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[Amory]

If you're gonna consider Brand New an "emo" band, you better put Deja Entendu #1.

 

[RobotNinjaHornets]

I don't even know why I do it. I Hate Myself

Good band

 

[OnionPowder]

Good band

 

[Any Questions]

Weezer is emo?

Was the only artist I recognised

 

[TheLetdown]

This list is actually a pretty amusing summary of what's been considered "emo" at some point or another from the Dischord era onward.

-legit emo and early post-hardcore (Embrace, Rites of Spring, Moss Icon, Dag Nasty)

-90s post-hardcore (Indian Summer, Drive Like Jehu, At the Drive-In, Orchid, Braid)

-90s indie/emo (Mineral, Cap'n Jazz, The Jazz June, Texas Is the Reason, American Football)

-popular late 90s angsty pop-punk and indie (The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, Cursive, Jimmy Eat World)

-popular early 00s angsty pop-punk and post-hardcore (Saves the Day, Thursday, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday)

-pop music that came along and ruined it for everybody (Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, The Used)

-stuff that's not really emo but has always popularly considered as such (Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Weezer, Coheed and Cambria)

Kinda cool to see some of these albums on a list in 2016, especially since the term has basically come to mean "weird goths with angular haircuts who listen to shitty pop-punk music" since the mid-00s. There's a bunch of stuff missing and a ton of shit I wouldn't put anywhere near a list like this, but if it gets more people to listen to Mineral and Moss Icon, I'm glad.

This is a dead on write-up of the list and emo history in general. It had me questioning some things. For example, I'd never consider Yank Crime an emo album. (That said, it's fucking fantastic.)

I'm really digging the "classic emo" sound revival going on right now. As someone who hit high school in the 99-03 era and who got into punk rock in middle school thanks to cooler older siblings, it was always this battle of who was or wasn't punk as MTV started latching into it. With that, emo was sacrificed. I couldn't say I liked Mineral, because it became too much of a drag to explain that I'm into Emo, but not that Dashboard Confessional thing. The line in the sand was always really clear to me. Seemingly, only to me.

The strange part with this list blurring the lines is where they stop. Why not extend it to include Heatmiser? Pedro the Lion? There are more than a few to bump off for each of those.

 

[bebop242]

American Football
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die
Cap'n Jazz
Algernon Cadwallader
Malegoat
Snowing

Just going to add The Hotelier because they are the best

Thanks for these, will check em out

 

[KTallguy]

Ctrl+F "Nothing Gold Can Stay."

What the fuck, Rolling Stone?

 

[Dali]

Pinkerton and Black Parade are nothing alike.

Black parade is a mainstream rock record that has tons of stadium rock influences with a bunch of guys in costumes. Pinkerton is an awkward dude talking about his awkwardness over weird rock in the most personal way possible.

They don't relate at all. And one is emo and the other isn't.

They are nothing alike but I don't see how an album with songs like dead that has a chorus that says no one really liked you anyway (in referring to something like a dead cancer patient), or probably the quintessential "stadium rock" song you're talking about, welcome to the black parade, could be seen as anything but emo, especially when you look at the album as a whole. Its very concept is emo.

 

[kris.]

Ctrl+F "Nothing Gold Can Stay."

What the fuck, Rolling Stone?

pop-punk as fuck, man.


also this is a surprisingly good list. mostly surprising in that it came from Rolling Stone and has some legitimate emo bands. like much lesser known bands.

i honestly had no idea Rolling Stone was capable of knowing who Orchid or Moss Icon are tbh

 

[Peru]

Emo as a label has changed meaning, the list acknowledges that. I grew up with Indian Summer - but it's still the case that the pop punk-y stuff of the 00s has always been labelled emo. Things changed, it's fine. Paramore isn't the same sound as Orchid, but it's fun to see a list with both on it. Both have their qualities. (But Paramore is better).

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Bleed American and From Under The Cork Tree in the top 10 = i'm happy. I will make sure to check out the rest!

Emo as a label has changed meaning, the list acknowledges that. I grew up with Indian Summer - but it's still the case that the pop punk-y stuff of the 00s has always been labelled emo. Things changed, it's fine. Paramore isn't the same sound as Orchid, but it's fun to see a list with both on it. Both have their qualities. (But Paramore is better).

Yass another Paramore fanboy!

I'm completely ignorant on 90s emo, except Jimmy Eat World.

 

[Lambtron]

It's an interesting list that I can't take too seriously with two fucking Jimmy Eat World albums ranked higher than the almighty Yank Crime.

 

[olympia]

I feel like It's far more acceptable to associate things like Jawbreaker, DLJ, Orchid or even Brand New with emo than it is with Coheed and Cambria or MCR. That's probably highly personal though

 

[Gorey]

(snip....)-stuff that's not really emo but has always popularly considered as such (Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Weezer, Coheed and Cambria)(snip).

I was 18 in '89, big into hardcore/post-hardcore/emo etc from my later teen years until early aughts. Your assessment was spot on until the quoted bit. I don't remember anybody who didn't consider SDRE or Jawbreaker emo, and that was the same crowd that had followed the music from Embrace, to Rites of Spring, and onward. What do you mean by 'not really but popularly considered'? Do you think SDRE was grunge, or something? Curious.

List is sort of bizarre, but at least SDRE is in the right spot.

 

[Dark Ninja]

These are emo? Am I Emo?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Needs more Valencia and Mixtapes if they're going to include stuff (crap) like Paramore. The MCR hate is always funny to read. While not really emo, their albums aren't bad at all. The influence from Danger Days and the Black Parade, which were partly influenced by The Watchmen, clearly carried over in to Way's Umbrella Academy.

No Bright Eyes? No Sorry About Dresden? Nothing from Saddle Creek? Are we calling these folk or indie now? Music is confusing.

 

[Sobriquet]

I agree with a lot of you that FoB, Paramore, MCR and such don't belong. I've never in my life heard Coheed be referred to as emo. Some great records on this list, though.

Also, Static Prevails > Clarity

The MCR hate is always funny to read. While not really emo, their albums aren't bad at all..

I love Black Parade but I wouldn't consider any of their records emo.

I was 18 in '89, big into hardcore/post-hardcore/emo etc from my later teen years until early aughts. Your assessment was spot on until the quoted bit. I don't remember anybody who didn't consider SDRE or Jawbreaker emo, and that was the same crowd that had followed the music from Embrace, to Rites of Spring, and onward.

Same, but I'm a few years younger than you.

 

[kris.]

Needs more Valencia and Mixtapes if they're going to include stuff (crap) like Paramore. The MCR hate is always funny to read. While not really emo, their albums aren't bad at all. The influence from Danger Days and the Black Parade, which were partly influenced by The Watchmen, clearly carried over in to Way's Umbrella Academy.

No Bright Eyes? No Sorry About Dresden? Nothing from Saddle Creek? Are we calling these folk or indie now? Music is confusing.

i always thought the MCR hate was hilarious. their music is great. three cheers is a fantastic album. pretty sure most of the hate came around because of their fanbase tbh.

also i would never consider bright eyes emo.

 

[FStop7]

"Cursive, Domestica"

That's the most 90's ass band/album name ever.

 

[marrec]

Most of Saddle Creek has always been considered folk or indie, it would be revisionism to include them in any other genre at this point. (most, not all)

 

[OnionPowder]

These are emo? Am I Emo?

Never heard of ya

 

[Sobriquet]

For those Emo fans who might not be aware, or those who are interested in learning more, there's an Emo OT!

 

[kris.]

man i can't wait til its spring and i can go for drives and blast jawbreaker and drive like jehu

 

[SeanC]

Takes me back to high school, that's for damn sure.

 

[TwntyOneTwlv]

I think that The Second Stage Turbine Blade is the only album they've done that I would call emo. They flirted with the prog elements, but that did feel a lot more squarely in one category then. Every album after that had the prog influence get more and more pronounced, and I can't imagine anyone thinking otherwise on what they are these days.

Sure, that album introduced all the bullshit with The Writer and his girl problems, but it's still an album about an intergalactic race war that is being willed into existence by a guy who gets writing tips from a talking bicycle.

This is exactly what I thought when I saw the list. SSTB era Coheed you could call emo. Good Apollo and beyond era Coheed definitely is not.

 

[Kyzer]

I guess coheed can sound emo at times if you take away the story context

Definitely, actually

 

[intheinbetween]

Sunny Day Real Estate is emo?

as emo as Mineral, Rites of Spring, Appleseed Cast, Promise Ring.. the pure essence of emo

 

[Myriadis]

I always get kinda confused when they talk about the magazine and not the band. Read the title wrong and wondered how hard you had to screw up to list the band under the emo category.

But yeah, good to see some Brand New here. And Cursive. Fuck Pinkerton.

 

[Higgy]

Not an emo expert but what about later AFI?

 

[TwntyOneTwlv]

My favorite emo artists are Cannibal Corpse and Jason Derulo

Oh and Rush

You forgot Sinatra. the GOAT emo artist

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Tried to get into Hotelier but it really wasn't clicking. Did enjoy Everyone Everywhere and Crash of Rhinos in terms of newer emo bands.

 

[Tobor]

I clicked on this thread expecting Sunny Day Real Estate to be #1, as they really should be. Awesome.

 

[blame space]

that cork tree placement

Pete wentz's seminal influence on emo music

 

[Abraxas]

Dairy instead of How it feels to be something on is an odd choice

 

[KTallguy]

Haha, I can't tell the difference between Emo and Pop Punk I guess... I thought Emo was about the lyrics, not about the music.

And according to the website, Weezer is "indie" and not Emo... What is indie?

 

[PassiveObserver]

Dairy instead of How it feels to be something on is an odd choice

Seemed like the obvious choice.

 

[surrealist]

The entire time I was scrolling down the list I'm thinking "Where's SDRE? Where's SDRE? Oh, there they are."



Yep. As much as "emo" is a meaningless term, they've been considered emo since they first hit the scene in the early 90s.

Yup. First time I ever heard emo was with SDR in the early 90s. Of course the term went on to morph into a ghastly beast.


Horrible list by the way. I expect music list to never be satisfying, but this one just stinks. Too many mislabeled bands.

 

[Wendel Clark]

no eminem?

 

[rocketskates]

I've never seen the Cure classified as Emo. Post-Punk or Goth sure. Emo always makes me think of Rites of Spring, Embrace, Jawbreaker or anything on the Dischord Records label. I guess it mutated from there but I never really followed it that much. A lot of the bands on the list seem more like Pop-Punk to me and I always thought of Coheed as more Prog Rock.

I feel like It's far more acceptable to associate things like Jawbreaker, DLJ, Orchid or even Brand New with emo than it is with Coheed and Cambria or MCR. That's probably highly personal though

1ST WAVE EMO - late 80s/early 90s "emotional" hardcore that still had a political element to it (Rites of Spring and other DC groups) as well as grunge-influence groups like SDRE (i reference grunge because they do the quiet LOUD quiet thing)

2ND WAVE EMO - late 90s groups that have a lo-fi, heavily melodic pop-punk sound and lyrical content focusing on relationships with girls, absolutely no political content (Get Up Kids, early JEW, Promise Ring). in promo photos their look is "dorky hipster". i think a lot of post-hardcore bands like ATDI were included in this wave.

3RD WAVE EMO - more of a glossy pop-punk and/or post-hardcore sound (Thursday, TBS, Brand New) with the same unrequited love lyrics/themes. their look is "dorky hipster with tattoos and an expensive haircut".

4TH WAVE EMO - mid-aughts when any band on Absolute Punk/Alt Press could be considered "emo". FOB before they became "pop", Paramore before they became "alt rock" etc. if you were white, strained your voice when you sang while guitars chugged behind you you were in the club. peak aesthetic.

ok i'm tired of this but i think it's pretty accurate...

I love you guys and these posts.

People should really pay attention to these.

Also, the responses to the list really show the age difference between (most) of the people replying. Not that it's a bad thing at all (because these aren't bad bands at all, they're not just emo), but it just goes to show what media and the public has decided to label "emo" during that decade or so.

Sure, a few of those bands could definitely be considered emo but I think a better list would be "Albums/Bands that were inspired by Emo". Because that is definitely a more accurate description of these albums.

Spoiler

or replace some of these and replace with more pop albums and call it "Our Top List of Pop Bands inspired by MTV and Vans Warped Tour and Hot Topic

 

[ghostjoke]

"emo"

Nothing wrong with pop punk and power pop (well Fallout Boy/Panic!/MCR we could have done without), and while I am always on board for Pinkerton/Deja Entendu appreciation, there are plenty of actual emo bands missing bands that deserve mention.

 

[kris.]

"emo"

Nothing wrong with pop punk and power pop (well Fallout Boy/Panic!/MCR we could have done without), and while I am always on board for Pinkerton/Deja Entendu appreciation, there are plenty of actual emo bands missing bands that deserve mention.

eh, it's Rolling Stone. i'm amazed at some of the bands that are even on here.

 

[rocketskates]

"emo"

Nothing wrong with pop punk and power pop (well Fallout Boy/Panic!/MCR we could have done without), and while I am always on board for Pinkerton/Deja Entendu appreciation, there are plenty of actual emo bands missing bands that deserve mention.

Hey "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" deserves some love.

 

[Ceebs]

Swap the Jimmy Eat World albums slots, move Mineral into the top 10, American Football into the top 3, and swap the Get Up Kids album out for Something to Write Home About and I have no major issues with this list.

That Owls album is great btw. Never actually seen it talked about much.

 

[blame space]

If you're gonna put a jawbreaker album on your list I don't see why it should be dear you.

Not that it isn't great.

 

[Zoolader]

That list is all over the place.

 

[blame space]

That coheed and cambria album is the only one I ever liked.

Would've loved to see goddamnit or self-titled on here.

 

[Zach]

Just last year Harmlessness was probably one of the best albums released.

Thanks for posting this. Really enjoyed it. I'll give it another listen tomorrow.

 

[trebbble]

Disappointed Yank Crime wasn't in the top ten.

 

[forknknife]

Rolling Stone didn't get the memo that emo from the 90s that stemmed from post hardcore like Braid or Sunny day real estate has nothing to do with the stupid fucking emo from the '00s bullshit MySpace emo retards with stupid hairdos and eye makeup.

 

[rocketskates]

Blame Hot Topic

Top of the page huh....here's an idea music connoisseurs of GAF....

Anyone down for making a emolyrics.com? An online database of emo Bands discographies with lyrics? With plyrics, azlyrics, darklyrics and rapgenius I think we could form our own little educational database part of the internet.


Also, do we have a Punk/Hardcore thread? I've seen threads for Metal, Rock, and Emo but nothing for Punk/Hardcore.