When we look back on American History, we recall September 11, 2011 as one of the largest attacks on American soil, solidifying it as one of our darkest days as a nation. I was only 8 years old at the time, but coming from a family of born-and-bred New Yorkers, I remember that morning with perfect clarity. I understood exactly what was happening, and I remember my dad turning around halfway through my ride to school, in fear that they would hit Las Vegas, next. The rest of the day was filled with tears, anxious phone calls, and the news blasting in the background. The image of the planes hitting the first and second tower is burned into my memory, as I’m sure it is for many of you. What happened after 9/11 was a pitiful jumble of people trying to make sense of what happened, with the government giving little to no information on the subject. Suddenly, we were in the Middle East, starting a war that would stretch far past it’s expiration point, with frustrated Americans feeling as though their voices were not being heard. Though I was a child at the time, I understood one key component in all of this. A simple, human response that even an 8 year old could grasp: fear.
Fear had seeped into the minds of people, and it was not exclusive to Americans. The entire world felt the impact of September 11th, but no one felt it as prominently and as intensely as the people who witnessed the towers falling. One of those people happened to by Gerard Way, the founder and lead singer of My Chemical Romance. Surprised? It’s true, the godfathers of emo music were formed as a direct response to the attack on the World Trade Center. Gerard was on a ferry, not too far off from the buildings, when he witnessed the terror and chaos that spawned from this catastrophic event. Within two weeks, Gerard wrote the song “Skylines And Turnstiles” about what he'd seen. “Steel corpses stretch out towards an ending sun, scorched and black. It reaches in and tears your flesh apart. As ice, cold hands rip into your heart”. I personally felt a pull to this, because I happened to be one of the crazed, 13-year-old girls that were “obsessed” with Gerard Way, and My Chemical Romance in general. Ask anyone who knew me back in 2005, and waits for the embarrassingly quick, “Oh yeah, Tina lived and breathed Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge,” comments that will follow.
How does this tie into the country-wide, teen-embraced, “emo” cultural movement? Well, my friend Natalie shared a Tumblr post with me one day and it got me thinking. Why, from the years of 2001-2009, did emo music/style seem to reign supreme, then suddenly disappear into thin air? I’ll tell you why. After 9/11, the Bush administration did a poor job at handling the confusion and fear that Americans felt. The only comfort that was given was the prospect of war, something that half of the country did not believe in. Yet, for better or for worse, off we went. During this time, Americans felt as if they had no control, their government was ignoring them, and a sense of impending doom.
On top of that, many young, liberal people who disagreed with older, conservative folks were unable to vote. Wait, let’s play that back. Young people, unable to vote=teenagers. Wanting control of your own life, refusing to conform to conservative notions and a sense of constant dread/doom=emo music. Do you see where I’m heading with this? “Emo” music focused on the “self” rather than the “whole,” with many angsty lyrics revolting against the idea of becoming another cog in the machine. The term “emo” is literally pulled from the word, “emotional,” and the music reflects this. Half of the music was comprised of people screaming (screamo) about their distrust of the government, becoming a mindless worker bee, and dealing with abstract, relative feelings that range from depression to an overall sense of an indefinite, never-ending spiral. Songs that came onto the radio were filled with dreary, dismal lyrics, all pointing to the same thing: nobody understands, I have no control, the walls are closing in, etc.
Some of this is typical for teenagers, but the fact that it became a mainstream, cultural phenomena and took over almost every radio station and every store can only mean one thing: this concept of personal irrelevance was being felt on a wide-scale. This movement branched out of the United states and slowly worked it’s way into other countries, which indirectly felt the cataclysmic shake of 9/11. It didn’t just make sense to American teenagers, it made sense to young people all over the world. If anything, this music and style were the only thing that made sense to a majority of youths. Couple the mass emotional and physical destruction with Millennials (well-known fighters of the “cog in the machine” lifestyle) growing up during this time period and you’ve got a revolution on your hands.
On that note, I could even go so far as to say that this music/style influenced the way Millennials operate as young adults in the working world, currently. It makes sense, after all. We grew up on music that exposed corrupt systems, focused on the individual rather than the whole, and called out authority figures. It makes sense that an average Millennial worker, in a corporate entry-level job (that they’re most definitely being paid too little for), would want to fight back against top-down power structures and a nine to five, grey cubicle, windowless job. It’s all we’ve been taught! We will not be another “cog in the murder machine”, another “notch on the bedpost”, or another “casualty of society (props to MCR, Fall Out Boy and Sum 41 for these gems).”
So, if this cultural movement was so relevant, why did it disappear as quickly as it appeared? Well, one overall tone laced throughout emo music is the road towards “hope.” Who used the terms “Hope” and “Change” as major slogans to back his campaign? You got it: Barack Obama, in 2008. This is right around the time when “emo” music started to fade and was replaced with the “hipster,” “indie,” and “folk” style. This music reflected peace and simplicity, something that drastically differed from the tone of music that was released just a few years before. Just as the Bush administration saw to the rise of emo music, the Obama administration saw to the fall of it. The war ended, the Freedom Tower was erected, and life moved on. But we’ll never forget the music that saw us through these times.
