Music- Midwestern Emo (mild language warning for lyrics and memes)

    Midwestern emo. This term probably sounds strange to anyone who isn't under the age of 30 and well versed in feeling a bit like and outsider. It's essentially just a style of indie/progressive rock music. It has a couple of forms. Sometimes artists take a minimalist approach to their recordings sporting only acoustic guitars and maybe light percussion. The other version is more of what some most people recognize as midwestern emo, these are the songs the feature complete bands that love strong arpeggiated leads (like math rock) and an often out of the box approaches to vocals. It's a bit like outsider music in terms of being stylized and a little off the beaten path vocally, except the main difference is the quality of the music. Many artists that perform midwestern emo took influence from outsiders such as the late Daniel Johnston as well as older alt/post rock bands like The Cure or The Smiths. Punk rock played a major role in crafting this sound, think bands like Blink-182. A more recent example of inspiration to this genre is a little band called My Chemical Romance, arguably the most famous "emo" band of all time. Personally I would describe the genre in question as punk rock and emo music's weird stoner child. It's much more relaxed than either of these genres but still has the kookiness of outsider music. 

    Let's get into some examples of this genre. The two earliest bands I can think of that really nailed this style are called American Football and Capn'n Jazz back in the mid 90's. Cap'n Jazz is the more energetic out of the two with hits like Little League. This song features scratchy and aggressive lead guitar, what could be described as a panic attack in drum for, and some very strange lyrics. "Hey coffee eyes you've got me coughing up my cookie heart". It's a strange but beautiful wording like this that confused and delighted listeners. It is a consistent theme inside this genre to have interesting lyrics that often can't be taken at face value. American Football is more relaxed and thoughtful. Never Meant ha become a bit of an outsiders anthem. It really showcases the arpeggio in the leads I mentioned above. The soft voice of the band members lulling those with hurting hearts with a story about a relatable story about a couple heading their separate ways and the pain that ensues even when it's nobody's fault. "I think it's just best. Cause you can't miss what you forget" resonates with anyone who has tried to force someone out of their thoughts. This band also introduced the use of horns in emo style music with songs like The Summer Ends. This created a lovely blend of sounds that some modern Midwest emo bands have adopted.

    I'll address the naming process for bands of this genre before I give some of my favorite examples of this music. Essentially many times it's just random odd words stuck together to make something goofy or ironic sounding such as former band Panuci's Pizza, The same can be said about the song names, they are often long and strange. An example is a song by the band mentioned a moment ago called "Aesthetic? (More Like Ass Pathetic)". I couldn't cover this topic without bringing up and all-time favorite of mine Modern Baseball. Their sound and song topics spoke to me as soon as I heard them back in high school. Essentially the lead singer is a huskier fellow who has poor luck with women and I identify with that a little too much. The vocals aren't the strongest and I think that's part of the appeal and why  I relate to the band so much. I play music and am not the greatest singer so I get a sense of "that reminds me of myself". "Hey Bren all you sing about is girls", a lyric from one of their songs that accurately describes their music. Some of my favorite songs of theirs are The Weekend, their most famous song Your Graduation, and Rock Bottom. The last of which features the iconic lyric "whatever, forever" which is somewhat of a motto for me.

     Another group I absolutely love that I feel exemplifies the vibe of midwestern emo is Mom Jeans. Much like Modern Baseball their sound isn't for everyone but theirs something about the how genuine the lyrics feel and the rawness of the lead singers voice that I enjoy. They are masters of the ironic with song titles such as: Heck You Bart Two Electric Boogaloo, You Can't Eat Cats Kevin, Vape Nation, and Now THIS is Podracing. They likely took inspiration from American Football in their song Scott Pilgrim Vs. My GPA (top tier reference alert) which features a trumpet and other brass instruments to create a soaring song about struggling with missing someone. They show their more aggressive side on songs like Shred Cruz (yes a pun, where do they come up with this stuff?). "I wanna be like Drake and Rihanna sitting courtside at your favorite basketball game holding hands, eating six dollar popcorn and yelling at some F***ing guy in the stands cause he's too tall and I can't see. And I'm Scared cause he's way bigger than me.". Ironic, funny, and sincere. This song is just raw charged anxiety. It's the equivalent to artistically screaming into a pillow. my personal favorite of theirs is Death Cup . This song feels like a culmination of the sickly sweet feelings you get when you think about someone who you used to love. This song would definitely go in my set list if I had to perform tomorrow some where. Honorable mentions are Poor Boxer Shorts (excellent example of a true midwestern emo composition musically) and *Sobs Quietly* .  And Poor Boxer Shorts features a trend with bands like this, it has an audio clip from a popular tv show at the first to help set the tone.

    
    Lastly I'll just talk a bit about myself and this music. I'll link in my personal playlist which features some of the best songs and artists from this genre. One I will quickly mention by name is The Front Bottoms, if you enjoyed any of the music above be sure and check them out. I enjoy this genre of music and have fooled around with playing and writing my own songs in a midwestern emo style. Thing's I'm Bad at: Talking to Girls and Bowling is one I wrote a while back. Another is My Fortune Cookie Didn't Warn Me About This. Two of my favorites I've done are Soft Eyes and We're Fine (I'm Lying) which I actually filmed in my dorm room. Enjoy what's essentially the midwestern emo alignment chart below.