear on a laptop computer.

ITV used the song in a video montage in its final Formula One broadcast at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, after losing the rights to broadcast F1 in 2009 and beyond to the BBC. The video featured several prominent F1 drivers (such as Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard and Sebastian Vettel) as well as ITV presenters (and retired commentator Murray Walker) lipsynching to the song.

[edit] References

1. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. 2008-10-08. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=My%20Chemical%20Romance&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
2. ^ The 100 Best Songs of 2006 : Rolling Stone
3. ^ http://www.somorescene.com/2006/07/29/what-is-the- -parade/

1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-564611/Girl-13-hangs-obsessed-Emo-suicide-cult-rock-band.html

[edit] External links

• "Welcome to the Black Parade" sound track at The Black Parade official website