"At Your Funeral" by Saves the Day from the album Stay What You Are (2001)

The contemplation of death — by a tragic yet beautifully redemptive accident or at one’s own emotionally tied hands — is one of the most common themes of the genre. If Captain James Hook thought death to be “the last grand adventure,” the emo purist knows that death is the only adventure in a life fraught with all the girls who will never get you and the inevitable heartache that awareness brings. These Jersey kids got it, their debut album struck a sad chord with all the dark and gloomy kids across America wondering, “Is this all there is?” Chris Conley can’t quite decide if he wants to drown his unrequited love in a flood of his own feelings or pull her from the wreckage. Either way, tears will be shed.

_Alexandra Cavallo