With the final Vans Warped Tour coming up this summer, a tribute to our old indie/emo/scene bangers only seems appropriate. So pull out your skate shoes, skinny jeans, and any semblance of your former angst-filled self (but please, for the love of all that's good in this world, DO NOT cut your fringe again). We may be adults now, but you know as well as I do that it's not a phase, its a lifestyle.
RAWR XD
The Boston Tea Party:
Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
- "Uprising" by Muse
Okay, so not the most "emo" start, but bear with me. This was an uprising. Also, what's more angsty than appropriating native regalia while destroying expensive stuff? Sounds like a music video I've seen somewhere.
The American Revolution:
Do you feel like a man
When you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's got to end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.
Face down in the dirt
She said, "This doesn't hurt!"
She said "I finally had enough!"
- "Face down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
I've racked my brain for a song that actually demonstrates taxation without representation, but "Facedown" really speaks to the abuse of power between England and colonists. They grew tired of being heavily taxed without being represented in British Parliament, and they did revolt.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition:
If you can't leave
This pathetic excuse for a town
That holds all your memories
A lifetime of crushes and your broken dreams
To be anywhere but here
But baby anywhere is away from me
If you got it all figured out
Then what is there to shout about
This midwest town is gonna miss you
"Big City Dreams" by Nevershoutnever
This scene bop details the story of some gal leaving her boyfriend and boring hometown in search of new things and experiences, not totally unlike Lewis and Clark, who were traveling instead to report their findings to the federal government. Or, maybe they were "finding themselves." That's always a possibility.
The Great Depression:
As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends
Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
- "Wake me up When September Ends" by Green Day
There are many emo songs that could relate to the Great Depression because it really was a time of intense hopelessness and loss following the excesses of the 1920's. No person, business, or industry came out unscathed. Banks went under, and many families lost everything. Many fathers turned to alcoholism, and some even left their families, ashamed of their inability to provide.
World War II:
At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are never coming home, never coming home
Never coming home, never coming home
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me
Never coming home, never coming home
- "The Ghost of You" by My Chemical Romance
Okay. This video is literally set during World War II. Gerard clearly wanted this to happen. I'd argue that he also wants a reunion as well, but that's another article altogether.
The Cold War:
One final fight, for this tonight
Whoa, with knives and pens we made our plight
Lay your heart down the ends in sight
Conscience begs for you to do what's right
Every day it's still the same dull knife
Stab it through and justify your pride
- "Knives and Pens" by Black Veil Brides
Although Andy was clearly singing about a different and more personal issue, the part about "pride" really speaks to both the U.S. and the Soviet Union's reluctance to yield for fear of seeming like the weaker power.
Civil Rights Movement:
I chime in
Haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door?
No, it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality
- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! at the Disco
It would be ridiculous to try to pin the entire civil rights movement down with a single song. However, this song illustrates the dueling approaches to obtaining civil rights. Minority groups mobilized and fought against a society and a federal government that wasn't concerned with changing on its own, and *spoiler alert* they won.
There you have it. *Changes My Chemical Romance t-shirt and wipes off the heavy eyeliner*
So long and goodnight.
