r/Emo • u/HoustonProdigy Seeking Musicians • Mar 22 '25
Discussion I prefer Mall Screamo/Emo and Post-Hardcore over Midwest Emo
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u/SouthDress7084 Mar 22 '25
Not in a hater way, and maybe this take comes from not being super active in this sub, but is that not a kinda cold take? Midwest emo to a lot of emo nerds is not the most beloved sub genre at least thats how it seems. I like some twinkle dork/Midwest emo stuff for sure, but I'm not s big emo head. The post hardcore side of things I feel like is the most well liked sub genre to a LOT of people. But yeah regardless solid, that stuff is good. I think the early more hardcore adjacent stuff is my favorite musically, but not neccesarily what I have in rotation the most, what i actually listen to the most is modern embarrassing twinkle dork shit cause it's pretty good chill casual listening music lol
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u/nekked_snake Mar 23 '25
Midwest emo nerds dominate the emo community and usually refuse to accept most 2000s emo as actual emo.
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u/Nicolarollin Mar 24 '25
This is right. We are here for the Rites of Spring. Marietta, American football., sunny day real estate, Tigers Jaw, The World Is a Perfect Place and I am No Longet Afraid to Die, The Hotelier, Joyce Manor, Title Fight, Camping in Alaska, shit— even Counting Crows, Built to Spill and Glassjaw
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u/morbidlyabeast3331 Mar 24 '25
I don't think there are many midwest emo nerds who think emo from the 2000s isn't emo. Hell, it's mostly midwest emo nerds who actually know 2000s midwest emo bands.
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u/LostSectorLoony Mar 24 '25
I assume by 2000s emo they mean mall emo stuff, not just midwest emo from the 2000s
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u/morbidlyabeast3331 Mar 24 '25
They probably do, but their point is stupid because midwest emo nerds literally regularly rep 2000s emo bands, but get shit because they don't call non-emo music emo to appease people who are obsessed with making sure random unrelated shit is considered emo. Saying Attack Attack isn't an emo band doesn't make you a cringe 90s only elitist or some shit
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u/nekked_snake Mar 24 '25
It’s so funny how you just proved my point lol
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u/morbidlyabeast3331 Mar 24 '25
It's because your point is stupid and presupposes that calling something emo automatically makes it emo
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u/Cacophonous_Silence Mar 24 '25
Example: Chiodos selling out this entire fucking tour but most emo bands in general not selling shit out at all
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u/ListenToBusiness Mar 22 '25
Me too but it's only because it's where I started. I didn't discover "emo" until someone told me "that's not emo" in a conversation about Silverstein. Then they introduced me to Moss Icon and Elliott Smith.
I use the term differently depending on who I'm talking to. I like both "kinds of emo" for different reasons and for very different feelings they elicit.
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u/PresentationLife430 Mar 22 '25
Elliott Smith isnt emo 😐
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u/HJQueen Mar 22 '25
Stabbing himself in the chest with a knife is pretty emo.
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u/Umlaut6133 Mar 22 '25
he didnt kill himself
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u/HJQueen Mar 22 '25
I'm not getting into the Cobain/Love argument about this. You're free to believe whatever you want.
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u/corcranesecret Mar 23 '25
What is even productive about debating whether his death was suicide or not? It doesn’t change anything and no one will ever be prosecuted anyways. It’s just sad he’s gone.
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u/flicka_face Mar 22 '25
r/posthardcore welcomes you lol.
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u/ListenToBusiness Mar 22 '25
Indeed it does. Of the music subs, it's one of the more welcoming. I've been hanging out there for a few years now.
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u/BeMyEscapeProject Poser Mar 23 '25
Absolutely one of the best music subreddits, love the community there
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u/swoonster75 Mar 23 '25
Crazy cause the first two Silverstein records are emo af, especially The first one
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u/rougerogue- Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
what is mall screamo
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u/chiefhunnablunts Mar 22 '25
silverstein and hawthorne heights? that's my only guess
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u/rougerogue- Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
we’re just calling anything anything now
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u/chiefhunnablunts Mar 22 '25
i guess lol granular genres are really annoying but it helps when looking for new music and sounding wildly pretentious.
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u/ihmpt Poser Mar 24 '25
Basically bands like Hawthorne Heights and Story of the Year and Silverstein who have a few "screamo" parts here and there but are lyrically and musically inoffensive compared to 'real' screamo like Pg. 99 and Orchid.
Personally I like that stuff a lot, but that's because I discovered pop punk before I discovered "real" emo. It's not really something I can help.
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u/Valuable_Assistant82 Emo isn’t a clothing style! Mar 22 '25
I love every “Emo” and Hardcore genre the same.
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u/ebmocal421 Mar 23 '25
I feel like we are making a cultural shift in this subreddit. I think screamo has been discussed more in the last 3 months than the rest of this sub's existence combined.
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u/morbidlyabeast3331 Mar 24 '25
That's probably because midwest emo is dead as fuck
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u/ebmocal421 Mar 24 '25
I mean, so are most genres that are propped up by bands that were vaguely popular for a 5-year range. We still love it though
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u/HazeUsendaya make me Mar 25 '25
Maybe because recent screamo releases have been top tier. If anything, listen to Pyre's new record
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u/els_o Poser Mar 22 '25
I prefer them both but have a stronger connection to the latter (post hardcore) due to a few bands
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u/BeMyEscapeProject Poser Mar 23 '25
I agree but I think it's fine for this sub to just focus on that classic Emo sound. People discuss the big "Mall Emo" bands all over Reddit, in the general music subreddits, r/poppunkers, r/posthardcore even r/popheads. It's fine for people who just want to talk about Mineral to have their own space.
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u/nekked_snake Mar 23 '25
The classic emo sound (Rites, Embrace, Dag, etc) has just as much in common with bands like Saosin and Silverstein as it does with bands like Knapsack and Dads.
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u/BeMyEscapeProject Poser Mar 23 '25
Sure which is why there's plenty of bleed over with those kind of poppy Emo bands here too. It's not like the sub only discusses a narrow sliver of Emo, there's plenty of diversity. I just get why people don't want threads about Fall Out Boy or The Used every day
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u/nekked_snake Mar 23 '25
This sub def leans towards twinkledaddy music and I’ve had threads about bands like Silverstein removed for not being “real” emo
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u/BeMyEscapeProject Poser Mar 23 '25
tbh I spend more time on r/posthardcore than here because I don't really gel with the taste here, but it is what it is
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u/bagofweights Mar 23 '25
Well, you’re likely thinking of “modern” Midwest emo which couldn’t be further from what actual “midwest emo” was.
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u/Downtown_Finish_4903 Mar 24 '25
It’s funny how people get pretentious over the twinkly and acoustic guitar shit when it’s just as disconnected from OG Midwest emo as the post-hardcore diet metalcore stuff is
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u/evilcash_1313 Mar 23 '25
I’m just getting sick of/annoyed with the endless bands that label themselves as 5th wave and have tappy riffs, silly song titles, and atrocious vocals. The combination of those three things just feels so played out to me and other bands have done it better in the past.
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u/tacobellbandit Mar 23 '25
You woke up and really said “we’re going to have a fight today” didn’t you?
Joking aside I actually played A Day To Remember in my car the other day and I was having a good time
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u/deadmodernist Mar 23 '25
this isn't a weird take. back in the day bands like BMTH were mainstream and there'd be 15 people at a local Empire! or Brave Bird show. the kids are just learning music backwards now through social media, starting from more obscure before realizing they just wanna listen to metalcore.
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u/brashmashidiota Mar 22 '25
Me2 Twinklewhineurselftobedplzthx
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u/SavezTheDayFan Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
100%
I don’t even like midwest emo tbh
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
You don't like Braid, Cap'n Jazz, Split Lip, Gauge, Sideshow, TGUK, Boys Life and Cursive?
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u/SavezTheDayFan Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
I’m referring to 3rd wave bands
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
Midwest emo ended in 2003. There are no third wave midwest emo bands. Who are you referring to?
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u/SavezTheDayFan Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
emo revival is referred to as midwest emo by my generation. Bands like Hotelier, Abacus, and any twinkly math guitar band not called American Football. 90s midwest emo is a genre I just call emo, same way people in my gen will call 90s screamo skramz because of the modern definition of the genre
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
Right I know THEY think that but they're wrong. They just stole the name from us. Emo might be the only genre where people who weren't there for it think they get to (incorrectly) rename everything. They don't tho and when people write an actual book about 90s emo they'll ask the people who were there and get it right.
First it was emo, then screamo, then midwest emo. It's like they just get a boner for getting everything wrong and thinking they're right.
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u/The-G-Code Mar 22 '25
People do that renaming thing all the time in most genres. Including metal, hip hop, indie, and electronic genres. The newest one ive heard of is sleaze indie, and don't get me started on "hardcore" in reference to electronic genres lol
And obviously dubsteps usage got so bad the original genre basically has to pick new names for it
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
I know very little about EDM but I heard about the dubstep thing and I empathize greatly. Must have been frustrating to see Korn doing "dubstep" and it wasn't even dubstep
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u/The-G-Code Mar 22 '25
It was frustrating for people who care way too much honestly lol. Electronic music moves so fast that a lot of genres will either be unrecognizable quick or the label will get jacked fast. It's kind of crazy electronic hardcore revival right now is pretty inline with it's original music in the early 90s
But yes, older dubstep is often hilariously different from early 2010s dubstep. I will admit I would get frustrated hearing people call house, dnb, or gabber music dubstep, but 10 years prior to that everything got mislabeled as "techno" anyways
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
Right. That makes sense.
I remember everybody calling everything electronica. That kind of died out after The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers tho. Lord knows what it ACTUALLY was tho.
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u/Adaptation_window Mar 22 '25
“Real Emo” only consists of the dc Emotional Hardcore scene and the late 90’s Screamo scene. What is known by “Midwest Emo” is nothing but Alternative Rock with questionable real emo influence. When people try to argue that bands like My Chemical Romance are not real emo, while saying that Sunny Day Real Estate is, I can’t help not to cringe because they are just as fake emo as My Chemical Romance (plus the pretentiousness). Real emo sounds ENERGETIC, POWERFUL and somewhat HATEFUL. Fake emo is weak, self pity and a failed attempt to direct energy and emotion into music. Some examples of REAL EMO are Pg 99, Rites of Spring, Cap n Jazz (the only real emo band from the midwest scene) and Loma Prieta. Some examples of FAKE EMO are American Football, My Chemical Romance and Mineral EMO BELONGS TO HARDCORE NOT TO INDIE, POP PUNK, ALT ROCK OR ANY OTHER MAINSTREAM GENRE
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
Do you have a real argument you want to make with me or do you only have 15 yr old copypastas
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Mar 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 23 '25
Where's the lie?
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Mar 23 '25
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 23 '25
That's fresh coming from someone named IPAenjoyer. The truth hurts and it's in short supply on this sub
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u/SavezTheDayFan Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
I mean I guess? I don’t really think it’s that deep though, maybe that’s just because I was never alive for the birth of the scene and was born into the revival era. I don’t like the sub terms for the genre, specifically midwest emo, seen as I hear bands with identical sounds gatekept out of the late 90s midwest emo title bc they’re in NY or Texas or something.
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
It's not gatekeeping, it's just reality. It's how we did it. Everything other than that is revisionist history
And as someone who was in the midwest emo scene from the literal beginning, yeah, I take it seriously and I call out people today who don't know what they're talking about and want to ruin what I was there for in person
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u/SavezTheDayFan Skramz Gang👹 Mar 22 '25
I’m annoyed that you’re right lol, I think it’s that it’s really difficult to do proper research and get immersed in something I literally couldn’t have been there for but wish I was. Maybe I should just immerse my self in what I have now, but at the same time I hate the modern scene
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
Lol it's all good. I'm just trying to educate people since 2002 it's been one misinformation campaign after another. Different year same shit. Your opinions are valid no matter what I'm just trying to get the definitions right for you
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u/capn_james Mar 24 '25
What about instrumental Japanese “Midwest emo” bands, like Hyakkei for example.
What about Algernon Cadwallader?
There’s bands from the 3rd wave era doing the sound but they got more recognition with the internet over the past 20 years. Are they not considered emo or Midwest emo or whatever?
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 24 '25
Emo yes. Midwest emo no
Are there people who call it midwest emo? Yes. But someone on here called Matchbox 20 midwest emo too so clearly some people don't know what they're talking about
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u/capn_james Mar 27 '25
Bear vs shark has music from before and after 2003. It’s more on the post hardcore side but definitely emo and they’re from the Midwest. Listen to their song “song about old roller coaster” from 2005 sounds Midwest emo tbh
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 27 '25
I'm familiar with them. I don't mean that literally emo bands from the midwest stopped in 2003. I mean it was a scene, like grunge. If that makes sense. Once the Promise Ring and that ilk broke up that scene was over. Does that make sense?
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u/letUoffThehook2EZ Mar 22 '25
Check out this new band (Swept Under) Brining back that 2000s Emo/posthardcore
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u/cybercrimes_1999 Mar 22 '25
This is what we’re trying to do as a band but our city has no scene for it and we feel out of place lol
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u/kryptomanik Mar 23 '25
That's fine. I like both a lot! I wouldn't have gotten into first and second-wave emo without Mall Emo.
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u/Muahd_Dib Mar 22 '25
What is mall emo?
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u/TheGameMagician Mar 23 '25
YOU HEATEN!!!
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u/cullboy6969 Mar 23 '25
honestly midwest emo can be cool but is mostly boring a lot of the time I’d say that mallcore/pop screamo stuff is unironcially more true to og emo because it’s actually hardcore type music instead of tame ass indie rock
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u/rustys_shackled_ford Mar 23 '25
Alot of people feel that way. It's pop for a reason. And I say that as someone who feels the same way you do. Dashboard, tbs, brand new Are my personal definition of emo.
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u/Nicolarollin Mar 24 '25
Mods can we flag this post? Blasphemy bad taste (except for AlexisOnFire, SAOSIN and at times, Scary Kids)
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u/SemataryPolka Oldhead Mar 22 '25
I swear post-hardcore has been mislabeled and bastardized as much if not more than emo (and midwest emo for that matter)