From the Basement: A History of Emo Music and How It Changed Society, Paperback

Following in the footsteps of music history/biography texts such as the infamous Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, From the Basement details the rise in popularity of rock in the early 2000s. From cult loves like The Early November to giants like My Chemical Romance, From the Basement explores what it was that made indie & emo touch the hearts of so many people. Using first-hand accounts and interviews, the narrative content will be analytical and exploratory. From the Basement starts off by examining the mainstream and then grows into the sub-genres such as street political punk (Anti Flag), screamo, the more aggressive emo offshoot that got popular at around the same time, as well as the labels and the key figures that helped make this era what it was. Lastly, From the Basement will go into the cultural, social and psychological factors surrounding the genre; what 'emotional' music really is and the simultaneous admiration and mocking of the sad content therein. You were a black sheep if you listened to those bands, but they also made it onto MTV and now their music is on everyone's best throwback playlists. The fashion and aesthetic of the time also follows that same storyline. You were a weirdo if you wore black nail polish, but then it became a fashion craze. People thought this type of rock was whiny, and a good part of it was. People thought it was immature, and a good part of it was. People thought those adjectives were negative, but From the Basement will explain why they're not--the beauty of the gritty, wailing music that evolved into indie, alternative and emo.