Nowadays, emo is a trend. Maybe not the part about wearing Tripp pants and spiked belts, but the dark makeup, chokers and general disdain for life, is now cool for some reason. If you were one of those people that wore all black and hated everything before it was cool, take a trip down memory lane and take a look at these 23 songs that got you beyond turnt in your emo days (and probably still get you beyond turnt):
1. "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance
An oldie, but a goodie. Emos everywhere still mourn the breakup of this band.
2. "Sugar, We're Going Down" - Fall Out Boy
Honestly, I still hear this one on mainstream radio stations every once in a blue moon.
3. "Situations" - Escape The Fate
Ahh, screamo. I felt like such a badass listening to a somewhat sexual song, didn’t you?
4. "Knives and Pens" - Black Veil Brides
I don’t even know if this band exists anymore, and I hate their remake of this song, but if anyone knew these people, it would be because of this song.
5. "Helena" - My Chemical Romance
I’ve grown accustomed to the vocals-only version, but it’s still lit.
6. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" - Panic! At The Disco
Brendon Urie hates this song now, and honestly, I don’t blame him, but man wasn’t it a banger back in the day?
7. "Monster" - Skillet
Skillet is arguably the greatest band alive, and yes I am stupidly biased, and the only reason I knew that they existed was that this was a favorite among the emo herd.
8. "Ohio is for Lovers" - Hawthorne Heights
I literally don’t know anyone who listened to all of Hawthorne Heights. It was usually, like, just this one song.
9. "Miserable at Best" - Mayday Parade
Anything with “Miserable” in its title goes straight from Regular Emo to Advanced Emo.
10. "Misery Business" - Paramore
Unlike pretty much every other song on this list, it’s about being a proud bitch who got someone else’s man (I’m probably over-simplifying/misinterpreting that, but whatevs). Whose man is this? Hayley Williams’ man now.
11. "Ocean Avenue" - Yellowcard
It’s still in my “favorites” playlist. Not gonna lie.
12. "Scars" - Papa Roach
If Yellowcard and Fall Out Boy were too fluffy for you, you probably lived and breathed Papa Roach, especially this song.
13. "The Curse of Curves" - Cute Is What We Aim For
You know how people say all Christian songs sound the same? That goes for a lot of emo bands. If someone showed me literally any "Cute Is What We Aim For" song that wasn’t this one, I’d mistake it for a different artist. But this was the popular song, so it makes the list.
14. "Hero" - Skillet
This was another insanely popular Skillet song many eons ago. For the nonreligious emo kids out there (99% of them), this and “Monster” were pretty much the go-to tracks.
15. "Welcome to my Life" - Simple Plan
If this wasn’t the ultimate Emo Angst Anthem, I don’t know what was.
16. "Thnks fr th Mmrs" - Fall Out Boy
I still don’t know why they elected to take out all the vowels, leaving their song title akin to an unfinished “Jeopardy” puzzle, but the song is still smashing.
17. "Gives You Hell" - All-American Rejects
Every (emo) human being flocked to this song after their edgy break-ups.
18. "Whoa-Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)" - Forever The Sickest Kids
FTSK wasn’t as popular as many of the bands on this list, but they had emo hair, so that makes them emo, right?
19. "Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne
I had to slip this one in here, lest we forget that Avril Lavigne will always be the Emo Queen, or at least the Pop-Punk Queen, which is close enough. Same genre, right? Or something.
20. "Cute Without the 'E'" - Taking Back Sunday
The title says it all, don’t you think?
21. "Bring Me to Life" - Evanescence
…………WAKE ME UP! (Wake me up inside) I CAN’T WAKE UP! (Wake me up inside) SAVE MEEEEEEEEE!
22. "Godspeed" - Anberlin
Anberlin kind of popped up out of nowhere and is still probably the least likely to be recognized on this list, but they were definitely a thing.
23. Literally any song ever written by Secondhand Serenade
He was the most emo, and he did it without all the makeup and screamo. Despite this, I can only find Sherlock Holmes GIFs for his music. Honestly, with all the pain he’s been put through, I’m not judging, but you know that if literally any conflict you had with another human being arose, Secondhand Serenade’s entire repertoire was your go-to.
Are you feeling nostalgic yet? Did I miss your favorite emo song? Slather on some black lipstick and hit this playlist up. Try not to sing along, I dare you.