Today's Lesson: Emo

Emo is one of those genres that is so often misunderstood. While some of what is considered emo today has roots in real emo music, a lot isn't of the genre at all. Emo, short for emotive hardcore, started in D.C. in 1985 during what is called "Revolution Summer". Sometimes also referred to as post-hardcore, emo started when people from the hardcore punk scene were getting disillusioned with where the scene was going. There was a lot of violence, and a lot of uniformity in the sounds. The same rebellion that led these kids to start and to join the punk movement led them to start emo music. These people started playing slower, more introspective songs, intentionally making a scene apart from where punk was at the time.
Out of this scene and this summer came Rites of Spring featuring future Fugazi Guy Picciotto, and Ian MacKaye's Embrace. The D.C. area would host the first wave of this new sound, but it would soon spread. Bands would build on the D.C. town, and the classic Dischord ethic. Your typical emo band was short lived, anti-commercial, and somewhat mysterious.
What followed the D.C. scene in the years and decades to come would build on the foundations of emo in different ways. Some would play a more refined version of the traditional D.C. sound, while others would go heavier, louder. Some would play with the loud/quiet dynamic. Some would take the anti-commercial ethic to new extremes. Some would develop popularity and sign with big labels.

What follows isn't a definitive list, but rather a beginners sampler of sorts. These tracks come from important records in the genre, and all are highly recommended.

Embrace are considered one of the originators, alongside Rites of Spring.


Moss Icon were from nearby Maryland. A very clear D.C. influence, but still a sound all their own.

Native Nod were part of 90's emo, from the east coast. They released a total of 9 songs.

Julia were another 90's emo band, this time from the west coast.

Saetia is a perfect example of "screamo", a term often applied to the louder, screamy emo bands.


I Hate Myself were from Gainsville, Florida. One of many bands from the brothers Jim and Jon Marburger, I Hate Myself were at the same time a quintessential later emo band and satire on the genre.

Christmas Music, Volume Two

Again I am going to revisit Christmas songs, and again I am going to focus on songs, not albums.

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Willie Nelson. He is my favorite songwriter and one of my favorite guitarists. He has put our several Christmas albums, including Pretty Paper in 1979. This song was written about a legless man who sold pencils and wrapping paper on the sidewalk.
Willie Nelson: Pretty Paper


Like Fairytale of New York, another Christmas favorite of mine, Jim Croce's It Doesn't Have To Be That Way is more of a story that takes place during Christmas time, rather than a Christmas carol. The holidays are traditionally the hardest time to be alone, and this song captures that perfectly, adding a little hope in the character's story.
Jim Croce: It Doesn't Have To Be That Way



In 1969, Jimi Hendrix recorded this Christmas jam session with Band Of Gypsys. The song has been release as a single a few times throughout the years, and is currently available on three track CD, that includes and extended version of this jam and Three Little Bears. Neither an essential Jimi Hendrix tune nor an essential Christmas tune, it is nonetheless a good listen. Jimi plays the medely with his usual abandon.
Jimi Hendrix: Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night/Auld Lang Syne


Kurtis Blow was not only one of the first rappers, building on the groundwork laid by such pioneers as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, he was the first rapper to sign with a major label, releasing Christmas Rappin on Mercury records in 1979. I really love the sound of early hip-hop. It was all so fresh and new.
Kurtis Blow: Christmas Rappin

Quest For Quintana Roo: Things To Remember

Released in 2002, Things To Remember was the last release for California's Quest For Quintana Roo. This three song seven inch is my favorite release form this band. Call it emo, screamo, or emotional hardcore, this is a band that defines the hard to define genre. They have all the call signs of a real emo band. Short lived, few scattered releases, and not a lot of information to be had. Dynamic music that ebbs and flows, but is usually pretty loud. Emotionally screamed vocals. A tight, three piece sound.

It all starts with a track called Apnea. Lots of distorted stop and start guitar riffs over drums that rise and fall as necessary. A nice little instrumental interlude in the middle adds to the overall flow of the song. Next up is They Spoke In Greek. This one starts out fast and driving, then continues on in the style of Apnea before slowing to a stop at the end. Things To Forget is an altogether different one. Half the length of the other two, Things To Forget is a short, bass led instrumental. With a steady drum beat out front and some playful guitars on the edges, this song serves as a goodbye.

David Allan Coe: Requiem For A Harlequin

David Allan Coe's second album, the followup to his wonderful blues album "Penitentiary Blues", is "Requiem for a Harlequin". A unique album, and the last album before he would start making country albums, Requiem was released without song titles. On side one there is "The Beginning" and side two is "The End". Only available on vinyl and long out of print, it is a very expensive record if you can find it. Luckily for us, it is readily available on MP3 and Youtube.

Requiem for a Harlequin is essentially one long conceptual album, without individual tracks. A gritty and bleak tale of urban life, growing up in what he calls "the asphalt jungle". More music backed poetry than songs, the music changes from mellow finger-picked guitar, to rollicking honky-tonk, to more abstract experiments. This album reminds me a little of a alternate reality Gil-Scott Heron's Small Talk. Almost a country-proto-rap. It's too bad that Coe never returned to this sort of experimentation. A sequel to Requiem recorded near the end of a career would be an excellent bookend to this album written near the beginning.

Better than further describe the album, I recommend to just listen to it. It's under a half hour, and it's worth every minute.

Flex Your Head, a Dischord Hardcore Compilation

Flex Your Head, released in 1982 on Dischord Records, is an essential document of early punk rock. Every band is from the D.C. scene, and most were short lived. This record, along with The Year In Seven Inches, represents the hardcore punk scene in our nation's capitol circa 1980. Thirty-two tracks from eleven bands, with each band represented well on the insert.

Starting off the record we have three tracks from The Teen Idles, featuring Jeff Nelson and Ian MacKaye who would go on to form Minor Threat with Nathan Strejcek (Washing D.C. Youth Brigade) on vocals. The three tracks go by fast, ending with a Stooges cover.
Next up is three tracks from The Untouchables, lead by the younger brother of Ian MacKaye, Alec MacKaye. "Rat Patrol", "Nic Fit", and "I Hate You". With the exception of one other track these are the only songs ever released by the band. Sonic Youth would cover "Nic Fit" on 1992's Dirty. Alec would go on to play in Faith, Ignition, and The Warmers.
Next up we have State of Alert or S.O.A., Henry Rollins' first band. I am a huge S.O.A. fan. Their No Policy EP is my favorite seven inch from The Year In Seven Inches comp. One original and two covers, including "Stepping Stone", which was also covered by Minor Threat and The Untouchables.
Minor Threat comes in with two tracks, including the Wire cover "12XU", which is where the album got it's name.
One of the only bands from this compilation to last more than three years, Government Issue shows up with two quick numbers, "Hey, Ronnie" and "Lie, Cheat, and Steal". The songs are over so quick they are easy to miss.
Washington D.C.'s Youth Brigade. There was a more famous and long lasting Youth Brigade from L.A., but Washington's Youth Brigade are great in their own right. They provide some of the best tracks on the compilation. Although I am a bigger fan of The Teen Idles or S.O.A., those two bands put out better material on their seven inches than they did on this comp.
The Youth Brigade songs end side one of the vinyl version, a side that really represents the "classic" D.C. sound. Side two gets a little more hardcore and little more experimental, kicking off with an instrumental from Red C.
Red C takes a different approach to their music, giving them the most unique sound on this compilation, but not so much that they sound out of place.
Continuing the experimental vein is Void's feedback drenched noisy punk. Void is another band that really takes their own approach to music. They also released a great split LP with Alec MacKaye's Faith.
The last three bands are heavier hardcore punk, and fit together well to round out the album.
Starting with Iron Cross, one of the first American Oi bands. They would go on to write "Crucified", a skinhead anthem, covered by many streetpunk and oi bands including Agnostic Front.
Artificial Peace offer three songs, "Artificial Peace", "Outside Looking In" and "Wasteland". Raw and heavy, the songs sound like a slightly more advanced version of the original DC sound.
Finally, we have Deadline, with future Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty. Deadline ends the album with "Aftermath" one of the only songs on the album to break the two minute mark.

Jimmy Cliff: Sacred Fire ep

Jimmy Cliff got his start at the age of 14 recording with legendary Jamaican producer Leslie Kong. He has had a long career that has seen him not only a recording and touring star, but also a great songwriter, musician and actor.

A five song EP, Sacred Fire is produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and backed by the Engine Room, Sacred Fire is a way too short for how good it is. The EP features songs originally by the Clash, Rancid, and Bob Dylan, as well as an original by Jimmy Cliff.
The Engine Room band consists of Tim Armstrong on guitar with J Bonner and Scott Abels from the Aggrolites on Bass and Drums, respectively. Kevin Bivona, who adds additional guitar and piano, worked with Armstrong in the Transplants. Dan Boer, organist in The Upbeat, rounds out the band with additional instrumentation from Jimmy Cliff himself.
The album kicks off with a cover of The Clash’s Guns of Brixton. Cliff and company make the song their own right from the start. This song should have been a Jimmy Cliff standard from the start.
Next up is cover from Tim Armstrong’s ska influenced Rancid. Ruby Soho is a great song originally, and Jimmy Cliff’s version does the original justice. Like Guns of Brixton, the Engine Room add a fresh instrumentation that really make the song feel like it could be a Jimmy Cliff original.
Ship is Sailing is the only song on the EP penned by Jimmy Cliff, not counting the vinyl only bonus track, World Upside Down, on which he shares writing credit with Joe Higgs. Ship is Sailing follows the feeling of the rest of the album, and is an instant classic.
Next up is a Bob Dylan cover, A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall. Jimmy Cliff takes this 1960‘s folk classic and again makes it his own. Tim Armstrong and the Engine Room keep this song going strong with a great rocksteady backbeat.
Last up is Brixton Version, a dub version of the first track. This doesn’t keep with the flow of the EP as well, but is good in it’s own right. Taken as a bonus track after the main program, this is track is a great addition to the set.
Many of the tracks on this ep are included on Jimmy Cliff's followup full length, Rebirth.

Lack of Knowledge: Grey CD

I found this CD while browsing the discount bin at a local record shop. Fifty cents. I'm not really sure why it ended up there, save for being rather obscure. Put out on Southern Records, it combines two albums. The Grey EP, released in 1983 on CRASS records and produced by CRASS's Penny Rimbaud, and The Sirens Are Back LP, released in 1984 on the CRASS records imprint Corpus Christi. I didn't recognize the name when I found this but the cover art caught my eye. Clearly stylized after CRASS, I figured fifty cents wasn't too much to risk. What I got was some great UK post-punk. They actually remind me a lot of later Blitz. Definitely punk, but slower, and a little Joy Divisiony.
The Grey EP has four tracks, We're Looking For People, Another Sunset, Girl in a Mask, and Radioactive Man. The songs are bleak, well written, and thought provoking. They really paint a picture of a dystopian modern world. Bombings, war, death. The Sirens Are Back continues in the same vein with ten more tracks. The songs tend to stick to around the four minute mark, give or take, and the album has a really good flow.

We're Looking For People

Disaster Level