It’s time to break out your old eyeliner, boot up your old iPod Nano, and get ready to rage, because it’s Emo Week here at The Ringer. To honor emo’s cultural return to prominence and the 20th anniversary of the first MCR album, our staff unveils the best emo songs from every year since 1985, goes through the emo words you need to know, hosts debates like Fall Out Boy vs. My Chemical Romance, and much more. Tap in each day for new emo content!
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Welcome to Emo Week on The Ringer
Emo is back, baby! In honor of its return to prominence—plus the 20th anniversary of the first MCR album—The Ringer will have a week full of emo exploration, debates, song rankings, and more.
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July 30, 2022
When Panic! at the Disco Ditched the Exclamation Point—and Emo
2008’s ‘Pretty. Odd.’ was a shocking sophomore pivot. It was also a sign that the genre’s pop moment was on the way out.
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July 29, 2022
Women Built Emo, Too. Now They’re Changing Its Future.
By the early 2000s, emo wasn’t just being predominantly written, performed, and produced by men—a good chunk of it was actively harmful toward young women. Years later, bands are working to reinstate the equity of the genre’s earlier waves.
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July 29, 2022
The Ten Producers Who Defined the Sound of Emo
From J. Robbins to Will Yip to Sarah Tudzin, these are the behind-the-boards savants who have shaped the genre’s sound over the past four decades
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July 29, 2022
Tell All Your (Old) Friends: Your Favorite Bands are Getting Back Together
It’s not just the emo arena headliners coming. 2022 has become the year of post-hardcore bands giving it another go and Emo Revivalists reviving their careers.
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July 29, 2022
Moral Panics Come and Go. Sex Bracelet Hysteria Is Forever.
In 2003, a media frenzy led schools across the country to ban colorful jelly bracelets out of concern they were being used for a teen sex game. The origins of that frenzy—and the speed with which it spread—offer enduring insight into moral panic.
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July 28, 2022
The Rules to Making the Perfect Emo Music Video
Shane Drake has directed videos for Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, and dozens of other bands. This is his guide to making essential emo visuals.
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July 28, 2022
Die Happy: The Oral History of Dashboard Confessional ‘Unplugged’
It was, hands down, the best day in the history of the emo stalwarts. Here’s how it came together and how it sounded in the room, through the eyes of frontman Chris Carrabba, his band, and most importantly, the fans.
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July 28, 2022
The Ringer Staff’s Favorite Emo Music Videos
From "Helena" to "Alive With the Glory of Love," there’s been no shortage of cinematic achievement in the emo music genre
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July 27, 2022
Such Great Heights: How Hot Topic Defined a Generation of Emo Kids
As bands like Paramore, Taking Back Sunday, and My Chemical Romance took over in the 2000s, there was only one store in the mall where their fans felt at home
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July 27, 2022
How Sunny Day Real Estate Explains Emo’s Second Wave (and the ’90s)
For The Ringer’s Emo Week, we’re calling up Ian Cohen and talking the kings of the Second Wave, Seattle’s finest non-grunge export
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July 27, 2022
Why Travis Barker Became Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Drummer
The pop-punk king has a long relationship with hip-hop, but it’s not just for show
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July 27, 2022
The History of Emo Bands Hating the Word “Emo”
A survey on the subgenre, compiled via the most effective way to look at how it’s developed over time: what artists have answered to the very question of whether they are emo in the first place
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July 27, 2022
Through With Being Cool: How Emo Nights Across the World Became Big Business
The nostalgia themed dance nights are a safe space for 20-somethings and aging scenesters to scream out the lyrics to "Teenagers" and hold each other tight to Dashboard Confessional
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July 26, 2022
My Chemical Romance vs. Fall Out Boy
For The Ringer’s Emo Week, Charles and Rob decide which of the two rock bands is better
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July 26, 2022
Meet the Man Trying to Move Emo Beyond Its “Hair Metal” Past
Think emo only refers to the four years you were in high school? Think again. We sat down with the person behind IsThisBandEmo.com and the ‘Washed Up Emo’ podcast to talk about the genre’s long history and bright future.
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July 26, 2022
Thirteen Emo Playlists to Melt Your Black Heart
Scenes, microgenres, eras, and whatever else inspired us—here are some how-to guides for you to go deep with
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July 26, 2022
The Eternal March of the Black Parade: The Case for My Chemical Romance As the Last Great Rock Band
Twenty years after their debut album and more than a decade after the critics dismissed them, My Chemical Romance stands as one of the defining bands of the 21st century. How did we end up here?
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July 25, 2022
The Dictionary of All Things Emo
There’s no consensus definition for "emo," but there are plenty of things related to the culture we can break down. From Rites of Spring to the Fifth Wave and all points in between, here’s a handy guide that will help you avoid being labeled a poser.
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July 25, 2022
My Chemical Romance vs. Fall Out Boy
In honor of The Ringer’s Emo Week, Rob Harvilla and Charles Holmes debate which of the two bands is better
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July 25, 2022
The Best Emo Songs of Every Year, 1985 to Now
We’re going from the genre’s roots through the Fifth Wave to break down the best and most popular tracks that have defined the evolution of a hard-to-pin-down genre