The Emo Diaries is a series of twelve compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s released by Deep Elm Records

Deep Elm Records

Deep Elm Records is an independent record label putting out albums by bands such as The Appleseed Cast, Brandtson, The White Octave, and Planes Mistaken for Stars...

 between 1997 and 2011. The series had an open submissions policy and featured mostly acts that were unsigned at the time of the albums' releases. Deep Elm founder John Szuch claims that the original name for the series was intended to be The Indie Rock Diaries, but this was ruled out by the fact that the first volume included Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World

Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind....

 and Samiam

Samiam

-Biography:Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the Gilman club mainstay Isocracy. Their first show was in January 1989 with Christ on Parade. They released records through New Red Archives and Hopeless Records in the US and Burning Heart Records in Europe. In the mid-'90s, the band...

, who were both signed to major record labels. The Emo Diaries was chosen because The Emotional Diaries was too long to fit on the album cover. Despite the title, the bands featured in the series have a diversity of sounds that do not all necessarily fit into the emo

Emo

Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...

 style of rock music. Andy Greenwald

Andy Greenwald

Andy Greenwald is a writer of social commentary, specifically about popular music. He is currently a senior contributing writer at Spin Magazine, and has also written for such publications as The Washington Post, Blender, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, MTV Magazine, Complex, and Magnet...

, in his book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo, claims that the series "stake[s] a claim for emo as more a shared aesthetic than a genre":

[T]he bands included hail from all over the world, and the musical styles range from racing punk to droopy, noodley electro. Still, the prevalence of the series—coupled with its maudlin subtitles (The Silence [in] My Heart, I Guess This Is Goodbye) and manic-depressive tattoo cover art—did much to codify the word "emo" and spread it to all corners of the underground.

Deep Elm themselves have remarked that the series' open submissions policy and diversity of bands is what made it unique: "Only the music mattered. Deep Elm has never attempted to define any musical style, as we believe any combination of songwriting, lyrics and live performance means something different to every listener." The Emo Diaries featured then-new and unreleased music by such notable acts as The Appleseed Cast

The Appleseed Cast

The Appleseed Cast is an American emo/post-rock band based in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, composed of singer/guitarist Christopher Crisci , guitarist Aaron Pillar, bassist Nathan Whitman and drummer John Momberg...

, Brandtson

Brandtson

-History:The band formed in 1996 and first recorded for a Steadfast Records compilation entitled Radiowaves and Gibberish in 1997. Soon after the group signed with Deep Elm Records, appearing on their Emo Diaries series before issuing their debut LP, Letterbox, late in 1998...

, Further Seems Forever

Further Seems Forever

Further Seems Forever is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida and disbanded in 2006. Over the course of their career the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their three studio albums...

, Jejune

Jejune

Jejune is the name of a band which formed in the mid-90s at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The band has been commonly identified with the emo genre, particularly the late-90s "indie emo" scene. The three founding members, Arabella Harrison , Joe Guevara and Chris Vanacore ,...

, Jimmy Eat World, The Movielife

The Movielife

The Movielife was a Long Island Melodic hardcore band, composed of vocalist Vinnie Caruana, bassist Phil Navetta, guitarist Brandon Reilly, drummer Evan Baken, and guitarist Alex Amiruddin, until 2001 when Alex Amiruddin left and was replaced by Dan Navetta....

, Planes Mistaken for Stars

Planes Mistaken for Stars

Planes Mistaken for Stars was a emocore band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1997. They released music on Deep Elm Records, Dim Mak Records, No Idea Records and Abacus Recordings.-History:...

, Samiam, and Seven Storey Mountain

Seven Storey Mountain

Seven Storey Mountain is an indie rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The group's music is heavily influenced by the early Washington, D.C. post-hardcore scene....

. Ten installments were released between 1997 and 2004, after which the series was unofficially halted. According to the label:

Deep Elm cited the bastardization of the term "emo" in today's pop culture, as well as mainstream's stranglehold and subsequent commercialization of the genre, which placed the focus squarely on the aesthetic...not the music, the energy or the passion. Essentially, Deep Elm refused to play the game and closed the doors on the genre they helped to document, nurture and expose to the world.

However, in 2007 the label published an eleventh chapter in the series, entitled Taking Back What's Ours

Taking Back What's Ours

Taking Back What's Ours is the eleventh installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released December 3, 2007 by Deep Elm Records...

. In April 2010 Deep Elm began soliciting submissions for a twelfth installment of The Emo Diaries, which was released in January 2011 as I Love You But In The End I Will Destroy You

I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You

I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You is the twelfth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released January 18, 2011 by Deep Elm Records.- Track listing :...

.

Discography

Year	Chapter	Title
1997	1	What's Mine Is Yours What's Mine Is Yours What's Mine Is Yours is the first installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released September 16, 1997 by Deep Elm Records. The series title was originally going to be The Indie Rock Diaries, but this was ruled out when Jimmy Eat World and Samiam, who were both signed to major...
1998	2	A Million Miles Away A Million Miles Away A Million Miles Away is the second installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released April 14, 1998 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music...
1999	3	The Moment of Truth The Moment of Truth (compilation album) - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
	4	An Ocean of Doubt An Ocean of Doubt An Ocean of Doubt is the fourth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released September 28, 1999 by Deep Elm Records. As with all installments in the series, the label had an open submissions policy for bands to submit material for the compilation, and as a result the music...
2000	5	I Guess This Is Goodbye I Guess This Is Goodbye - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
2001	6	The Silence in My Heart The Silence in My Heart - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
2002	7	Me Against the World Me Against the World (compilation album) - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
	8	My Very Last Breath My Very Last Breath - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
2003	9	Sad Songs Remind Me Sad Songs Remind Me - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
2004	10	The Hope I Hide Inside The Hope I Hide Inside - External links :* at Deep Elm Records....
2007	11	Taking Back What's Ours Taking Back What's Ours Taking Back What's Ours is the eleventh installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released December 3, 2007 by Deep Elm Records...
2011	12	I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You I Love You But in the End I Will Destroy You is the twelfth installment in The Emo Diaries series of compilation albums, released January 18, 2011 by Deep Elm Records.- Track listing :...