"mEMOries" Part 35 feat. David of RealoEmo

9 years ago, back on the old site, we did start a series called mEMOries. It was all about asking new Emo-bands or other scene affiliates about their all time favourite (Midwest-)Emo-record. It was about nostalgia. And it was about connecting the new with the old. I had big plans for this series, wanted to collect 20 parts and then release some sort of a sampler with an XL-booklet attached, that features all of the text pieces...

...after 7 parts the series was buried, when the end of borderline fuckup 1.0 was on the horizon. I'm still in love with the idea and tried my best to start a relaunch in 2021, but it mainly was a chore. However, I got back on track somehow, with a lot of support by some lovely people. Now, here's part 35 for your reading pleasure!

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// The author // David (RealoEmo)

Starting out in 2017, RealoEmo quickly became the "hang out place" for all generations of Emo lovers. What's special about RealoEmo is, that there's no website, their center piece was and still is an Instagram account, where they gained 10k+ followers with funny memes and great recommendations. Later, they added a Spotify-playlist, a Bandcamp-account and a Discord-server. Another thing that's really special about David and RealoEmo is, that they focus on the classic (while also recognizing modern Emo or Screamo) Emo-sound of SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE or MINERAL, the -as the name of the site says it all- "real emo". So what the hell you think, David picked for "mEMOries" Part 35? Rrrrrright!

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// The record // Mineral - The Power of Failing

Release: 1997 // Label: Crank! Records

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David on "The Power of Failing" by Mineral

Ok so the year was 2016. At this point I was somewhat familiar with the emo revival through bands like Foxing, Prawn, TMP, and Hightide Hotel. Admittedly, I was much more interested in the new pop punk scene going on at the time, but my friend Gabe (who I started Realoemo with a year later) was super into Screamo and he would show me a few records from his collection after school. The heaviest music I was into at the time was just radio friendly metalcore, but hearing shit like Funeral Diner and Pageninetynine blew my mind by how raw it sounded. It peaked my interest, but I was a wuss at the time, so it felt almost too “out there” for me. Then, he would show me Mineral’s The Power of Failing which he got on CD via discogs. It sorta just clicked from there.

Coming from a Christian upbringing before becoming decidedly agnostic, Chris Simpson’s lyrics spoke to me in a way that I never felt before. With the peaks and valleys of the passionate instrumentals, it was crazy to hear an album that perfectly represented how I was feeling as an angsty, confused teenager waiting for my life to begin.

I mean, when the guitar sounds like it’s crying in “Parking Lot”, fuck, it doesn’t get more emo than that.

I know for a fact Mineral was one of my top bands on Spotify wrapped that year and it’s and album that has never really left my rotation either. To me, only so many emo bands have came off as genuine as they did. I can’t say I was as into endserenading, but I’ve still been a fan of every ex-Mineral project.

Since the day I heard that album, I was convinced of Emo being the next thing I had to chase. Being the nerdy 16 year old I was, I committed myself to studying it like a historian. I hopped onto r/emo, isthisbandemo, CMHWAK, Fourfa.com, countless blogs and dead forums, and started listening to Washed Up Emo. The rest is history.

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"mEMOries" Part 1 feat. Mosey Jones
"mEMOries" Part 2 feat. Daniel Becker (Time as a Color Records, Amid the Old Wounds)
"mEMOries" Part 3 feat. Former States 
"mEMOries" Part 4 feat. Edie Quinn (Middle-Man Records, Coma Regalia)
"mEMOries" Part 5 feat. Human Hands 
"mEMOries" Part 6 feat. Alex Miles (Is this Thing on?)
"mEMOries" Part 7 feat. Boys' Club
"mEMOries" Part 8 feat. Keith Latinen (Mt. Oriander, Parting) 
"mEMOries" Part 9 feat. Villain of the War 
"mEMOries" Part 10 feat. John Szuch (Deep Elm Records)
"mEMOries" Part 11 feat. Flight Mode 
"mEMOries" Part 12 feat. Comic Sans
"mEMOries" Part 13 feat. Joe C (What Price Wonderland?, Plaids, Zochor)
"mEMOries" Part 14 feat. Mentah 
"mEMOries" Part 15 feat. Walking Race
"mEMOries" Part 16 feat. Against Realism
"mEMOries" Part 17 feat. Klaus Axmann (Goddamn Records) 
"mEMOries" Part 18 feat. Atlanta Arrival 
"mEMOries" Part 19 feat. Mary's Letter
"mEMOries" Part 20 feat. Sinking 
"mEMOries" Part 21 feat. Lakes
"mEMOries" Part 22 feat. Downhaul
"mEMOries" Part 23 feat. About Leaving
"mEMOries" Part 24 feat. The Arrival Note
"mEMOries" Part 25 feat. Letterpress 
"mEMOries" Part 26 feat. Mr. Princess
"mEMOries" Part 27 feat. Tragwag 
"mEMOries" Part 28 feat. soccer. 
"mEMOries" Part 29 feat. c.h.point (Summer 2000, Elder Jack)
"mEMOries" Part 30 feat. Time Spent Driving
"mEMOries" Part 31 feat. Bicycle Inn
"mEMOries" Part 32 feat. Achers
"mEMOries" Part 33 feat. Jonathan Lee Gonzales (Sunday Drive Records)
"mEMOries" Part 34 feat. Fortyten (Drifting with the Ice)