Your way in
Emo 1985
Hardcore in which the lyrics turn confessional and the voice cracks. The term started as an insult and became an entire decade of fashion.
- Heaviness
- 3
- Speed
- 5
- Melody
- 9
- Where from
- Washington DC, USA
- Tempo
- 120-170 bpm
- Song length
- 3-5 min
- Written about
- Failure at intimacy, Memory and place, Shame, Self-accusation rather than blame
- Vocals
- Sung and screamed
Why this one
| You said | Emo | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shouting, but I can still hear the words When someone is singing, what should come out? | mixed | 80% | ×3 |
| Light How much weight do you want behind it? | 3 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| Slow. Let it take its time. What pace? | 5 out of 10 | 60% | ×2 |
| The beginnings Does it matter when it was made? | 1985 | 36% | ×1 |
| The inside of a head What should the words be about? | Failure at intimacy, Memory and place, Shame, Self-accusation rather than blame | 100% | ×1 |
| Short. Say it and stop. How long should a song be? | up to 5 min | 75% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 75% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 6 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, era 1, about 1, length 1 out of 10. Emo leads the next by 3 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
Refused, The Shape of Punk to Come 1998
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come. The title was an arrogant joke that came true.
- 2The one to put on first
Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary 1994
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary. The bridge between DC hardcore and everything that followed.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Post-hardcore, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Emo's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Surf rock 72%
Instrumental, drenched in tank reverb, with fast tremolo picking. The sound of the Californian coast, later recycled by punk and by Tarantino.
6 steps from Emo, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Surf rock -
Oi! / street punk 70%
Working-class punk with terrace choruses and lyrics about the pub, the factory and football.
4 steps from Emo, meeting it only at Punk rock.
The way into Oi! / street punk
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- Light put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Death metal, Brutal death metal, Sludge metal. Worth 2 of 10.
- Slow. Let it take its time. put 22 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Hardcore punk, Black metal, Death metal. Worth 2 of 10.
- The beginnings put 67 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Folk metal, Metalcore, Nu metal. Worth 1 of 10.
- The inside of a head put 88 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Black metal. Worth 1 of 10.
- Short. Say it and stop. put 18 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Progressive rock, Progressive metal. Worth 1 of 10.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.