Screamo: Jeromes Dream - Completed 1997-2001

Somebody punch me for beating a dead horse. You all know Jeromes Dream. Well those that listen to screamo.

Jeromes Dream is an odd phenomena. They most likely paved the way for bands like Bucket Full of Teeth, Me and Him Call it Us, and Letters in Binary. The sound is very scary. In early recordings, the vocals are spoken. In later recordings, the vocals are screeched. The guitars and drums work together, dealing devastating blows to your ears. Many people would find this group plain annoying. But in that lies the meaning behind Jeromes Dream.

I am positive that there are songs by the band that not even they like, but only play for the fun of playing them. That's the essence behind punk music, if it don't sound good, fuck it.

Jeromes Dream was also obviously a vent for Jeff Smith, the vocalist, who chose not to use a microphone during shows. Instead, screamed over the amplifiers, resulting in a throat so hoarse the dude was throwing up blood at the end of a 10 minute set. The suffering through his delivery reflects his emotional meaning in his songs. For example:

The (very brief) lyrics to Just Down the Hall from Room 526:
I miss you when you say goodbye. I miss you more when you don't. The stare is on my back. I'm getting smaller or larger. It all depends on where you stand.

Given, the music sounds terrible, but Jeromes Dream had an incredible impact on the screamo generation of it's time. I have been able to listen to it over and over again because of the meaning and the emotional drive.