Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008

I had such a blast reading this book. So many of these bands played a huge part in my youth, but I didn’t know all that much about the behind the scenes stories at the time. Middle school me in 2003 wasn’t spending a lot of time researching bands online. If you have an affinity for emo bands from the 1999-2008 era then you should definitely check this book out. It’s interesting getting to hear all the different stories from the people who were directly involved.The book provides a fascinating look at how the scene went from DIY bands and shows in small venues to blowing up into the mainstream and being heavily featured on MTV and big chart successes. The interview subjects provide so much information about how the bands influenced one another, different drama from the time, and reflections on hardships. So many of these stories were things I hadn’t heard before. But even when it was something I’d already heard before it was still interesting to read again. Especially since these are interviews done from a modern perspective rather than reading a quote from 2005 in 2023.Some topics that are brought up that I was hoping to get a bit more time spent on were how mainstream media, older rock bands, and rock critics looked down on emo music which led those bands to not associate with the emo title back in the day, misogyny within the scene, and homophobia aimed towards emo. Those things definitely do get discussed, but I kept wanting to dive deeper. Also, I’m personally not really a fan of the oral history format. But I can look past it and still get sucked into a book when I’m invested in the topic. However sometimes I did find myself getting confused or wishing that the book was written as a more traditional nonfiction book. I really loved the introduction and conclusion that were written in the author’s own words.But overall I had a great time with Where Are Your Boys Tonight? There were so many bands and songs that I hadn’t listened to in such a long time that I found myself looking up again. It was an amazing trip down memory lane as well as a look into stories and behind the scenes information that I hadn’t heard before. I definitely recommend this book if you’re a fan of this era of emo music.Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.