Arts & Entertainment
 

Emo began with 'Revenge Therapy'

New bands often imitate Jawbreaker's emotions, attitudes in show of divine irony

By Jason Gagnon
The Daily Cougar

It is depressing and baffling that a band like Jawbreaker, with actual talent, helped spawn the unholy music called "emo." Yes, it's true. Go up to any pretty boy with a stupid haircut who whines about not getting chicks and he will cite Jawbreaker as a major influence. Listen to "West Bay Invitational" and you'll see where Hot Water Music got its inspiration for their first few albums. 

Even more questionable is the album (and band's) absence from Rolling Stone's top 500 albums list. Jawbreaker had as much impact in the underground music scene as Nirvana did on the mainstream (the two even toured together). 

24 Hour Revenge Therapy is probably the most important album in Jawbreaker's catalog. While "Dear You" has been discovered by a new generation of fans, they weren't around for the scene backlash that Jawbreaker faced upon signing to a major label and releasing their most commercially accessible album. 

After the band released Bivuoac in 1991, they quickly gained a large cult following and harsh criticism from the "punker than thou" crowd. 24 Hour Revenge Therapy not only showcases Blake Schwarzenbach's poetic love songs, but also his flippant middle finger response to the band's critics. With a perfect balance of driving pop-punk and great melodies, the album still remains one of the greatest independent albums of all time. 

Schwarzenbach's voice sounds stronger than on previous albums but still retains his tobacco-stained rasp, and his lyrics are in top form. "Boxcar" became an instant classic for the band with lyrics like "You're not punk/ And I'm telling everyone/ Save your breath/ I never was one." 

The song merrily attacks its mohawk mafia critics on "Indictment," where Schwarzenbach proclaims "It won't bother me, what the thoughtless are thinking." Oddly enough, the newer wave of pop-punk acts that failed to retain their underground credibility often cover "Boxcar," which unintentionally insults the music and its songwriter. 

But Jawbreaker's strength was always in their confessional love songs. On this album, Schwarzenbach displays more maturity in his lyrics than on previous records where he would simply lament over doomed romance. On "Do You Still Hate Me" he asks how to improve a troubled relationship and "Ashtray Monument" finds the singer musing on the idiosyncrasies of a past break up. 

And the songs aren't all bleak in tone. "Jinx Removing" is a pretty cheerful song about a crush with lyrics like "I love you more/ than I ever loved/ Any before/ or anyone to come." 

Simply put, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy is a vastly underrated (at least by public standards) album that continues to influence music today. 

24 Hour Revenge Therapy

Jawbreaker
 
 

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