Rating: 
Summary: Some Things Feel Good
Review: Apart from knowing nothing about emo before I read the book, I now feel like I can freely say that yes... I am an emo fan, because I do listen to Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World (Previous to the book), as well as a plethora of other bands listed in the book.
I highly enjoyed reading this book because it gave me a better understanding of who Dashboard Confessional is and how they, as a band feel about their fans and shows. I have been to one Dashboard show and while I wasn't as moved as some of the kids there I did feel slightly different as if the whole show was one big essential experience. Though some people claim that Dashboard has saved their lives I would have to say for me it was A.F.I. They changed my life, my outlook and how the world really is. I wish that they would have been mentioned in the book (Seeing as how they have been around for 13 years) but it wasn't too big of an upset for me to find out that they weren't.
Lastly the only part of the book that disappointed me was that in the end Andy Greenwald never got to the point of what emo is. Throughout the book Andy never came out and said what emo really is. Though it is hard to define for anyone I was looking for clarity in the book and never got it. Apart from that the book is a great read and I encourage anyone who wants to find out more about the music genre known as "emo" to pick up a copy and read it cover to cover.
Stephanie Hamilton
Rating: 
Summary: A great analysis of the past, present, and future of "emo"
Review: Andy Greenwald does an amazing job with his book "Nothing Feels Good." He is able to put to document the roots (Minor Threat, Rites of Spring), progression (Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate), mid-'90s reconstruction (Braid, The Promise Ring), and current (Dashboard Confessional, Thursday) phases of emo music. His facts all are accurate, his opinions valid, and his conceptions of the genre impeccably established. "Nothing Feels Good" can teach even the most seasoned veteran of emo a thing or two, while at the same time, creating a perfect demonstration and definition of the word for even those who have never heard it before. Greenwald creates a new respect and understanding of emo and the ethics of music in general. Whether you are a fan of the genre, hate it, or have no idea what it is, this book is well worth the $10-15.
Rating:
Summary: A great analysis of the past, present, and future of "emo"
Review: Andy Greenwald does an amazing job with his book "Nothing Feels Good." He is able to put to document the roots (Minor Threat, Rites of Spring), progression (Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate), mid-'90s reconstruction (Braid, The Promise Ring), and current (Dashboard Confessional, Thursday) phases of emo music. His facts all are accurate, his opinions valid, and his conceptions of the genre impeccably established. "Nothing Feels Good" can teach even the most seasoned veteran of emo a thing or two, while at the same time, creating a perfect demonstration and definition of the word for even those who have never heard it before. Greenwald creates a new respect and understanding of emo and the ethics of music in general. Whether you are a fan of the genre, hate it, or have no idea what it is, this book is well worth the $10-15.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent book on a hard subject
Review: as a fan of andy's work in spin i have to admit a certain bias towards his writing style. that said, i found this to be very illuminating and helpful in understanding the twisted self hating relationship this much mailigned genre of music has with itself and its fans.whteher you prefer the sappiness of dashboard confessional or the agression of bands like my chemical romance, this book will help you understand how they relate to eachother and how they come from common musical roots. taking you on a journey from DIY kids in a sweaty washington DC basement in the early 80's to major label bands in madison square garden at the turn of a new millenium this book has the goods and lays them out in an engaging manner that makes for a hard to put down read.
Rating:
Summary: It may not feel good, but it reads exceptionally!
Review: As a writer myself, and one often accused of being too obscure with his musical references, I had no choice but to enter NOTHING FEELS GOOD with a bit of an open mind, knowing that Andy Greenwald faced a challenge with me and that I had to extend him the same courtesy I would want extended to me. Greenwald was writing about bands I couldn't care less about, and some I openly hate. I didn't own a single record by any of the groups featured. He had a tough job ahead of him.So, it's a real testament to Greenwald's abilities as a writer that I was completely sucked in. A foreknowledge of bands like Jawbreaker or Thursday is not required, because Greenwald is going to explain them to you. He is going to tell you what the music is like and contextualize it, put it in a framework that will hip you to why these bands have so many devoted fans. Sure, you can hem and haw about the name "emo"--but the author does too. It's a term for a subculture that doesn't want to be tagged or codified, and it's a subject that is wrestled with by this book. And once we get past that, Greenwald cracks it open and unveils the positives of a movement that often gets derided, revealing why it works for the people it works for and its place in our modern age. If there is anything to complain about when it comes to NOTHING FEELS GOOD, it's that Greenwald does his job TOO well. He made me think every one of the bands discussed was fantastic. Sadly, I sampled a lot of it, and for the most part, it failed to live up to the wonderful images Greenwald created in my head. However, his electrifying portrait of Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba was quite seductive, and I couldn't shake it. It pushed me to approach the material fresh, and now I am a fan and have sought out whatever I could find by the band. And isn't that the sort of reaction music writing should inspire?
Rating: 
Summary: Andy Greenwald = [...]
Review: Dashboard Confessionals? Jimmy Eat World? Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of both but these are not emo bands. Maybe if Mr. Greenwald did more time researching and less time trying to cash in on the latest music trend this book would'nt be a [...]. Maybe if it gave a little more recognition to bands that started this genre like Rites Of Spring or Fugazi, and the man that coined the term "emo" Ian Mackaye this book would have some valididty but alas he doest mention either... Good Bye.
Rating:
Summary: A 300 Page Advertisement? It certainly -doesn't- feel good.
Review: Did anyone notice how all the low reviews came from big cities like Chicago and California where the scenes are happening, while the 5 star reviews were from smalltown PA and Illinois? Should that tell you something? I certainly think so. When assessing a piece of crap like this, the only question you need to ask yourself is "Is this the best piece of literature I could be wasting my time on?" I think the answer is, undoubtedly, NO! Seriously, pick up something that's going to expand your mind, not close it. I don't know how this all caught on, but whether or not the music is quality (check out the original "emo" bands) no one should be spending their hard earned bills (although I'd imagine the majority of the money is coming from the middle class suburbanite parents they claim to despise) on a handbook for fitting in.
Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: dont review the book if you didnt read it, its a great book, best one ive ever read. made me cry, laugh, smile, and it made me love my life. i know thats dumb but its so great. please go buy it, youll love it
Rating: 
Summary: Ok written, but wrong generation
Review: Emo began in the late 80's around the times of "Rites of Spring" and "Moss Icon." these are the bands that gave the rise to emo, and I can assure you that Dashboard Confessional and New Found Glory have NOTHING to do with them. Sunny Day Real Estate and Elliott could be placed second generation emo, but this book seems to take emo as being MTV friendly. Emo was a child of punk rock not pop punk.
Rating:
Summary: Carson Daly wrote a book?!
Review: First off, I give MYSELF one star for actually reading this contrived piece of poop. Anybody who grew up listening to 80's emo or early-to-mid-90's "emo" cannot read this book without cringing. If you actually liked Braid or Christie Front Drive or Embrace or Moss Icon WHEN THEY WERE AROUND, you'll hate this book. If you think New Found Glory is "emo"/not horrendous, you will love this. I don't mean to sound holier than though, but if you liked "emo" before it was cool, it's impossible to not hate this book! He spends about 1% of the book talking about the actual history of "emo", which is the only interesting part of the book/genre! It's almost like he's relieved to get that part out of the way and start writing about what he really knows about: Dashboard Confessional. And I'll bet that's about when he started listening to "emo". The writing drives me nuts. Every sentence has to contain something like "like a diabetic in a candy store" or something else a high school kid would write. He talks about how in 2001 "The Get Up Kids were the biggest band no one had heard of." I know what he's trying to say, but circa 1999 EVERYONE knew who TGUKs were. Even trendies at Spin Magazine. He spends a whole chapter writing about how Weezer isn't an emo band anymore! They never WERE emo, retard. Did you get to decide? Why isn't Nine Inch Nails emo, then? Or Pearl Jam? I guess that makes "Black" the biggest emo song ever. Or how about that "Turn Around Bright Eyes" song from the early 80's? That made my mom cry! And the cherry on top is that he talks about how great Dashboard Confessional is and says that Sunny Day Real Estate's fourth album is lousy. What?! Dashboard Confessional is going to leave about as much of a mark on legimate music as Def Leppard's "Have you Ever Needed Someone So Bad." It was so emotional! (If you liked this book, perhaps I should help you out here: That was sarcasm!)
This book is proof that punk may be alive, but it's certainly brain dead. OR why I should just screw it all and listen to Tom Waits instead.
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