2006 Rewind: When the Eems Started Dancing

The trend of all the emo/pop-punk/hardcore/screamo/stupid subgenre kids starting up nu-wave dance bands still continued to rage throughout the '06, which kind of makes you wonder when will these kids realize they've made a bad decision? I guess it's sort of like that girlfriend that you get all nostalgic about, even though you find all her little idiosyncracies so damn annoying and you can't wait to dump her. Ugh.

While last year brought us Head Automatica, The Killers and Panic at the Disco, 2006 shot us in our collective eardrums with Young Love (featuring Recover's Dan Keyes), Rock Kills Kid (who released a Jimmy Eat World-lite EP back in 2003), Plus 44, Shiny Toy Guns and many other disposable bands.

While I realize that the synthpop hits of The Killers and Postal Service reignited keyboard sales the last two years, there comes a time when we have to say enuff z'nuff. The Faint has been at this new wave revival for years and you know what? They're about a million times better than most of these bands. I'm writing this not to ride on the Saddle Creek coattails, but because it's merely a fact. "Danse Macabre" holds water not only as a pop record, but also as a socio-political album. I mean, if you're going to have a medium to speak your mind, you might as well say something meaningful, right?

I'm hoping that many of these dance bands will die out in 2007. Glassjaw (which is fronted by Head Automatica singer Daryl Palumbo) is taking another crack at hardcore for the new year and Good Charolette is releasing a dance/rap/rock record, which should pretty much murder the nu-wave movement all together. Here's to wishful thinking.