Alright, my little brother is asking for the Story of the Year CD, which I refuse to buy him. What could a young, impressionable fan of crappy emo be turned onto that is respectable? He also likes crappy rap-rock bands.

As a guidline, Sunny Day would definitely be straying too far from crappy.

How about Brand New? They're not too bad. Or even bands like Hot Rod Circuit which are at least decent.

get up kids?

Death Cab For Cutie? I kinda dig them.

The Thermals?

(not crappy, btw, just accessible) My younger bro (14 yrs old) likes some questionable stuff, but also likes the Thermals.

Braid's "Frame and Canvas" is a must.

Gatsby's American Dream. Hard to find, kind of. They were #29 on my 2003 list:

"This is my favorite pop punk turned boring emo turned wannabe hardcore album of the year! Woo! But seriously, my buddy turned me on this this somewhat local band (central Washington), and I didn't really get into the first song I heard, but when I took the chance to acquire the entire album, I realized it was just a small part of a big picture. It's an album full of short songs, harder sounding songs, and it's pretty fantastic. The best thing about their fairly generic music is that it's not really generic at all. The way they play it is different, the songs seem to change pace quite a bit, and there aren't that many boring choruses to be found. The vocalist also is able to change his voice during the song, from a scream to a calm whine, to just an average pop punk sound. The album definitely works best when you listen to the whole thing, rather than just individual tracks. So anyway, stop listening to your boring ol' Taking Back Sunday and Starting Line, and listen to a band that deserves some recognition."

I also think the new Jimmy Eat World cd is undeniably catchy and excellent. Just missed my list this year.

You could always go with some of the originals like Mineral, Rites of Spring, Christie Front Drive.

Appleseed Cast, Rescue, Cross My Heart, Joan of Arc, The Promise Ring.

Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I

Just what is "Emo" anyway?
Just buy the kid some good fucking music!

or, Jimmy Eat World's Clarity.

Oh yeah- Knapsack: This Conversation is Ending Starting Right Now

I second Hot Rod Circuit, or Jimmy Eat World

ONE TRUE THING is crappy girl fronted emo....

and she is real cute, so he'll have something to look at in the cd packaging!

www.playtheassassni.com - free posters and buttons with any order!!!

www.myspace.com/playtheassassinrecords

[/end hype]

Oh just get him what he wants. This idea that you refuse to get him what he wants cause you don't like it is silly.

I'm grateful to anyone who introduced me to good music while I was listening to shit. The idea that personal preference is the ultimate good of aesthetic appreciation is equally silly.

Hardly.

My little sister asked for the Ashlee Simpson cd.

So I bought her books.

not for nothing, but 'Anthem of my Dying Day' is a kick ass song!

Jimmy Eat World is qual.

Get him the CD he wants plus something "decent" to chase it with. Couch it like, "Dude, thought if you like SotY you might dig these guys, too."

That way you're not shitting on what he likes and also introducing him to something cool.

Everybody wins!

swiateck - not a bad idea, but i already made fun of SotY.

Dov - notwithstanding any disclaimers about personal taste, that song is trite, formulaic shite.

Take him to a good record store and let him pick out one, and you pick out one.

Then you'll get to hang in a record store.

I guess I'm just more diplomatic about this stuff because I pretty much expect everyone else to not like the music I dig.
When someone tells me they like Maroon 5, Bowling For Soup, etc. I shrug my shoulders, say it's not for me and move on. No point in alienating people over something they probably view as trivial anyway.

Unless they like Celine Dion.
Or Creed.

Then I bring the hammer down.

Just buy him what he wants and don't worry about losing face or whatever for having made fun of it.

I buy my gf stuff I don't like, but I'm constantly giving her stuff I think is good, too. She still likes most of the pretty, cutesy, throw-away pop stuff, but I've been gradually improving her taste over time.

A similar approach is probably the way to go. And, going from the thread title, I have to ask: have you introduced him to Modest Mouse? They're not emo, but they kind of have some similar origins and the emotive vocal aesthetic.

And are you sure Sunny Day is straying too far? Old Weezer? The first Drive Like Jehu album?

I accept your apology

rites of spring - the anthology

he won't like it at first, but every emo band was at least indirectly influenced by them. if he atually listens to it a few times he will love it and hopefully it will lead him to fugazi and then in a new dirction entirely.

I'd say even to skip Rites of Spring and go straight to Fugazi.

FYI: This brother of Haq is also my brother.

Ugh, he asked for Story of the Year!? He mentioned Brand New the other day so maybe that's an idea. I have the album they put out last year and actually like it quite a bit.

I've been wracking my brain on some good music to introduce him to as well. We did a good job with little sis but this one has been more of a challenge.