#the walking wounded

[thisaintascenereviews]

10 Albums That Changed My Life: 2000s Emo Edition

For the past few days, I’ve been listening to an audiobook version of 2023’s Where Are Your Boys Tonight by Chris Payne, and the book chronicles the emo / pop-punk scene between 1999 and 2008. It’s about the rise and (unfortunate) fall of the genre’s mainstream success, but it metaphorically comes straight from the horse’s mouth. The book has interviews from loads of musicians and important folks from the “scene,” such as Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Geoff Rickley, Buddy Neilsen, Anthony Raneri, Hayley Williams, JT Woodruff, Chad Gilbert, Chris Carraba, Andrew MacMahon, and many others.

Because I’ve been listening to the book, I wanted to start a new series in which I talk about ten albums that changed my life, and I wanted to start with 00s pop-punk and emo. I was at the right age when emo broke into the mainstream, so a lot of the big bands at the time were like gods to me. Some of these albums aren’t necessarily some of my all time favorites, but I still love them. For all these episodes, I also wanted to include a “bonus pick,” where I include an album that’s a rather obvious pick, because it’s an album I love and talk about all the time. That way, I can talk about ten other albums that I may not have talk about as much.

The aim of this series is to highlight albums that are important to me, but these albums are in no particular order. I don’t rank these lists, because some of these albums aren’t necessarily more influential than another. Each one of these albums is important in some way, but I wanted to highlight them regardless.

Bonus Pick: Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

For the first bonus pick, I wanted to start off with an obvious one. I’ve talked about Fall Out Boy’s third album, 2007’s Infinity On High quite a lot. This is the album that got me into music, and to make a long story short, I had listened to a few alternative albums beforehand, but I didn’t truly get into music until I heard that record. This isn’t the first album I picked up, but it was the most impacting one, because it truly blew my mind. This is still my favorite album, although it’s interchangeable with Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but this record really opened my eyes to how unique and awesome music can be, especially alternative, emo, and and pop-punk. I can say so much more about it, but this is the album that truly started it all for me. Little did I know that picking this album up at Target on the weekend of its release that it would change my life.

Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave

I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with the first couple of Fall Out Boy records, especially 2003’s Take This To Your Grave. Back before I would just order stuff online, or download music on iTunes, I would only buy music through retail stores, like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart. I remember finding Take This To Your Grave at Walmart for $9 back in 2012, and while I was a huge fan of them, I didn’t know their early stuff too well, especially their debut. I picked it up, and I absolutely fell in love with it.

Take This To Your Grave is the record that introduced me to the early 00s pop-punk scene, and it was a scene that I only vaguely knew. I was a little too young for it, but hearing their debut was mindblowing. In retrospect, Take This To Your Grave is a hardcore album disguised as a pop-punk album, because it has the ethos and energy of a hardcore record, but the songwriting of a pop-punk album. As a kid in my late teens when I really sunk my teeth into it, and with the “defend pop-punk” movement being huge, this record (and many more like it) worked for me. The lyrics just spoke to me, but I’ve always been a sucker for Wentz’s lyricism.

Over time, however, my relationship with the album soured a bit, partially because my taste in music was becoming more removed from the current pop-punk scene (and reckoning with the fact that a lot of that scene was very misogynistic, including some lyrics on the first couple Fall Out Boy albums), so I wasn’t as into them, and I championed more of the later work, as well as some of the post-hiatus albums. It’s come full circle now, because I really love Take This To Your Grave, warts and all. This is a record made by kids that just loved hardcore and pop-punk, so if you look at it as anything more, it’s doing the record a disservice.

Paramore - Riot

My first experience with Paramore wasn’t with 2007’s Riot, but it was with 2005’s All We Know Is Falling. That was the first album I downloaded on iTunes, back when iTunes was just exploding, but I somehow lost the album (I think it was due to losing my first account, or my hard drive crashed, something like that). I listened to the album pretty soon after, but in between that, Riot was released. Riot is the album that blew Paramore up to the upper echelons of the emo and pop-punk scene, and for good reason. I’m pretty sure I got this album at Walmart, but this record was the soundtrack to the summer of 2007. It came out right before my freshman year of high school, so I played it a lot.

Between Hayley Williams’ vocals improving tenfold between the debut and Riot, their sound having more of a “mainstream” sound, and emo / pop-punk being at the crux of its popularity, this record came out at the right time. It was lightning in a bottle, but they were truly something special. This record has some of the best hooks and vocal performances of any band in that scene at this time, rivaling Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance (the scene’s two biggest bands at that time, arguably). This is just a monster of a record, and one of the most pivotal and important records from that time, and it’s cool to see people still talking about them all these years later. They just won the first Grammy earlier this year for their 2023 record, so it’s awesome to see that success pay off.

The Academy Is - Almost Here

One of the most underrated bands in the emo / pop-punk scene of the 00s is Chicago’s The Academy Is. These guys didn’t get their time in the spotlight, or at the very least, they skirted with fame at the same level as labelmates and friends in Fall Out Boy. It feels like highway robbery almost, because their sound was just as good. Their first two albums really changed my life, but for different ways. I wanted to focus on their debut album, 2005’s Almost Here, because this album is arguably the more influential album compared to 2007’s Santi. Santi was a more eclectic and interesting album, but Almost Here was more influential, because it was a big influence to the mainstream rise to emo and pop-punk.

Vocalist William Beckett is one of my favorite frontmen of the scene, too, and he has such a good voice, especially here. Almost Here is a really catchy, clever, and accessible emo record that surely should have been bigger, but oddly wasn’t. I don’t know what happened, other than that the scene was just too saturated. There were just too many bands out there, and that’s one reason the scene began to disappear from the mainstream. There were so many bands that were vying for peoples’ attentions, but Almost Here is one of the best records of that era that not a lot of people, at least outside of people who were a huge fan of the scene itself, have heard.

Bayside - The Walking Wounded

Contrary to the belief of what “elder emo” TikTokers will tell you, there are more bands in the scene than Fall Out Boy, Paramore, MCR, and Panic. The scene is so much bigger than what you saw in the mainstream, and a lot of it began in New York, including the band Bayside. These guys got pretty big in the early to mid 00s, even playing some late night shows (a lot of bands did, which was super cool), and they’re still around now, but they’re not on the level they once were.

My introduction to them was 2007’s The Walking Wounded, which was their third album, but I found them through an Alternative Press compilation of with an acoustic version of a song from that album. I picked up the album, because I really enjoyed the song, especially Anthony Raneri’s lyrics and vocals, and the album surprised me quite a bit when I heard a pop-punk album with heavier guitar riffs than your average pop-punk album. This remains my favorite album from them today, although their newest album from this year is great, too, and really reminds me of the inventiveness I heard on that record. It showed me that pop-punk can be both catchy and heavy at the same time, and the record still rules today.

Forever The Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater

In the late 00s, a lot of the emo / pop-punk in the mainstream started to disappear, and popularity waned for that style, despite a few bands still being popular. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Panic, and MCR still reigned as kings and queens of the genre. A new challenger emerged, at least in the underground, and that was neon pop-punk. Retrospectively named for its bright and colorful aesthetic, as well as how catchy and pop-focused the music was, neon pop-punk was the early 00s pop-punk fun-loving cousin that didn’t really take itself too seriously.

One of the most important albums of that movement, and while it’s probably not the first album that you could call neon pop-punk, Forever The Sickest Kids’ debut album, 2008’s Underdog Alma Mater, is a big moment for the genre. This album is catchy, slick, energetic, fun, and a little immature at times, but it also doesn’t take itself seriously and knows what it is. I always loved this record, because as catchy and synth-laden as their music, they had some good hooks and riffs to match. They were more than just a vapid pop-punk / pop-rock band, and this record shows it. They should have been a lot bigger, but they kind of fumbled the bag by releasing mediocre albums after and then just disappearing by the 2010s, so it’s unfortunate, but their debut is still one of my favorite albums from the scene.

New Found Glory - Sticks & Stones

Outside of Take This To Your Grave, I wasn’t familiar with a lot of early 00s pop/punk and emo, but where that album got me into that style of pop-punk, New Found Glory’s 2002 record, Sticks & Stones solidified it. Funnily though, this wasn’t the first NFG album I heard, that would be 2009’s Not Without A Fight, but it took me a few years to go back in their discography and listen to the album with their most iconic song “My Friends Over You.” This is easily one of my favorite 00s pop-punk records, and it’s kinda for that song alone. This record is so much fun, and it’s one of the first examples of easycore, where pop-punk and hardcore breakdowns met. You can hear it on this record a lot, and it’s awesome, but even after listening to this album for the first time in over a decade, I still enjoy it quite a bit.

Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends

Taking Back Sunday is one of the OG pop-punk and emo bands of the 00s, including New Found Glory, but I found their debut album, 2002’s Tell All Your Friends through word of mouth almost. This album was my all my favorite bands’ favorite album, especially in the 2010s “defend pop-punk” scene. Tell All Your Friends was a generation before mine, as I was too young when this record came out, but when I heard it, it blew my mind. I kept thinking, “This is what my favorite bands are influenced by? This is great!” There are loads of catchy hooks, one-liners, and mosh-ready instrumentation galore. These guys really helped to bring a new style of pop-punk to the forefront and you can hear the influence in a lot of records afterwards.

Panic! At The Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out

Panic! At The Disco’s debut album, 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, is lightning in a bottle; this record could only have come out in the mid-00s. It has a really unique sound, especially for the time, but it helped to catapult emo to the mainstream. Hell, “I Write Sins” is one of the biggest songs from that era, and it’ll be a song that people always remember, let alone gets played at emo nights across the country. Fever is such an iconic record, but it’s also a unique and interesting album that showcases Panic wanting to aim higher in terms of emo and pop-punk. The album is split into two halves — an electronic first half and a baroque pop second half, but it doesn’t feel jarring or strange.

It’s funny, because I remember downloading only a few songs from this album at first on iTunes back in 2007. I found the band through the Alternative Press compilation I’ve mentioned over and over again. I heard a live version of album closer “Build God, Then We’ll Talk,” and I loved it. I ended up listening to the rest of the album sometime later, but Fever is still such an iconic and nostalgic album for me. It still holds up all these years later, too, especially for its unique sound.

MCR - The Black Parade

Talk about another nostalgic album, because The Black Parade is very much another album that defined not only my adolescence, but the entire scene during the mid-00s. Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, and My Chemical Romance were the big four of the scene at the time, but The Black Parade is really what cemented MCR on that list. Their first two albums were a darker version of the emo and pop-punk sounds that came slightly before them, and during their rise, but The Black Parade was a new sound entirely. Dubbed the emo Queen, these guys made an emo rock opera that really justified that description.

This record is huge, expansive, melodramatic, fun, dark, poignant, and incredibly interesting in all facets. I just absolutely love this record. I don’t remember how I found them, because I found them at the same time as Panic and Fall Out Boy (Paramore came last, as I found All We Know Is Falling a bit before Riot came out), but I was obsessed with this record as a kid. It’s one of those rare albums that I can listen to as an adult and still appreciate what it does on a purely technical and artistic level, because there are a lot of nuances that I didn’t pick up back then. It’s easily their best album to me, despite how they only put one more and disappeared (they still haven’t put out another album despite coming back a few years ago), and it’s the one that I always go back to.

The Cab - Whisper War

For my last pick, I wanted to include another “neon” album, but a bit of an obscure pick. The Cab were a band that were heavily involved with Fueled By Ramen, as well as Pete Wentz’s Decaydance imprint, even including both Patrick Stump and Brendon Urie on the main single for their debut album, 2008’s Whisper. Called “One Of THOSE Nights,” the song showcased what they were all about, and they had a really unique R&B and soulful take on neon pop-punk. Their vocalist had a lot of range, and reminded me a ton of Patrick Stump, but I just fell in love with how catchy and groovy that album was (and still is). It showed me that pop-punk could utilize more outside influences, and while The Cab never got as huge as the bands that they clearly were inspired by, they had a rather dedicated following in the scene, but they just never got as big as they really should have.

[combat-tv-show]

Saunders getting shot in the leg  (2/?)

[bookalicent]

yeah so this was insane

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Out of sight, out of - wait.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[aubeezz]

whaddahal

[carbonateds-oda]

dazai gets treated by yosano and keeps a straight face the whole way through, not flinching or complaining one bit but the second kunikida walks in he turns into such a pitiful mess and is all like “kuniii everything huuurts 😣” and lets him fret over him while yosano is just like standing there like 😐

[ex0rin]

The Walking Dead -> Comic Issue #83 (11/??)

[my-name-is-markus-with-a-k]

Revolution Coat + Blue Blood

[gingermintpepper]

There are many things people expect from one called 'God of Blood'. Always, the first thought is the blood of war, the blood of violence, the blood of the weak shed for the goals of the strong. Ares doesn't think of the blood of battle at all. When he thinks of blood, he envisions the many tied knots of blood bonds and bonds forged in the blood of battle. Blood sons and blood daughters, blood brothers and battle sisters, blood oaths and blood vengeance - he watches over them all and keeps close each one of these bonds.

One cannot begrudge his displeasure then when he realises he cannot tell Leto's offspring apart just by looking at them.

It was easier when it was just Artemis. Dark hair curled about her shoulders, a fierce mien whenever Father summons her to the mountain, a scattering of bones and blood shed whenever she was disturbed; the eldest child of Leto was a wild thing, sharp toothed with sharper claws always at the ready. There's whispers of her being a twin, of her other half being made to crawl on their belly as penance for their sin of god-slaying but Ares pays it little mind. What twins look alike among their number? Even dog litters are born distinct with all their unique markings inlaid in their fur. Artemis' twin too would be much more than their sister's mirror image.

Pouring over his list now, he wishes anything about Phoebus Apollo was that simple.

Mirror image did not begin to describe it. The twins were the same height, the same build, had the same colour and texture hair, ate the same raw food and drank the same amount of nectar. There was no difference in how they dressed, no difference in the company they kept, no variance in the weapons they used. There are some days Ares still cannot believe Phoebus will grow into a man and not some nymph with the way his ears have that slender point. He watches them now, sitting together beneath a shady palm and stringing their bows in an uncanny unison and curses because he still cannot tell them apart. What use is his skill in knowing blood when they both have the same damn blood running through their veins? What bond is there to sense when they are tied so tightly together, Ares can scarcely tell brother from sister?

He sighs. Unadorned and completely alone, the only way to know who is who is to speak to them. He'll have to find more ways to tell them apart from a distance. Surely they cannot stay this similar all the rest of their immortal lives.

[ricksmarlene]

I'm a father. He's the one thing I don't want to fail. I am. But maybe you can call me dad.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Bayside - There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive

When I “retired” from writing about music back in 2018, one of the main reasons I just didn’t feel the same passion for writing about music that I once did is that I just didn’t listen to a lot of stuff I had anything worth a damn to say anything about. I’ve since implemented a rule for myself that constitutes having something unique to say about something, versus just saying it’s good, bad, or generic, because I’ve said that about many albums over the years. I’m not trying to be one of those “there’s no good music these days” people, but I’ve become more selective with what I listen to, partially for how much forgettable stuff there is. I also ran into an issue with a lot of bands and artists for just sounding the same throughout every album they put out. You have to give credit to these bands for being consistent, but I’m mixed on bands whose sound never changes.

On one hand, bands whose sound don’t change get stale fast, but that’s if you don’t like or love that sound. It’s a case by case basis, but even then, I love for bands to evolve and try new things (although I’m less critical when it comes to bands just doing stuff that sounds cool and that’s fun). Bayside is a band that I’ve always thought of when it comes to this idea, because as much as I like their brand of pop-punk that incorporates heavier guitar riffs from time to time, their albums have a tendency to sound the same. I enjoy a lot of their stuff, too, but a lot of their albums are near identical to each other. I was kind of skeptical about their new album, There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive, despite liking their last couple of albums. I suppose there is an upside to a band being consistent — you know what you’re going to get, and the same can be said with this album, at least to a degree.

This album is a Bayside album through and through, in that you hear their brand of pop-punk with elements of hard-rock and heavy metal, but they prove that even after over 20 years of releasing music, they’ve got some new tricks up their sleeves. I gotta say that I really enjoy this album, and it’s one of my favorites that I’ve heard from them, at least right under 2007’s The Walking Wounded. That was the first album I ever heard from them way back in my freshman year of high school, but There Are Worse Things rivals that at some points. This is one hell of a Bayside album, and I have a blast listening to this every time.

Along with their usual sound, this album may be their catchiest and heaviest at the same time. There are hooks for days on this thing, but their guitarist is able to really let loose a few times here. There are a couple of songs with what sound like thrash riffs, as well as some awesome solos. Their guitarwork was always one of their biggest strengths, and it seems like they upped it here. Vocalist Anthony Raneri is also a lot of fun here; his vocals aren’t anything amazing, but he does have a unique voice, and he is able to craft some solid melodies and hooks here. His range isn’t usually quite high, but his voice is the best it’s sounded in years here.

Maybe it was the five-year gap in between albums, despite releasing a few small EPs over the last couple of years, or something else entirely, but this album is surprisingly a breath of fresh air for them, and I absolutely love it. If you’re a huge fan of these guys, you should really enjoy this record, too. It’s got everything that people already love about this band, and then some, but it has a few new tricks, such as some catchy hooks and heavier guitar riffs. It feels like they wanted to lean into certain aspects of their sound that they don’t lean into a lot, and while their hooks are usually competent, they’ve never been this syrupy sweet before.

At the same time, their guitar riffs have never been this razor sharp and menacing before, either. You could throw some of those in a thrash band and they’d fit right in. At only 36 minutes, this is a short album, too, so it never feels as though it goes on too long. I suppose the only real complaint I have is that the lyrics aren’t anything to write home about, but they’re still written well, and there are some nuggets I really enjoy. This may possibly be one of my favorite albums at the end of the year, and I would definitely recommend it. Bayside is one of those bands that I’ve always thought were too consistent, but they really proved me wrong here.

[chloepleasestopdying]

You know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted my appreciation of Alex Chen. I love her to pieces. She’s such a good and interesting protagonist and I wish True Colors got the amount of love that the first LiS game got because she’s amazing

Shout out to Lightly Murder Alex, who might be the one character hotter than Ripped Vest Chloe

[sabu123098]

Violet Sorrengail and her failed dreams to be a Scribe

We should acknowledge the fact that the goddess mentioned above made numerous sacrifices even before she got to know about everything.

It is no joke when you work hard every single day of your life, hoping to achieve your dreams, and when they are this 🤏 close to you, they're taken away.

Even worse: that was the dream of that one parent who cared for you (atleast from Violet's perspective). That is what that parent spent the last fews years of his life to do. To make sure you excelled in whatever you did.

That requires a whole lot of strength and maturity. That is something we need to focus on more.

It's no wonder why Violet is insecure.

Yes, she is a lightning weilder. But could she control her own powers? No.

Yes, she is hella smart. But 99% of the knowledge she possessed, was it accurate? No.

Yes, she is the kindest person you can find in the Rider's Quadrant. But did that make people think twice before betraying her? No.

People who call her whiny need to wear her shoes before judging her.

[lgbtlunaverse]

Thinking of the Nie disciple that told Nie Mingjue it was Meng Yao who stayed behind to clean up corpses on the battlefield today.

Nie Mingjue didn't just randomly stumble upon poor lil meowyao eating bread in the novel, he was already looking for him to thank and reward him for his work.

That's what makes it so fun that nieyao's first conflict will end up being about someone else taking credit for Meng Yao's work.

And I'm sure that Nie Mingjue's actual opinions on plagiarism are a lot more nuanced, all we really get from him in this scene is "well you shouldn't kill someone over it!" which leaves a lot of room for what punishments he thinks are appropiate. But I bet that it isn't occuring to him in this moment that the only reason he knows Meng Yao at all, the only reason he got such a capable deputy, is that he noticed someone was taking care of the dead and cared enough to want to know their name. And then the Nie disciples didn't lie to him. The disciple he asked could have said "it was me, Zongzhu" to rise in the ranks himself, but he didn't. He went and asked others, who all also could have taken the credit, but they didn't. Someone saw Meng Yao working and decided to be honest about it and that simple decision is the catalyst for Meng Yao becoming Nie Mingjue's deputy.

Meng Yao can't just work hard to get results, others have to acknowledge that work. If they don't, it's as if he didn't do anything at all.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Whumptober 2024 No.10 & No. 12

Prompt 10: Passing out from pain

Prompt 12: “Just a little more.”

Warnings: Bullet wound; surgical procedure

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

gif not mine - google

You thought the bones in your hand would give, shatter beneath the pressure of the desperate grip around them. The thing was, though, that you didn’t care. If it brought a single measure of relief to your archer, you’d gladly allow every single one to become a shard below the skin and deal with your own pain later.

“Just a little more.” You tried to soothe as best as you could through your tears. “Just a little longer.” His hair was sweat damp, sticking to his face and neck. The belt between his teeth would carry the indents forever. Maybe you’d never wear it again.

“It’s lodged in the muscle.” Hershel said from behind Daryl, his face a stern reflection of his concentration as he dug the tweezers into the wound of the lower right flank. Daryl tried to arch away, biting down on the leather with a howling sound you’d surely hear in your nightmares for the rest of your life. You couldn’t suppress a gasp when he squeezed your hand once again.

“Can’t we just leave it then? Won’t it heal?” Rick asked, from below, his grip on Daryl’s ankles tightening to keep the man as still as possible.

The veterinarian shook his head. “There is the risk of lead poisoning.” Another twist of the tweezers led to another buck of the archer’s body.

“Ssh, you’re gonna be okay. You’re doing so well. Please, just stay with—” Your eyes widened when his hold on you went slack, his pain-lined face relaxing, the belt falling to the mattress. “Hershel?!”

“He passed out.” The man stated sympathetically, though he continued his work with only enough pause to press two fingers to Daryl’s neck. “Pulse is fast but strong.”

You nodded, expression tight and grim. It would be another twenty minutes before the slug and any shards were removed, the wound cleaned and stitched. Propped on his side, the archer slept, the faint pinched expression the only sign of discomfort. You sat with him throughout the night, refusing to even allow yourself to doze.

It was just before sunrise when Daryl stirred, groaning and hissing when he made the smallest attempt to roll onto his back. You straightened in the chair and nodded to Carol, not watching as she ran to find Hershel.

“Hey.” You greeted with both visible and audible relief, your hand cupping his cheek. “How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

Daryl grimaced. “Ain’t somethin’ m’gonna forget anytime soon.”

Your lips thinned out in a sad smile. “Hershel says you’re gonna be fine, just sore for a few days. You’ve gotta take it easy.” When he rolled his eyes and made an attempt to sit up, you stopped him with a firm press against the round of his shoulder. “I mean it, Daryl.”

“M’fine. Too much to do for me to be a lazy bum in this bed.” The level of annoyance in his tone was equal to that on his face.

“No. No, Daryl.” You admonished sternly. “You’re not pushing yourself with this. You need to rest and you’re going to.” He scoffed and tried again, only for the same halting press of your hand. “Daryl Dixon, if you move from this bed before Hershel says you can, I’ll never speak to you again.” That had his attention, wide blue eyes staring you down while he settled back onto the pillow.

“Y’serious?”

It was a threat you weren’t entirely sure you could follow through with, but he didn’t need to know that. You kept your silence, hoping it would be all that was needed to coerce him. You were rewarded.

“Fine.” He huffed.

“You promise?” You ventured, knowing Daryl was nothing if not a man of his word. Another roll of his eyes.

“Promise.”

You beamed at him, diving forward to cup his face and press a kiss to his mouth. “Thank you. I don’t know if I could have stuck to that.”

His expression soured. “You’re a asshole.”

“But you love me.” He didn’t say it back. He didn’t need to. Daryl said I love you in actions, not words. And he had shown you over and over how deeply he cared for you, even taking that very bullet for you.

Still, it was the day he was allowed out of bed—after you had rarely left his side—that you finally heard those three words leave his lips.