Jan 23

Jan 23 12 Songs: A 1997 Emotion

There was a time when the word “emo” didn’t instantly strike fear into the heart of music listeners. Around 1995 to 1998 the scene was actually full of talented bands that put on insanely good live shows and getting called “emo” was a compliment.

A lot of these bands paved the way for a variety of iterations of the genre, some really good and, yes, we know, some maybe not so good at all. Which is why I may lose all the street cred Jackson has accumulated with his artfully curated weekly 12 Song playlists, so please don’t hold it against him. I’ve gone rogue this week.

Included in the playlist are bands who made records in in and around 1997 that either define or influence the good that “emo” can do. I tried to get the range between indie, hardcore, math and noise rock to create a well-rounded portrait of the genre’s best attributes.

We chose today to launch this playlist because Knapsack, one of those beloved ‘90s bands is reissuing their complete discography for the first time in 25 years on February 2. So if you like this, definitely dig deeper on Knapsack and get some vinyl (you can pre-order it here).

And if you’re feeling really brave, listen to my attempt at saving the word emo from total annihilation.—Travis Ferré