It's not another phase, mom: Revisit your emo era with these tracks

Allow me to set the scene — the year is 2013. I’m wearing my finest band T-shirt and best pair of Chuck Taylor high tops (both black, of course). My box-dyed blue hair peeks out from my beanie as I walk to the bus stop. I scroll through Tumblr and Wattpad on my iPhone 5s. There’s just one thing missing to make this day perfect: music.

I quickly untangle my Apple wired headphones, open my 8tracks music streaming application and get ready to go. But what songs did I listen to on repeat, you ask?

“A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” by Panic! At The Disco

While the first four studio albums from quintessential pop-rock band Panic! At The Disco are all undeniably god-tier, their 2005 debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” completely encapsulates the moody woes of my teenage years.

All 39 minutes and 48 seconds of this album make me feel something to this day and remind me of times spent listening with my equally as emo best friend as we perused Hot Topic for our next purchase.

The opening notes from popular hit “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” are still universally appreciated today by a wide range of individuals — emo phase or not — and I admittedly still get way too excited whenever I hear the lyrics “I chimed in with a, ‘Haven't you people ever heard of/Closing the goddamn door?!’” literally anywhere. 

Aside from the powerhouse track of this early 2000s masterpiece, my favorite song on the album is “Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off.” Lead singer Brendon Urie sings spitefully about a relationship gone wrong after the girl is caught cheating, and the powerful lyrics instantly transport me back to 2013.

Just hearing the iconic lines, “So, testosterone boys and harlequin girls:/Will you dance to this beat and hold a lover close?” was enough for me to put this song back in my life again.

Some of my other favorite tracks on this album include “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage,” “Camisado” and “But It's Better If You Do” — but they all deserve to be revisited.

“Riot!” by Paramore

Paramore has always held a special place in my heart. Fun fact: The first two songs I ever downloaded on my iPod Nano circa 2008 were Paramore’s “Decode” and “crushcrushcrush." I can remember dramatically dancing by myself in my backyard with these songs on full blast. Now that I think about it, this was definitely when my emo phase was conceived, and why I am the way I am today. 

Quirky anecdote aside, Paramore is one of my favorite bands of all time, and the 2007 album “Riot!” is easily their best work. Listening to this album again years later, it’s only become more obvious that it's a no skip album, a coveted label devoted to those albums that you can truly listen to fully through without skipping a single track. 

“Riot!” starts off strong with “For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic,” and it maintains the same passionate energy throughout each of the 12 songs. Lead vocalist Hayley Williams sings with intense emotion and honesty on this album, and this lyrical potency coupled with the energetic sound from the music itself still deserves to be appreciated 15 years later. 

I was lucky enough to see Paramore on Good Morning America during their “After Laughter” era, but I would kill to see “Misery Business” live. Hearing those opening lyrics, “I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top/She's got a body like an hourglass, it's ticking like a clock,” in concert today would just hit different. “That’s What You Get,” “Fences” and “Born for This” from this album are all also super nostalgic tracks for me.

“Let’s Cheers To This” by Sleeping With Sirens

Listening to Sleeping With Sirens’ 2011 studio album “Let’s Cheers To This” immediately sends me straight back to my many summers spent in a scorching hot PNC Bank Arts Center parking lot living my emo fantasy at Vans Warped Tour (may it rest in peace). Attempting to mosh as a 14-year-old while hearing frontman Kellin Quinn sing “If You Can’t Hang” live is something that I’m still trying to recover from today.

This album boasts a lot of solid tracks that still continue to tap into my inner emo at 21 years old, and all 11 songs flow together cohesively to create a subtly angsty, yet equally heartfelt piece of music. Like “Riot!,” I think that “Let’s Cheer To This” also deserves no skip status, and its strong sound transcends time to remain an amazing album to this day.

“Do It Now Remember It Later,” “Postcards and Polaroids,” “A Trophy Fathers Trophy Son” and “Fire” are all some of my favorite tracks off this album. Whether you’re going through a breakup or just going through it in general, “Let’s Cheers To This” is a great way to channel your emotions.

“The Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance walked so emo 13-year-olds could run, and “The Black Parade” is fully a religious framework for anyone who has ever uttered the words, “It’s not a phase, mom.” I don’t think I can articulate how revisiting this 2006 masterpiece makes me feel, but in the wise words of Drake Parker from “Drake and Josh,” “I love this album more than I love myself.”

“Welcome to the Black Parade” is undoubtedly the most iconic track from this album and arguably from My Chemical Romance’s entire discography. Any 2013 self-proclaimed emo can recognize the nostalgic lyrics, “When I was a young boy, my father/Took me into the city to see a marching band,” in a heartbeat. 

There are so many powerhouse tracks on “The Black Parade,” and lead vocalist Gerard Way delivers all 51 minutes and 57 seconds of this album with pure emotional intensity and powerful lyricism — both demonstrative of the sheer talent of the band as a whole. This isn’t just some emo album, it’s a great piece of art through and through. And I’m mad at myself for abandoning it for so long.

“Teenagers,” “Famous Last Words,” “House of Wolves,” “I Don’t Love You” and “Dead!” are a few more of my favorite tracks, but they’re honestly all incredible songs. This album is so good I’m gonna cry right now thinking about it.

Honorable mentions (I’m sorry, I can’t help it)

Some other emo-era bangers I recommend? 5 Seconds of Summer's album “LIVESOS,” where my favorite song is “Disconnected - Live,” Green Day's album “Dookie,” where "When I Come Around" tops the tracklist and blink-182's “Enema Of The State,” with its best track "What's My Age Again?"

I also love Fall Out Boy's “Infinity On High” and the song "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" as well as Pierce The Veil's album “Selfish Machines” with the song "Bulletproof Love."

So if you're looking to reenter your emo not-so-phase, listen to any of these tracks to be instantly transported back to an era of checkered Vans and Tumblr blue. You might be surprised by how much you still enjoy them.