I usually listen to NPR on the way to and from school to catch up on world events so I can sound smart to my preschool kids. However, I am tired of hearing about the incompetent government. Also, I bought Into It. Over It.'s Intersections, and I cannot stop listening to it.

This album filled a void in me. I still listen to a good majority of the music I listened to ten years ago, and not just for nostalgic purposes. I really love emotional alternative music (I am trying really hard to avoid the term "emo" here). So, when I heard a magazine article describe Evan Weiss and Into It. Over It. as the "fourth wave" of emo, I had to find out for myself.

I love this album. It is very, very reminiscent of Bayside. In fact, I listened to a Bayside song followed by an IIOI song, and the familiarity was almost uncanny, particularly with the vocals. It is different, though. It draws a lot of influences from bands like the Promise Ring, Jets to Brazil, and Jawbreaker, as well as Armor for Sleep and Further Seems Forever.

This album also reminds me of winter. It feels comforting and familiar and a little bit heavy (not the metal kind of heavy). This album feels like an angry drive home. Maybe you're only getting Weiss' side of the story, but who cares? It feels good to be a little angry and a little sad and also a little bit hopeful.

Some standout tracks include "New North-Side Air," "Spinning Thread, "A Curse Worth Believing" and "Obsessive Compulsive Distraction" (I nearly listed every song, but that would have been excessive. Seriously, though.)

In ninth grade, I read Andy Greenwald's Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo so much that it started to fall apart. It documented the beginnings of bands like Thursday and Saves the Day, as well The Promise Ring, Braid, Texas is the Reason, and Sunny Day Real Estate. I lugged this book around with me everywhere and joked that it was like my bible. At the ripe young age of 23, I missed out on many of these bands during their heydays. Nonetheless, I ate it all up. What a book. What music lover doesn't want to learn about the origin of their favorite music?

Sadly, I lent it to a friend back in high school, but I am ordering another copy as we speak (or, to be more accurate, as I type). I recommend it to every person in the universe.

Enjoy this Christina-created playlist in honor of my favorite book.

This morning on Facebook Washed Up Emo Blog posted a link to one of the greatest things I've ever seen: a new donut shop whose donuts are based on band names. But not just any band names, '90s emo band names. Donut Friend is the project of record producer and musician, Mark Trombino. Trombino has been making records since 1991; he produced so many albums I listened in high school by bands like Jimmy Eat World, No Knife, Knapsack/The Jealous Sound, Blink-182, Mineral, and Mock Orange. Check out the awesome menu here. I'll take a Promise Ring and a Fudgegazi, please.

As someones who love '90s emo -- not your little brother's emo, your older brother's emo -- and great food, Mark Trombino is living my dream.

Check out the Washed Up Emo Blog here, and be sure to follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Donut friend can be found on Twitter and Facebook as well.

Joyce Manor is good music for any kind of day. (I'm spending my Saturday afternoon on my couch, by the way, and it is the perfect music for such an activity.) I found them through a blog I follow, and I've listened to this album four or five times a day since then (time-permitting, of course).

I love them because they sound like emo music of olde. It is one of my favorite kinds of music. I like the fuzzy sound quality and short songs, which adds a nice little punk rock element.* Most of the songs have a sing-a-long quality to them, all while employing screaming, fast guitars, and all the things I love about music.

They are touring with Desaparecidos this year, which makes a lot of sense. They remind me a lot of them, Lifetime, and probably some other bands, too. Below is a song from their 2012 album Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired and my favorite Lifetime song just for fun.


*Not an authority on punk rock, in case you were wondering.

The first time I heard these guys I thought, "these guys sound exactly like Cap'N Jazz." I guess I kind of thought they were an anomaly of a band in that they had a midwestern emo (of which I'm a big fan) revival sound. Then I heard there's actually quite an emo revival scene scattered across a few cities like Philadelphia and Denton, TX. Out of these new emo bands I'd have to say Algernon is by far my favorite. I listened to this song a lot over the last few days. Enjoy.