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Skylines and Turnstiles

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"Skylines and Turnstiles"
Song by My Chemical Romance
from the album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
ReleasedJuly 23, 2002
RecordedMay 2002
StudioNada Studios, New Windsor
Genre
Length3:23
LabelEyeball
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Geoff Rickly

"Skylines and Turnstiles" is a song by the American band My Chemical Romance, released as the seventh track from their debut studio album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002). A hardcore punk and pop-punk song whose lyrics focus on the September 11 attacks, Gerard Way initially wrote "Skylines and Turnstiles", his first song, after witnessing the attacks; subsequently, the song continued to be fleshed out as Way formed My Chemical Romance. The song was written by band members Frank Iero, Matt Pelissier, Ray Toro, Gerard Way, and Mikey Way, and was produced by Geoff Rickly.

"Skylines and Turnstiles" received mixed retrospective reviews from music critics, with the track being deemed both as a standout and as an unpolished inclusion on the album. Nonetheless, critics have also identified it as one of the best songs in My Chemical Romance's discography, highlighting its role in establishing the band and its sound. "Skylines and Turnstiles" was the first song that the band performed during their debut live show, and was later performed as part of their reunion tour. A demo of "Skylines and Turnstiles" was also released on the band's greatest hits album, May Death Never Stop You (2014).

Background, writing, and composition

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"Skylines and Turnstiles", written after Gerard Way witnessed the September 11 attacks, includes lyrical references to the fall of the Twin Towers (pictured in March 2001).

Prior to the formation of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way was an action figure-designer for a New Jersey company. However, upon witnessing the September 11 attacks, Way decided to give up art in lieu of starting a band, in an attempt to "take stock of his own life" and make a difference in the world.[1][2][3] The same day, he penned "Skylines and Turnstiles", his first song, in his parents' basement with a guitar and practice amp in reaction to the attacks.[2][4] He then recruited Matt Pelissier, who played in a local rock band, to bring percussion onto the track.[5] Later, Way and Pelissier played "Skylines and Turnstiles" to Ray Toro — who was in the local band with Pelissier — whereupon according to Way he "improved it tenfold instantly".[6] The group subsequently recorded The Attic Demo in Pelissier's attic, a set of three demos including that of "Skylines and Turnstiles".[7] My Chemical Romance would later record the song, as well as the majority of their debut studio album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, in May 2002 at Nada Studios in New Windsor, New York with Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly as producer.[2][8]

"Skylines and Turnstiles" is a hardcore punk[4][9] and pop-punk song,[3] described as being "horror-punk" by Sam Law of Kerrang!.[10] The song contains "scabrous and shimmering" guitar and "throat-shredding screams", which would go on to be staples of My Chemical Romance's music.[3] Lyrically, "Skylines and Turnstiles" focuses on the fear, uncertainty, and hope Way felt as a result of the September 11 attacks.[10] The lyrics include references to the fall of the Twin Towers and the "futility" of daily life.[11]

Release and live performances

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"Skylines and Turnstiles" made its live debut in October 2001, being the first song performed during the band's debut show.[12] The song was later released on July 23, 2002, as the seventh track on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.[13][14] The demo of "Skylines and Turnstiles" was later included on May Death Never Stop You, the band's 2014 greatest hits album, alongside the other "attic demos".[15] My Chemical Romance rarely perform "Skylines and Turnstiles" live;[16] however, the band performed the song as part of early shows following the release of the album,[17] and later as part of their reunion tour,[18][19] notably as the second song of their performance on September 11, 2022 at Barclays Center in New York City.[20][21]

Critical reception

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The song received mixed retrospective reviews from music critics; Austin Saalman of Under the Radar praised it as a standout track,[22] while a 2008 review for Sputnikmusic instead described it as being unpolished and "of poor quality in almost every department".[14] Dillon Eastoe of Gigwise included "Skylines and Turnstiles" in his list of the band's underrated songs, praising Way's "raw" vocals and its "harrowing" lyrics as being evocative of the September 11 attacks.[16] Writing for The Ringer, Rob Harvilla emphasized that the track was not the best on I Brought You My Bullets, yet as a first song it "got [Gerard Way] where he needed to go, which was firmly on the road to leading everyone where they needed to go".[3]

Music critics have placed "Skylines and Turnstiles" among the best songs in My Chemical Romance's discography as a whole, due to its role in establishing the band and its sound. The staffs of Spin and Billboard included the song in their lists of the 10 and 15 best My Chemical Romance songs respectively, with Taylor Weatherby of the latter praising its emotional resonance and writing that the song would "largely inform the group’s music for the rest of their career".[23][24] Cassie Whitt and Jake Richardson of Loudwire similarly declared "Skylines and Turnstiles" the fifth-best song by the band, with the former writing that it was "perhaps the most important song" in their catalog due to being their first written.[25] Law ranked the track at #19 in his list of the band's 20 greatest songs, writing that it was a "jagged work in progress, but glowed with undeniable burning promise".[10]

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from Apple Music.[26]

References

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Source

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  • Bryant, Tom (2014). Not the Life It Seems: The True Lives of My Chemical Romance. Boston: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306823497.

Citations

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  1. ^ Bryant 2014, p. 22
  2. ^ a b c Shepherd, Tom (November 1, 2024). ""You can hear the nervousness and excitement": The story of My Chem's debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Harvilla, Rob (July 26, 2022). "The Eternal March of the Black Parade". The Ringer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "My Chemical Romance: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ^ Bryant 2014, p. 23
  6. ^ Bryant 2014, p. 26
  7. ^ Bryant 2014, p. 27
  8. ^ Blistein, Jon (October 25, 2021). "How a Sucker Punch Fueled the Rise of My Chemical Romance". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 29, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  9. ^ Haag, Stephen (December 1, 2003). "My Chemical Romance: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Law, Sam (April 9, 2021). "The 20 greatest My Chemical Romance songs – ranked". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "11 things you might not know about MCR's 'I Brought You My Bullets...'". Alternative Press. July 21, 2017. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  12. ^ Bryant 2014, pp. 31–32
  13. ^ Bryant 2014, p. 60
  14. ^ a b DaveyBoy (July 1, 2008). "My Chemical Romance - I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  15. ^ "My Chemical Romance reveal 'May Death Never Stop You' tracklisting, comment on their final song". Alternative Press. January 21, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Eastoe, Dillon (January 11, 2021). "11 Underrated Songs: My Chemical Romance". Gigwise. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  17. ^ Jamieson, Brii (November 26, 2018). "Watch One Of The First My Chemical Romance Shows Ever". Rock Sound. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  18. ^ Childers, Chad (May 20, 2022). "My Chemical Romance Play Classic 'Three Cheers' Song Live for First Time Since 2007". Loudwire. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  19. ^ Robinston, Ellie (October 19, 2022). "My Chemical Romance perform ultra-rare 'Sister To Sleep' for the second time ever in California". NME. Archived from the original on January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  20. ^ Spanos, Brittany (September 12, 2022). "My Chemical Romance Brings Back Brooding Emo Angst at Barclays Reunion Show". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  21. ^ Chelosky, Danielle (September 12, 2022). "Review: My Chemical Romance's 9/11 show was a cathartic, raucous trip down memory lane". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  22. ^ Saalman, Austin (July 22, 2022). "My Chemical Romance – Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of "I Brought You My Bullets…"". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  23. ^ "Three Cheers for Sweet Career: My Chemical Romance's 10 Best Songs". Spin. April 4, 2019. Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  24. ^ Weatherby, Taylor (November 14, 2019). "The 15 Best My Chemical Romance Songs: Staff Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  25. ^ Whitt, Cassie; Richardson, Jake (March 24, 2019). "Every My Chemical Romance Song Ranked". Loudwire. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  26. ^ "Skylines and Turnstiles — Song by My Chemical Romance — Apple Music". Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
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