Flashback Friday: Re-Evaluating Emo

Of all the sub-genres friends of mine obsessed over in high school, Emo was by far the most divisive. Complicated by the fact that as a genre it was considerably hazy in definition, any band that said anything mildly personal got labeled "Emo". I once even heard Husker Du referred to as "the godfathers of Emo". So to me, the genre/sound is defined as any band rooted in punk or indie rock that discussed personal issues or feelings. And hey, guess what? I've found all of my CDs and come back into contact with a lot of these bands and albums and thought I might as well revisit some of the genres' more popular entries to see how they hold up. With that being said let's take a dump on memory lane!

• The Promise Ring "Nothing Feels Good"

(4 out of 5)

Milwaukee's The Promise Ring crafted a perfectly honest brand of jangly indie rock that sat on the fence that divided bands like The Get Up Kids from bands like Joan Of Arc. Rooted in a punky form of power-pop that was unafraid to write compositions with weird guitar parts and odd time signatures, the band might've been able to avoid the Emo label had lead singer Davey Von Bohlen not had such an endearingly goofy whine (complete with mild lisp) that gave this album an eternally dorky vibe that ensures it will resonate with awkward sixteen year olds for a millennia to come.

• Weezer "Pinkerton"

(5 out of 5)

Don't balk at the idea that Weezer's sophomore album is Emo because it is about as fucking Emo as you can get. Rivers Cuomo didn't do too well with the meteoric rise-to-stardom his band made after the release of their first album and retreated into a dark world of meaningless sex, self loathing, doubt and apathy, which lead the band to create one of the best mainstream alt-rock albums of the 90's. Where "The Blue Album" rode its' awkwardness over a wave of slick Ric Ocasek production, "Pinkerton" was raw both lyrically and musically. Chock full of guitar noise, feedback and yelping, Rivers Cuomo let loose all of his pent up frustrations in such a way that he was so embarrassed by the finished record he actually broke up the band and has since refused to write any meaningful lyrics professionally. At least he left us with a line that is so quintessentially Emo it belongs on the genres tombstone: "How stupid is it? I gotta sing about it and make a record of my heart."

• Sunny Day Real Estate "Diary"

(4 out of 5)

Sunny Day Real Estate came out of the Seattle scene when Grunge still reigned supreme, and in theory bridges the conceptual divide between Grunge and Emo. One part guitar driven post-hardcore, one part whiny introspection, SDRE were very similar to their regional brethren while sounding wholly individual. In keeping with the attitude of the times this album is all doom, gloom and full of moping. If the line "I dream to heal your wounds 

but I bleed myself" didn't sound so completely sincere it'd be laughable, and it hints at band leader Jeremy Enigks' eventual descent into religious fever. Still an overall amazing album, warts and all.

• Thursday "Full Collapse"

(1 1/2 out of 5)

Every shitty screamo band that got a record deal between the years 2002 and 2005 owes Thursday a massive debt of gratitude, because without this album most of them would've never been given the chance to sell their crap at Hot Topic. Loud / quiet dynamics, crunchy guitar riffs punctuated by noodly clean guitar parts and lyrics that can be interpreted as either a political tirade OR a relationship falling apart, Thursday really gave it their all on this album. Sadly, I have to report that this album doesn't hold up all that well. Musically I can still appreciate what the band was trying to do, but thematically and lyrically vocalist Geoff Rickly crams an hour of Jr. High poetry into this affair that elicits more cringing than fist pumping. Lines like "when you live in a nightmare it's written all over your face" might've sounded good to the teens back in '01, but given the fact that he's still writing lyrics like this all these years later begs the question, "When and how does one finally outgrow Emo?"

• Jawbreaker "Dear You"

(2 1/2 out of 5)

I once put this album on and my wife asked me if I was listening to Smash Mouth. Now, I could go in a million different directions because of this question but it learned me one solid truth: how much you enjoy later-era Jawbreaker depends heavily on if you like Blake Schwarzenbach's vocals after he had his throat surgery. The other massive factor when it comes to Jawbreaker's music is if you can enjoy Blake Schwarzenbach's lyrics, which often times feel pulled straight from his private diary. On earlier independent albums the combination of gravely vocals, punk poetry and raw production (most notably by Billy Anderson and Steve Albini) made albums like "Bivouac" and "24 Hour Revenge Therapy" seem revelatory, singlehandedly creating a template that bands like Alkaline Trio would capitalize on years later. In comparison "Dear You" sucks: it's over polished, wiped totally clean of any grit and gives the impression that no one truly wanted to be recording it. In retrospect it isn't the wreck it was initially, and the sense of desperation behind its' creation actually gives it some added weight. The song "Million" sums it up best: "They offered me a million bucks. All I want is a steady fuck. Oh steady, steady, where are you?"

• The Get Up Kids "Something To Write Home About"

(4 out of 5)

Keyboards, girls, keyboards, girls, yeah! The Get Up Kids took the pop-punk of Superchunk and plopped a heaping helping of keyboards on top of it before singing songs about breaking up with girls and wanting to date girls. In their own way they served as Weezer Jr. : nerdy kids who are trying hard to be rock stars but forgetting to ditch their D&D manuals and diaries before band practice. On later efforts they would try to mature (and flop) then try to return to their previous sound (and flop), but "Something..." will always be a shining example of peppy Emo that merits an annual listen.