The Seven Song Itch - My Friend Emo

Inadvertently I’ve been a fan of Emo for a long time, I just didn’t know it.  So what is emo?  This genre of music, based off of hard-core punk, originated in the Washington D.C. area in the mid to late eighties where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace.  The next wave of Emo really took off (like a runaway teenager), with bands like Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional in the early nineties.  Punk rock musicians were finally starting to learn how to play their instruments, not that I mind the raw nature of punk, and were now starting to have a more emotional confessionary lyrical content.  Again, there are a myriad of artists that can fit into this category (though some them would argue that they are not “emo”), so I want to focus on the new millennium pop-punk-emo bands.  I have to thank my friend Crysta for giving me a starting off point and I have included her song selections in the playlist link below.

Playlist for My Friend Emo

1. Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”(2001)

This has got to be one of my favorite tunes—it’s just so catchy.  The message of this song is summed by a quote from fellow writer’s novel that states, “You don’t have to get it all right, all at once.”  Originally this band had a harder edge but the current lineup, which features Jim Adkins (lead vocalist and guitarist), Tom Linton (guitarist and backing vocalist), Rick Burch (bassist) and Zach Lind (drummer), has a more polished and melodic sound.

2. Good Charlotte – “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”(2002)

Based off of a syndicated TV show, hosted by Robin Leach and Shari Belafonte, in the early eighties and nineties, this song focuses on an ironic ‘poor-little-rich-kid’ mentality and how pathetic their whining can be.  The band, however, formed in 1996, has released five studio albums and consistently is one of the forerunners of the genre.  This song, written by Benji Madden (guitarist) and Joel Madden (vocalist) is taken from their second studio album “The Young and the Hopeless.”

3. American Hi-Fi – “The Art Of Losing”(2003)

For a tune about losing, this song has found a lot of popularity.  The title song off of their second album has been featured in the movies “Freaky Friday” (2003), “American Wedding” (2003), the movie trailers of “The Perfect Score” (2004), “Fever Pitch” (2005), “Hot Rod” (2007), “Mr. Woodcock” (2007), and “Speed Racer” (2008), and in one episode of the TV show “Malcolm in the Middle.”  I would say that this is a real winning/whining accomplishment.

4. My Chemical Romance - "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"(2004)

The band, featuring Gerard Way (Vocals), Ray Toro (Guitar), Frank Iero (Guitar), and Mikey Way (Bass), is named for a quote in an Irvine Welsh novel named “Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.”  Way has publicly rejected the term "emo", by describing the genre as "fucking garbage,” however, he has also been quoted as describing the band’s sound as "What-else-ya-got-emo."  This particular song showcases the evolution of emo as it now incorporates stylized screaming into the vocals, which I think is very affective in trying to convey something that is not okay.

5. Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We're Goin Down”(2005)

Emo escapes from the suburbs and lands right smack dab on the pop charts.  Hailing from Wilmette, Illinois, the band consists of Patrick Stump (vocalist, guitarist and composer), Pete Wentz (bassist and lyricist), Joe Trohman (guitarist), and Andy Hurley (drummer). I love the ironic and other literary aspects of their lyrics as they convey quirky and yet personal stories—it’s quite puny.  Currently on hiatus, all of the band members keep busy with their own side projects, but hopefully they will reunite with renewed vigor and spawn plethora of catchy tunes.  Regardless of genre, they are a good solid group.

Concert Review: BelieversNever Die part Deux: Fall Out Boy.

6. She Wants Revenge – “These Things”(2006)

Though not technically emo, this band epitomizes a lot of the aspects of the genre.  Based in San Fernando Valley, California, the group’s self titled debut (2006) features three distinct singles “Out of control,” “Tear You Apart”, as well as this gem.  The video of this song, directed by Joaquin Phoenix, includes an appearance of Shirley Manson (Garbage) and has a kind of hallucinogenic aspect to it.  Though there are only two lead members Justin Warfield (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Adam Bravin (bass guitar, keyboards, guitar, drum machine, percussion, programming, vocals) they have a full sound and have toured with a number of artists, which include Depeche Mode and Placebo.

7. A.F.I. – “The Missing Frame” (2007)

This song fires on all cylinders, which is ironic considering that the group’s proper title is A Fire Inside.  It’s big, loud, introspective, and a bunch of emotive descriptive words that I really don’t have time to get into.  There is a major U2 influence (around the time of “The Unforgettable Fire”[1984]) on this track, so it speaks to one of my major influential source bands.  There have been a few line-up changes over the band’s twenty year career, but Davey Havok (lead vocalist) and Adam Carson (drummer and backup vocalist) are the only constant members of the group.  The band enjoyed its first major commercial with their album “Sing the Sorrow”(2003), but it was “Decemberunderground”(2006), which includes this single, that cemented their presence on the music scene.

CD Review: Decemberundreground

Crysta’s Seven Song Itch (My Friend Emo)

1. My Chemical Romance – “I Never Told You What I Do For A Living”

2. Penecy Prep – “19”

3. From First To Last – “Failure By Designer Jeans”

4. Hawthorne Heights – “Ohio Is For Lovers”

5. Good Charlotte – “My Bloody Valentine”

6. Taking Back Sunday – “Cute Without The E”

7. Fall Out Boy – “Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy”

List of some EMO Bands:

This is a list that I borrowed from Wikipedia, and I don’t agree with the label for some of these bands, but this is a good start if you want to get in touch with your inner self-deprecating child.

30 Seconds to Mars, The Academy Is..., Acceptance, Ace Troubleshooter, A Day to Remember, AFI, Alesana, Alexisonfire, The All-American Rejects, All Time Low, The Almost, American Football, Anberlin, And Then There Were None, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Anniversary, Amber Pacific, The Appleseed Cast, Armor for Sleep, As Cities Burn, At the Drive-In, Beefeater, Before Their Eyes, Beloved, Benton Falls, Braid, Brand New, Boys Like Girls, Boys Night Out, Capital Lights, Cap'n Jazz, Chasing Victory, Christie Front Drive, City of Caterpillar, The Classic Crime, Coheed and Cambria, Cobra Starship, Cute Is What We Aim For, Dag Nasty, Dashboard Confessional, Dead Poetic, Dear Ephesus, Death Cab for Cutie, The Dismemberment Plan, Dizmas, Drive Like Jehu, , Edison Glass, Eisley, Elliott, Emanuel, Embrace, Emery, Escape the Fate, Ever Stays Red, Every Avenue, Falling Up, Family Force 5, Fall Out Boy, Fireflight, Fire Party, Flyleaf, The Fold, Forever Changed, Forever the Sickest Kids, The Fray, From Autumn to Ashes, Funeral for a Friend, Further Seems Forever, Garden Variety, The Get Up Kids, Gray Matter, Gwen Stacy, Haste the Day, Hawk Nelson, Hawthorne Heights, He Is Legend, Hellogoodbye, Hey Mercedes, Hoover, House of Heroes, I Am Ghost, Ida, Indian Summer, Ivoryline, Jawbreaker, Jimmy Eat World, Joan of Arc, The Juliana Theory, Karate, Kids in the Way, Killswitch Engage, Kingface, Kiros, Kutless, Letter Kills, Life in Your Way, Lifetime, Lostprophets, The Love Letter Refuge, Lunchmeat, Mae, Matchbook Romance, Mayday Parade, Metro Station, Krystal Meyers, Mineral, Moss Icon, The Movielife, My Chemical Romance, Native Nod, New Found Glory , Noise Ratchet, Northstar , Nude , Number One Gun, Once Nothing, OneRepublic, Our Last Night, Owl City, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore, Pg. 99, Philmont, Pierce the Veil, Pillar, Pop Unknown, The Promise Ring, Rainer Maria, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Relient K, Rites of Spring, Rye Coalition, Saetia, Saosin, Saves the Day, Say Anything, Secret and Whisper, Senses Fail, Showbread, Sherwood, The Shyness Clinic, Silverstein, Simple Plan, Something Corporate, The Spill Canvas, Squirrel Bait, The Starting Line, Stavesacre, Story of the Year, Sunny Day Real Estate, Switchfoot, Taking Back Sunday, Ten Second Epic, Texas Is the Reason, This Beautiful Republic, This Providence, There for Tomorrow, Thrice, Tokio Hotel, Thursday, Underoath, The Used, The Van Pelt, Weezer, Watashi Wa, The Wedding, You and, You, Me, and Everyone We Know.