Do you ever have one of those moments where this song you haven't heard or even thought about in years pops into your head?
This morning, that happened to me. It was a song I LOVED in high school. LOVED. I remember listening to it on repeat on the bus in the morning. I remember putting it on a mix CD of songs to fall asleep to.
I immediately found it on Spotify and began to listen.
Sample lyrics:
I remembered the melody, but I forgot the melodrama.
A few days ago, BuzzFeed ran an article called "The 12 Most Melodramatic Dashboard Confessional Songs".
Dashboard is probably the first band that comes to mind when you think of emo bands you liked when you were in high school (I'm assuming if you're reading this, you're my friend, and are approximately my age), but there are plenty of amazingly over the top songs by OTHER musicians that I bet got you through some hard times in high school (if you were like me, these "hard times" were lonely nights spent vaguely wishing you had a boyfriend or at least a tv in your room so you wouldn't have to wait for your parents to go to sleep to play Guitar Hero. I hope for your sake you weren't like me.).
So, in the spirit of the BuzzFeed article, I present to you "My Feelings Have Feelings: 12 Melodramatic/Emo Songs That You Probably Loved In High School Or Maybe You Didn't But Whatever I Bet You Remember Them All And Will Probably Chuckle At A Few So Just Fucking Read It".
That's a working title.
1. I Miss You- Blink 182
This song was MADE for high school kids with too many feelings. It mentions a morgue something like 3 lines in. Then it references "The Nightmare Before Christmas".
Even if the lyrics weren't super dark/emotional, this song would make the list for the tortured way Tom Delonge screams "WHERE ARE YOOOOOU" in the second verse (it's at 1:19).
2. Ocean Avenue- Yellowcard
IF I COULD FIND YOU NOW THINGS WOULD GET BETTERRRR!!
WE COULD LEAVE THIS TOWN AND RUN FOREVERRRR!!!
I KNOW SOMEWAY, SOMEHOW WE'LL BE TOGETHERRRR!!!!!
LET YOUR WAVES CRASH DOWN ON ME AND TAKE ME AWAY-EEE-YEAH!
A lot of my friends in high school were too cool for this song when it came out. They made fun of it. I laughed along with them but...
God dammit, Yellowcard... Your waves crashed down on me and they took me away. I could probably still sing this song in its entirety.
3. Somewhere Only We Know-Keane
This song is sneaky... You don't notice how emo it is because your mom probably likes it and because it's got a piano. It's also a genuinely pretty song, and a staple on Lite Rock stations.
But seriously... listen to the British dude's tormented wailing at 3:15, and tell me this song isn't emo.
4. Ohio Is For Lovers- Hawthorne Heights
If you don't know why this song is on the list, you've never heard this song. Cut your wrists, black your eyes, and listen to it immediately:
5. You're Beautiful- James Blunt
I know "Goodbye My Lover" seems like the obvious choice here, but... this song. This fucking song.
Listen to the lyrics of this fucking song. James Blunt is stoned, staring at a beautiful woman on the subway. That's the entire song. When he says "We shared a moment that will last til the end", he's talking about the moment the poor woman awkwardly smiles at the creepy man on the train (Blunt) who's been leering at her with bloodshot eyes for the past twenty minutes (possibly while muttering "you're beautiful" repeatedly under his breath, although there's no real evidence in the song to support this).
And the video! The fucking video!
... I bought that CD.
6. Champagne Supernova - Matt Pond PA
Are you a nerdy 20 something guy who has enjoyed sexual relations with women who are out of your league? Get down on your hands and knees and thank THIS GUY:
Nerds are having a pop cultural renaissance (see: The Big Bang Theory being the number one sitcom on television, the cultural prominence of superhero based films, virtually any movie that features Seth Rogen...), and Seth Cohen is the guy that started it all.
Did you know that Fox didn't even want Adam Brody on the promo posters for The OC because they thought he would turn off potential viewers (aka young ladies)? They didn't like the idea of a comic book dork being the protagonist of a sexy teen drama.
Fortunately for nerdy guys everywhere, they were wrong. Seth Cohen became the fantasy boyfriend of teenage girls everywhere. Like, maybe if you got into a fight or something you'd rebound with Ryan, BUT YOU'D ALWAYS COME BACK TO SETH.
Most of the girls (and probably some of the guys) reading this already know why this song is on the list, and why I'm talking about Seth Cohen.
This glorious moment.
This scene turned OC fangirls onto the song "Champagne Supernova" which turned them onto Oasis which turned them onto "Wonderwall" (which should probably be on this playlist).
Anyway, This Scene + This Song = Teenage Dream
Also, what the hell has Adam Brody been doing lately???
7. I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
The first line of this song is "Love of mine... Someday you will die."
And did you really think I was going to make a list like this and NOT include Death Cab for Cutie??? Come on.
8. It is Love - HelloGoodbye
How many AIM profiles did you see these lyrics in? How many of your friends' MySpace profiles used this song as the background music??
It's so cheesy and twee and...
God dammit. It's delightful. I still love this song. Try to frown when you're listening to this! Just try!
...I might still be 17.
9. Hey There, Delilah - Plain White Tees
This song definitely sounds emotional, but if you listen to the lyrics, you'll notice it doesn't sound like it's about much of anything.
That's because the guy who wrote the song didn't actually know Delilah. The only thing he knew about her was that she lived in New York. He just thought it would be cute to write a love song about this girl he sort of wanted to date before he really got to know her.
Still, it makes the list for the last 20 seconds of the song, which are just the lead singer going "oohhhhhh Wooooooooaaaaaaoooooooooaaaaooooooohhhh woah ohhhhhhh woah ohhhh woah ooooohhh wooooooahhhhhhhhhh ooooh woooooahhhh".
10. Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life
Conor.
Oberst.
Amirite Ladies?
I was pretty positive he wrote this one for me.
11. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - Brand New
If 15 year olds were allowed to get tattoos, a bunch of us would have "I lie for only you, and I lie well" permanently etched on ourselves.
I still don't understand what "Wasting words on lower cases and capitals" means. Is there a Rap Genius type website for emo???
12. Brick - Ben Folds Five
Brick came out in 1997, an entire decade before I graduated high school. I discovered the song when I was around 15. I heard it on the radio, and thought it was one of the deepest, most honest, and edgiest things I'd ever heard. (Now I think the song is kinda douchey. Seriously? She's the brick?! It takes 2 to tango, Ben Folds Five! YOU'RE a brick!)
But you know what? 15 year olds keep discovering this song. I don't know what it is exactly, but kids LOVE this song. As I type this, an Alt Rock radio station is playing this, and some kid driving to school is hearing it for the first time, freaking out.
To teenagers, everything seems more dramatic and intense than it actually is (Case in point: How many times when you were a teenager did you think They should make a movie/tv show out of my life! I hate to break it to teenage you, but that movie would have been boring as shit). It makes sense that they'd be attracted to dark and dramatic things, which I guess is why they lose their shit over this piano ballad about an abortion on the day after Christmas.
Anyway, enjoy(?) the last song on the playlist!
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I realize now, I should have included the entire Garden State soundtrack on this list. I can't do anything right. Excuse me while I cut my wrists and black my eyes.
DISCLAIMER: CUTTING YOUR WRISTS IS NOT FUNNY. EMO MUSIC IS.
This morning, that happened to me. It was a song I LOVED in high school. LOVED. I remember listening to it on repeat on the bus in the morning. I remember putting it on a mix CD of songs to fall asleep to.
I immediately found it on Spotify and began to listen.
Sample lyrics:
there are some who say there are so many things I need
so I run or I fight and I crawl or I scream and
so I run or I fight and I crawl or I scream and
I bleed
I bleed
I bleed
I bleed!
I remembered the melody, but I forgot the melodrama.
A few days ago, BuzzFeed ran an article called "The 12 Most Melodramatic Dashboard Confessional Songs".
Dashboard is probably the first band that comes to mind when you think of emo bands you liked when you were in high school (I'm assuming if you're reading this, you're my friend, and are approximately my age), but there are plenty of amazingly over the top songs by OTHER musicians that I bet got you through some hard times in high school (if you were like me, these "hard times" were lonely nights spent vaguely wishing you had a boyfriend or at least a tv in your room so you wouldn't have to wait for your parents to go to sleep to play Guitar Hero. I hope for your sake you weren't like me.).
So, in the spirit of the BuzzFeed article, I present to you "My Feelings Have Feelings: 12 Melodramatic/Emo Songs That You Probably Loved In High School Or Maybe You Didn't But Whatever I Bet You Remember Them All And Will Probably Chuckle At A Few So Just Fucking Read It".
That's a working title.
1. I Miss You- Blink 182
This song was MADE for high school kids with too many feelings. It mentions a morgue something like 3 lines in. Then it references "The Nightmare Before Christmas".
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Feelings.
Even if the lyrics weren't super dark/emotional, this song would make the list for the tortured way Tom Delonge screams "WHERE ARE YOOOOOU" in the second verse (it's at 1:19).
2. Ocean Avenue- Yellowcard
IF I COULD FIND YOU NOW THINGS WOULD GET BETTERRRR!!
WE COULD LEAVE THIS TOWN AND RUN FOREVERRRR!!!
I KNOW SOMEWAY, SOMEHOW WE'LL BE TOGETHERRRR!!!!!
LET YOUR WAVES CRASH DOWN ON ME AND TAKE ME AWAY-EEE-YEAH!
A lot of my friends in high school were too cool for this song when it came out. They made fun of it. I laughed along with them but...
God dammit, Yellowcard... Your waves crashed down on me and they took me away. I could probably still sing this song in its entirety.
3. Somewhere Only We Know-Keane
This song is sneaky... You don't notice how emo it is because your mom probably likes it and because it's got a piano. It's also a genuinely pretty song, and a staple on Lite Rock stations.
But seriously... listen to the British dude's tormented wailing at 3:15, and tell me this song isn't emo.
4. Ohio Is For Lovers- Hawthorne Heights
If you don't know why this song is on the list, you've never heard this song. Cut your wrists, black your eyes, and listen to it immediately:
5. You're Beautiful- James Blunt
I know "Goodbye My Lover" seems like the obvious choice here, but... this song. This fucking song.
Listen to the lyrics of this fucking song. James Blunt is stoned, staring at a beautiful woman on the subway. That's the entire song. When he says "We shared a moment that will last til the end", he's talking about the moment the poor woman awkwardly smiles at the creepy man on the train (Blunt) who's been leering at her with bloodshot eyes for the past twenty minutes (possibly while muttering "you're beautiful" repeatedly under his breath, although there's no real evidence in the song to support this).
And the video! The fucking video!
... I bought that CD.
6. Champagne Supernova - Matt Pond PA
Are you a nerdy 20 something guy who has enjoyed sexual relations with women who are out of your league? Get down on your hands and knees and thank THIS GUY:
 | |||
| California... CalifornYAAAAAAAA!! HERE WE CAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUMMMMM |
Did you know that Fox didn't even want Adam Brody on the promo posters for The OC because they thought he would turn off potential viewers (aka young ladies)? They didn't like the idea of a comic book dork being the protagonist of a sexy teen drama.
Fortunately for nerdy guys everywhere, they were wrong. Seth Cohen became the fantasy boyfriend of teenage girls everywhere. Like, maybe if you got into a fight or something you'd rebound with Ryan, BUT YOU'D ALWAYS COME BACK TO SETH.
Most of the girls (and probably some of the guys) reading this already know why this song is on the list, and why I'm talking about Seth Cohen.
This glorious moment.
This scene turned OC fangirls onto the song "Champagne Supernova" which turned them onto Oasis which turned them onto "Wonderwall" (which should probably be on this playlist).
Anyway, This Scene + This Song = Teenage Dream
Also, what the hell has Adam Brody been doing lately???
7. I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
The first line of this song is "Love of mine... Someday you will die."
And did you really think I was going to make a list like this and NOT include Death Cab for Cutie??? Come on.
8. It is Love - HelloGoodbye
How many AIM profiles did you see these lyrics in? How many of your friends' MySpace profiles used this song as the background music??
It's so cheesy and twee and...
God dammit. It's delightful. I still love this song. Try to frown when you're listening to this! Just try!
...I might still be 17.
9. Hey There, Delilah - Plain White Tees
This song definitely sounds emotional, but if you listen to the lyrics, you'll notice it doesn't sound like it's about much of anything.
Still, it makes the list for the last 20 seconds of the song, which are just the lead singer going "oohhhhhh Wooooooooaaaaaaoooooooooaaaaooooooohhhh woah ohhhhhhh woah ohhhh woah ooooohhh wooooooahhhhhhhhhh ooooh woooooahhhh".
10. Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life
Conor.
Oberst.
Amirite Ladies?
I was pretty positive he wrote this one for me.
11. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows - Brand New
If 15 year olds were allowed to get tattoos, a bunch of us would have "I lie for only you, and I lie well" permanently etched on ourselves.
I still don't understand what "Wasting words on lower cases and capitals" means. Is there a Rap Genius type website for emo???
12. Brick - Ben Folds Five
Brick came out in 1997, an entire decade before I graduated high school. I discovered the song when I was around 15. I heard it on the radio, and thought it was one of the deepest, most honest, and edgiest things I'd ever heard. (Now I think the song is kinda douchey. Seriously? She's the brick?! It takes 2 to tango, Ben Folds Five! YOU'RE a brick!)
But you know what? 15 year olds keep discovering this song. I don't know what it is exactly, but kids LOVE this song. As I type this, an Alt Rock radio station is playing this, and some kid driving to school is hearing it for the first time, freaking out.
To teenagers, everything seems more dramatic and intense than it actually is (Case in point: How many times when you were a teenager did you think They should make a movie/tv show out of my life! I hate to break it to teenage you, but that movie would have been boring as shit). It makes sense that they'd be attracted to dark and dramatic things, which I guess is why they lose their shit over this piano ballad about an abortion on the day after Christmas.
Anyway, enjoy(?) the last song on the playlist!
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I realize now, I should have included the entire Garden State soundtrack on this list. I can't do anything right. Excuse me while I cut my wrists and black my eyes.
DISCLAIMER: CUTTING YOUR WRISTS IS NOT FUNNY. EMO MUSIC IS.
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