Analysis: Screamo Music

Most people that like it and listen to it are under 18. Are the "emo" teens the ones to thank for the huge success of the new wave of vocals?

Screamo can be handled in healthy doses, when balanced out with regular singing. Take Alexisonfire, for an example. And then, it can be non-stop throats, such as The Bled. It all depends on how much anger you have in your life. Lots of screaming is good for the soul, it helps describe all your stress and just get it out.

It can also be more tasteful if it's just on the edge of screaming, such as Linkin Park's "Bleed It Out". Or if you can understand what they're saying, as opposed to just random lines of shrieks. (Like Alexisonfire's "Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints".)

Believe it or not, there is such thing as a song with screaming in it, but isn't necessarily a "screamo song". Two examples are My Chem's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and Paramore's "My Heart". To be a screamo song, it has to have at least one chorus and verse entirely in throats.

Screamo is approaching even in indie bands, such as The Alibi and Cookson Hills, two bands I discovered while attending the Ten Second Epic concert (which kicked major ass, by the way).

While screaming in songs is popular, the emo dream has been crushed by alternative/punk rock stars such as Gerard Way, labeling the brand "f--king garbage", and Pete Wentz - the creator of the emo trademark "guyliner" - dating washed-out pop stars like Ashlee Simpson.

So for all of you 40-somethings that keep telling your kids to "turn that damn music down!", don't worry. Rock 'n roll is just a phase.