Before the turn of the millennium, emo was a term best used to describe an ambiguous, post-hardcore punk sound that had been evolving in the American underground music scene for about 15 years. Perhaps “best used” isn’t the right term as much as the term was saddled upon this sound: Just as many musicians tagged with the name today, it had been a point of annoying contention since it was first uttered in the community centers and tiny, all ages clubs in D.C. where the first “emocore” bands performed. Unlike the close-minded term the sound was often described as, these teens fused the cathartic dynamics of hardcore with a confrontational pop-twist and blended it all with introspective lyrics that had that was ambiguous as the genre within which these bands found themselves.

Flash forward to the beginning of the 21^st Century, and emo hit an odd nexus between the past, present and future just as it approached its tipping point. 2001 was the year that bands from emo’s first, second and third waves all convened, a year before the “genre” hit its tipping point in mainstream popularity. Fugazi – the band formed by members of two of emocore’s progenitors and the group that influenced nearly every second wave emo act, be it Drive Like Jehu or Sunny Day Real Estate – released their final album, The Argument. A map of the band’s evolving sound, The Argument was perhaps the group’s greatest album and an excellent farewell as the quartet called an indefinite hiatus in 2002.

All the while, many second wave emo bands began to end their respective musical runs in the early part of the decade, and many did so in challenging fashions. Although emo would transform into something of a tangible genre for millions, an almost shallow form of pop-punk in the guise of some bands, many of the second wave groups would exit not with a bang, but with a sound that left many emo apologists scratching their heads. There was Sunny Day Real Estate’s prog-heavy 2000 effort, The Rising Tide, an album that perplexed many longtime fans and left the chaos of their earlier albums on the studio floor. The Promise Ring dropped Wood/Water in 2002, a record that eschewed the group’s potent poppy-punk sound for a retrained, oft-acoustic sound driven completely on harmony. The Get Up Kids followed a similar route with their 2004 album, The Guilt Show.

While many of the titans of emo’s second wave bowed out in seemingly unfashionable ways, one of the period’s second fiddles would push emo onto the charts and into confused adolescent hearts. In the ‘90s, Jimmy Eat World was hardly an emo headliner. But, after being dropped by Capitol Records for failing to produce a big hit single or record, the group quietly recorded what would become the album that helped make emo a sought-after commodity.

Originally titled Bleed American when it was released in 2001, the band changed the name of their third album to Jimmy Eat World following September 11^th. And the album became a smashing sensation, a venerable hit parade and moneymaker at a time when industry types first began to fear illegal downloading. Perhaps Jimmy Eat World’s late career success can be boiled down to timing. In 2001 and 2002, Americans were looking for a certain kind of somber and comforting sound, but one that was ultimately positive following the national tragedy. When there was nowhere to turn in the world of shallow boy-band pop, a song called “The Middle” provided all the comfort one could ask for in a pop song:

It just takes some time/little girl you’re in the middle of the ride/everything, everything will be just fine/everything, everything will be alright

Throw in one heck of a pop hook and mix it in with that undeniable chorus and some positive, comforting lyrics and Jimmy Eat World came away with one of the strongest singles of the decade. Considering “The Middle” helped usher emo into the mainstream, it’s odd to think of how “emo” has become almost synonymous with “depressed.”

While Jimmy Eat World survived emo’s second wave for 21^st Century chart glory, emo’s third wave was well in full swing. Often described in Christ-like fashion amongst his most-rabid fans and critics, Chris Carrabba was stirring things up in the world of emo. Cathartic and punk inspired, Carrabba’s most affecting moments came in the form of his solo, acoustic-guitar driven ditties under the name Dashboard Confessional. Carrabba became something of a fixture in the mainstream music press, and his role as poster boy for the genre seemed solidified.

Though Carrabba plays the same heart wrenching tunes to a smaller group of cult fans today, his meteoric rise in the mainstream and substantially-longer career as an afterthought in the press have transformed Carrabba into a different kind of poster boy for emo. If emo had any solid definition following the aughts, it’s been lost in the translation of pop culture this past decade. Carrabba was the image of emo at the first half of the decade, but thanks to pop culture’s ever-shrinking attention span, emo’s transformed into something completely different at the end of 2009. Carrabba represents the odd staying power and ambiguity of the genre at a time when everyone seems to have a definition of “emo” down pat. Whereas earlier in the decade, emo was synonymous with well-adjusted, upper-middle class teenagers who wore Abercrombie & Fitch and sought to force all their existential quandaries on failed relationships and romantic longing, emo has somehow become associated with depressed, potentially-suicidal tweens who drape their bodies in all things black and could potentially be members of a cult, maybe.

Or has it? For every person that thinks they know what emo means, there are about several hundreds of people ready to disagree. For that, we’ve got the middle aughts to be thankful for. At a time when “emo” was being used to describe any up and coming independent band by the most well-meaning of music critics, the linear “genre” of emo saw a number of inventive albums and bands. Say Anything’s …is a Real Boy. Pedro The Lion’s Achilles’ Heel. Thursday’s War All The Time. Coheed & Cambria’s In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. The Format’s Dog Problems. Even the “backpacker rap” of Rhymesayers artists like Atmosphere and P.O.S., or Rhode Island spoken-word rapper Sage Francis, followed some of the same post-hardcore dynamics of their emo peers to produce a solid number of albums often roped into the “emo” bubble and augmented the definition of the term.

While emo (and screamo) was getting the full court press style coverage in everything from The New York Times to Rolling Stone, something was awry. It was something that only Jessica Hopper was able to verbalize in a 2003 Punk Planet article titled “Emo: Where The Girls Aren’t.”

And then something broke—And it wasn’t Bob Nanna’s or Mr. Dashboard’s sensitive hearts. Records by a legion of done-wrong boys lined the record store shelves. Every record was a concept album about a breakup, damning the girl on the other side. Emo’s contentious monologue—it’s balled fist Peter Pan mash-note dilemmas—it’s album length letters from pussy-jail—it’s cathedral building in ode to man-pain and Robert-Bly-isms—it’s woman-induced misery has gone from being descriptive to being prescriptive. Emo was just another forum where women were locked in a stasis of outside observation, observing ourselves through the eyes of others. The prevalence of these bands, the omni-presence of emo’s sweeping sound and it’s growing stronghold in the media and on the Billboard chart codified emo as A SOUND, where previously there had been diversity.

And though some artists pushed the boundaries of where a term like “emo,” could go, others shoved it into a misogynistic, uncreative box. For all their cathartic bleedings, bands like The Used produced “hits” rank with the negative sound Hopper described so well. This, quite unfortunately, became the face that emo has worn throughout the decade, and is part of the reason the genre’s thought to be so worn out.

And the backlash came, though much of it not nearly as intelligent or even knowledgeable as Hopper’s critique. Warped Tour, the preeminent punk summer tour, became ground zero for anti-emo sentiments in the punk community. Elsewhere, the dynamic and image of emo shifted under the guise of two new scene bearers: My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. Though Fall Out Boy achieved a cross-pop-cultural popularity unsurpassed by most bands, My Chem grew the kind of “cult” fan base that attracted the kind of negative publicity for emo that couldn’t be made up.

Suddenly, more than before, emo transformed from something of a musical term, to a catchall term for an odd subculture, with little to no roots in the “genre.” It became a type of fashion, inspired by My Chem’s obsession with gothic Tim Burton wear. It became a “state of mind” which parents were told to fear for their kids’ safety. It became hated, like nothing before. Be it the anti-emo beatings in Mexico, the threats of banning emo in Russia, or the simple-minded misunderstandings of local news reporters across the U.S. warning parents of the “dangerous new trend,” emo became huge, and not in the good way.

Although all would seem lost for emo at the end of the decade, it’s reached a curious nexus not unlike the one at the beginning of the decade. Though all signs would seem to point to its “death,” emo has continued to evolve, perhaps in some cases, mutate. Emo is still a misunderstood and maligned “culture” in some circles. And yes, many of the negative aspects of its popular form have continued to thrive in the guise of fifth wave emo-inspired bands operating under the scrunk and crunkcore sounds.

But, perhaps there is a light at the end of the decade. The reunion fever that has caught the indie world by storm churned out headlines that screamed “Sunny Day Real Estate” and “Get Up Kids” across the country. Though nostalgia is so often a dangerous poison in pop culture, every Jawbox reunion performance on TV allows people to refocus their perceptions of emo, and even where it can go.

More over, with band like Brand New challenging the very sonic nature of what emo has become and crushing the Billboard 200 at the same time, it can spell a new crossroads for emo. And all he while, the “indie” scene has been a source of newfound evolutions for emo. Groups like Maritime, The Appleseed Cast and Owen have quietly been creating some of the best music to be paired with the term “emo” this decade. Over the past few years, there’s even been something of an “emo Renaissance” in the underground punk scene, with tiny, DIY bands with names like Algernon Cadwallader, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) and Monument producing songs steeped in emo’s second wave.

Though emo would seem to be a lost cause at the end of what has been a very long decade in the genre’s existence, if anything, it’s merely proven the definitive point that’s made emo such a longstanding presence in music: It’s all about perspective.

Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”:

[youtubevid id="tVP0b8qvZg8"]

As I’ve mentioned previously, there are a lot of pitfalls for “best of” lists. I’d considering tossing the idea away if there wasn’t a little bit of fun that goes along with constructing such a list. This really is a collection of some of my favorite releases this year: It’s more than a “rank and file” of “importance,” but a selection of musical memories from the past twelve months.

This isn’t a rulebook for people to follow. If anything, I hope I can point people towards a band or two they hadn’t heard, or hadn’t considered listening to before reading this list. Because a large part of the joy of music journalism is helping people discover new bands and musicians and fall in love with these songs and records. It’s not about authority. It’s about twenty-five great albums that came out this year. These records gave me so much this past year, and I only hope my words and recommendations can give something back.

So, without further ado, here is my list of the best records of 2009:

25. Mika Miko – We Be Xuxa

It was a sad day in L.A. when Mika Miko announced they would break up. The mostly all-girl quintet was at the heart of the burgeoning post-punk scene that produced some of the hottest indie bands to name drop, including No Age and HEALTH. And so We Be Xuxa became the band’s unofficial swan song, and with every listen brings to mind the thought of another underrated group with enough passion it could force the world to fall to its knees at the hands of some fantastic, fun punk ditties. The songs are short and sweet, and the band is sorely missed.

24. Deastro – Moondagger

Besides releasing some of the best free albums of the year, Deastro produced this little gem of electronic-cum-indie rock. Whereas the for-free tunes the group released seemed to reside in the bedroom pop stasis that made frontman Randolph Chabot into the songwriter he is today, Moondagger has the sheen of an act that’s been given all the time and money in the world to put together an album… Or at least a little more time and money than Chabot had in his bedroom. Songs like “Toxic Crusaders” and “Vermillion Plaza” are given a bit of depth with help from a kaleidoscope of instruments and, yes, a full band. Though the album sags a bit under some of Chabot’s less well-scripted lyrics, Moondagger displays a strong voice good enough to save itself from the duller moments of the album.

23. Jeremy Enigk – OK Bear

Just as the Sunny Day Real Estate reunion rumors began to heat up, Jeremy Enigk released his best solo album since his ’96 debut, Return of the Frog Queen. The SDRE frontman ditched the glossy production that bogged down 2006’s World Waits for a handful of tracks that sound as mesmerizing as the songs he made when he sat down with just an acoustic guitar and a small orchestra. Add in a couple of Sunny Day fans giving some heavy instrumental backup and a new muse in the guise of Spain, and Enigk came out with a winning album.

22. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport

It’s experimental! It’s techno! It’s all over the place! It’s Fuck Buttons doing what they do best – mixing things up. The duo decided to ditch the caterwauling screams and (some of) the ambience of last year’s Tarot Sport for a streamlined and potentially pop-friendly sound. Sure, a song like “Olympians” defies the attention span of pop listeners, but with its subtle changes in tone and melody at the halfway point, it’s one great knockout in an album of surprises.

21. The xx – The xx

The xx brought R&B sensuality back into the hipster lexicon this year, and all without an ironic smirk or any pretentious pitfalls. And yet, despite the ingenious combination of buttery singing and minimalist compositions, a large portion of the album seems to flow in one ear and out the other without really making an impression. The group’s method of communication is entrancing, but the album lacks any direct hit. Fortunately, the singles “Basic Space” and “Crystalised” are strong enough to carry the album and band to the end of the album.

20. Say Anything – Say Anything

It’d be hard for many bands to make an album as strong and satisfying as Say Anything’s 2004 album …is a Real Boy, never mind having to follow up such a tremendous record. The group may have tried to cover too much with 2007’s In Defense of the Genre, but the group seems a bit more focused on Say Anything. Frontman Max Bemis is in fine lyrical form, twisting words around, openly criticizing his methods of communication and producing one of the best potshots at Kings of Leon. Though some residue of overzealousness from In Defense have wound up in the band’s ideal to imbue their brand of emo with every other genre known to pop, and Bemis’s newfound appreciation for Jesus gets a little worn out, the band is still as spry and heartfelt as they were when they were “real boys.”

19. Think About Life – Family

On Think About Life’s self-titled 2006 debut, the band seemed stuck between their efforts to bridge the gaps between abrasiveness and forlorn pop. They manage to do just that on Family, as the Montreal act has produced an album that lasts from tracks one through 10. Though their feedback-laced sound is all but washed away, it exists in their charmingly offbeat instrumentation. Fortunately, their efforts have coalesced into a solid collection of forlorn alterna-pop just waiting to burst on the indie-friendly airwaves.

18. Owen – New Leaves

These days, “maturity” is hardly ever paired with the word “emo,” though its original definition was applied to musicians who composed songs that dealt with the maturation process. Owen’s Mike Kinsella is one of those musicians. As much as he would like to shed that term, it’s an excellent descriptor for Owen’s newest album. A stripped down collection of thoroughly mature songs, these little tunes are emotionally gravitating tales of being an adult with a wife and a child and all the thoughts and moments that happen during that period of life.

17. Wale – Attention Deficit

Some critics have been taking Wale to town for “selling out.” Yet, a lot of the sounds that emerge from Attention Deficit aren’t the kind of thing one would normally hear on commercial radio (or whatever is left of commercial radio.) It may not be as experimental as some of the material on Wale’s massive mixtape discography, but with D.C.’s go-go sound still present throughout a large part of the album and big, chunky beats blasting throughout, it’s hard to see where the album falters and easy to see the unbearably-high expectations.

16. Micachu & The Shapes – Jewellery

There’s been something missing in so many dour acts that have come from the U.K. this past decade: Fun. London trio Micachu & The Shapes make fun sound so natural, you have to wonder why there aren’t droves of British kids making such an irresistible racket. Yet, that’s part of the wonder that makes Jewellery unique. The oft-goofy sounds that punctuate the group’s jittery brand of poppy-punk, combined with Mica Levi’s British coo and smart songwriting make for an album that’ll stick to your head and hard drive.

15. The Antlers – Hospice

In the spring of ’08, I was putting on a show with a little band fronted by an NYU student, Peter Silberman. We were both seniors at our respective universities and dealing with our own little projects, situations and changes. A few weeks after the show, I finished off my senior thesis and graduated: Silberman went on to graduate in the winter and produce an album that spring called Hospice. A concept album about two relationships in the life of a hospice worker, every second of the album is bathed in a kind of brutal sincerity and emotional fragility that most people my age would have trouble trying to muster. Though my project rests in the basement of the Brandeis library, it’s nice to see someone who once performed parts of his project for gas money receive such critical commendation for a work that few of Silberman’s peers could muster.

14. Dananananaykroyd – Hey Everyone

I still remember catching this Scottish sextet at London’s 93 Feet East in ’07, and just being completely taken aback by what appeared before me. I left that night patiently awaiting some recording by a band that had taken their name from a former “SNL” cast member not because of their silly name, but their raucous, full-throttle show. Though it’d be hard to capture the passionate, caterwauling efforts of Dananananaykroyd on vinyl, CD or MP3, Hey Everyone certainly comes close. Veering partway between full-blasted agro-punk and twee-pop, Hey Everyone fulfills every need one might have to let loose, let out a little aggression and enjoy a good pop tune.

13. YACHT – See Mystery Lights

There’s got to be something in the water at DFA headquarters. Sure, YACHT were funky before they signed to the New York label, but now the duo’s songs have a bit more polish to them, a bit more of a hook and a whole lot more space to move around. The songs that populate See Mystery Lights benefit from a certain sense of direction and clarity that allow Claire Evans and Jona Bechtolt to really explore where their music can go. And on See Mystery Lights, it went pretty far.

12. Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health

Time isn’t friendly to some bands. “Sickos” introduced the Harlem Shakes to the blogosphere in ’05 and all was right for the band. But by the time they finally released their debut, Technicolor Health, there wasn’t enough room in a music world overpopulated by all the Vampire Weekends, Ra Ra Riots and Tokyo Police Clubs out there. Which is such a shame, because Technicolor Health is one of the best feel-good records made this year. Songs like “Strictly Game” and “Sunlight” flow effortlessly and are packed with slight tinges of punk, funk and indie pop and seem to reach to the heavens in pop passion. Though the Harlem Shakes appear to be forever lost in time – they broke up in September – Technicolor Health will hopefully be saved from the marked down bins of tomorrow.

11. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

As much as I try to not judge a book by its cover, I tend to cringe when I hear the word “indie” used more than a few times in a sentence. Perhaps that’s why I stayed away from Phoenix for so long. Or tried to at least. It was next to impossible to ignore the Parisian band this year, as their songs illustrated everything from car commercials to concert halls. And the songs were irresistible to boot. So, by the time I gave Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix a proper listen, I realized I’d already heard half of it and liked it. As for the rest of the album? It’s just as good as what I’d heard all year.

10. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion

Merriweather Post Pavillion is a lot like cotton candy. It sure is tasty, but it doesn’t really fill you, and you can get a bit sick of it if you play it too often. Still, the Baltimore-bred band has walked away with a solid pop album. “My Girls,” “Summertime Clothes,” and “Brother Sport” certainly are tunes to last through generations: Unfortunately, the rest of the album’s song sort of seep into one another and leave little lasting impression. But, half-brilliant or half-bad, it’s still got some excellent flavor to it.

9. P.O.S. – Never Better

Stefon Alexander spent the last two P.O.S. albums trying to make his two favorite genres coexist. Though most folks would never cram punk and hip-hop together, P.O.S. managed to do it with originality and flare, and with Never Better he hit the nail on the head. Between sampling Fugazi for a politically flavored rap on “Savion Glover,” the fuzzy punk instrumentation of “Drumroll (We’re All Thirsty)” and the emotional gravitating raping and screaming on “Optimist (We Are Not For Them),” Alexander has emerged with an album that challenges the capacities of musicians and listeners of hip-hop and punk. Never Better is a shot across the bow that will make many musicians of all genres tremble at its sheer existence.

8. Japandroids – Post-Nothing

Post-Nothing is kryptonite for fans of anthemic rock ‘n’ roll. The eight songs that make up Japandroids’s debut album ache in their belief that rock can save lives, remake kids as heroes and take no prisoners. Post-Nothing is the kind of album that makes old codgers of rock fans believe that, yes, rock is very much alive. And kicking. This Canadian duo has managed to string together a fair number of songs as heartfelt as those tunes people shout along to when they pop on the car stereo, and ones that’ll have people pleading for more to boot.

7. David Bazan – Curse Your Branches

A lot has changed in the five years since Bazan released the last Pedro the Lion album, and thankfully Bazan’s hand at songwriting has gotten stronger. With Curse Your Branches, Bazan has turned his introverted lyricism and woven it into some of his most personal tunes yet. Bazan has always used music as a method to explore his ideological stance on religion and humanity, and with Curse Your Branches it seems that Bazan has made a decision. Sort of. Though it would appear as though Bazan no longer considers himself a Christian, with the songs on Curse Your Branches his faith in trying to overcome personal disillusionment and problems may be stronger than ever. His songwriting certainly is.

6. We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls

The Scottish scene has produced a handful of talented bands before We Were Promised Jetpacks released their debut record this year. Though they may get pigeonholed for sounding a little too much like, say, Frightened Rabbit, the quartet makes all the noise they need to in order to assert their individuality on These Four Walls. More aggressive than Frightened Rabbit, a bit more accessible than The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks managed to put together an album that’s concisely built from start to finish: It grabs you in beginning with the caustic bridge halfway through “Its Thunder And It’s Lightening” and keeps you listening with baited breath all the way through “An Almighty Thud.” In the middle are an astonishing number of pop-friendly tunes with a strong emotional stasis.

5. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Before I put on a show with The Antlers, the Dirty Projectors breezed through town. Checking in quite a bit late thanks to a gas leak, frontman Dave Longstreth immediately sought out a place to practice. I set him up in the room of a student who lived above the venue (Chum’s) and let him do his thing. When I grabbed him to set up for their set, I found Longstreth on his knees, a handful of sheets with scribbles on them lying in front of him and his fingers casually jumping along the fret of his guitar. The band, then a quartet, would go on to play “Temecula Sunrise” live for the first time at our campus’s tiny coffeehouse. The minute they finished the song, you could see the exasperated look of glee on everyone’s faces onstage. They’d done it: They performed a song that had long outwitted them in practice. All that hard work has paid off with Bitte Orca, a nine-track album filled with immaculately structured songs that seem to burst with a mixture of complexity and pop glee to boot. Hopefully, somewhere out there, Longstreth and co. can recognize that and are smilingly widely.

4. Future of the Left – Travels with Myself and Another

There’s something frightening about Future of the Left. You have to wonder about the individuals behind such strong-willed, aggressively executed punk rawk. What else are they capable of? Hopefully, all we can hope to see from the trio that is FotL are more albums like Travels with Myself and Another, an excellent collection of adrenaline-pumping, PA-blasting punk that will knock you out if you’re not prepared for it.

3. Brand New – Daisy

Hardly any critic could have thought Brand New would become the band they are today at the beginning of the decade. Whoever signed the band to Interscope probably never considered they would grow anything other than a nice new paycheck after selling off a few singles. Back when emo broke the band was seen as a smart pop-punk brand of the genre stuck in the pack. Sure they were smart, but what could they do? Turns out, a lot. After their tremendous third album, Brand New certainly had a lot riding on their backs, and it paid off in the form of Daisy. The album isn’t as immediately accessible as The Devil And G-d Are Raging Inside Me, but the rewarding repeated replays are worth the effort. Songs like “Gasoline” brim with aggression and intelligence, while the album’s first single “At The Bottom” confronts certain aspects of mortality with a brutal honesty that has long evaded “rock stars” that frequently discuss death. At forty minutes, the one thing you’ll want from the album is simply more of it.

2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear had always made a point of balancing ambience with elements of top 40 pop. Though their previous efforts had been heavier on the ambience, the band made a point of giving both sides of their sonic personality equal footing, and the result was one of the best albums by any band this decade. Veckatimest oozes with a certain aural beauty that one would expect to hear in a church, recast over glistening guitar work and some pretty heavenly musical arrangements. On Veckatimest, everything is in its right place for Grizzly Bear and every member of the quartet seems to be perfectly in step with one another. It’s the kind of symbiotic relationship that many bands spend years trying to fabricate, and the kind of relationship that produces an album as beautiful as Veckatimest.

1. Dan Deacon – Bromst

Leave it up to the guy in day-glo clothing that made a song using samples of Woody Woodpecker to pull out the surprise album of the year. But for folks who paid attention to the entirety of Spiderman of the Rings could have heard some real potential in Dan Deacon’s oft-cartoonish electronic songs. And so, with his team of Wham City brethren and a whole lot more to work with than on any previous effort, Deacon emerged with a fully realized, gorgeously crafted album in Bromst. From the faint sounds of the player piano rising up from a space beyond in the album opener, “Build Voice,” to the syncopated, gamelan-flavored ecstatic closing track “Get Older,” Deacon created a vast, intricately composed piece that could satisfy the yearnings of musique concrète auteurs, electronica fans and indie kids alike. He may be pigeonholed as an “odd” musician, but Deacon made an album that has the potential to connect fans of all genres. It doesn’t hurt that the album is the best of the year either.

You can check out the runners up of the year on my other blog. Just remember, when it comes to your favorite record, the choice is yours.

When Pete Wentz gets his hair cut (or shaven?), the crying apparently stops:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM6-BE5XZIQ]

Take to the messageboards, Facebook feeds, and Twitter tweets, you FOB fanatics out there!

Wentz has proven to be something of an intelligent individual in music: his lyrics have the kind of verbiage that the College Board kills for, he’s proven himself a mogul in his own little music realm, and he’s probably a lot more articulate and well read in punk than people give him credit for. (His appearance as a player in a pivotal band included in Brian Peterson’s Burning Fight, all on 90s hardcore bands, is probably stunning for many who are not up on their hardcore punk reading.) With the emo-publicity train currently has its eyes focused on Brand New, Wentz picked the perfect opportunity to get rid of a fashionable doo that’s become the target of so much scorn. With the focus no longer just on his band, he can be free to play whatever he wants and wear whatever he wants. Hopefully, this will get some kids to rethink the emo-as-purely-a-fashion-statement, because I for one cannot see Wentz changing his tunes just cause his head has less hair.

Facebook them.

Twitter them.

Love them.

Obviously, taste is taste. Opinion, opinion.

But if this man is the guy who’s supposed to be the emo know-it-all (read: self-created title/Spin created title), I’m not buying it. The guy doesn’t seem to understand the impulse that emo acts have towards evolution, probably because the very thesis of Nothing Feels Good denies this concept.

He denied Sunny Day any post-Diary existence in his book, cramming much of their timeline into a brief paragraph and noting their later stuff for its prog leanings versus any relationship to emo.

He seemed happier to call The Promise Ring’s Wood/Water “joyless” than express the band’s need to let their music grow, saying when they performed it live opening for Jimmy Eat World, “When Davey strummed his acoustic guitar to thousands of eager teenagers at a sold-out Roseland Ballroom in New York City, he was greeted with implacable silence, the sight of an entire generation of music fans regarding him like they had just caught their dad moshing” (NFG, p 125). Opinions abound about Wood/Water, but Greenwald was more than elated to include this one show as evidence that TPR went “dad rock” and left emo, when in fact their new music retained much of the spirit of earlier albums, but held a newfound sense of wonder and exploration into non three-chord territory. And why did the kids greet the band with silence? How many big, sold-out shows did you go to for the opening act? It’s commonplace for fans at big ballroom/arena shows not to know a damn thing about an opener: when they’re playing music like what’s on Wood/Water, what’s a more appropriate response than simply watching in silence? (Go to an acoustic show where you don’t know the musician and see how you react).

Greenwald wrote this about Chris Carrabba:

“And I think: in some small way, it’s already past him. Dashboard Confessional was an emo moment, not an emo career. Carrabba may have many more years and songs ahead of him, but those frustrated, tormented ballads will live on. His worst moments may well outlive his best moments. He has pushed the punk/emo model as far as it can go…” (p 265)

He wrote that just before A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar came out, before Carrabba really broke emo into the mainstream, remade “Hands Down” into a genuine hit and a car commercial-worthy song, and became a Billboard-topping recording artist at number 2. And then again in 2006 at number 2. And then again in 2007 at number 18. And all performing music that, gasp, was in the exact same vein as before.

Greenwald got all that dead wrong, and he’s dead wrong about Brand New. Considering Greenwald is speaking for what is believed to be the voice of emo for critics, for some reason his voice holds some water, even after emo continued to conquer the Billboard charts in ways he hadn’t properly predicted when he wrote Nothing Feels Good. His opinion is his opinion, but to say that Brand New hasn’t written any new material as an “emo conessuire” all while practically every other critic has hailed the band’s last two releases, and fans have pushed their music to the top of the Billboard charts (number 6 just today). Something just doesn’t add up. Considering Greenwald considers himself the “voice of emo” and yet he cannot seem to fathom why or how or that Brand New could write their new material is plain laughable. I’m all for dissenting opinions, but I find his just kind of ridiculous.

Brand New – “Gasoline”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Y5vWIA5zo]

I wrote a little review of the forthcoming album from Brand New for The Boston Phoenix. It can be hard to write reviews in just 250 words or less, and Brand New’s album is no exception to that: I spent a large part of the time merely outlining the band’s history and why I felt like it was important to discuss the band because, in many ways, I felt like I’m defending a certain taste. Among many of my peers, Brand New were the band they may have enjoyed hearing when “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” hit the radiowaves and something they eventually dropped for “indie” or whatever new thing they grew to enjoy. And that’s ok, but they certainly missed out on The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me and it would be a shame for folks to continue to hold a band that’s continually evolving to a single from 03-04. Especially if they’d like their new stuff… But, that’s all an aside. Hopefully, the review does the trick.

You can check out my thoughts on Daisy over at The Phoenix website.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdalwKs7Puo]

Dates below:

Oct. 1st Time Warner Cable Amphitheater Cleveland, OH*

2nd The Fillmore Detroit, MI*

3rd Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL*

4th Myth Nightclub St. Paul, MN*

6th The Pageant St. Louis, MO*

7th Uptown Theatre Kansas City, MO*

8th Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO*

9th Salt Palace Conv. Center Salt Lake City, UT*

13th Roseland Theatre Portland, OR*

15th Rabobank Arena & Conv. Center Bakersfield, CA*

16th Event Center at San Jose State Univ. San Jose, CA*

17th Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA*

20th House of Blues San Diego, CA*

21st House of Blues San Diego, CA*

22nd Mesa Amphitheatre Mesa, AZ*

23rd House of Blues Las Vegas, NV*

25th Lonestar Amphitheater Lubbock, TX†

27th Stubb’s BBQ Austin, TX†

29th Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa, OK†

30th The Palladium Ballroom Dallas, TX†

31st Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, TX†

Nov. 4th House of Blues Lake Buena Vista, FL†

5th The Ritz Tampa, FL†

7th House of Blues North Myrtle Beach, SC†

9th The Fillmore Charlotte Charlotte, NC†

10th The National Richmond, VA†

11th Sonar Baltimore, MD†

13th The NorVa Norfolk, VA†

14th Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA†

15th Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA^

17th House of Blues Boston, MA^

18th House of Blues Boston, MA^

20th Olympia De Montreal Montreal, QC^

21st Kool Haus Toronto, ONT^

22nd Kool Haus Toronto, ONT^

24th Main Street Armory Rochester, NY^

25th Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT^

28th Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale, NY^

*Dates played with Manchester Orchestra

†Dates played with Thrice

^Dates played with Glassjaw

While the new version of Guitar Hero (GH5) if you will, has the regular mainstream-rock fare, it’s jam packed with many an indie, and emo, act. Just look at the official list:

3 Doors Down, A Perfect Circle, AGI, Arctic Monkeys, Attack! Attack! UK, Band of Horses, Beastie Boys, Beck, Billy Idol, Billy Squier, Blink-182, Blur, Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, Brand New, Bush, Children of Bodom, Coldplay, Darker My Love, Darkest Hour, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, Eagles of Death Metal, Elliott Smith, Elton John, Face To Face, Garbage, Gorillaz, Government Mule, Grand Funk Railroad, Iggy Pop, Iron Maiden, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Eat World, John Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Kaiser Chiefs, King Crimson, Kings of Leon, Kiss, Love and Rockets, Megadeth, Motley Crue, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Nirvana, No Doubt, Peter Frampton, Public Enemy (featuring Zakk Wylde), Queen & David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age, Rammstein, Rose Hill Drive, Rush, Santana, Scars on Broadway, Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Spacehog, Stevie Wonder, Sublime, Sunny Day Real Estate, T. Rex, The Bronx, The Derek Trucks Band, The Duke Spirit, The Killers, The Police, The Raconteurs, The Rolling Stones, The Sword, The White Stripes, Thin Lizzy, Thrice, Tom Petty, TV On The Radio, Vampire Weekend, Weezer, Wild Cherry, Wolfmother

You can check out the full list here.

Ok, so it’s not overrun with emo artists, but there’s a good deal of them: Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, Thrice, Weezer. That’s enough to take notice. And the Sunny Day Real Estate entry is, above all, really odd… I know my thirst for a reunion is getting the best of me, but it seems very coincidental that they’re included in all the bands… could we see something along the lines of when the Sex Pistols reunited (again) and debuted a re-recording of “Anarchy In The UK” for Guitar Hero 3? Hopefully not. Maybe I’m searching for a connection way to hard, but we’ll find out…

What may be even more interesting than SDRE are some of the other included acts.

Spacehog?! They’ve got to be using “In The Meantime” which I haven’t heard on the radio since middle school.

Screaming Trees?! Gotta love Mark Lanegan and that band, but all I can remember of them from when they were around was “Nearly Lost You” being on the air, and yet that wasn’t their “big” hit.

Elliott Smith?! Aside from the guy’s stuff in Heatmiser, I’m not quite sure what they could put into GH5!

And then there are the newer indie acts. You’ve got your Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, The Duke Spirit (really? on a video game?), TV On The Radio (hopefully something other than “Wolf Like Me” – they’ve got plenty of great songs that people aren’t aware of!), and Vampire Weekend (ugh).

Activision’s got quite a game on its hands. Looks like I’ll have to find a friend with a copy come September 1st.

My hopeful selections for Guitar Hero 5:

Spacehog – “In The Meantime”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0pm0hNbYqo]

Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJIEZx-_T74]

Elliott Smith – “Miss Misery” (let it be the live Oscar version):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYxl4HT2pIo]

Sunny Day Real Estate – “J’Nuh”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnHuJBHnSHw]

Brand New – “Jesus”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi70n_HFRtk]

And now you can write one too. Continuum’s call for open proposals for the 33 1/3 series has been out for a couple of months, and the deadline is fast approaching. But, there is still time to submit a proposal – you have until midnight on New Years Eve.

What are they looking for? Here’s a quick peek:

“Regarding your choice of album: this is entirely up to you. I don’t, sadly, have the time to answer emails asking “would album X stand a better chance than album Y?” – so use your best judgment here. My advice would be this: we are looking to sell some books. That’s the bottom line. If you are absolutely convinced that we could sell 4,000 or 5,000 copies of a book about your chosen album, then go for it.”

For more information, check out the blog and specific submission entry.
The question for this blog is will an emo album be picked out of the lucky handful that are selected? True, Weezer’s Pinkerton is on the table for future publication, but the merits of that being a true emo album/band versus the impact of that band/album on 3rd wave emo acts is debatable and could formulate an entire book. So, that aside, will an undeniable emo album be selected for future publication?

Judging from the comments on the blog, the possibilities are there. One commenter has been a vehement supporter of writing about emo albums:

“Blogger transylvanian said…

Here’s a question. Who would buy a book about a modern post-hardcore/emo band like Brand New (any of their records), Say Anything (…is a Real Boy), or Thrice (Vheissu, The Illusion of Safety)?

I have serious plans to write either a Brand New or Say Anything book. I believe these boos would be awesome, but I also believe they’d sell a lot of copies.”

I’d love to see the total listing of submissions, which will no doubt be posted on the blog. Fingers crossed for everyone who has submitted a proposal!