Your Favourite Emo Tracks

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Painting Michelle - Dreaming in Your Basement
The Car Babies - Torn Again
Broken Soot - Fly Into Your Mind

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 4 November 2004 18:23 (twenty years ago)

Zenden Lee - Change Me

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 4 November 2004 18:32 (twenty years ago)

Stevem's answers to these threads are making me piss myself.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 4 November 2004 18:37 (twenty years ago)

My Heart is Heavy With Tears - "Bro'ing Down"
XXX Stomped On Heart XXX - "Sobbing on a Lonelycloud"
Remember Last Summer - "P.S. My Heart it Hurts"
Friends Don't Let Friends - "A Hurricane of Tears in My Heart"
Life is a Lie - "Weeping Thunderclouds of Loneliness"
Iwo Jima Heart - "Thursday, Friday, Sadder-day"

― Clusterfuck at the Baja Fresh Salsa Bar (Ben Boyer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 18:43 (twenty years ago)

Asphalt - Porch Light
Saul Waters - Area Girl
Pretty Poison - Idiosyncratic Routine
One Horse Down - Walking In Phases
Matthew Preston - How Can We Be Lovers?
Princeton Passengers - Dear Winona

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Thursday, 4 November 2004 19:00 (twenty years ago)

Rainer Maria, "Artificial Light"
Mates of State, "Proofs"
American Football, "Honestly?"
Blink-182, "I Miss You"
Death Cab for Cutie, "Company Calls"

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 19:25 (twenty years ago)

Mates of State are emo?

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:01 (twenty years ago)

I realize the point of this thread was to name fake tracks, but I thought it was an interesting question!

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:06 (twenty years ago)

xp -- Mates of State AREN'T emo?!?

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:06 (twenty years ago)

I thought you had to name everysong XsomethingX to be emo! Or at least have an X somewhere!

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:19 (twenty years ago)

forever falling - wish it wasn't so
flat tire - jamie's bedroom

― sleep (sleep), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:35 (twenty years ago)

The Van Pelt - We are the heathens

― jel -- (jel), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:36 (twenty years ago)

Cocktail Boys -- Every Day is Making Me Stronger
Rex -- Memories of Yesterday
Whistling Songcraft -- Give Me More of Your Words
Her Favourite Year -- Green Fields
Mars vs Venus -- Cold Pillow
Relative Quiet -- Don't Leave Me Standing Here (Home is So Far Away and I'm Not Sure Where I Will Go)

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:44 (twenty years ago)

THE POSTAL SERVICE - SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS

― Spinning Down Alone You Spin Alive (ex machina), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:46 (twenty years ago)

I thought you had to name everysong XsomethingX to be emo! Or at least have an X somewhere!
-- jel -- (freeduni...), November 4th, 2004.

isn't that more associated w/ straightedge and/or hardcore?

― 6335, Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:53 (twenty years ago)

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT EMO IS PLEASE

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 20:55 (twenty years ago)

No.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:14 (twenty years ago)

Does "One Armed Scissor" by At the Drive In count as emo?

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Sure. I have a very broad definition of emo. I have this weird theory about emo chord progressions, but everybody I tell it to acts like I'm crazy.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:41 (twenty years ago)

Someone tried convincing me once that Radiohead was emo.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:47 (twenty years ago)

No.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:49 (twenty years ago)

"Someone tried convincing me once that Radiohead was emo."

They're dumb.

― billstevejim, Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:52 (twenty years ago)

Yes I know. He was recently mauled by a lion.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:53 (twenty years ago)

Recently - "Mauled By a Lion"

― Clusterfuck at the Baja Fresh Salsa Bar (Ben Boyer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:55 (twenty years ago)

jaymc- PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THEORY
I am so angry that I still don't know what "Emo" means. I remember my college roommate telling me that Built To Spill sounded like they "were trying to be emo." What the hell does that mean? And then someone said Victory At Sea is emo. And then The Postal Service is emo. I think the Animal Collective / Zammuto / Books / KFW are emo to the EXTREME. Is emo anything you put on a mixtape for a girl you're hot for?

Dear Abby,
What is emo? All my friends at school are talking about it but none of them seem to agree with each other. Sally said that you can catch it from kissing a boy's forehead. I asked my teacher and she clucked at me and told me to ask my parents! I saw my dad with a Quasi record and he quickly hid it behind his back. Please help!
From,
Emotive Emily

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:57 (twenty years ago)

Mauled By a Lion - "Recently"

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:58 (twenty years ago)

Samantha's Whispers - "Ice Cream Heartache"
When Time Stops - "January's When I'll See You"
Faded Postcards - "Snapshot of a Wintery Forestscape"
Every Kiss is a Tragedy - "It's So Heart to Say Goodbye"
Pacemaker Forecast - "The Beach in the Winter, 1997"

― Clusterfuck at the Baja Fresh Salsa Bar (Ben Boyer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:59 (twenty years ago)

Thermo - "Thinwall"

― Clusterfuck at the Baja Fresh Salsa Bar (Ben Boyer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:59 (twenty years ago)

clusterfuck: hahaha

xpost
thermo: you guys are killing me

― sleep (sleep), Thursday, 4 November 2004 21:59 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha ha!

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:01 (twenty years ago)

animal collective and books are not emo (neither, for that matter, is radiohead). emo stands for "emotional" and tends to evoke whiny boys being overly sensitive, going on and on about a handful of topics (heartbreak a big one, shocker) and maybe even screaming and crying. it has a pretty bad reptuation, but i haven't heard enough of it to condemn the entire genre myself.

― sleep (sleep), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:04 (twenty years ago)

if you've ever heard dashboard confessional, i think that's a pretty popular/well-known example.

― sleep (sleep), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:05 (twenty years ago)

jaymc- PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THEORY

It's not really fully formed.

BUT ... start on a major chord (like C), then go to the minor chord a third down (like Am) -- OMG you're on your way already!

Also, it helps if the lead guitar is playing the same arpeggiated figure over this chord change.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:11 (twenty years ago)

"and tends to evoke whiny boys being overly sensitive, going on and on about a handful of topics (heartbreak a big one, shocker)"

How about the Allman Brothers? They go on and on so much, they can't even finish a song.

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:15 (twenty years ago)

I am very interested (professionally) if there is a musical definition of emo, at least one that can be regressed against using the right features. jaymc, your idea intrigues me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. But that progression can't be owned by emo, can it? I imagine if I did that on a banjo it ain't emo--- BUT perhaps Bela Fleck will start getting upset that he hasn't found a suitable partner other than Future Man and we'll find out that the Cosmic HIppo was actually a very catty dig at his ex-wife.

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:17 (twenty years ago)

My first batch of fave emo tracks up there was too over the top. But I was going for a different sort of emo with those - the ones that have roots in hardcore, but then take on this strange, vaguely homoerotic "bro" culture of "never letting your bros down" and "we're all in this together" and "if you cross me, you're dead to me." Bands like "Funeral for a Friend" and other metal/emo/screamo things.

Caspar - there's no satisfying definition for emo. It's arguably in the "you'll know it when you see it" category, but it mostly comes down to the fact that it's easier to argue what ISN'T emo.

― Clusterfuck at the Baja Fresh Salsa Bar (Ben Boyer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:20 (twenty years ago)

It can't be owned by emo, you're right, but I find it is very common to emo. Your banjo example is worth noting, and yet, there's a Mum song that sounds emo to me because it has what sounds to me like an emo bassline.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:22 (twenty years ago)

xWanderingAimlesslyx - Judy is a suicidegirl
Like parasols to the dam - The kids are it
Damp Suzuki - I will keep the light on
Tender - Love/Boy/Girl/Sorrow

― Ønbehagen (Øystein H-O), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:30 (twenty years ago)

screamo: AWESOME
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=screamo

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:32 (twenty years ago)

btw, 323 definitions of emo:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=emo&r=d

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:34 (twenty years ago)

OK, after reading about 24 of those I can now do some classification:
I find three defining characteristics.
1) Must have lyrics, and the lyrics have to be about sadness in relationships.
2) The music has to have guitars and has to be loud.
3) Less "events," more "textures" in the production (drawn out chords vs. notes, etc)

BUILT TO SPILL: EMO [1, 2, 3]
RADIOHEAD: NOT EMO [x, 2, 3]
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE: EMO [1, 2, 3]
XTC: NOT EMO [early: x, 2, 3] [late x, x, x]
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN: NOT EMO [1, x, 3]
WRENS: EMO [1, 2, 3]
PRENICE BROTHERS: EMO [1, 2, 3]
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE: EMO [1, 2, 3]
BLONDE REDHEAD: EMO [1, 2, 3]
CLIENTELE: NOT EMO [1, x, 3]
DECEMBERISTS: NOT EMO [1, x, 3]
NEU: NOT EMO [x, 2, 3]

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:43 (twenty years ago)

hmm I think I've messed it up:

LOW: EMO [1,2,3]
YO LA TENGO: EMO [1, 2, 3]

That can't be. Perhaps I need a "Reads Thomas Pynchon" disqualifying classifier.

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:47 (twenty years ago)

remember when Rites of Spring, Grey Matter and Fugazi were Emo?

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:54 (twenty years ago)

Nahh. I think there is some kind of scene qualifier that's missing. To my knowledge, while BTS veer close to the aesthetic, I don't know if they can really be considered an Emo band. Maybe I'm just in denial because I really like "Perfect From Now On" and it truly is pretty emo-sounding.

2. Your shoes are totally emocore.
- urbandictionary.com

Do people really talk like this? What do emocore shoes look like? Also - emo glasses on women: hot or not? Hot IMO :(

(xpost)

― sleep (sleep), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:58 (twenty years ago)

Remember when the blues were emo?

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:58 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, in the first place “emo” stood for “emocore”, that is emotional hardcore, meaning that your music could be violent but could nonetheless convey emotions. In my opinion the bands which embodied this movement are for instance FUGAZI, JAWBOX, The JESUS LIZARD, UNWOUND, CONVERGE, KARATE and these French guys PROHIBITION. Staccato guitar riffs, powerful rhythmic section, screaming vocals. Some of the bands have evolved towards quieter atmospheres but kept all the same their emocore label (FUGAZI, VAN PELT, KARATE for example). Anyway, nowadays ‘emo’ stands for emotion and every group tends to call themselves ‘emo’ because it is trendy and because TV programs broadcast documentaries dealing with ‘emo-kids’ and ‘emo-attitude’… I perfectly understand that every band want to convey emotion, that is the reason why they are making music if they are not complete ripped assholes. BUT ‘emo’ is not a genre. It just means emotion. I don’t see why Dashboard Confessional is ‘emo’. It’s just acoustic songs and I understand why some people like it (I don’t but it’s not the point – it’s just a significant example). Hanging out with true ‘emo’ bands doesn’t mean that your music is ‘emo’. What would you do if you were hanging around only with friends who are deeply into brutal death or emphatic doom or gipsy jazz or whatsoever generic label you want to make up??? If we apply the term ‘emo’ to every piece of music that convey emotion, then Billie Hollyday is ‘emo’ (and I don’t think she’d like it), Mozart and Beethoven are ‘emo’ (God bless them), even reggae must be ‘emo’ to some people (well not for me though, sorry but I can’t go this far) !!! C’mon MUSIC = EMO.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:01 (twenty years ago)

I am so sorry for the poor future sucker anthropologist who is trying to untangle this in 200 years. If you're reading this, poor sucker future anthropologist, my condolences.

― caspar (caspar), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:03 (twenty years ago)

caspar: http://www.fourfa.com/

― Avi (Avi), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:13 (twenty years ago)

Everything by the band The Crying Game. Including:

(I Cried) All Night Long (Then You Bit Me)
She Walks In My Dreams (Then Runs Away)
High School Virgin Crying In Casualty
I Cry, Therefore I Am

And there's more at here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/profiles/pages/crying_game.shtml

― Finding Emo, Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:45 (twenty years ago)

My favourite is perhaps Baby's on Fire but I am also very happy with Kings Led Hat

― Sami Jheryllkanyga, Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:49 (twenty years ago)

Cap'n Jazz - Little League
Vendetta Red - Shatterday

― herbert hebert (herbert hebert), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:52 (twenty years ago)

Remember when I invented emo?

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Thursday, 4 November 2004 23:57 (twenty years ago)

i remember

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Friday, 5 November 2004 00:10 (twenty years ago)

What took you so long?
(to get to this thread that is)

― DJ Mencap0))), Friday, 5 November 2004 10:05 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, my vote goes to anything by Northern Ireland emo outfit Orange March

― DJ Mencap0))), Friday, 5 November 2004 10:09 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

Bump...

I think it might be interesting to get some updates on the tracks that still sound good these days..

― billstevejim, Friday, 5 February 2010 05:56 (fifteen years ago)

Less "events," more "textures" in the production (drawn out chords vs. notes, etc)

Holy shit emo aside I just found a great way to explain what I preference in music composition to... myself. Because I've been struggling to analyze my tastes and break them down into an explainable way, and that description really helps.

― Evan, Friday, 5 February 2010 06:02 (fifteen years ago)

Radiohead - Exit Music (for a film)

― Moka, Friday, 5 February 2010 06:10 (fifteen years ago)

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