#why tf did i write this much ibe been up since 5am and its 2

[raytorosaurus]

…what have tinhatters done to Millions

oh yk it hasn't been so bad recently but there used to be a day where you couldn't scroll ur dash without seeing jokes (among more serious theories) abt how millions is about (and directed at/a dig at) frank/frerard specifically. bums me out when ppl engage with frank and gerard's solo work through frerard goggles and settle for shallow out-of-context readings of certain lines/songs bc it's just...so reductive and deliberately obtuse yk? obvs all of gerard's lyrics are open for interpretation by design and when enough ppl choose to interpret them in a tinhatty way it starts being considered fact in some circles. there is so much more to engage with in this art...and millions definitely got the worst of that which is kinda sad bc it's such a vulnerable and meaningful song and is sort of the centrepiece of a lot of hesitant alien's themes about navigating fame and dehumanisation, success and expectation, martyrdom and survival. millions literally has a line that is, imo, a pretty explicit statement that continuing mcr would've killed him (the "wake up breathing" part), but to so many ppl all it is is "oooh the frank-getting-rejected-by-gerard song...so cold..."

like it's just kinda annoying to see ppl insist there's No Other Possible Interpretation of the "william it was really me" verse than a catty dig at frank when...hesitant alien is very intentionally an out-of-time britpop album and that is a smiths reference and britpop notoriously helped normalise musicians being seen as personalities, not just artists, by the media, with publicised and sensationalised fueds, fallings out, etc etc. gerard grew up listening to britpop and reading those interviews alone, then consciously emulated some of those ppl during his career, and in millions it's like he's looking at that from the other side of fame...etc etc i could go on. not saying this is the only interpretation either, just that there is so much context there (outside frerard fan theories) to consider and engage with and for a while so many ppl wouldn't acknowledge that haha