I am not even going to look up any of the old posts; I have written so much about emo and trying to understand emo.
For a brief recap, when I started listening to My Chemical Romance (first Review Retrospective!), there were constantly arguments in comments about whether or not they were "emo" and what emo actually means. I did not have a frame of reference.
I was excited to find a book about it: Andy Greenwald's Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. I should not have been excited; the book misses a lot. I first finished it on December 23rd, 2012, and I still didn't have any confidence in the topic.
The book was still the key to my figuring it out. I eventually read the book again and listened to at least some music from every band mentioned in it, even when they were bands that were clearly not emo (like Pantera). Then, for the bands that I found more interesting, I listened to their entire discography.
I set myself up for failure by deciding to listen to all of Mogwai. One eerie instrumental song can be great, but a bunch in a row gets on my nerves. Even so, I should watch Before the Flood, an environmental documentary that features their music.
I have watched at least three movies because of this book. Speaking of that, Greenwald completely missed the point of Rich Egan's getting into the business because Greenwald did not know what was in Another State of Mind, which inspired Egan. I'm not saying Greenwald needed to watch the movie, but he should have asked more questions.
I found a lot of music I liked, but a lot of it was not emo. Of the bands chosen for the daily songs, the greater half are more traditionally punk, though emo springs from punk.
You see, punk -- which I love and has its own Review Retrospective -- tends to be political. Emotional Hardcore took some of that energy and applied it to personal issues. Then, other bands took that focus on self-reflection and slowed it down (possibly with more whining, but not every time).
One of the big disagreements with emo is for people who think that word should be used for the hardcore versus slower, softer stuff. Then, later, when some bands who sang about sad feelings also wore a lot of black leather and heavy eyeliner, that got called "emo", but often as an insult. The other disagreements come from that.
The only real exploration of the disagreements I recall in the book is a reference to Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional (who is totally emo) not being comfortable with the term.
After having listened to hours and hours of music, there is a sound that I consider to be "emo", or perhaps two sounds. It is not the first wave of emotional hardcore, like Rites of Spring. You could easily just hear that as hardcore, and it is not infrequent for hardcore to have emotional elements.
It comes a little closer with the next round of Jets to Brazil and Sunny Day Real Estate, so totally bummed out music. When I hear The Promise Ring, yes, I know that is emo. However, when I am thinking emo the most representative band is probably The Starting Line. That is moving in a direction toward pop punk, but still feels more like emo than punk.
And in general, they dress more like Richie Cunningham than Edward Scissorhands. (Except with more tattoos.)
There is a strong element of DIY (Do It Yourself) in the punk ethos that does relate to the fashions, in that shopping at thrift stores was common. So, while "Buddy Holly" is not their most emo song, it makes sense that Weezer would have a video referencing Happy Days.
I'm not sure why the other look started getting the emo label, but there is always overlap. Fall Out Boy's music is not very emo, but their lyrics certainly were, at least for their early albums.
I realize this may not establish clearly in your mind what emo is. Part of the problem -- and I did realize this early -- is that a lot of the more prototypical bands are not well-known. That's why I did so much listening. What that accomplished for me is that when other people use the word -- even if they are not all using it the same way -- I can understand where they're coming from. (Even if they're wrong.)
It is not exactly rare for people to dispute genre classifications anyway; it happens more with this particular one. I am into knowledge and communication (and music), so understanding a word means something to me.
Other things came from the project. Because Rye Coalition (not emo) was the next band mentioned in the book after Mogwai (also not emo), and both Mogwai and Rye Coalition have werewolf songs, I became more aware of Halloween music possibilities. I have had some fun with that, but I am not done.
Nor am I done listening to bands. I still want to do full reviews of several bands from the book: Jawbox (kind of emo), FenixTX (kind of emo), Superdrag (not emo), Social Distortion (not emo), Face to Face (not emo), SamIam (emo), Allister (emo), The Rocking Horse Winner (emo), Something Corporate (emo), Frail (not the emo one, though that exists), and Finch (kind of emo).
At some point, I will really need to go through and listen to Say Anything, The Starting Line, and Saves The Day together, just to make sure I have them all straight. I don't think I do yet, but I finally have Jawbreaker and Jawbox sorted out.
Working on it.
Daily Songs:
“See If I Care”
by Face to Face -- They are considered punk. I like the attitude of this song, though there is an emotion below it that belies the lyrics. I get that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXx3uRg8kIs
“On a Rope”
by Rocket From the Crypt -- Once more, very punk. Irresistible rhythm on this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YQoK7Ff334
“Brandenburg
Gate” by Anti-Flag -- Not emo, very punk. This song completely won me over at the time. It has faded for me a little as I realized that I respect the band more than I enjoy them, which is not the same thing. Still a pretty good song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWE4VXGMeIk
“What It Is To Burn” by Finch -- Less emo than some, but not completely unreasonable to call emo. Still, you can't help but notice more hardcore elements in this song of torment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbHfOhJNR4
“Shoulder
To The Wheel” by Saves The Day -- Yeah, they're pretty emo. In that genre, one of my favorites songs with a great energy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5eOwgzJmV0
“Shut
Up” by Simple Plan -- Can reasonably be called emo. This didn't even come up from the book, but was suggested because of the other things I was listening to. I'm glad it was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpds3V90VbM
“Still Alive” by Social Distortion -- Social Distortion is pretty solidly punk, but this song is nonetheless very personal. There is hope and vulnerability and I love it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDcI8oKKWlM
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