What Your Favorite Emo Band Says About You

I remember hearing, "I'll Follow You Into The Dark" for the first time on the radio and thinking, "Oh, Death Cab is on the radio now? Cool." It was the first time I heard one of my favorite underground-ish bands —whose shows I would crowd into sweaty concert halls to see —on the radio and not feeling like the world had stolen my thing. Plans was released in my summer between high school and college and like some strange internal emo clock, I began letting go of "the scene." Sure, Plans catapulted Death Cab For Cutie into the mainstream, but they made the mainstream better by being there. Plus, it meant less of my friends would tease me for listening to such sad music all of the time.

That was the thing about growing up in the pop-punk/emo scene — everyone wanted so badly to be different and "deep," but really we were all a lot cooler than we gave ourselves credit for. We went to live shows and festivals where we met people who shared our love of belting our hearts out in a mosh pit and dying our hair wild colors after Gwen Stefani and before Katy Perry. All in all, being into the scene was cool because it was something to care about. When you're a teenager finding ANYTHING to not be totally apathetic about is pretty astounding, in retrospect.

So, kudos to you Death Cab For Cutie, for your monumental album that dared to be popular, while still being you. And here's to my fellow high school mopers, may we forever tap on our chests at shows and wear black eyeliner with a wink.

In honor of Plans and the era that was the great Emoissance of the early '00s, here's what your favorite pop-punk/emo band says about you:

Death Cab For Cutie

You're very well-read and have perhaps even completed the task that is Ulysses. You hope to some day meet the love of your life at a gallery or a coffee shop, or somewhere equally fitting because you just want the great story. 500 Days of Summer is probably one of your favorite movies and the "Expectations Vs. Reality" scene sums up why you're probably still single.

Saves The Day

For starters, you're probably from New Jersey, like all the best emo kids were (and still are?). You are a sensitive soul who cries like a baby at every Pixar movie and spent most of your life being in love with your best friend who never saw you right in front of them. You totally went stag to prom. Nothing that a late night drive with the windows down and your favorite album blasting won't fix.

Taking Back Sunday

Mics are for swinging.

Brand New

Mics are for singing.

Sunny Day Real Estate

You were into emo before it was "emo" and you made SURE to tell every young punk who crossed your way in the smoking area outside of a concert venue. Winter is oddly your favorite month and you probably have a powder blue T-shirt that you bought at a thrift store 15 years ago that you can't bring yourself to throw out.

Thursday

You're a quiet storm. You're probably a little unassuming at work and even a little shy socially, but when you get going, you're the person who is surprisingly really good at breakdancing.

The Get Up Kids

You want a hug. Right now.

American Football

You were totally that guy who threw the dodgeball too hard in gym class.

Fall Out Boy

You have a tattoo of a star somewhere on your body. It's likely nautical. You look at it now, wistfully and think about giving up your desk job to start a band...again.

Cheers, Plans. And cheer up, everyone.

Images: Giphy(3), TakingBackSundayVEVO/YouTube