“I Don’t Love You”
Writers: My Chemical Romance
Original Release Date: April 3, 2007
This week’s (Un)Covered battle is definitely going to bring out your inner emo kid and I’m not even a little sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO9Lj0T93Xk
Confession: I didn’t become a fan of MCR until after they broke up (one of my biggest musical regrets, but that’s a story for another day). Still, one listen to the iconic The Black Parade, and I was hooked. While the highlight is, arguably, “Welcome to the Black Parade”, the melodramatic “I Don’t Love You” is a gorgeous offering. From the explosive intro, to the heartbreaking lyrics, it’s an emotional song that punches you in the heart, and offers a sort of catharsis at the end: I often end up thinking of this meme, but seriously, how can you not sing along in the most dramatic way possible?
Moose Blood doesn’t change a lot about the MCR song in their cover for Rock Sound’s The Black Parade tribute album, but it’s by no means a shoddy attempt. It may throw you off to hear a different voice singing the words you’ve probably memorized, but lead singer Eddy Brewerton pours just the right amount of passion and angst into the song.The instrumentation feels a little more subdued in this version compared to the original, though the guitar solo two and a half minutes in is a solid salute to MCR guitarist Ray Toro.
It may seem sacrilege, but since I’ve been on a Moose Blood kick for the past six months, I’m going to pick their cover over MCR’s original. They’re both beautiful, but it’s impressive when a fairly young band is bold enough to cover a song as iconic as “I Don’t Love You”…and actually do a good job.
