Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo
Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo is a book by Andy Greenwald, then a senior contributing writer at Spin magazine, published in November 2003 by St. Martin's Press.[1]
 | |
| Author | Andy Greenwald |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | 15 November 2003 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 0-312-30863-9 |
The title is taken from the 1997 album Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring, a representative band of the 1990s emo scene. The book explores the evolution of the emo scene from basement concerts in the 1980s to stadium shows in the early 2000s, and how this culture has affected its target group, teenagers. Greenwald defines emo as "a much mocked, maligned, and misunderstood term for melodic, expressive, and confessional punk rock." In a sense, Greenwald argues, emo defines a generation by putting their feelings to song and bringing their inner thoughts out into the open for all to hear, and be healed by. He follows the evolution of bands like Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, and Thursday, as well as the development of popular websites like Makeoutclub and LiveJournal.
Reception
On his review of the album, Ian Cohen of Pitchfork said about the book "Although emo band The Promise Ring didn't write the quintessential book on Emo, the name Nothing Feels Good is used for the book title. To clarify the music of the band, there is an expression of a restless, overactive imagination and inventive giddiness as lyrical relief of their own, and perhaps societies self-deprecation and guilt, and for a fulfilling emotional awareness and an enthusiasm in towns, places and people far outside their own hometown."[2]