Barbie is Emo
I walked out of the Barbie movie feeling deeply nostalgic. I wasn’t expecting to like it, but the soundtrack transported me to my high school days where I would pace around my house in the middle of the night listening to Lincoln Park on my cobalt blue iPod mini while thinking about all of my complicated feelings no one could possibly understand. By the time I got home from the theatre, I had figured it out. The Barbie soundtrack is emo. The songs may not carry the quintessential emo sound that characterized the genre in the 2000s, but the vibe is the same.
Emo has had “comebacks” over the years, but the latest one that began in 2020 has turned into something more culturally significant. The pandemic lent itself to an emo resurgence. What were we in isolation if not moody and nostalgic? In 2020, following a collaboration with Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly released an emo album, Tickets to My Downfall. Sonically, it blended the classic emo sound (whiny vocals, heavy guitar, repetitive chorus) with modern rap, trap, and pop elements. It was hugely successful, largely because it capitalized on nostalgia at a time when we all needed to feel the sense of hope we felt when emo was first popular. In 2022, ‘Emo is not dead’ started trending on Instagram, #emophase became a popular TikTok trend, and bands like Blink 182 and Paramore announced reunions, new albums, and tours. Listeners were eager to experience the phenomenon outside of their phones, and emo once again became relevant in music and culture.
MGK’s success provided a pathway for artists of all genres to achieve success by adopting an “emo” sound simply by making music that evokes nostalgia. His music, along with Travis Barker’s collaborations with artists like Post Malone and Willow allowed emo to transcend sound and become a feeling that can exist in any genre. San Holo’s latest album, aptly named “Existential Dance Music,” blends upbeat electronics with vulnerable vocals and themes. Olivia Rodrigo’s robust choruses are emotionally explicit. Post Malone’s sound is characterized by vulnerability and raw emotion. Emo no longer has boundaries in terms of instrumentation and structure, it exists as more of a “vibe”.
Emo’s impact on music is inescapable. In his piece, “From Rites of Spring to Olivia Rodrigo: How Emo Conquered Pop,” Chris Richards wrote, “Emo began as a style of music, which became an attitude, which became an identity, which became a stereotype, which became a slight, which is why the term “emo” now serves as pop culture shorthand for any hue of interior sadness.” Emo is a compass for its listeners, who are asking, “Is it okay to feel the way I’m feeling and do other people feel this way?” There is safety in the genre’s vulnerability. Barbie’s message is the same – it’s complicated being human.
In Gerwig’s Barbie, the doll’s many iterations go hand in hand with music, evoking memories from every era. There are dance sequences modeled after dream ballets from the 50s and 60s like Singin’ in the Rain. Ronson and Gerwig worked with Dua Lipa to craft the perfect disco hit for Barbie’s house party. “Speed Drive” by Charli XCX features the line “Barbie you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind,” after the 1981 song “Hey Mickey!” by Toni Basil. Gerwig assigned both Barbie and Ken their own 90s hit songs, “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls and “Push” by Matchbox Twenty respectively. The original song, “I’m Just Ken,” features outfits and dancing reminiscent of Grease, 80s synth-pop, and rock, with Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar, Josh Freese on drums, and a final guitar solo by Slash. The whole movie is filled with sonic Easter eggs sure to stimulate nostalgia for any audience member.
Barbie capitalized on emo’s cultural resurgence by being overtly vulnerable in its delivery of “finding oneself and experiencing real emotions” backed by a soundtrack that features wistful melodies and longing lyrics. Barbie is a testament to how deeply emo has seeped into post-pandemic culture. Even the brightest, “pop-iest” songs on the soundtrack read as emo.
I’m unsurprised that we’ve been clinging to emo since the pandemic. Perhaps we’re desperately looking for comfort and revitalizing the music of the past not only brings us back to those moments but gives us hope for the future. It’s as if surrounding ourselves in a blanket of familiar sounds reassures us that we are not lost. Just like Barbie, opening ourselves up to the reality of life and the emotions that follow leads us to a more meaningful existence.
Honestly proud of myself for not pivoting this essay to talk about the similarities between MGK and Ken…
Thanks for reading!