hey…
If the title didn’t get you running for the hills, then you’ll probably find that you are familiar with most of this stuff already anyway. Wow! I present to you 12 songs I often listen to during winter months. Almost all of it is what we’ll call Emo-Pop. Almost all of it is from the 90s aside from the first song.
If you hate this stuff I have many non-emo winter playlists I can send to your personal electronic mail account.
“Keep Searching” by The Casket Lottery (2000)
"Look at that, all is lost" :(
The melodies and song writing are great here. The production heightens that. I feel like the drummer adds a lot to the experience, making the rhythm flow in an almost syncopated manner during the verses. Not that I am a good drummer, but my approach would have been more straight forward and the song would have suffered because of that. “E. Texas Ave.” by The Promise Ring (1996)
Always felt like the rawness of this recording made the melodies more intense. Those octave chords sound vibrant and the bassist is doing some cool shit.“Why I Like the Robins” by Hum (1995)
Hum isn't emo-pop they are their own thing, but aren't completely out of place here. Starts off dreamy and climaxes into some really cool guitar work. Reminds me of rain which is always a plus. I appreciate how heavy Hum would get for a melodic band. Kind of a rare thing. “The Reason I Failed History” by Cross My Heart (1999)
The vox are refreshing in that they fall in the mid registry rather than the more common, smoother, higher pitched vocals of this time period. Too bad the guy failed history.
“Fin” by Christie Front Drive (1996)
Christie Front Drive's S/T(or sometimes Stereo) album is a classic. CFD had some really rockin' moments that were melodically heavy and driving rather than poppy. They have good dynamics in that they create soft delicate parts to heighten the more distorted louder parts. “Holiday” by The Get Up Kids (1999)
When I regretfully have to describe music as Emo-Pop, I mean it in the sense that the Emo in question has Pop tendencies. But a lot of people could interpret it as Emo-Pop Punk. The Get Up Kids seem to fall pretty close to that description. I heard some of this stuff, especially bands like Jimmy Eat World, being called College Rock around the time which just sounds horrible. Only call something College Rock if you want the members to feel really bad about themselves. When I got older the lyrics to this song hit harder. Sometimes I'm overly sentimental though, which is weird since I'm sure there are some people out there that think I'm a cold-hearted bastard. Always felt like The Get Up Kids should have been way more popular than they were. Like MTV TRL popular. I really feel like they deserved to meet Carson Daly.“Fors” by Give Until Gone (1998)
If you haven't noticed yet, 90s bands really liked octave chords. I'm a sucker for it too! "HEEEEEY HE REALLY LIKES YOU, BUT YOU DON'T THINK SO" smh just typical. “47” by Sunny Day Real Estate (1994)
The album Diary probably influenced some of the bands listed here. Very few people would refer to SDRE as an emo band in '94. That seemed to be saved for either the more hc related stuff or perhaps other underground acts that would be pre-cursors to what is now called Midwest Emo. These guys were on 120 Minutes and were considered an alternative rock band, but with today's ears the album sounds suspiciously emo-pop. Anyway, this is my favorite song of theirs. Easily. “Gloria” by Mineral (1997)
Although the singer's lyrics would annoy me at times, I do like his very passionate 90s voice. This song bleeds with frustration and I love that. Sounds like they was in some real pain when they wrote this.“A Picture” by Strictly Ballroom (1997)
Despite earlier releases being emocore of nature, Strictly Ballroom created their own thing with "Hide Here Forever". A refined type of Emo-Pop. The drummer plays what I refer to as an emo jazz beat on this particular song and it adds a refreshing type of energy. The vocals are also refined in a way I can't describe and the reverb coats the vox with a much desired lushness that resonates over a wall of guitars. On the rare occasion it rains, I take a walk to this album. Strictly Ballroom is one of my all time favorite bands, thought you should know since you were very curious.“Never Meant” by American Football (1999)
Hahaha, this album cover is essentially a meme by now. When this shit dropped it was dear to my heart but I never thought in a million years it would leave the impression it did on people. There are technically earlier Midwest Emo Bands, but American Football is quintessential. One of my fav bummer lyrics, partially because it's said so flippantly, is "I just think it's best, 'Cause you can't miss what you forget."“Truth” by Still Life (1992/93)
probably the closest thing to "real" or first wave emo on this list, but it's very melodic. Ebullition and similar labels were more serious and discordant, and it shows even in their more melodic bands. bye…
Astonishing Mysteries 