David Farrier

When I say emo, what comes to mind for you? Because I know in New Zealand, we had a lot of emos, sort of a thing in the early 2000s, right?

I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Now, growing up in New Zealand, there was this time in the mid-2000s when a certain American music genre seemed to get very, very big. If I remember correctly, it was led by bands like My Chemical Romance and Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Paramore.

I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Now, growing up in New Zealand, there was this time in the mid-2000s when a certain American music genre seemed to get very, very big. If I remember correctly, it was led by bands like My Chemical Romance and Panic at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Paramore.

On every street corner, down every alleyway, there also seemed to be a teenager with a giant black fringe covering their face. I'm talking, of course, about emo music, and I can already feel fans and enemies reading their keyboards to send me messages about how those bands aren't even emo or aren't the originals or a host of other complaints.

On every street corner, down every alleyway, there also seemed to be a teenager with a giant black fringe covering their face. I'm talking, of course, about emo music, and I can already feel fans and enemies reading their keyboards to send me messages about how those bands aren't even emo or aren't the originals or a host of other complaints.

But it struck me recently that I'm now living in the country that gave birth to emo music out of the mid-80s hardcore scene in Washington, D.C., according to a brief look on Wikipedia. And when I saw an advertisement for something called Emo Night here in LA, I saw it as a sign from the heavens or hell or maybe purgatory that it was finally time to do this episode.

But it struck me recently that I'm now living in the country that gave birth to emo music out of the mid-80s hardcore scene in Washington, D.C., according to a brief look on Wikipedia. And when I saw an advertisement for something called Emo Night here in LA, I saw it as a sign from the heavens or hell or maybe purgatory that it was finally time to do this episode.

So grow out that fringe and get ready to argue a lot about the origins of the scene and what it all means because this is the Emo Episode.

So grow out that fringe and get ready to argue a lot about the origins of the scene and what it all means because this is the Emo Episode.

And was your pitch just take this theme and please make it emo? Yes, exactly. And they absolutely nailed it. Yes. And one of the joys of those live shows we did was having a band redo our theme song every show. And I love it. And I love, God, that was good. It sets the tone, right?

And was your pitch just take this theme and please make it emo? Yes, exactly. And they absolutely nailed it. Yes. And one of the joys of those live shows we did was having a band redo our theme song every show. And I love it. And I love, God, that was good. It sets the tone, right?

Oh, that's insane. Is he okay? Yeah. That's also very American, the whole tornado thing. That doesn't happen in New Zealand where someone's like, I couldn't deliver the theme song because a tornado ripped through my neighborhood.

Oh, that's insane. Is he okay? Yeah. That's also very American, the whole tornado thing. That doesn't happen in New Zealand where someone's like, I couldn't deliver the theme song because a tornado ripped through my neighborhood.

I mean, it's amazing he even did it. Yeah. Okay. I'm excited about this episode because I also feel like you know a lot about this. I know less about it, but I'm eternally fascinated.

I mean, it's amazing he even did it. Yeah. Okay. I'm excited about this episode because I also feel like you know a lot about this. I know less about it, but I'm eternally fascinated.

My friend Amy is in a band and she's been in LA forever. And I started just quizzing her about emo music because I knew it is debatable. And this is how that conversation went. Okay.

My friend Amy is in a band and she's been in LA forever. And I started just quizzing her about emo music because I knew it is debatable. And this is how that conversation went. Okay.

She got really angry at me when I was secretly recording her, but she went on this extended rant about the origins of where emo came from, and I wish I'd been able to capture it, but she got very angry.

She got really angry at me when I was secretly recording her, but she went on this extended rant about the origins of where emo came from, and I wish I'd been able to capture it, but she got very angry.

No, it was like, I'm trying to do an episode at the moment about ska music, and I'm running into the same problem of just being, there's too much. And so I'm so glad you're here to kind of steer this direction of what we're going to talk about, because it's such an insane world.