It’s pretty difficult to think about the history of emo without thinking of Dashboard Confessional. With albums like The Swiss Army Romance and A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar, bandleader Chris Carrabba played a big role in defining the genre’s aesthetic in the 2000s through heartfelt, primarily acoustic odes to love and (more often than not) loss.
Who better, then, to curate a playlist celebrating the essential emo and indie classics of the past decades? Carrabba has done just that with a Spotify #ThrowbackThursday playlist to coincide with the release of Dashboard’s The Best of the Best Ones compilation album, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band, scheduled for release tomorrow.
The 50-track mix features “behind the song” introductions for Dashboard favourites like ‘Screaming Infidelities’ and ‘The Best Deceptions’, and includes tracks from the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Rilo Kiley, The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, My Chemical Romance, American Football, Rainer Maria and tons more.
It also covers a fairly broad range of non-emo musical territory, with indie touchstones like Neutral Milk Hotel, Tori Amos and Fiona Apple tracks all featured as well.
All in all, it’s a very solid collection – and essential listening if you grew up listening to the more sensitive side.
Listen to the playlist for yourself below.
