The Lariat Mixtape: Emo Song Playlist

BY CHARLIE BLODNIEKS AND ADAM SHLOMI

For some of the CCHS student body, back to school season sets the stage for increased social interaction, community involvement, and general Cowboy pride. For others, however, it makes way for increased complaint-ridden brooding, a circular routine, and general teenage angst. For that demographic, we present this playlist of the top five back-to-school emo songs.

The transition from summer, absolute freedom, and no alarm clock to a rigid schedule and rules found in Cooper City High School can be quite jarring. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s totally is a bad thing.. Getting up at 6 a.m. everyday does not lend itself to a positive mindset: we’re all tired and drained and seeing faces that remind us of relationships and failures, and that justs gets you down. So a quiet retreat into Bright Eyes and the Front Bottoms only seems appropriate. This revival of the Lariat Mixtape is co-authored by the Editors-in-Chief, Adam Shlomi and Charlie Blodnieks.

“Flashlight” by The Front Bottoms

Adam:

This song reminds me of a few girls that I’ve really liked, whether they liked me back or not who knows. It relates to a common teenage theme of self destruction and how there really isn’t much else out there for suburban teens. More then that, it’s just a sad song with a catchy chorus and beat that you sing along. It justs hit you emotionally and I’m sure that some of you can relate.

Charlie:

Honestly, I’m hesitant to put this song on this playlist. It doesn’t quite jive with my preconceived notion of “emo music,” which I’m all too familiar with. But I have to concede to emo expert Adam Shlomi and admit that this song brings me far too deep into my favorite brooding subject: girls. It puts me into a sort of introspective stupor, filled with repetition of unrequited love because “there’s just no place in-between for us to meet.” (Also, the more I listen, the more into it I get.)

Adam:

I’m taking “emo expert” as an insult.

“Dramamine” by Modest Mouse

Adam:

This isn’t the best choice in Modest’s discography. There’s a host of other options like “Bankrupt on Sailing” or “Polar Opposites.” But “Dramaine” is what I’m getting into now. The vocals take a back seat and let the long drawn out notes echo. Only two verses long but still powerful, the song really has become one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs.

Charlie:

This song hit me hard. While, as Adam pointed out, the notes speak for themselves, there’s something nearly haunting about the lyrics. It threw me into an internal soliloquy, with rambling thoughts of my favorite variety, including such phrases as: “what’s the point?”, “where am I going?”, and “why?” Generally, I thought the lyrics were beautifully crafted. My tipping point was when I heard, “look at your face like you’re killed in a dream.” Listen: any band with an album called The Lonesome Crowded West is worth listening to.

Adam:

Lonesome Crowded West is my favorite Modest Mouse album. I like travelling and hate suburbia, and that’s pretty much the theme of the whole album. Also I’m obligated to mention former Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Haas every time I talk about this album.

“Poison Oak” by Bright Eyes

Charlie:

I’ve been on a Bright Eyes kick recently. I’ve been on a “Poison Oak” kick recently, to be more specific. And if we’re laying it all out there, I guess I’ll admit that I cried the first, like, 10 times I listened to this song. And I was in the company of others. (Genuinely, the whole I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning album moves me to tears every time.) I’m completely in love with “Poison Oak.” It’s the perfect mix of sober and dreamy to fill up any yearning angsty teenager, and while the beginning drags on for a while, the ending bridge by far makes up for it. It’s powerful, but humble in its impact. After all, I am, in fact, a single cell on a serpent’s tongue.

Adam:

So I really like Bright Eyes. He’s the best active singer-songwriter, and through his voice, lyrics, and music he captured pain in a way few artists have. “Poison Oak” is one of many great songs on one of many great albums. Right from the beginning, I’m captured by the song, from the first whisper. Every sentimental lyrical sound hurts to utter, and that is the true power of Connor Oberst, we understand and relate to a emo-ness that he can capture and own, and which we are afraid to even acknowledge.

“Demolition Lovers” by My Chemical Romance

Charlie:

Alright, we’re obligated to have one of MCR’s works of art on here. I mean, it’s only fitting; My Chemical Romance are the pinnacle of new wave emo music, after all. This song is off their first studio album, You Gave Me Your Bullets I Gave You My Love, which can no longer be found on iTunes (which makes it retroactively underground). Due to this fact, it has that acoustic vibe that MCR lost in their later work, yet retains the signature “angry teenagers gone rogue” feeling that they’ve become known for.

Adam:

There was once a time when I really liked New Found Glory and Fall Out Boy. That time is no more. All of the post punk, pop rock bands that have faded from my playlists, My Chemical Romance is included in that group. Every once in awhile I will enjoy “The Black Parade,” but only when regression is the defense mechanism of the day.