''The Emo Diaries'' is a series of twelve

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s released by

Deep Elm Records Deep Elm Records is an independent record label releasing albums by bands such as Lights & Motion, The Appleseed Cast, Brandtson, The White Octave, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. It also released the compilation series ''The Emo Diaries''. Hist ...

between 1997 and 2011. The series had an open submissions policy and featured mostly acts that were unsigned at the time of the albums' releases. Deep Elm founder John Szuch claims that the original name for the series was intended to be ''The Indie Rock Diaries'', but this was ruled out by the fact that the first volume included

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

and

Samiam Samiam (pronounced "sam-I-am") is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1988. History Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the 924 Gilman Street, Gilman club mainstay Isocracy (band), Isocracy. Their ...

, who were both signed to major record labels. ''The Emo Diaries'' was chosen because ''The Emotional Diaries'' was too long to fit on the album cover. Despite the title, the bands featured in the series have a diversity of sounds that do not all necessarily fit into the

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

style of rock music.Greenwald, pp. 118–119.

Andy Greenwald Andy Greenwald (born May 19, 1977) is an American author, critic, podcaster, screenwriter, and television producer. Life and career Greenwald grew up in Philadelphia and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Friends' ...

, in his book '' Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo'', claims that the series "stake a claim for emo as more a shared aesthetic than a

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

e bands included hail from all over the world, and the
musical styles A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...
range from racing
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
to droopy, noodley electro. Still, the prevalence of the series—coupled with its maudlin subtitles (''The Silence nMy Heart'', ''I Guess This Is Goodbye'') and manic-depressive tattoo cover art—did much to codify the word "emo" and spread it to all corners of the underground.

Deep Elm themselves have remarked that the series' open submissions policy and diversity of bands is what made it unique: "Only the music mattered. Deep Elm has never attempted to define any musical style, as we believe any combination of songwriting,

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

and live performance means something different to every listener." ''The Emo Diaries'' featured then-new and unreleased music by such notable acts as

The Appleseed Cast The Appleseed Cast is an American rock band from Lawrence, Kansas. The band was founded in the early days of emo by singer-guitarist Christopher Crisci and drummer Louie Ruiz. The Appleseed Cast has steadily evolved over the release of eight fu ...

Brandtson Brandtson was an American rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. History The band formed in 1996 and first recorded for a Stead Fast Records compilation entitled ''Radiowaves and Gibberish'' in 1997. Soon after the group signed with Deep Elm Records, ...

Further Seems Forever Further Seems Forever is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Over its initial eight-year run the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their f ...

Jejune Jejune was an American emo band formed in 1996 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The band was heavily involved with the scene at the peak of the "second wave" of emo in the mid-1990s. The three founding members, Arabella Harr ...

The Movielife The Movielife is a Long Island punk rock band composed of vocalist Vinnie Caruana, guitarist Brandon Reilly, and drummer Brett Romnes. The band originally formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2003, but announced their official reunion in December 20 ...

Planes Mistaken for Stars Planes Mistaken for Stars was an American rock band. The group was founded in Peoria, Illinois in 1997 and later relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1999. Working with several different labels, they released three studio albums and four EPs before ...

, and

Seven Storey Mountain Seven Storey Mountain was an American rock group from Phoenix, Arizona. The group's music was heavily influenced by the early Washington, D.C. post-hardcore scene.Andy Hinds, Seven Storey Mountainat Allmusic The band formed in 1994 as a three ...

. Ten installments were released between 1997 and 2004, after which the series was unofficially halted. According to the label:

Deep Elm cited the bastardization of the term "
emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...
" in today's pop culture, as well as mainstream's stranglehold and subsequent commercialization of the genre, which placed the focus squarely on the aesthetic...not the music, the energy or the passion. Essentially, Deep Elm refused to play the game and closed the doors on the genre they helped to document, nurture and expose to the world.

However, in 2007 the label published an eleventh chapter in the series, entitled ''Taking Back What's Ours''. In April 2010, Deep Elm began soliciting submissions for a twelfth installment of ''The Emo Diaries'', which was released in January 2011 as ''I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You''.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emo Diaries, The Compilation album series Deep Elm Records compilation albums