Genre 10 - Emo/Post Hardcore Albums: #1 Taking Back Sunday

David Ames digs through his music collection to count down his top ten favourite albums in a specific music genre. For his second genre choice, David gets emotional about Emo/Post Hardcore. At #1 Tell All Your Friends, he's Taking Back Sunday...



The next genre on this list takes me back to my junior high and high school days. Few genres can better express the feelings of an angsty teenager than Emo/post hardcore. A lot of bands get lumped into this genre so be prepared for some music you may not necessarily feel are good representatives of the style. Like bands that were lumped together with the grunge era, many bands that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s were associated with this movement. For my purposes here today, I am talking about a group of albums that were influential to me at that time and from then on. Emotional and usually clever/intelligent lyricism is a staple of this genre, along with punk and pop influences. There are even elements of screamo present on this list. Hopefully you will recognize some of these albums and if you’re like me, the part of your brain that recognizes nostalgia will be buzzing with activity .


Find the other albums in David's Genre 10 Emo/Post Hardcore

#1: Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends



For my money, Tell All Your Friends is the greatest Emo album of all time. From the punk roots and the post-hardcore mix of vocals to the incredible lyricism, Taking Back Sunday crafted a masterpiece. I first heard the song “Ghost Man on Third” my senior year of high school. I was going through a really rough breakup with the first serious girlfriend I'd ever had and the lyrics and music to this album truly helped me through the struggles associated with that adolescent loss. From there, my love for the band grew immensely and for a time, Tell All Your Friends was the only album that I listened to.



From start to finish this album is amazing. It opens up and is unrelenting in its angsty intensity. The music cascades across many different genre influences but at its core is the trading-off vocals of John Nolan and Adam Lazzara, shouting and singing back and forth with wonderful, clever and thought-provoking lyrics. Do yourself a favor and find a copy of this album today. While making this list, I went back and listened to the whole record again and I have to say that it holds up incredibly well. As I have done in the past, I want to leave you with some of my favorite lyrics from this album.

“And all I (all I)
Need to know (need to know)
Is that I'm somethin you'll be missin
(is that I'm somethin that you're missin)
(maybe I should hate for this)
Maybe I should hate you for this
Never really did ever quite get that far”

“And will you tell all your friends
You've got your gun to my head
This all was only wishful thinkin'”

“Literate and stylish (literate and stylish)
Kissable and quiet (kissable and quiet)
Well that's what girls dreams are made of"

“I'd never lie to you
Unless I had to
I'll do what I got to
Unless I had to
I'll do what I go to, the truth
Is you could slit my throat
And with my one last gasping breath
I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt”

“This is me with the words on the tip of my tongue
And my eye through the scope
Down the barrel of a gun (gun, gun)
Remind me not to ever act this way again
This is you trying hard to
Make sure that you're seen
With a girl on your arm
And your heart on your sleeve
Remind me not to ever think of you again"

“Hoping for the best just hoping nothing happens
A thousand clever lines unread on clever napkins
I will never ask if you don't ever tell me
I know you well enough to know
Why can't I feel anything
From anyone other than you?”


“So please, please (please)
I'm running out of sympathy (I'm running out of sympathy!)
And I never said I'd take this
I never said I'd take this lying down
She says
"Come on, come on, let's just get this over with
(I never said I'd take this lying down,
And I've crawled home from worse than this)”


“And you're so guilty it's disgusting
He's been sneakin' underneath your sheets
And your hands
Have been in places that they probably shouldn't go
But don't worry sweetie
Cause I already know”


“Cause I'm a wishful thinker with the worst intentions,
This'll be last chance you get to drop my name”


“Best friends means I pulled the trigger
Best friends means you get what you deserve”





If these lyrics don’t dredge up any nostalgic feelings of young love and loss, there is a good chance that you are already dead. Grab Tell All Your Friends today and enjoy!





Singles:



“Cute Without the E (Cut from the Team)”









“Great Romances of the 20th Century”









“You’re So Last Summer”









Best non-single track:



“Ghost Man on Third”







Image - Amazon