Hello denizens of TL, I've decided that my superlative (if not egotistical) and eclectic taste in music warrants sharing, so I'll post up songs from all over the spectrum in hopes that someone hears something they like and otherwise would have never been exposed to.
Today I'ma hit you with some 90's alternative that some might call the OG "emo" sound, though a fair number of bands from the late 80's certainly figure into things. Popping up mainly in underground scenes in Flagstaff, Chapel Hill, and Omaha during the early 90's/late 80's, "emo" music set the stage for the power pop of today in a number of ways (Jimmy Eat World started as underground emo band!), though its then uncommon implementation of extreme vocals could be considered the hallmark, along with volume dynamics and arpeggiated guitar melodies. Whether the singer screamed until his voice grew hoarse or effeminately crooned high pitch notes until one questioned his gender, the expression of the music was the focus; in other words, emotional communication was the reason. Not Texas, as some would have you believe
The term "emo" itself is said to have originated during early shows at which bystanders would label the band "emo" after witnessing them play and sing so strongly that they literally cried during the effort. Due to the emphasis being on authenticity of expression rather than genre sign-boarding, many emo bands have starkly different sounds, and thus many fall unto different sub categories. But I digress and happen to agree with critics that suggest that sometimes, over-labeling things only muddles up the fun. Here are some of my favorite songs, and although they are all more or less "emo", they are all from different genres, time periods, and scenes.
This last one is a perfect example of when expression and authenticity clearly trump musical quality. In any case, I've made some generalizations and taken some liberties with definitions, so if you've got a bone to pick with how I've labeled things, want to shit on all the nonsense screaming, or simply want to add your favorites, please feel free! Next time, I'll go back to the early 80's and trace even the roots of emo, looking to how hardcore and punk music changed how society heard rock music.
I agree with what you said about over labeling. But then again calling the music listed as emo is like.. well, back then perhaps but after the 2000s and all the gut wrenchingly terrible music under the marque of emo music makes me instinctively hate anything called emo.
Since I don't instinctively hate those songs I can't call them emo Also they sound okay, I'd definitely listen to them on a playlist all mixed in with other 80s and 90s songs.
SDRE and Mineral I am very familiar with and absolutely love; I even had the pleasure of seeing SDRE during their reunion tour in 2009. Both are definitely par for the course, with SDRE's entire album Diary being pretty much the seminal "emo" album, though purists would definitely be in my face for that one. I've been meaning to check out American Football for a while, so thanks for the reminder! If you ever wanna do some light reading on the subject, I highly recommend http://www.fourfa.com/. It is full to the brim with lots of interesting information on the history of the scene that is otherwise very difficult to come by.
Probe, just you wait. Those godawful quasi "emo" songs of today are yet to come, I'll give them the treatment they deserve
Saw your post of In The Fog by azure ray and was about to PM you but I foudn your blog.... holy shit that was good. First time i heard people using noise in as a rhythmic component too.
I've just been spending 3 days to make my first ever track on ableton live and if it weren't for that I would have definitely seen that song differently
my WIP if you're interested, still have a long list of ideas to improve it but I really need to study http://soundcloud.com/jiexian/listening-to-nujabes Main thing is to improve now is to make section B more dramatic with a greater contrast and add some variations for the repeated part
My contribution, hopefully you've never heard of him
OPA OP OP HOP OPAA OP HOP HOP OP OPAA :D
sticking to the "emo" theme, just discovered them a few days ago: guitarless band, using the piano to make it much more dramatic imo
That's awesome stuff JieXian, I really like the direction your song is taking, so keep us updated with your progress! I'll admit that the Bregovic piece is something I'd likely never stumble upon on my own, but it sure is catchy. As to the MOPA song, I'm not even sure what genre I'd label it; it's like a NIN/screamo hybrid, but I can dig it!
I don't listen to many lesser known emo/screamo/alt or songs like that in general so I can't add much, except maybe this, don't know whether you know them:
EPT
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