Emotional hardcore, as it was initially termed, had been quietly growing since the mid-80s, but by the early 00s it had become an actual scene, attracting label interest, big crowds and press attention. You need to call this world of ‘young person’s rock bands’ something Jim Adkinsīleed American went platinum in the US and, with that success, Jimmy Eat World suddenly found themselves as leading figures in the ascendant emo scene. The album’s second single, The Middle, a propulsive pep talk encouraging the band to carry on following their label woes (“Hey, don’t write yourself off yet … ”), would become their biggest hit, a US radio mainstay that even Prince and Taylor Swift saw fit to cover. ![]() Bleed American (temporarily retitled Jimmy Eat World after the 11 September attacks), in 2001, took their twinkling, lovelorn sound from Clarity and reinforced it with powerpop hooks. No sooner had they left the major label than they delivered an album that was major-label massive. “They were like: “Err, can we help you guys?’” Adkins mimics the baffled faces of the employees. He remembers visiting Capitol’s New York offices – “back when labels had actual buildings in really expensive cities” – and being greeted with giant double-door-sized posters for P, a short-lived alt-rock band fronted by Johnny Depp, the sort of superstar Capitol were more accustomed to dealing with. That scepticism may have something to do with Jimmy Eat World’s strange trajectory, which saw the Mesa, Arizona band whisked from the DIY emo scene of the mid-90s, where they’d be playing in “the craziest of places” – basements, friends’ houses, the back rooms of churches – and on to major label Capitol, a place where, in Adkins’s words, they had “no business being”. “I still don’t take this seriously as what I’m going to do in my life,” he says. ![]() But Adkins, 46, only conceded that his band might be a going concern around a decade ago – “I thought: ‘Huh, I guess this is what I do’” – and remains dubious about their long-term prospects. His band, Jimmy Eat World, are nearing 30 years together and the emo godfathers are still touring relentlessly. I n the age of the Great Resignation, everyone is having doubts about their career paths, even million album-selling musicians.
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