Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo by Andy Greenwald (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Interspersing cultural commentary with historical background, artist profiles, and some painfully earnest testimony from citizens of the emo nation past and present, Greenwald gives this frequently misunderstood phenomenon a serious and empathetic treatment, addressing the who, what, when, where, and how of emo. Why, though, is another story.
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Carrabba’s sway over his fans is remarkable. Watching Dashboard’s episode of MTV’s Unplugged 2.0, I couldn’t help but picture David Koresh strumming for a roomful of rapt Branch Davidians. And while it might seem extreme, the messianic analogy isn’t entirely off base. For a youth population grown increasingly cynical toward traditional notions of religion–the by-product of America’s overall apostasy–emo represents the rare opportunity to believe in something. A Christian emo movement, spearheaded by groups like Further Seems Forever and labels like Tooth & Nail, has flourished not just alongside its secular counterpart but within it.
