While just about every one of their second-wave peers was in a similar state of transition at that time, most of them made a pivot toward the mainstream that alienated older fans and failed to gain new ones in equal measure. Let us know what you think and tweet your own to us Skipping Disc-Man in the Messenger Bag: The Class of 1997-ishĪ compilation of Jade Tree and Jade Tree–adjacent music circa 1997, courtesy one half of The Ringer’s favorite emo tag team, The Watch.īy 2002, Jimmy Eat World had arose from a major-label washout as platinum-selling superstars Death Cab for Cutie and Bright Eyes, once artists peripheral to their respective scene and in thrall to their influences, emerged as central nodes between emo and indie Chris Carrabba picked up an acoustic guitar, ditched the church basement emo of Further Seems Forever, and became the genre’s first true solo star as Dashboard Confessional. (Yes, even subgenres have subgenres.) What follows is a dozen or so playlists covering emo and emo-adjacent things, from scenes to movements to specific artists to whatever inspired us. Today, we bring you something a little different: our niche emo interests.
It was a comprehensive overview of a hard-to-pin-down style of music, covering several decades and many more subsects. To kick off Emo Week on Monday, Ringer contributors Ian Cohen and Arielle Gordon brought you a list of 38 of the genre’s defining songs. Grab your Telecasters and Manic Panic and join us in the Black Parade. Welcome to Emo Week, where we’ll explore the scene’s roots, its evolution to the modern-day Fifth Wave, and some of the ephemera around the genre. In case you haven’t heard, emo is back, baby! In honor of its return to prominence-plus the 20th anniversary of the first MCR album-The Ringer is following Emo Wendy’s lead and tapping into that nostalgia.
My Chemical Romance is touring again, Paramore and Jimmy Eat World are headlining a major festival this fall, and there’s a skinny, tattooed white dude with a guitar dominating the charts.