This installment of Saturday Song Sisters, is as much a sonic comparison as it is lyrical. Since these songs were released between 2004-2006, my 11-year-old ears (at the time) could tell they were twin flames. Little did I know the infamous back stories that led to these songs, and more so these bands, being intertwined in the greater emo canon for the rest of my life. But for now, we can pretend it is still Christmas 2005, you’ve just been gifted Need For Speed Underground Rivals on PSP, you pause your hundredth listen through of From Under The Cork Tree, and you’re about to race through the virtual streets to absolute bangers that had no reason to go that hard.

“Thank You For The Venom” – My Chemical Romance

My first prolonged exposure to this band and their life-altering album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, was all courtesy of the aforementioned car racing video game. At this time in my formative years, I was yet to be trusted with driving a real car so I found myself spending many long nights and weekends driving, filled with road rage, round the virtual streets with this song on repeat. Before this, I was yet to find an outlet that could capture the rage I was feeling. However, much like other cult videogame soundtrack lovers (Tony Hawk players, I see you), this game and its soundtrack opened me up to a euphoric guitar riff that acted like an intravenous drug that would alter my brain chemistry from here on out. Singer Gerard Way once commented that this song acted as a commentary on music at the time, having fear mixed in with self-loathing. To me, it always represented a band who was not making music just to be commercially successful. Instead, they were making the kind of music that their fans wanted to hear. As a fan of hidden meanings and connections in music, I was drawn to the title of this track being written in French on the sleeve of My Chemical Romance’s previous album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. One could say, this takes “I wear this on my sleeve” to a whole new level.  Between the sickly vocals that give you a sucker punch right in the guts and the irreverent stubbornness of the “you’ll never make me leave”…  this song truly gave me a reason to believe.

“Snitches And Talkers Get Stitches And Walkers” – Fall Out Boy

From my first listen through of the bonus tracks on the Black Clouds And Underdogs reissue of From Under The Cork Tree, I was immediately drawn to this song.  As an avid Fall Out Boy fan, I immediately had to check that I wasn’t, in fact, listening to a My Chemical Romance song. Between the guttural bass intro, and the stylistically stuttering vocals, it became clear to me that “Snitches and Talkers” was just as vengeful as “Thank You For The Venom,” but in a way that’s more self-aware — like crafting the perfect insult after someone betrays you. I recall Pete Wentz alluding to the fact this track not sounding enough like a Fall Out Boy song was the reason it was ultimately tabled from the original track listing of FUCT. And while I’m not going to touch on anything other than facts here, it would be naive of me not to mention the influential and close relationship these two bands were sharing at the time of this song’s genesis. Both having come off successful runs on the Vans Warped Tour and both bands rapidly rising to new heights.

While these sister songs both explore the notions of anger and defiance, “Thank You For The Venom” manifests it in chaotic rebellion, while “Snitches And Talkers” leans into that cynical, clever revenge that Fall Out Boy are so universally adored for. Both of these tracks present call backs to their former selves, and lives, while providing vapid commentary on what the scene was like at the time of composition — time long before the country of Australia deemed me old enough to hold a driver’s permit. Currently, however, they act as ideal companions to any long drive. Albeit, still with as much road rage.