Mom Jeans - Emo's Most HATED Loved Band

Overall thoughts on Mom Jeans?
Hmu on the twitta @camerahat

As someone not involved in online emo culture whatsoever, I had absolutely no idea people actively disliked this band.

I had no idea anyone hated them. I can't conceive of someone hating such a great band.

Them trying to cancel bart for a thing he did when he was a freshman is just insane. He's a super nice guy now he's changed.

As soon as the video hit me with the death cup riff I knew I have to watch

Gonna be honest, this is the type of “cancelling” that leads to people not taking actually heinous accusations seriously

Dude.... You can't just play it's cold out here without warning. That song twinkles my daddies

the irony at 6:43 is incredible because that one chord movement makes up more than half of all midwestern-inspired emo music. Basically anything off Sports and most of YGMIA uses the maj9 or maj7 of the IV chord. Most songs from the first American Football album use that. Most songs from DIARY use that chord. Foxing, The World Is a Beautiful Place, Sorority Noise, Marietta, The Hotelier, The Front Bottoms ALL use that chord frequently. If you wanted you could make a compilation of that chord appearing in popular emo songs and it would be several hours long. Its musical characteristics make it fit perfectly with the themes of a lot of emo songs, so much so that it is almost an integral part of emo harmony. It’s so popular that this single chord is increasingly used in surrounding genres like more pop punk style emo, heavier / hardcore stuff like Dogleg etc, and indie rock bands like car seat headrest going for that sound. So to see people attack them “as a musician” for having a common characteristic of the genre is so ridiculous, it’s literally the equivalent of saying “I hate Modern Baseball because all their lyrics are about feelings and relationships and stuff”.

Imagine trying to cancel someone for being a bully when they were 14-15, that being 10 years ago. You're just looking for attention and validation at that point, nothing else.

Several things:
- they’ve addressed their early stuff and admitted that yes it was mobo rip off but they don’t try to profit off of it, just trying to learn how to play together, experimenting with writing lyrics. It’s not available for purchase or streaming that benefits them.
- i’ve never seen them be anything but super supportive of marginalized groups. There are interviews where they speak about their own privilege and how they use that to promote women/lgbt+/poc in the scene.
- the whole bart situation is absolutely fucked I really don’t think that he should have been crucified for acting immaturely as a literal child. The girl who accused him was also exposed for participating in harmful behavior herself recently. I really hope he continues in the music industry because I honestly believe that he is a good person.
- This band has my support and they probably always will they mean a lot to me personally, and other people in my life. Every interaction i’ve had with them and their team has been awesome and genuine.

Let's just smoke a bowl and talk about this later

Mom jeans helped me through a lot of stuff, and were pretty much the only band I was able to listen to while I was in rehab recovering from addiction, so they'll always have a special place in my heart. And personally I really dig their corny lyrics, like you said it makes them so much more genuine and real. It really bothers me that Bart was kicked out for something he did when he was 15, like c'mon dude we all did crappy stuff when we were young, but nobody deserves to suffer for their whole lives because of it. Sad to see so many people that enjoy watching others suffer, instead of prosper.

That's it. I'm starting a skramz band called Nice Family, first EP will be Dinner table, track list will be "Pass the Salt", "Ride the gravey train", "Corny like my cob," and the big 8 minute post rock inspired epic closer "Cold Turkey"
Edit: I forgot the spoke word interlude between tracks 3 and 4. That'll be a spoken word retrospective on my first stay in the mental ward called "we should've just ordered pizza"

Hey about their old songs: Im pretty sure they've addressed this in the past. They wanted to start writing songs but were bad at it so when they first started writing, they just ripped off MOBO and TFB (Basically took riffs and melodies to write their own lyrics over). It was not supposed to be serious and they definitely didn't think people would listen. When MOBO caught wind of it and weren't happy, MJ took the songs down.

ngl that first mom jeans album is one of the best and strongest examples of hooky emo music. every song is memorable and catchy like the level of songwriting is beyond most bands from the third wave and is way better than it deserves to be.

I love how you start every video with fantano

waiting on Nice Family’s highly anticipated “Dinner Table”

I saw Mom Jeans last year in April, and Bart looked broken during the show. I know he really struggles a lot with mental health issues, and it's pretty apparent he uses music to cope. When he was accused of some shitty things he said over a decade ago and he took a step away from Mom Jeans, just after Covid cancelled the Grad Life tour, I really have to feel sorry for him. It seems like he lost so much that meant so much to him at a really bad time. I hope he's doing well.

The first time I came across Mom Jeans on there live Audiotree sessions. Loved the band ever since.
That first time hearing Poor Boxer Shorts was so damn good qnd the lyrics so damn accurate.

Mom Jeans is like comfort food for me.
I know it's not the most complicated music, I know it is simple in several ways, but it came to me in a very uncomfortable time in my life. I remember first hearing them during a cold winter night in my old Focus and just gelling with them like I did when I was a teen in 2006-2009.

So he left the band because he "bullied" someone in highschool. People are too sensitive especially in the emo scene, but I guess that's kind of fitting.

tbfh, what bart was accused of isn't even that bad...y'all act like most teenagers aren't mean...well they are. Teenagers are drama oriented and we all grow out of it and realize how stupid it is and I am fairly certain the people that are super angry at Bart are young adults/teenagers. just my opinion tho

As a musician, I’ve always loved their work. They have great instrumentation and I love the energy. The drums are sick as hell, and I agree that they are really ultimately a super fun band. And the twinkly riffs are really cool too.

Tbh Mom Jeans is one of my favorite bands, and I’m actually pretty happy that I found out about them lol. That’s just me though, people are allowed to have their own opinions. Anyways, keep up the good content Nate!

I’ve seen them live in a concert about a year ago and they were super nice, talked to them after the show and they were really nice and cool. My friend brought his kapo and asked Bart to play with it and he actually did. We saw Eric after the show and he gave us some guitar picks that he uses, he even signed some stuff. I know it doesn’t seem extraordinarily nice, but since they’re as big as they are and probably deal with people all the time, it was every cool that they acted like that to random people. Nothing but love coming from me :)

The biggest problem with them is the guitarist wearing a nickelback shirt.

People religiously hated Mom Jeans before the stuff with Bart, they were just looking for an opportunity to drag them down. What I think happened is that Mom Jeans got big right around the same time that other big Emo bands were dying off. Modern Baseball, Jank, Sorority noise, etc. People wrapped their heads around Mom Jeans being the next big thing and when they didn't live up to that ridiculously high expectation their feelings towards them turned to hate.

Mom jeans came to my state during the hobo Johnson tour, I met them and they were amazing people, really stupid how cancel culture has gotten to mom jeans,

This is so well researched, well thought out, well scripted, and well edited. Great takes too. Amazing work.

Yo what are your thoughts on Prince Daddy?? I got into them around the same time as mom jeans from their split album and now they’re my favorite band next to mobo

Make a video about snowing!!

haha that's my reddit thread at 6:40, I feel famous

thoughtful video, useless info, but the messaging you provide is so awesome, you are a true leader. i hope that the whole band does better, you as well. i deleted social media long ago and it’s just been so much healthier for me :)

Hey Nate, any chance you’d do a video on Seahaven? Would love hearing your thoughts on them, one of my favorite ever bands

I hope Bart comes back. Seems like they were two people who didn't like eachother when they were in High School. I'm with Bart. We've all made mistakes

if you aren't involved and don't know the full story, don't pick a side?
Mom Jeans has great riffs, catchy melodies and lyrics, and some stellar drumming and synchronization. I can't help but relate this to Fail Better, Heal Faster, as the same sort of concepts of growth and reinvention are present there. These people may or may not have done deplorable things but it's important to understand why we give these people the power. I feel like all of the music is being drowned out.

Band rules, the dudes seem to rule, every band they're attached to is pretty fun as well.

I’m not a big emo fan, but when I first heard this band I immediately liked them. Eric’s vocals, melodies, and guitar licks come together to make unforgettably catchy songs. The drums are always solid. Keeping it simple works for them, and I agree that the lyrics and performances are always genuine.

Mom jeans is my favorite Midwest emo band ever, sweet tooth is album of the year so far

say what you want about puppy love, but now this is podracing is one of their best songs

Just now learning people don’t like them… I remember when my buddy showed me their music in 2018 and I was like “woah these guys are cool”.

i'm glad u somewhat stopped walking on egg shells at least a little bit at the end of the video when talking about people's reaction to the bart allegations

Who cares if Mom Jeans sounds like Modern Baseball? Mom Jeans still makes music

The “Bart stuff” is a non-issue. You’re acting like there is controversy where when frankly it’s teenage level drama.

Never even thought anyone hated them i don’t understand this video.

I really enjoyed this week's video, hope you're doing good man

"i was just kind of being an asshole, and i dont even know why" is basically what it boils down to for most haters of things. It is cool to open your mind and experience new things despite having that initial bias against it

I didn't even know there was hate surrounding mom jeans until now.
Edit: Okay after watching the video, it's kind of sad that Nate has to do a 13 minute video talking about the hate and controversy surrounding a band when in reality there's nothing wrong with them, people just love to hate, and there's so much to their music that i wish got more commentary in this video. I love mom jeans from the music and performances alone; it's simply beautiful, catchy, the lyrics are out there as much as other emo bands, and their basement shows look like a lot of fun.

Can never imagine hating them, they have so much meaning and just bring the crowd alive

lmaoo freddy pee pee sighting at 0:28

this taught me a lot. i had only JUST recently learned about this band in 2021. really been loving their music. but anyways, thanks for the info. like you said, growth is totally possible for everyone. hope all parties are safe.

could you make a vid on midwest pen pals or merchant ships much love man

as someone from the bay, and has been to one of their shows in recent years i love their older music, and they still make some bangers but their newer albums arent my favorite. i agree with them being a little overhyped, but i think another reason they got that hype is because theyre a "midwest" emo band from califonia. that sparked lots of talk about if its technically midwest emo if not from the midwest. im like in the middle of this video so idk if this point was already made lol. but that being said the energy at their show in their home town Berkley was amazing and one of my favorite concerts ive been to. the band that sam kless has, just friends, often opens for them or other midwest emo shows when they tour in the area and i will say at first i wasnt fond of just friends music but man do they know how to entertain a crowd! ive now seen just friends open 3-4 times and its always such a fun experience as a local

I’m pretty sure they got they’re name from a bobs burgers episode

I don't get the issue with the song sounding similar. Musicians inspire each other, sometimes you take inspiration consciously, sometimes unconsciously. Also the stuff, with Mom Jeans sounding generic. If you wouldn't want to listen to music, that sounds like it's part of this genre, you wouldn't listen to this genre. Of course, something can sound uninspired or boring, but for me their music doesn't evoke those emotions at all.
The drama stuff is silly imo and I really don't care.
I think, they're a really cool band and I enjoy listening to them.

Rediscovering this gem of a channel

I love/hate the emo community. They have the balls to gate guard the emo community. We're all broken in some ways and Moms Jean's helped me realize that

Ppl can hate it but it makes me feel understood and that's what music's all about

I just got into this genre of music a few months ago. I like this band!

I've never gone on Twitter to ruin someone but i will say this: i don't care that it was 10+ years ago, i still don't forgive and forget the people that bullied me. Mom Jeans slaps tho

I honestly like bart’s band “graduating life” more than mom jeans. It makes me so genuinely sad that he might not come back to music because the previews for their new album that was supposed drop this year were really good.

5:50 seeing the marietta boys sing with the modern baseball bais is so cool to me

That first EP will haunt this band forever.
The opening track is a complete re-do of....re-do..

danger can, Danger Can, DANGER CAN

chads love to hate on mom jeans bc they've never felt any of things they are singing about

I haven't even seen the whole video yet, but I can tell it's amazing and I love it! Keep it up Nate!

I dont care for Mom Jeans in the slightest but trying to cancel someone for something minor they did at age 15 is just mega cringe. Cancel culture is just all about attention at this point and just making shit worse

I found mom jeans maybe three or four years. All this time ive been enjoying them, i never knew anyone hated them. Oh well, back to listening to edward 40hands for the 10,000th time.

I think you should make a spotify playlist with your favorite songs!

the footage at 6:53 is from when they were supposed to play at Java in Boise, ID in September 2018. I was working "security" at that show. I say "security" because really I was just helping out my friend who booked the show and I was helping out at the door and counting heads for the sake of keeping it at capacity. Maybe a few more people than would fit in the building showed up, but before people even got into the lobby of the coffee shop, the building owner showed up and asked the property manager to come and help him shut the show down. The venue had been hosting shows for a few months there and my band had played there twice, but when the owner caught wind of it, he decided to shut the shit down. The promoter did everything he could and even offered the guy money to let them do the show, but the guy turned it all down just because he could. I was trying to help kids get out and the venue manager grabbed me by the shirt and threw me out the front doors despite me telling him I was there working on the show as a staff member. Real douche move. Since Mom Jeans couldn't play the show anymore, in a last ditch effort, they grabbed an acoustic guitar and played three songs in Capitol Park a block away, packed up their shit and left. It really sucks. A lot of people worked super hard to make that show happen at one of Boise's only DIY venue's and some fucker had to ruin it and shut down the venue in the process. I've tried reaching out the Mom Jeans a few different times (pre-COVID-19 of course) to see about booking them at other all ages venues we'd gotten since the last time they showed up but they kinda always didn't seem to want to be bothered with it and would rather skip out on Boise, or just have an off date instead.

You guys hating on Bart are a bunch of nerds, that dudes stage presence was so fun and unreal. Ruined a band man good job fellas

i’m only 19 and believe me i did a lot of stupid, ignorant, and regrettable things when i was 14 and i’ve changed a ton since then. it’s completely unfair to judge someone’s character based on mistakes they made in the distant past

I used to hate them. Then I liked them ironically. Now, after going through a divorce at 23, I love them.

And here we are, a year/two later, new album out and they’re even better!!

Mom Jean's is a great band and I love them

I love this band. I'm a little new to the emo genre as i hated it originally in the early 2000s, but in 2020 fell in love with it. Mom Jeans. Is just a great example of Midwest emo. Kind of crappy vocals, lyrics that are generally about how awkward it is growing up and seem very high school oriented, jingly guitar riffs etc... and i absolutely love it.
I kept seeing that Reddit post say "they play the same chord progression over and over". As a lifelong musician I can absolutely sau that's not true at all. Sure there are some recurring progressions, but that's completely normal.
I think their songwriting and production on Sweet Tooth is fantastic. Which is a nice sign of growth. I had originally heard them a few years back on a midwest emo playlist that had "Scott Pilgrim vs. My GPA" on it. And i really liked it a lot. And then i came across "What's Up" last year and kond of couldn't believe it was the same band. Now i listen to pretty much all their stuff. Just love it.

You should make a video about Worst Party Ever, I love that band

Love them. Was at their first show in Europe, in some middle of nowhere small village in Belgium. All the guys were chill and hung out with the crowd after the show. Had a chance to talk with Eric and was surprised when they showed genuine interest in what we were talking about, seeing they just finished playing a show 5 minutes before. Can't wait until they come back to Europe and hope they come to the Netherlands, which they skipped out on first time around! >:(

I believe when it comes to sexual assault, grooming of minors etc should never be accepted back in. However situations like this shouldn’t affect it

Thank you for making a mom jeans video I really wanted to hear your thought on them

it "doesn't count" cause hes a boy, and she's a girl. could it be any more obvious?

my favorite band of all time. got me through high school. nothing will change that.

3:45 thats wmahmo not mom jeans

In order to love or hate Mom Jeans depends on how their songs relatable to others. They were one of the few bands who are not intended to be loved by everyone. In order to love them, you should relate and feel connected with their songs. I think that is the reason why there are people who still love Mom Jeans.
I think people hating on them because they use the same chords in their songs makes no sense. Green Day used the same Power Chord Progressions on many of their songs but many people still hailed them as tge Best Punk Rock Band in the world.
What i hear on their music are the fact that they just intended to have fun and do what makes them feel happy

lmaool thats me at 11:55 !!! i fw mom jeans heavy

Mom Jeans tend to use the same progression a lot but its also one of the most common progressions in many forms of music. I am a musician in multiple facetes and still love this band

Oh boy can't wait to hate my favorite band! JK love the content Nate!

Holy moly, that ending take is insane. Well done.

First

this just randomly showed up in my suggestions. Its a good video :D

I saw them live twice in Richmond, both times me and my friend had just gotten off of school and had to drive two hours out of where we lived to see them in a tiny bar. Both shows were incredible and not to play into the whole "this band saved me" shit, but I don't think I'd have the friends I do now if I hadn't gone and I'm pretty grateful for that.

i honestly don't have a huge opinion on mom jeans yet (since i only know a couple of their songs) but i also rly wanted to say that i just discovered your channel and while i have only watched a handful of videos i love how nuanced, well-researched and personal your videos are and you also just seem like a rly chill guy.
i'm rly excited to watch some more of your videos when it's not 2 a.m!!
have a great day🌿

Big mom jeans fan here, great job on the video as usual, Nate!

I love the emo scene man, beef and cancelations arent about r4pe, nazis or murder, just high school bullying. This is wholesome.
- the Metal scene

Fun fact: Eric Butler grew up in Brampton, Ontario - an hour outside Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As someone who is Toronto raised and who sees all my favourite bands (like Mom Jeans) when they come through town, that hypes me up. Great video Nate, I love Mom Jeans. I didn't know about the accusations so I'll look into that and form my own opinions.

I really like Mom Jeans because they make being lame and cringey feel cool and fun. They arent doing anything particularly technical or groundbreaking, but if thats someone's only metric for measuring what makes a band good, then im probably gonna disagree with them on a lot more

This video was FANTASTIC. Your description of things people like and dislike the band for was greatly analytical

as a Mom Jeans and Modern Baseball fan, I always felt that they were big lovers of MOBO, which gave them a familiar but knew sound, I think that with Jorts they were inspired by MOBO but didn't really know how to throw their sound in more

2 years later Bart is back and he lost all the weight. Love that dude. Just saw them live in Houston

my favorite band, gives me the warm fuzzies and definitely shaped the way i am. lots of memories held with their music.