10 Greatest Emo Songs Ever Written

2. Panic! At The Disco €“ I Write Sins Not Tragedies

The plucking strings that mark the beginning of I Write Sins Not Tragedies are etched into the minds of millions of twenty-somethings all across the world. Its a sound that's absolutely unmistakable, and one that is ridiculously catchy. The song was released on Panic! At The Disco's (that's right, before the whole exclamation mark controversy) debut studio album, 2005's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. The song's title is a reference to the Douglas Coupland novel Shampoo Planet. During the novel, the protagonist Tyler Johnson says €œI am writing a list of tragic character flaws on my dollar bills with a felt pen... What I write are not sins; I write tragedies€. Like Sugar We're Goin Down, the song is accompanied by an incredibly memorable video featuring the band dressed up like members of a circus and a bunch of circus-themed performers, played by the real-life Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque. And who doesn't love shouting the lyric €œhaven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?€. Terrific stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc6vs-l5dkc
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Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.