I'm sure all of you saw this coming. After all, how could a (poorly) disguised emo kid not write something like this? Well the suspense is finally over. Below is the list of top 10 songs every one of my kind will forever remember.
1. Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard
For whatever reason, whenever I heard this song I imagined racing in shopping carts with the guy I had a crush on at the time. Don't ask me why. Now when I hear it I just think of my friends whining along as loud as possible. It's undeniable that this 2003 hit is a classic in the emo realm.
2. Make Damn Sure by Taking Back Sunday
My cousin, who's two years older than me, would always play this when I visited. It wasn't until high school that I was the one blasting it in my headphones pretending I was in a music video. If I remember correctly, I only cried to this in an "I hate you" sort of way rather than the usual "I miss you" way. Now it's just fun to scream along to in a whiny duet with my younger brother.
3. The Kill (Bury Me) by 30 Seconds to Mars
This song prompted many a night crying painfully hard. If you didn't cry at least once while listening to this, then I respect your opinion — but you're lying and we all know it. Jared Leto's emotional shouting about moving on and being true to himself will never fail to at least cause tensity in your chest.
4. That's What You Get by Paramour
Call me a loser, but the first time I heard this song was when I played Rock Band with my younger brother. It was never one of those songs that I listened to as loud as I could on my iPod shuffle, but there would be moments when I'd be sad looking out a window and heard the chorus in my head.
5. Love Like Winter by AFI
Honestly, I don't think I've listened to this since 2012. It was never something that I cried to, but I'd always play it during the winter months. I'll never forget how excited we were when my brother and I opened up Crash Love and Decemberunderground on Christmas evening in 2011.
6. I Feel So by Box Car Racer
To this day this song messes me up. If I'm sad enough, I'll throw it on and have a pretty solid cry. It doesn't get much more emo than that. When my brother and I tell each other we've just listened to this, we know some seriousness sadboy feels are going on. So don't listen to this if you aren't ready for extreme angst.
7. Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional
This was written for Spiderman 2, but it never felt that way to me. Every time I played this song I was usually crying until I got a headache. Go ahead, judge me. I was (and still am) a very emotional person. One of my most vivid memories of this song is in 2013 when I aggressively sang it to my best friend at the time in between bands at a show. Man, those were the days.
8. Broken Hearts Parade by Good Charlotte
In seventh grade I was convinced this song was my anthem. I even went as far as to decorate the entire back of my art journal in broken hearts. It was bad. The last time I heard it must've been at least three years ago, as it doesn't much resonate with me anymore. Still, it needed to be a part of the list.
9. I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco
In fourth grade one of my friends would always sing this at recess. I was shocked whenever I heard her say "goddamn." Only grownups could use that word, and even then, it was still frowned upon to use it. Now I'm the one using it rather frequently and this song is a faint emo memory. It was never one of my favorites, but I recognize it as important to the emo community.
10. I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance
I was unapologetically the MCR-obsessed emo kid in middle school and high school. Every single item in my wardrobe was somehow MCR related. Even my school supplies were MCR themed. I had a problem, yes, but I wouldn't trade that for the world. I know everyone likes to say how a band saved their lives — but for me, it's true. MCR taught me that it was OK to be that weirdo who didn't fit in anywhere. To this day I am that weirdo and I'm happy with it. Whenever this song comes on, anywhere, I sing it as raw as I can. It truly is the emo kid anthem.
So now that you're sufficiently full of unnecessary early 2000s feels, go write some dark poetry about how misunderstood you are. I know I'm going to.
