Reflecting on My Chemical Romance

It's not the kind of news you'd want to - or expect to - hear at 9 p.m. on a Friday. But there it was: the announcement that emo favorites turned area rockers My Chemical Romance were closing up shop. It was followed by front man Gerard Way proclaiming via Twitter: "Beyond any sadness, what I feel the most is pride." He signed off with an iconic image of Harry Houdini suspended in a straitjacket upside-down in some surrealistic plane.

Maybe it was time for the 35-year-old husband and father to make his great escape from the trappings of rock stardom. Maybe My Chemical Romance represented a different time in Way's life-- when he had an actual chemical dependence to prescription pills and alcohol. Maybe the songs didn't mean the same anymore. But that's pure speculation.

All I know that as a fan, my world is a little less resilient today. I can't overstate the importance of MCR's "Famous Last Words" in my life.

I am not afraid to keep on living I am not afraid to walk this world alone...

How to adequately thank Gerard, Mikey, Ray, Frank and Bob for the years of empathy? Let us celebrate the guitarist's Brian May-like flourishes on 2006's The Black Parade and the alt-rock hymnal chorus of 2010's "Sing." MCR weren't some maudlin outlet for overly eyelined boys and girls to whine over; these were gifted musicians and larger-than-life personalities that could cut to the very heart of you.

Killjoys, make some noise.