Why You Wanna Go and Start This War?

While almost definitely the most maligned form of underground rock, in retrospect emo, at least the good stuff, could be seen as rock's last breath, and yes, last breaths can be pretty sloppy attempts.

I was never an emo fan, not even when I was fifteen, but of course, there were some exceptions. The big one of course being one of the last great rock bands to achieve (or at least come close to achieving) major mainstream success: At The Drive-In. Another was the Anniversary, particularly this album.

I first heard of them, of course, in 2002 when all the "real" emo kids I knew were going to see the recently sold-out Dashboard Confessional for this opening act. Something was intriguing about that, I must say. Eventually, after grappling with all the stigma around the style I picked up this CD and was pretty amazed. Granted it has its emo clichés for sure and it could get old, but after all these years I find myself going back to it and appreciating it. Of course, what I liked about it was what got the group ousted from emo royalty for sounding too much like a sixties pop group. Fuck that.

The Lawrence, Kansas group gives its audience what it craves while showing off their expansive talent that goes beyond said parameters. The record starts off strong with the drum intro to "Sweet Marie" and delivers one of the albums best classic pop tunes, the other being "Never Die Young" (though I recall having a preferred more emo version during the Kazaa era). The more typically emo tracks are great too like "The Siren Sings" and "Devil on My Side". The epics are some of the weaker ones, though with "Husam Husam" the notable exception. The arrangements all sound good and tight - even with the occasional strong harmony, even when the vocals and lyrics can get eye-rolling. In effect, of all emo music I've heard this is probably the most listenable, coming from from a classic rock/pop background, that is.

This album is an AWESOME guilty pleasure and of course, the only thing I ever owned that Vagrant released. It is a real shame the band broke up in 2004 before releasing anything else, but I heard they were junkies so what do you expect...


The Anniversary - Your Majesty (2002)

Excuse Me, Is This The Age of Reason?

All the great American rock artists of the 80s can agree that the most powerful thing about that time and place was the number of amazing bands that dotted the whole country, even in the most remote areas. The Embarrassment was one of these bands, and one of the few I've been listening to lately outside of NZ and LA). The quartet hailed from Wichita, Kansas and played what they called "blister pop." Apparently, other people called it "punk" - most likely mainly people from Kansas. While their unashamedly nerdy look may bring to mind the Feelies, the Embos had one of the most unique voices in rock at the time with lyrics that ranged from snide and sarcastic to innocent and sincere all delivered with a playful, Midwestern sense of humor.

As nerdy as they looked, the boys were pretty hip as anyone who has been to a hipster gathering could tell immediately in a song like "Celebrity Art Party." The raunchy "Sex Drive" and sweet-natured "Wellsville" (which I would bet gave the setting of The Adventures of Pete & Pete its name) demonstrate the band's great plains roots. The almost cruel ode to Bewitched star "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face" and epic "Lewis and Clark" evoke the kind of boyhood fantasies/fascinations hardly visible in underground rock music done to perfection. The first disc really is the star of the show, covering the groups original singles and EPs. The second disc, while strong yet very outtake-y has it's gems such as the song that really get me into the band "Sexy Singer Girl."

After teh band's original breakup half of the band relocated to Boston, which beleive it or not at one time had a few redemptive qualities (i.e. music scene) with guitarist Bill Goffier froming Big Dipper and drummer Brent Giessman joining the Del Fuegos. The other two, I presume sttayed in Wichita until the band reunited. I do not know if they did anything significant there.


The Embarrassment - Heyday 1979-83

Here are some sweet videos as well:



thre's more where the second one came from...