I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional - The 1980's.

 So, you're thinking about getting into emo but aren't sure where to start? Well, let me do my best to help you out.

Let us begin with a simple definition of the emo genre, generously supplied by Wikipedia:

Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional, lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace. As the style was echoed by contemporary American punk rock bands, its sound and meaning shifted and changed, blending with pop punk and indie rock and encapsulated in the early 1990s by groups such as Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate. By the mid-1990s numerous emo acts emerged from the Midwestern and Central United States, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the style.

Due to the fact that emo has underdone a number of stylistic changes since its inception in the 1980's, I'm going to have to break this down into sections. We'll start with its origins in the 80's, which includes emocore, "a style of Post-Hardcore that emerged primarily in Washington D.C. in the summer of 1985, as a reaction against the by then stagnant Hardcore Punk scene." Then we'll move into the classic territory which will consist of the genres better known titles. Finally, we'll dig through the obscure in an attempt to secure ourselves some hidden gems laying deep beneath the surface.

•  The 80's.

• 3 - Dark Days Coming (1989)
• Beefeater - House Burning Down (1987)
• Dag Nasty - Can I Say (1986)
• Embrace - Embrace (1987)
• The Hated - Every Song (1989)
• Ignition - Machination (1989)
• Jawbreaker - Unfun (1990)
• M.I.A. - Murder in a Foreign Place (1984)
• Moss Icon - Hate in Me (1988)
• Rites of Spring - Rites of Spring (1985)
• Social Unrest - Before the Fall (1987)

You may also be interested in tracking down notable bands who heavily influenced the emocore movement of the 1980's. I'd recommend starting with every LP released by Hüsker Dü released between the years of 1984 and their demise in 1987. Pay particular attention to Zen Arcade (1984) and New Day Rising (1985). Once you're done there, move straight on to Minor Threat. Since they never released a full-length album, grab yourself a copy of their compilation, Complete Discography (1989). As the title would suggest, this is an all encompassing release which features their key tracks. Finally, Black Flag. They were a prolific band back in the 80's so don't worry about getting their entire back catalog just yet. Simply head on over to Damaged (1981).