A love letter to Midwest Emo

Published December 23, 2017 - 2 mins to read

Emo is probably one of the most contentious genres of music, with little consensus at to what exactly constitutes being an emo band, great debate over whether or not specific groups are deserving of the label, not to mention the wide range of opinions on the sub culture. Some would consider only the old school DC "emotional-hardcore" post punk bands of the 80s truly worthy of emo, others (myself included) generally allow most bands with a post hardcore/alternative rock sound and emotionally charged lyrical content. Using a broader brush stroke does allow the inclusion of some of the work of a few mainstream bands, eg My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy or Weezer, but given how the sound of all three of those evolved over time I don't think it is fair to call any of them emo, maybe just "emo influenced". As for the subculture, personally I don't care for it, and fortunately I don't think it really exists much in 2017 compared to early-mid 2000s.

I think a lot of people can easily write off emo as basically being music by people that want to be punks but aren't actually angry or motivated enough. I sort of see their point, but I think as an art form, emo has a lot of merit, especially midwest emo. The defining feature of midwest emo bands (other than geography) is their signature "twinkly" sound, using arpeggiated guitar riffs and frequent tapping, often borrowing directly from math rock. In my opinion it is aurally beautiful while also producing some of the most complex and interesting melodies found anywhere in rock music. The vocal style is distinctive too - can't sing, but trying really hard. The raw quality lends itself to the emotionally raw lyrics for impact, making it hard not to feel something while listening to their music. Surely art's purpose is evoke emotion?

Obviously the specific emotions emo chooses to evoke appeals to some (i.e. me) more so than others, and that is a part of why I love midwest emo so much. It expresses, in a beautiful, artistic way, things I could not express myself. It might lack the energy and anger of punk, but instead it is comforting and empathetic, and well suited to those who are not quite so disenfranchised as to be full blown revolutionaries, but instead melancholy that they cannot think of a better way to do things.